Rio Secreto is one of the most unique and breathtaking adventures you can experience in the Riviera Maya. The underground river, crystal-clear water (~20°C), and ancient cave formations are truly awe-inspiring. I didn’t wear a wetsuit and was totally fine—just immersed in the beauty and peace of nature. They provide a solid helmet, headlamp, and water shoes, so you don’t need to worry about gear.
Our guide, Victor, was fantastic. He spoke English, Spanish, and French, and handled our multicultural group with great energy and professionalism. He made the tour fun, informative, and very safe.
That said, the big downside is their photo policy. You’re not allowed to bring a camera or phone, which is understandable—but then they assign a “professional” photographer who only takes still photos (no video) and most of them came out blurry or overexposed. Be warned: if your headlamp is on, it ruins the photo exposure. Turn it off during photo ops if you want a chance at a decent shot.
I was solo on the tour and figured I’d rely on the pro photographer to capture some memories. But here’s the kicker: they wanted $30 USD for ONE photo or $120 USD for the full package of 25 photos. And only two were worth keeping—one at the entrance, and one group shot in the cave. Not a single good photo of me inside the cave. When I asked if everyone pays that much, especially families of 3 or 4 who were with me, they told me no—larger groups are charged more. So, keep that in mind: you’re still paying a high price as a solo traveler, and it’s not per person—it’s per photo package, regardless of quality or quantity of good shots.
This whole setup feels like a cash grab. With better photo quality, more thoughtful pricing tiers, or even a GoPro video option, they could offer so much more value. As it stands, it felt like an overpriced afterthought tacked onto an otherwise magical experience.
Final Take:
✅ Go for the experience—it’s truly one of a kind.
❌ But don’t expect to bring back quality memories unless you’re ready to overpay for blurry photos.
???? If capturing memories is important to you, consider visiting a cenote instead, where you can take your own photos and enjoy the water freely.
Overall a great experience! Victor our guide was great! He led us through the underground river secreto and was very informative regarding the rock formations and the ecosystem in general in Río Secreto. Would say that the transportation communication for pick up was lacking. You have to call or email them to arrange the pick up even if you select the pick up option on viator. Even then, if you have a Monday tour, I never got communication on Sunday even after attempting to call and text different numbers they provided. I had to reach to viator customer service for them to then reach out to the provider, who then gave me our pick up time. Such a hassle to just want to understand the pick up time. I would recommend calling or emailing them two days in advance given our experience with that. The good thing is that the excursion itself was worth it and would go again.
First, the tour was wonderful. Our guides were great. 10/10 experience for the reef snorkeling and caves. I highly recommend. I rated this a three however due to the poor coordination by the tour company. I was emailed at 10:45pm the night before our tour that we would be picked up several blocks from our hotel, which was fine, but I was very lucky I saw it in time to catch our transport. It resulted in a rushed morning where we did not eat breakfast. We expected Rio Secreto to be the first stop, but they switched it and we went snorkeling first. The reefs were amazing, we saw tons of fish and sea turtles. We finished up there around noon. When we got to the caves we expected to have lunch, but we're informed instead we would go directly on the tour. The caves were amazing and the highlight of our trip so far. Our guide was wonderful. I appreciated the natural caves and formations. There are no lights or infrastructure beyond your headlamps. The water is crystal clear. It was mostly knee deep, but there was one area where we swam. I have been in many tourist trap caves and this was not like that at all. With our small group in the quiet caves it really felt like a genuine experience in a beautiful natural setting. The water was cool but not cold. By the time we finished it was 4pm. At this point none of us had eaten all day. We were put in front of kiosks to buy pictures before they would let us proceed to the cafeteria to eat. When we were finally allowed to eat, the food was cold, picked over, and had flies in it. This simply could have been a wonderful experience. It really should have been. The late notice on the change in pick up location, change in schedule that disrupted lunch, and two starving kids really put a damper on the whole experience though. If you take this tour I would suggest packing a couple of granola bars.