Who can visit Río Secreto?

To give you a benchmark so you know what I mean when I say it’s fine for little kids: my kids are simultaneously super tough and absolute wusses. I really never know what they’ll decide to be scared of. They’ve swum with whale sharks & snorkelled at MUSA in Cancun, they’ve visited the Secret Beach in Puerto Vallarta; loved massive deep cenotes in Yucatán; and waltzed over tree top adventures that petrify me. For them, this was nowhere near as physically taxing as snorkelling at MUSA or swimming into PV’s secret beach.

👩‍👦 We had 1 adult on 1 kid at all times and I think this worked really well. I’m sure it would have been ok with 2 kids and 1 adult but it would have been less fun. I can imagine getting stressed having to manoeuvre 2 small kids around the caves on my own.

Our guide, Michelle, was superb. Not only did she constantly check in with us and the kids to ensure they weren’t struggling, she happily chatted to them, and didn’t once get fed up with our six year old demanding to know how much longer we would be in the cave over and over and over and over…as only small kids can. I wanted to ditch him in the cave but Michelle was the epitome of patience.

What about adults who aren’t confident swimmers?

🛟 You don’t need to be able to swim to enjoy this adventure. We met an adult who couldn’t swim who had just bravely joined his family in the caves and he enjoyed himself immensely. With the lifejacket on there really is no danger for non-swimmers.

What do you do at Río Secreto?

When you arrive you’re allocated to a guide (or two) & a group of 10 ish people. You’re taken in a small van to a point deep in the jungle where you’re kitted out for the adventure.

There are five cave expeditions running at any one time to keep people from bumping into each other. The expeditions all have a slightly different ratio of walking to swimming / wading. All the routes are spectacularly beautiful and offer a great opportunity to see stalagmites, stalactites and columns up close whilst swimming in crystal clear blue water.

Your guide directs your small group through the cave system for around an hour and a half, explaining what you’re seeing and helping you to get the most out of the excursion.

Languages

You can have a guide in English, French, or Spanish depending on your need. We were originally put in a Spanish group because we were speaking Spanish with staff but once they overheard us speaking English as a family we were immediately asked which language we’d prefer for our tour. I was impressed that they noticed and cared enough to check.

Equipment

🩱 Everything you need for this experience is provided: wetsuit, life jacket, shoes, helmet with torch, guiding pole, towel). You just need to show up with your swimming stuff and a whole heap of excitement.

🚿 There are lockers & showers available to everyone.

Lunch

🌮 The tours at Río Secreto include a buffet lunch. Food is plentiful and the selection is pretty good, even for kids. My kids were thrilled to find both pesto pasta and fresh made tortillas (not that you had to eat them together, just that the kids did). Adults enjoyed the food too.

Río Secreto – photography

📸 You cannot take your own camera into the cave system but there’s always a professional photographer along with every group. At the start I was a little put out by this. I don’t like paying someone else to take photos but it makes sense here as you’re in a dark cave, you have a stick in one hand, and you’re in water a lot.

You really do need your hands free and even more importantly, if you’re taking photos you’re not going to be watching where you’re going. You might grab onto, or walk into, a million-year-old stalagmite and kill it, or slip and hurt yourself.

✅ I hadn’t considered the damage I could do to the eco-system if I wasn’t paying attention. Once this was explained, I was more than happy to not take my waterproof camera in with me.

A professional with their excellent camera focusing on you and your family is actually an excellent addition. This is the first time I was ever happy to pay for photos – and I’ve definitely done it again since then.

Río Secreto: final thoughts

I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect from the Rio Secreto experience. I tend to regard attractions in tourist areas with a healthy dollop of cynicism. My family loves cenotes and caves though so I figured this had the potential to make us all happy. Handily, I was right.

The caves are truly stunning. They really do look like the pictures on the website and it really is thrilling to swim through stalactites that are almost touching the water.

Is it really family friendly?

So, is this a family friendly experience? Yes, absolutely.

Staff are kind, all the equipment is available in small kid sizes too with no reduction in quality.

Our small daughter pretty much fell in love with our guide, chatting to her, and even abandoning me to hold her hand for a while (almost unheard of for our kids). The guide was consistently kind and thoughtful, helping us get them through the trickier bits and patiently answering all their random questions and statements (yes, of course, there were many).

Did the kids enjoy it?

Mostly. They found the caves absolutely stunning and loved trekking on the paths and sloshing through the water.

What didn’t they enjoy?

They found the water a bit cold, which surprised me since the water was no colder than our swimming pool in winter and they regularly swim there. They found the darkness of the cave a little overwhelming at times.

The both agree that the overall experience was positive. I wish I’d had the foresight to warn them the water was going to be cool because with advance knowledge they’d have been fine.

So, would I recommend Río Secreto to families?

Yes. Absolutely. Itt is expensive but I also think it’s an experience you aren’t going to have anywhere else. It is a nature reserve and eco-site that takes responsible tourism very seriously. You’re paying not only for the experience but for your experience to be as safe as possible and as ecologically harmless as possible. If you’re visiting the region this is a great way to see a different side of the culture, the land and the cenotes.