XelHa All Inclusive

1061 reviews for XelHa All Inclusive

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   babs5246 – June 17, 2022

   This was our second trip to XelHa. My husband and I went 10 years ago when we were on our honeymoon. I had amazing memories from our first trip and remember feeling like I had landed in paradise. Unfortunately, this probably impacted on how I felt about my visit today. The place is obviously still beautiful. However, there were definitely less fish and the water was murkier. I guess this is the price that is paid when a place becomes busier. That said there is still a lot to see and we were far from disappointed.

   Our favourite thing to do was the lazy river and the zip lines. These were great fun and allowed you to take in the amazing scenery. The cycle ride up to the start of the river is also well worth doing and good fun.

   We decided not to do the extra activities, mainly because we wanted to take our time exploring and getting in as much snorkelling as possible. I also feel uncomfortable about dolphin encounters but this is just my personal feelings. The day goes really quickly so if you do decide to do extras choose wisely to avoid feeling rushed.

   In terms of food there were often long queues. I would suggest eating breakfast a little later (this is served between 9:30 and 11:30) and then getting lunch between3-4pm to avoid the crowds. There were a lot of options for food and is was pretty good quality.

   We paid for the photo package as we didn’t want to carry our phones. This was around £75 for a family of four. A bit pricey but it was the only extra thing we purchased. Lots of people take the water proof cases and used their phones.

   All in all it was a good day out.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Cady Chow – June 17, 2022

   Xel-ha was a cool place, don’t get me wrong. But the “all-inclusive” is really not all-inclusive… to do most of the activities you need to pay extra. Otherwise, plan to spend all day snorkeling in murky waters with barely any fish or riding the same slide over and over again. The lazy river activity was cool. We enjoyed the jumping points and rope course. But its not worth doing more than once or twice. Plus there are no cenotes to explore, which was advertised poorly (again, unless you pay to snuba in the cenote). Food is mediocre. Drinks are great as per usual. Be ware that you will travel to a transport spot from your hotel so over all trek to get there is upwards of 2 hours. We had a good day despite the torrential down pours and did have fun. But wouldn’t recommend or do it again at this price.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Linda M – June 17, 2022

   Had a great day with another couple swimming. Most of the extra’s inside do cost more so be prepared for that. There is still lots to do with just the general admission. The food is good and staff are helpful.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Rachel S – June 17, 2022

   We booked our visit to Xel-ha through our tui agent at the hotel. It was an early start of 7.30am and took around an hour and a half to get there by coach from Azul Beach.

   The agents, website and fliers had really built up high expectations of a natural environment where the creatures had all chosen to live. As a big animal lover this was very important to me.
   As soon as we arrived, we walked in to see dolphins in captivity. They had been separated and had small enclosures each. I was heavily disappointed within 5 minutes. I tried to not let it spoil the day…

   The place itself is stunning. Like something from a brochure or film. Colours are incredible and so much space to explore.
   Towels, snorkels, flippers and life jackets all included but hadn’t seen the advice about water shoes so we did purchase some (thankfully because we could NOT have been without them, just a shame about the marked up price). We also bought an underwater case for my phone which I was also grateful for.

   The lazy river through the mangroves was breath taking. I found myself glad it went so slowly so I could take it all in, and take a few photos too. The activities were further down so we ditched the inflatables and did the ziplines then swam the rest back to the main island.
   Whoever said you dont need to be a strong swimmer must have been finished in a few hours. We were EXHAUSTED after all the swimming we did. I cant imagine the day being much fun if you didnt swim.

   We got to see some lovely wildlife (racoons and lots of iguanas of varying sizes) but the parrots weren’t as ‘free’ as I’d hoped after seeing staff taking them out on to the river in boxes and releasing them over the crowds. Unfortunately I witness a staff member holding the parrots foot while it was trying to fly away and was a little heartbroken. But the parrots still seemed to come back so…

   As others have mentioned, a lot is at extra cost. You can buy a photo package, the dolphin experience (not that I’d pay to put those poor creatures through any more than necessary) a treetop bike experience, speed boat etc. We didn’t do any of these but still had plenty to explore.

   The stingrays are obviously not ‘captured’, so when people were done having photos of them, they flapped on over to us where we saw them for free!

   We went on a hunt for the manatees also expecting them to be roaming free, but again, they were enclosed in a pretty tiny space. The justification from a staff member when asked, was that they are sedentary therefore dont need much space.

   Some lovely fish to see, given some exploring, but again if you’re a land lover, you can always sit on the glass bottom boat and see a good variety.

   The slide wasn’t too busy, we only waited for about 10 minutes and the steps weren’t too bad, even as a self confessed unfit person. The view is stunning but can’t take phone up so there’s no evidence. They give you a fast or slow option, but even the slow option is fast! It was fairly quick and fairly dizzy, forgetting that it’s natural sea salt water splashing up in your eyes so I was blind by the end. But good fun for the adrenaline junkies among us.

   We got picked up at 6pm so it’s a long day in the sun (with very little sun cream if you are a rule abider and care about the creatures and enviorment) but plenty to eat and drink there to keep you going. Unfortunately due to dropping everyone else off on the bus, the return journey took us nearly 2 hours.

   All in all, it’s the most beautiful of natural places, but its downfall I think is the conflict between how they sell it to you and what you actually witness in terms of how the animals are kept there.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Kimmie Duran – June 17, 2022

   Lizards…fish…natural life….sea life…beaches..what else..caves…from xcaret family is a must for your trip try a combo packagw for 2 parks impossible in 2 days…food service…outstanding….a little issues with the english but they talk the basica in french Portuguese and italian…friendly and professional staff…light clothes be ready for water park action….wet…wet…sun and tons of fun