A Guide to the Rio Secreto Caves

👉 Jump to: What is Rio Secreto? | Tours Review | How to Visit | Alternatives

The Rio Secreto Nature Reserve was easily one of the coolest things I did during the three months I spent in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Rio Secreto is a magical private complex of underground caves that’s been turned into an ecological park. Inside, you’ll find five cave complexes filled with thousands of stunning stalactites and a refreshing underground river.

In this guide, I’ll explain everything you need to know to visit yourself.

Affiliate Disclosure: Travel Lemming is an independent reader-supported blog. You can support us by purchasing via the affiliate links on this page, which may earn us commissions. See our Advertising Policy for further explanation. Thank you!

What is Rio Secreto?

Rio Secreto is an underground natural reserve located on Mexico’s Riviera Maya near Playa del Carmen. Rio Secreto consists of five caverns that form part of an enormous underground cave network. The name Rio Secreto in Spanish means “secret river.”

I have to admit that before actually visiting Rio Secreto, I was a bit confused about what it even is. It’s located on the highway right next to Xcaret and Xplor, which made me assume it was sort of an adventure theme park like those sites.

Well, I was wrong.

The Rio Secreto caves are filled with some truly dramatic mineral formations and play host to a surprisingly variety of wildlife. While, in disclosure, my ticket was provided complimentary by the park, I would happily have paid the cost of admission to enjoy this awesome and unique experience.

Visiting the park is a great family activity for those with kids looking for a day trip from Playa del Carmen, Tulum, or Cancun. But even if you don’t have kids with you, you might feel like one exploring this underground river.

My Experience Taking a Rio Secreto Tour

You can only go through the organized tours offered by reserve. The tours will take you hiking and swimming through about a one kilometer stretch of one of the caves (meaning your visit will represent only a tiny taste of this vast reserve).

All tours of Rio Secreto start at the park’s entrance just off the highway. You’ll watch a brief video while you wait for your group to arrive and sign a liability waiver. Then you and your new friends will pile into a van for the seven kilometer ride deep into the jungle where the caverns lie.

Once there, you’ll meet your tour guide and receive a brief orientation to the Rio Secreto park.

There are free lockers where you can change and leave your stuff (you need nothing but your swimsuit). You’ll be provided with special water shoes, a mandatory life jacket, and a helmet with a lamp.

Wet suits are available as well but are optional (I wore one, but in retrospect didn’t feel that it was necessary). You’ll also be required to shower off to prevent the introduction of foreign substances into the reserve’s delicate water.

After that, your guide will take you to witness a brief traditional Mayan ceremony before descending into the cave.

The actual tour of the cave itself only lasts about one hour, but it’s an hour that you won’t soon forget.

The tours are only done with small groups of 10 of so, and you don’t see other groups during your tour, which means that you really get to feel connected to the caves.

Your guide will tell you about the history of the cave, explain how the magical minerals formed, and will point out wildlife along the way (there are two types of fish in the river, as well as many insects, bats, and other animals).

About half of the time you’ll be walking through dry cave bedrock and the rest of the time you’ll either be wading or swimming through the underground river. The water is a cool and refreshing temperature, but you get used to it easily!

My favorite part of the tour, though?

At one point the guide made us all turn off our headlamps and sit in pitch black silence for a few minutes to just soak in the spooky sounds of the cave. It makes for quite the sensory experience!

After the tour completes, you’ll have a chance to shower and change up and then enjoy an included buffet before taking the van back to the entrance.

Pros of Río Secreto

• A unique experience that’s a great break from the beach
• Caves are truly stunning inside
• Tours are well-managed and efficient
• Family-friendly activity

Cons of Río Secreto

• Tickets are expensive considering the tour is short
• Río Secreto is a private park, so you can only visit as part of a tour

How to Visit Rio Secreto

If you’re planning your own trip to Rio Secreto, here’s a few things you should know before you go:

How to Get to to the Park

Río Secreto lies just a few miles south of Playa del Carmen (Google Maps). Here is a map:

The reserve offers transportation-inclusive packages that will pick you up and drop you off in your hotel anywhere in the Riviera Maya for about $119 per adult and $59.50 per child. That’s about $30 more than the cost of a basic ticket without transportation ($89 per person).

You can also easily organize your own transport to the reserve. Any taxi driver will know its location. A one-way taxi ride from Playa del Carmen should be about 190-200 pesos (~$10 USD). Expect that taxis from Tulum or Cancun will be considerably more expensive though, perhaps over $100 USD.

You can also take the collectivos (public minibuses) if coming from Cancun or Tulum, which will cost only a couple dollars per person at most. Just be sure to tell the driver your drop off spot clearly when you get on.

What To Bring

The only thing you need for your tour is your swimsuit and maybe a towel to dry up. Everything else will be provided to you. You don’t even need to bother with sunscreen or insect repellent, since there’s no sun and you’d have to wash those off anyway.

And you don’t need to bother with a camera either, since there isn’t enough light inside the caves to take photos (don’t worry: each group is accompanying by a photographer and you can purchase their pictures afterwards).

For more packing tips for your trip, see our guide to what to bring to Mexico.

👉 Love Hidden Gems? Check out my guide to my favorite town: Valladolid, Mexico.

Other Helpful Tips

Here’s a few other random assorted tips to make the most out of your visit:

• 🚻 Be sure to use the restroom before entering the caves, as there is nowhere to go inside and the guides are VERY serious about not polluting the underground with your bodily waste.
• 🩳 While you have the option of wearing a wetsuit, I did and in retrospect would advise to give it a pass. I found it a bit hot and musty and honestly the water wasn’t cold enough to require one.
• 📷 You can’t take a camera in with you, but there is a photographer that will take lots of awesome pictures of your group and then make them available for sale to you on a USB after the tour.

👉 Read Next: Practical Tips for Visiting Mexico

Alternative Parks to Consider

If Rio Secreto isn’t right for you, there are several other adventure parks in the Riviera Maya that you could consider as alternatives. While these parks are not as natural compared to Rio Secreto, they all offer more to do and so are better options if you are looking for a way to pass an entire day.

Xcaret

👉 See prices for Xcaret tickets here.

Xcaret is the largest and most popular park in the Riviera Maya. It is intended to be an immersive experience of Mexico. Inside, you’ll find a variety of attractions, a water park, and performances.

Xel-Há

👉 See prices for Xel-Há tickets here.

Want to spend a day of adventure in the water? Check out the Xel-Há park. They have rope games, a zip line into the water, a lighthouse you can climb, and a variety of places to relax while the kids swim.

***

That’s it for this guide. In my opinion, Rio Secreto is truly an awesome experience and a wonderful thing to do in Mexico. If you have any questions or comments, please scroll down and leave a comment!