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BRIC Vacation Rentals Staff Takes Over Xenses and Xplor Park!

Fun
Bric Vacation Rentals 12-01-2016

Recently, members of our BRIC Vacation Rentals ambassador team had the opportunity to visit Xcaret Experiences newest adventure park, Xenses. Headed by Damien, our chief of staff in the Operations department, the crew set out on an adventure that would leave us laughing, crying, shaking and wondering.

Xenses is open from Monday to Saturday with two options for tours: the morning arrival (between 8:30 and 10:00am) or the afternoon arrival (between 1:00 and 2:00pm.)

Ivonne, our high-spirited ambassador at Paseo del Sol and self-appointed guide, directed us through the many fascinating areas of the fairy tale-like park. Our journey began in what looked like a movie set – a village where nothing was as it seemed. As we walked on the descending road, it felt as though we were walking on an incline. Things like the river that flowed up and led to a waterfall, where the direction of the water went up rather than fell down, were just some of the cool sights that toyed with our minds.

Our group walked into rooms that made us feel like we were characters from the movie ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Everything was backwards or upside down like tables on the ceiling and light fixtures on the floor. The village experience was dizzying and gave us the feeling of having drunk too many cervezas!

Xenses
 

Entering into the next section of the park, we soon found ourselves slithering down a thrilling slide, through pitch-black tunnels. Happy that we survived without crashing into one another on the way down, we ended up splashing into a salt-water river. This part was so relaxing as we put our feet up and floated along, the salt not allowing us to sink.

Next, we found ourselves in the not so pleasant, but certainly unique, mud tunnel. Trudging through the thick goop left Damien a rather unhappy camper. He was still washing the mud out of his nether regions days later.

It is recommended to bring a change of clothes, your own towel and water shoes. You can enjoy the park in sandals or sneakers and there are places to leave your shoes at each station if you do not want to get them dirty. There are showers and lockers where you can clean up and store your belongings.

Exploring the first half of Xenses had worked up our appetites. We took a break for lunch and Gerry finally had a chance to feed the growling bear that lives inside his stomach.

There is no all-inclusive option in the park admission. There is a cafeteria/snack shop where items like sandwiches, beverages and snack items like nuts and potato chips can be purchased. It’s best to fuel up with a good meal before you come.

After having a bite to eat, we continued on to discover more mind-blowing sections of the park. Harnessed in horizontally, we flew like birds over the jungle. We came upon a tropical paradise setting called Eden where we were amazed by the beautiful waterfall, pink flamingos and brightly colored macaws.

Xense Park

On the last leg of our adventure in Xenses, we had to use all but our sense of sight on a trek through a long, dark cavern. We felt our way through the darkness, our ears hearing the sounds of all of the different ecosystems. Our toes touched the sands of the desert, our fingers brushed over prickly cacti, our feet waded through the ice cold waters of the tundra, we listened to the sounds of insects and birds of the jungle, and smelt the pine trees as we made our way through the forest.

This section of the park forced us to rely on our senses to guide us. It was not easy and we were relieved to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Angel had to go back to look for Gerry who had thrown in the towel and was found whimpering near the end of the wild adventure. Claudia needed a minute to thaw from the trek through the freezing river. But in the end, we all were very impressed by the many details of the park that challenged us in a fun and exciting way.

We loved that we had the chance to be kids again while we indulged in sensory play. Flying like birds, laughing at each other as we navigated through the maze of mirrors, and feeling like giants in the rooms with miniature doors and windows awoke our curious, child-like natures and it was a blast!

Since the tours at Xenses last 4 to 5 hours, we still had time to hit the famous Xplor Park with its series of exhilarating zip lines on the neighboring property.

Both expansive nature parks are located just 5 minutes south of Playa del Carmen and are ideal for adventurous kids aged 5 and up (7and up for Xplor at night.)

Xplor is an outdoor adventure that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping. We paired up in amphibious vehicles and set off on the 3-mile off-road buggy ride through the jungle and inside caverns. Although the vehicles didn’t allow you to reach death-defying speeds, Miguel managed to make it a hair-raising experience, taking off-road to a whole new level!

XPLOR

Since it gets dark around 6pm now, we got the cool opportunity to experience Xplor Fuego, where only lit torches are there to direct you along the paths. Erika found it too excruciating to make the jumps off the zip line platforms herself, so Claudia came in to save the day and became who jumping partner. Although some of us were afraid of heights, (I won’t mention any names, but we all know which towel tosser I’m referring to) every person braved the 14 highest zip lines in the Riviera Maya.

Xplor is open Monday to Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm. The Xplor Fuego tour is from 5:30 to 10:30pm. Save 10% by booking online 7 days prior.

Half of the group had been to Xplor before and opted not to paddle a raft through the underground river. The other half was awed by the picturesque-perfect rock formations and striking blue waters. To see the incredible stalagmites and stalactites within these impressive caves was amazing.

Our day of fun and adventure ended at the buffet where we enjoyed a buffet with barbecued ribs, salads, cheeses and other sides along with cold pops and coffee.

The buffet, snacks and smoothie bar are included in the admission to Xplor. Only non-alcoholic beverages are served within the park for safety purposes.

Overall, we were thrilled to have been able to visit these two fantastic parks together. It was a perfect team building experience, as there were plenty of situations that required us to lean on each other for physical or moral support.

After talking about our day, it was unanimous – we all highly recommend these parks for the chance to see this region’s awesome natural beauty and to have some good laughs with friends and family!