Group Excursions in Riviera Maya - Any ideas??

[soon2BMrs.Prince]

These were very helpful tips, thanks to all who provided information.

[ddk5576]

All of these ideas are great ladies! I can't wait to get our itineraries together and hopefully we can narrow down all of these great activities to fit into our time in Tulum!! Yey!!

[ddk5576]

Ok...I guess I haven't been paying attention when it comes to posting a reply.......still learning! I can't wait to get everything a little more organized so I can share with you all!! Man this wedding planning is like a full-time job!!! Hope to have our Save the dates & invites soon! I finally ordered some samples! Then to organize the available excursions! I am soo excited!! Thanks again for all of the support!

[Tifuhhknee]

Haven't read all the other posts but I will fill you in on all the things I have done there. Took two trips, so this wasn't all crammed into just 3-4 days haha.

 

Horseback ride.

You are paired with a horse by riding experience. They say you are going through the "jungle" so do NOT expect a beautiful rainforest. Did see lots of papaya, which was cool. Also saw a freshwater crocodile hanging out in a small cenote. This was about 20-30 minutes. Then you ride down the beach. No galloping, just walking. After a stretch you stop, dismount, and have the option to ride a horse in the ocean. They took 2 horses and the worker/guide drags the horse with a rope through the water with you on its back. They also take a picture you can purchase at this time. Finish on Maroma Beach which was a great place! Tons to do there, GREAT authentic Mexican food. Our ride picked us up about about an hour and a half to relax at this beach. ATV tours can end here as well.

 

Altournative.

EXTREME TULUM

This was the major ruin that was closest to our resort, so we chose to do this one. You take the jungle hike, see Mayan villages, ride ONE zip line through trees, repel into a cave, snorkel in that cave's cenote, and there is a zip line from above ground down into the water of the cenote. We got to ride that about 3 times, very cool, but huge wedgie. Then lunch cooked by Mayans (it was delicious chicken with sides). After that, went to Tulum. It was gorgeous, but everything is roped off. You can explore, listen to the tour guide, and/or go down to the beach (which was crowded). Pretty much an all day thing.

EXTREME COBA

Same type thing. Drive by Mayan village, walk through jungle (very uneven ground, be careful, my aunt fell), ONE zip line across a large pond that is full of crocodiles (pretty cool), lunch, repel into cenote (you literally are sat in an intertube, float in one place for awhile, then they pull you pack up or you can climb a rope ladder... I chose the ladder). As far as cenotes go, Tulum adventure was better. Then lunch (I barely ate, the food wasn't as good in my opinion), but we went to Coba. It is not on the ocean as Tulum is, BUT it is the LAST Mayan ruins in the area you can actually climb. Chose it over Chichen Itza because of this (and it's not as far). It is literally a whole city and you get to climb to the top of what is the tallest Mayan structure in the Yucatan (only tallest is in Guatemala). So that was the upside to this. You can rent a bike for $1 to get around this place.

 

Parasailing.

If you've done this before, no need to do it again. Exciting going up, just hang out in the air and it's kind of like okay it's pretty but what do I do now? The guys started dipping us in the water and shooting us back into the air, which was fun. The wind was wild that day so we were smacked by large waves. This was the people out of the marina at Puerto Adventuras.

 

Shopping in Playa del Carmen 5th Ave.

If you are souvenior bargain shopping, go. Lots of stuff gets repetitive but there are tons of bars and restaurants as well.

 

XelHa.

Very cool place. Mango Margartias were great. Snorkeling was so-so, I felt it was better at our resort (Catalonia). The tubing was fun, you start off going through some smelly mangroves that you aren't supposed to touch ["Do Not Touch the Tangle"] but that was impossible, haha! There are stops you can make along the way such as cliffs to jump off of, and one had a rock climbing wall that you can try to get back up with. Single and double tubes. Also have Snuba & Dolphin Swim there. Tons to do. Hammock island was cool, but who has time to just sit there? Good spot for hungover people. You have to buy their Eco-sunscreen. Bought some in Playa but they said it wasn't the right kind. Oh well.

 

Zip Lines.

We didn't get to do this because the place wasn't opened yet, BUT there was a zip line park being built to open December 2009. It has peaks and perches all over and if you want to ride multiple zip lines, this seems to be the place to go. Definitely want to check that out when I go back.

 

This got lengthy, but I wanted to be sure to give enough detail for you to find what you want. If you have any questions, let me know!

[Tifuhhknee]

Oh and Extreme Coba also included a little canoeing and you are blessed by a Mayan Medicine Man before going into the cenote. Almost forgot. )

[ddk5576]

smckinney22 & Tifuhhknee- Thanks for the info! Do you know if any of the excursion companies allow use of the cenote areas for a TTD session?! Obviously I would expect a special fee above and beyond, but we were thinking of doing it in the mix of our group excursion to let our guests feel like a part of it, if they want. Anyway, if you know if they can do that or even if they will take us to a private location, whatever works. Thanks.

[punkie569]

Our TA suggested we take the ferry over to Cozumel and do a snorkeling/glass bottom boat ride. If you are close to Playa del Carmen apparently it's a quick ferry ride across to Cozumel and there is lots to do on the island itself. Noone in our group is all that keen on going to the ruins so we are trying to find alternatives to them. I might have to look into the zip lines that have been mentioned cuz I'm sure we'll have guests that will be interested in doing that.

[Tifuhhknee]

I've seen a lot of TTD pictures in cenotes and I know there are some that are more of a local thing than touristy, I'm sure they would let you. If your photographer works in that area often, they would definitely know.

[sarah310]

We get free entrance passes to Xcaret with our resort stay so that'll probably be our main group excursion once most guests arrive. thanks for all the other suggestions! i'm probably going to try a few earlier in the week before guests arrive.

[affiwin]

Glad I found this thread. I need to work on a group excursion because we are going to have a large group. Thanks for sharing.