Río Secreto Nature Reserve from Playa del Carmen

This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Playa del Carmen. Our tour guide Olek Sanders, was very informational and spoke god English. They split groups into English speaking and Spanish speaking making it easier for everyone taking the tours. The caves were awesome and so was the swimming. You wear life jackets so you don't have to be a strong swimmer. There was some hiking and the path in the cave is uneven so this is a physical activity but overall moderate for most people to be able to complete the tour. You are not allowed to take your own camera and the pictures are expensive but this truly is an experience of a lifetime and I highly recommend everyone try this activity.

I am living in Playa Del Carmen for a year. I booked a tour to the Rio Secreto Nature Reserve. My first disappointment was that they would not pick me up from my condo. Nevertheless I decided to go anyway because I could go to the closest hotel. However, I wasn't told that when the hotel is in Playacar I could not pass the entrance gate to the compound. I had to stand in the rain outside the gate and get the drivers attention. Okay after arriving at the reserve we took a shower, suited up in a wetsuit, shoes, helmet and walking cane. In order to get to the cave we needed to run through the forest as fast as we could to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Of course that was impossible. My legs back and arms got bitten the worse. The same thing happened going back. The luncheon food was very bland and not enough variety of food. Except for those unforeseen thing the tour was incredible.

FABULOUS tour. They provide you with everything you need - helmets with lights on them, wetsuits, water shoes, life jackets, and walking sticks. The underground caves are INCREDIBLE! You must hike a little bit to get to the caves, and also hike and walk in sometimes waist deep water and sometimes you have to swim a short distance. We are a couple in our mid sixties and it was easy to do. Certainly not over-challenging such that anyone should worry that they are not fit enough to do this tour. At the end of the tour they give you a shot of some kind of native alcoholic beverage and then a full Mexican buffet under a pavilion. AWESOME experience. I would highly recommend it. I agree with others that it is a shame what they charge for photos ridiculous amounts of money and they don't let you take any cameras or cellphones into the caves.

I highly recommend this tour. It was a totally different experience. At the site we were given a wet suit , reef shoes, life jacket, a helmet with a headlight and were told to shower off any sunscreen on our body before we entered a cave that led to Rio Secreto. Some people decided not wear a wet suit and regretted it later as the water is quite cool. Also I recommend taking one of the walking sticks they offer as the ground in the river is very uneven. I had difficulty seeing in the caves so if you have a waterproof flashlight bring it along. The guide lent me his and it made a huge difference as I could clearly see the rock formations and stalagmites throughout the cave. We floated down the river on our backs led by our very helpful guide. This was a wonderful experience.

We cannot express how memorable this tour was. As for natural wonders, it exceeds any other cave or underground experience because it is untouched by human hands. If we were in the same location 2000 years ago, the sights would be the very same. No man made lights, paths or modifications. What an opportunity not available anywhere else in the world. It was very safe and the guide was excellent. A must see!

Alfredo was fun and very informative. My family and I had an amazing time. Although we wished it was a longer tour

The Tour was Great, very impressive Cave and you can have the experience to explore inside the Cave and the underground river. The tour guide Gonzo very kind, friendly, and knowledgeable. But the negative part here in this tour, that is very bad, I was so disappointed and that is why I can not give 5 Star. The reason is that this tour have a Monopoly about the restriction of use smartphone camera, digital camera and Go Pro camera prohibiting to use those cameras because they want to control the photography. Only the Staff photographer assigned to each group is allowed to take pictures because at the end of the tour they want to sale the pictures for a very expensive price that it is not worth it. I try to get the pictures for a reasonable price, but they declined to negotiate with us, selling one picture for 25 US dollars and the cheaper package for 99.00 US dollars that I did not buy, so I couldn't have that amazing memory with that experience in the cave. So if you are looking to get pictures, get ready to be disappointed and frustrated about this tour and spend a lot of money regarding their monopoly of those pictures. My recommendation do not buy the pictures, take that experience in you memory and mind. Do not give that pleasure to that Company.