Amazing Secret River Excursion in Cozumel

I'm looking for more info on the Amazing Secret River Excursion in Cozumel.

It will be just me and my daughter (10). This tour really sounds interesting.

I have two concerns:

(1) It states the level as difficult. How difficult? I'm not in the best physical shape; but it says for kids 6 and older, so I can't imagine not being able to do it... My dd is only 10, but athletic and probably in better shape than me... I'm just wondering how physically demanding it is....

(2) What size wet suits do they go up to? I wear a size 18 womens and one size fits all does not always fit me...

TIA!

I'm bumping this up as it already was on page 2; I was really hoping to hear from someone who did this excursion and could offer insight...

You might want to ask on the excursions board.

thanks. I'll try that, I didn't know there was an excursions board:)

...(2) What size wet suits do they go up to? I wear a size 18 womens and one size fits all does not always fit me...

I've not been on this excursion but I can answer your question regarding the wetsuit....well, based on my experience.

I was in Hawaii last year and was scuba diving. I forgot my wetsuit and had the same concerns you did (I wear a 16 from a wel known plus-size retailor). The scuba company just gave me a "mens" wetsuit and all was well! :)

Definitely contact the company to be sure but I'm sure they'll give you a men's suit.

Have a fabulous time!!!

This is from my NOV 2010 review: This was one of the BEST EXCURSIONS I have done in a long time. Can't wait to do it again!

Hope this helps.

AMAZING SECRET RIVER and CAVERN EXPLORE: read that the locals refer to this as the “BARF-BOAT” for tourists that race to sit on the outside 2nd level LOL. I sat inside on the plush air cI did some upfront research about this one and it seemed intriguing to me. Summary, WOW! A+++++++ May just be one of the BEST excursions I have ever done! I wanted to do something adventurous and different and this excursion did not disappoint AT ALL! We had only 9 people in our entire group which was nice and intimate. This RIO SECRETO was recently discovered a few years back by a local that was chasing an iguana in the jungle behind his home and it ran into this underground cave system. It is still being surveyed and had only been opened to the public for about 2 years. It surpassed all of my expectations I had even with some pre-research. Definitely worth the money and do not be discouraged by the long 7 hour duration. It is split up into parts (Ferry ride to the mainland- Playa Del Carmen) Short van ride to the cave system, 1 ½ cavern exploration, short meal break, 1 hr shopping time and van/ ferry tri back.

FERRY RIDE: First off, what a clean comfortable set up. I sat inside as I heard the locals call it the BARF BOAT because all teh tourists all run to the top outside. LOL Air conditioned comfortable seats. A little wavy, but not too bad. They offer water, drinks, and some snacks for sale on the ferry. Polite crew

VAN RIDE to the CAVES. Well once we turned off the paved roads and onto the dirt road you know the adventure was about to begin. It is about a 5 mile trip down a very bumpy raw unpaved road. My suggestion is to just enjoy as much as you can the best is yet to come. OH and most important….. USE THE BATHROOM on the ferry before getting into the van because the bumpy ride may not be for those with week bladders LOL.

CAVERNS/ STAFF and FOOD: We were all greeted by our guide AIDA and each provided with lockers and locks to keep our personals. AIDA was very informative and a great guide keeping everyone together and not missing out on anything from the first person in line to the last the entire time. This is a PHYSICAL TOUR so you do need to be able to bend, crouch, walk, swim/wade, and should have no problems with darkness, water and they say claustrophobia.

There are really no tight spaces so do not be too discouraged about this. Water is fresh-water, crystal clear and about 70 degrees. They offer a walking stick. I say take it and even suggested to the guide once in the caves that they just pass them out to everyone instead of offering. You are not allowed to take any cameras or anything into the system. You get a knee length wet suit, swimming vest, water shoes and hard hat with a small light. DEFINITELY check and make sure your light works and is not dying before you start the hike. The sights are amazing inside the cavern and the photographer that tags along takes great photos. They are offered to purchase at the end. I took the entire CD of approx 30 personal photos and an additional 50 added cave photos for $59. WORTH every penny! Rating 10 A+++

The kids will LOVE this excursion

Just curious - did you book through CCL?

Yes I booked the excursion directly with Carnival, It was well worth the money. They callled it the AMAZING RIVER & CAVE EXPLORE. There is actuallly a facebook page set up for the excursion company itself with a lot of photos. Its called the RIO SECRETO.

Here are some more photos. As you can see the wetsuit is short legged and they had SMALL to LARGER sizes available that are provided. ALSO WHEN the offer the WALKING STICK TAKE IT! It makes going through the terrain easier... trust me.

Btw, It listed as difficult, but it is not too bad. They do make certain that everyone is able to bend down crouching and take a step ot two. There was an elderly woman with us and she was helping me along LOL

There is a section that you will (EVERYONE) needs to swim across (see photos) about 25-50yds maybe? but you're primarily floating with the life jacket and doggy paddling. The water is FRESH WATER in the cave and it really is not that cold. A little cool when you first get in, but soothing after a few seconds. If you can walk around a ship and go up and down stairs then you should have no problem handling what is asked of you.

Like I mentioned I think KIDS would LOVE this tour. It's the whole exploring thing and excitement of walking and in the water thats adds to it. Highly recommend it!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My link is in the upper right corner of all my posts under my location

Thank you for this information! My husband and I are debating between the Amazing Secret River and the Caverns by Jeep and Beach break...the Rio Secreto seems like a great choice. Thanks for your thoughts!

I did this in March and absolutly loved it. Wiskt is very accurate in his assessment. The only difference is that I did it through Royal Caribbean. Still, it is the same thing, same company, etc. I rarely do ship excursions but decided to do this one because it sounded pretty unique. I was also solo and my partner would never do this so I took the opportunity to go alone.

The caves are beautiful, The entire experience is majestic in a way. I was in a small group of 5 from the ship and everyone loved it. I also really appreciated the conservation at work by the group that ran it. They really look out for the environment. Being an avid photographer, I was a little peeved at not being able to take my own camera. However, Once down there, etc i understood why. It would be difficult to wrestle with a camera, etc while transversing the caves.

As for the physical aspect. It isn't too bad or strenuous. It is just that the path is very "natural". You will be climbing over small rocks, going through water, crouching around the ceiling, etc. All of this is done on uneven surfaces. It isn't like they paved a path through these caves. You do come to a point where you swim through an underground lake. You cannot touch the bottom, but the experience is incredible.

You will also get a few hours free time in Playa del Carman which I really enjoyed. The beach there is beautiful (much nicer then in Cozumel in my opinion). There are also many stores, etc to shop in and the usual bar stuff. It makes for a good afternoon. If I had known we would have so much free time there, I would have brought stuff for the beach.

In the end, if you are remotely interested in this excursion then just DO IT. After 17 cruises all over the place this ranks as one of my favorites.

Here are some of my pictures:

One of the stops :

Our group in the cave :

Stock photo of the underground lake part:

The beach at Playa Del Carman:

About to enter the cave:

Early into the cave:

On an "island" at the lake part:

During the swim segment:

Thanks! Looks like fun! :)

This is from my NOV 2010 review: This was one of the BEST EXCURSIONS I have done in a long time. Can't wait to do it again!

 

Hope this helps.

 

AMAZING SECRET RIVER and CAVERN EXPLORE: read that the locals refer to this as the “BARF-BOAT” for tourists that race to sit on the outside 2nd level LOL. I sat inside on the plush air cI did some upfront research about this one and it seemed intriguing to me. Summary, WOW! A+++++++ May just be one of the BEST excursions I have ever done! I wanted to do something adventurous and different and this excursion did not disappoint AT ALL! We had only 9 people in our entire group which was nice and intimate. This RIO SECRETO was recently discovered a few years back by a local that was chasing an iguana in the jungle behind his home and it ran into this underground cave system. It is still being surveyed and had only been opened to the public for about 2 years. It surpassed all of my expectations I had even with some pre-research. Definitely worth the money and do not be discouraged by the long 7 hour duration. It is split up into parts (Ferry ride to the mainland- Playa Del Carmen) Short van ride to the cave system, 1 ½ cavern exploration, short meal break, 1 hr shopping time and van/ ferry tri back.

 

FERRY RIDE: First off, what a clean comfortable set up. I sat inside as I heard the locals call it the BARF BOAT because all teh tourists all run to the top outside. LOL Air conditioned comfortable seats. A little wavy, but not too bad. They offer water, drinks, and some snacks for sale on the ferry. Polite crew

 

VAN RIDE to the CAVES. Well once we turned off the paved roads and onto the dirt road you know the adventure was about to begin. It is about a 5 mile trip down a very bumpy raw unpaved road. My suggestion is to just enjoy as much as you can the best is yet to come. OH and most important….. USE THE BATHROOM on the ferry before getting into the van because the bumpy ride may not be for those with week bladders LOL.

 

CAVERNS/ STAFF and FOOD: We were all greeted by our guide AIDA and each provided with lockers and locks to keep our personals. AIDA was very informative and a great guide keeping everyone together and not missing out on anything from the first person in line to the last the entire time. This is a PHYSICAL TOUR so you do need to be able to bend, crouch, walk, swim/wade, and should have no problems with darkness, water and they say claustrophobia.

 

There are really no tight spaces so do not be too discouraged about this. Water is fresh-water, crystal clear and about 70 degrees. They offer a walking stick. I say take it and even suggested to the guide once in the caves that they just pass them out to everyone instead of offering. You are not allowed to take any cameras or anything into the system. You get a knee length wet suit, swimming vest, water shoes and hard hat with a small light. DEFINITELY check and make sure your light works and is not dying before you start the hike. The sights are amazing inside the cavern and the photographer that tags along takes great photos. They are offered to purchase at the end. I took the entire CD of approx 30 personal photos and an additional 50 added cave photos for $59. WORTH every penny! Rating 10 A+++

 

The kids will LOVE this excursion

This is a FANTASTIC review! Not just because it's so positive and exciting but because it's thorough...I feel like I'm there already! Thanks for taking the time to give such an in-depth review. I booked this excursion off Carnival Magic April 27, 2014. I know exactly what to expect now! :)

I was considering this excursion for my family as well It will be me dh dd 17 ds16 dd 14 and dd 8 . I wasnt really sure if the teens would be into it and I thought I read somewhere that tere were bats in the cave. Has anyone ever seen bats in there? That would probably be a deal breaker for me.:eek:

I was considering this excursion for my family as well It will be me dh dd 17 ds16 dd 14 and dd 8 . I wasnt really sure if the teens would be into it and I thought I read somewhere that tere were bats in the cave. Has anyone ever seen bats in there? That would probably be a deal breaker for me.:eek:

Ive been on this excursion more than once and have not seen any bats. Although it IS A CAVERN so I am sure they are there. BATS are nocturnal and believe me they are not interested in bothering you unless you bother them.

This is a FANTASTIC review! Not just because it's so positive and exciting but because it's thorough...I feel like I'm there already! Thanks for taking the time to give such an in-depth review. I booked this excursion off Carnival Magic April 27, 2014. I know exactly what to expect now! :)

Thank You. I did this excursion when it FIRST began (when they were still deciding if it was worth it and building the buildings) I reviewed it in both reviews. THEN & NOW as a comparison. It is still on my top 5 excursions I've taken. You will enjoy it. :) check back here and give us feedback on your experience.

Ive been on this excursion more than once and have not seen any bats. Although it IS A CAVERN so I am sure they are there. BATS are nocturnal and believe me they are not interested in bothering you unless you bother them.

I know! Its a phobia of all things that fly. (Yes,even birds and ladybugs- go figure) lol

Thanks for the reply. I guess its food for thought.

My mom and I are looking into this excursion for our cruise next week. Are there locals who offer this excursion as well or only through the cruise ship

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My mom and I are looking into this excursion for our cruise next week. Are there locals who offer this excursion as well or only through the cruise ship

I have only booked this via the cruise line. It is a distance from where the ships dock (PAST the EXPLORE adventure center) & personally I would rather just book through them.

You may be able to do a web search and see if the Amazing Secret River itself offers it separate. I know I've seen others taking the tour separately without the larger group. More likely vacationers staying on the mainland that book through their concierge depts.

Thinking of booking this for our October cruise, do they provide shoes? Or do you need to bring a pair of shoes that will both stay on and can get wet?

Thanks!

Thinking of booking this for our October cruise, do they provide shoes? Or do you need to bring a pair of shoes that will both stay on and can get wet?

 

Thanks!

They provide water shoes, helmet with light(so you don't bump your head) wet suit, life vest & a walking stick for you. As I mention in the review, be sure to test your light before leaving. Make certain it is not dying so you can get an updated charged one.

Just want to say that my hubby, who doesnt know how to swim, loved this excursion as much as I did. They floated him across the deep areas quite easily. We did end up with a few scratches on our knees. Afterwards we lounged on the hammocks. It was beautiful. It is a long cab ride along with the ferry, but after you get there, you wont remember it! It was truly awesome! My hubby wants to do it again lol

Just want to say that my hubby, who doesnt know how to swim, loved this excursion as much as I did. They floated him across the deep areas quite easily. We did end up with a few scratches on our knees. Afterwards we lounged on the hammocks. It was beautiful. It is a long cab ride along with the ferry, but after you get there, you wont remember it! It was truly awesome! My hubby wants to do it again lol

I did this excursion twice a couple years apart to see how much it changed. The first time it was JUST opened up to see if it would be a good excursion. The buildings were not even up yet. Only a few miles of the cavern was documented and ready. It was and still is a great experience for all ages.

I would go a 3rd time no questions.