BSQ
TUG Member
Thought I’d give this short review of a day trip we took during our recent trip to Cancun. This was my umpteenth trip to the Royal Caribbean, so we were looking for something a little different to do.
Prior to our trip I knew I wanted to spend a day in Playa del Carmen, and figured we’d just take the Royals shuttle over for a few bucks. I started researching what other folks have done there during a short visit, mostly cruise stops, and that’s how I found Edventures. Nope. That’s not a typo.
I couple weeks before our trip I contacted Bonnie & Eddie and set up our day that we’d spend with them. You build your own tour, and it’s priced accordingly. We did the Snorkel tour and it was an experience we’ll always remember. When I booked it, we sent a small amount via paypal to hold our reservation. In case anything came up, it was fully refundable.
We drove the couple hours from Cancun to Tulum to meet up with them at their shop at the Tulum Ruins entrance. We were outfitted with fins, mask and a new snorkel, life vests for later in the day as well. They sell anything else you could possibly need in case you’ve forgotten it. Eco friendly sunscreen, underwater cameras, etc. They provided an ice chest filled with ice, that we put our beverages in too.
We followed Eddie to the first place, where after paying our entrance fees he joined us in our car. We drove down a bumpy dirt road, through Mayan villages, listening to Eddie tell us about the area and the people living back off the road. Parked the car, grabbed our gear and a short walk down to the caves. Our first stop was Dos Ojos Cenote (bat cave).
This was an amazing experience. Crystal clear cool water, stalactites, stalagmites, bats, small fish and fresh water shrimp. The cave itself underwater is just breathtaking. While we were there, there were maybe 6 others snorkeling, and they didn’t stay nearly as long as we did. Often we had the place to ourselves, except for a few divers who were in other areas and much deeper waters than we were. There are both deep and shallow parts giving you some opportunity to stand a bit and rest before resuming your swim. I was glad the bats stayed up in their little crevices.
Next we went on to Akumal bay. At this point we could see major storm clouds towards Cancun, but our weather was absolutely perfect. A small boat took us out to the reef. We bailed out and then started swimming looking at all the coral and sea life. Lots of fish in this spot. Some kinda creepy, like the school of sardines … but I was glad they were between me and the barracuda. Eddie was really good about leading us over things, then popping up and telling us what we were looking at, or while we were underwater pointing to things excitedly so we wouldn’t miss them. Here he had us use the life vests because it was a bit of a swim from where we jumped off the boat back to shore. We didn’t really need them swimming wise, but it did enable me to bob a bit better and take lots of pictures. Once away from the reef, we came to 3 large sea turtles .. very cool indeed.
Our last stop was Ya-Kul Lagoon. It was fresh and salt water, again lots of colorful fish, and we had the place all to ourselves. We swam all around looking at everything. Here too there’s deep and shallow areas so you can stop for a moment at rest. The grounds/gardens are also very pretty. The ater is so clear it’s sometimes a bit hard to judge the depth of the water. BubbaQ and I grounded ourselves in a shallow area … getting just a bit scrapped up. Oops! We finally tired ourselves out and decided to get out of the water.
We had planned to go to a spider monkey sanctuary, but decided we were tired and hungry. We drove back to Eddies car at the bay and then parted ways there. We headed to Playa del Carmen to do a little shopping and have a late lunch at La Parilla (5th Ave near 8th). Excellent food by the way. A couple of tequila samples and purchases and we were on our way.
That was our day. 7 hours of swimming. In hind site we wished we spent more time at the caves. The cost was $50 and worth every single peso. This was our most memorable day to date.
Here’s their website: Edventure Tours
They’ve been around for over a dozen years. A small family outfit providing us with a wonderful day.
Prior to our trip I knew I wanted to spend a day in Playa del Carmen, and figured we’d just take the Royals shuttle over for a few bucks. I started researching what other folks have done there during a short visit, mostly cruise stops, and that’s how I found Edventures. Nope. That’s not a typo.
I couple weeks before our trip I contacted Bonnie & Eddie and set up our day that we’d spend with them. You build your own tour, and it’s priced accordingly. We did the Snorkel tour and it was an experience we’ll always remember. When I booked it, we sent a small amount via paypal to hold our reservation. In case anything came up, it was fully refundable.
We drove the couple hours from Cancun to Tulum to meet up with them at their shop at the Tulum Ruins entrance. We were outfitted with fins, mask and a new snorkel, life vests for later in the day as well. They sell anything else you could possibly need in case you’ve forgotten it. Eco friendly sunscreen, underwater cameras, etc. They provided an ice chest filled with ice, that we put our beverages in too.
We followed Eddie to the first place, where after paying our entrance fees he joined us in our car. We drove down a bumpy dirt road, through Mayan villages, listening to Eddie tell us about the area and the people living back off the road. Parked the car, grabbed our gear and a short walk down to the caves. Our first stop was Dos Ojos Cenote (bat cave).
This was an amazing experience. Crystal clear cool water, stalactites, stalagmites, bats, small fish and fresh water shrimp. The cave itself underwater is just breathtaking. While we were there, there were maybe 6 others snorkeling, and they didn’t stay nearly as long as we did. Often we had the place to ourselves, except for a few divers who were in other areas and much deeper waters than we were. There are both deep and shallow parts giving you some opportunity to stand a bit and rest before resuming your swim. I was glad the bats stayed up in their little crevices.
Next we went on to Akumal bay. At this point we could see major storm clouds towards Cancun, but our weather was absolutely perfect. A small boat took us out to the reef. We bailed out and then started swimming looking at all the coral and sea life. Lots of fish in this spot. Some kinda creepy, like the school of sardines … but I was glad they were between me and the barracuda. Eddie was really good about leading us over things, then popping up and telling us what we were looking at, or while we were underwater pointing to things excitedly so we wouldn’t miss them. Here he had us use the life vests because it was a bit of a swim from where we jumped off the boat back to shore. We didn’t really need them swimming wise, but it did enable me to bob a bit better and take lots of pictures. Once away from the reef, we came to 3 large sea turtles .. very cool indeed.
Our last stop was Ya-Kul Lagoon. It was fresh and salt water, again lots of colorful fish, and we had the place all to ourselves. We swam all around looking at everything. Here too there’s deep and shallow areas so you can stop for a moment at rest. The grounds/gardens are also very pretty. The ater is so clear it’s sometimes a bit hard to judge the depth of the water. BubbaQ and I grounded ourselves in a shallow area … getting just a bit scrapped up. Oops! We finally tired ourselves out and decided to get out of the water.
We had planned to go to a spider monkey sanctuary, but decided we were tired and hungry. We drove back to Eddies car at the bay and then parted ways there. We headed to Playa del Carmen to do a little shopping and have a late lunch at La Parilla (5th Ave near 8th). Excellent food by the way. A couple of tequila samples and purchases and we were on our way.
That was our day. 7 hours of swimming. In hind site we wished we spent more time at the caves. The cost was $50 and worth every single peso. This was our most memorable day to date.
Here’s their website: Edventure Tours
They’ve been around for over a dozen years. A small family outfit providing us with a wonderful day.
), but you mentioned a Royal shuttle to Playa del Carmen. We'll be at the Royal Sands next month and wanted to go to Playa to catch a ferry to Cozumel for the day and was wondering what the best way of getting there was. Do all the Royals run a shuttle to Playa?