Overview

Xel-Ha offers a great experience for swimming with dolphins in their natural environment. As soon as I told the staff that I was registered blind, they put an enormous amount of effort into ensuring that I had a great experience and that I was allowed to touch the dolphins as often as I wanted, they even put us in our own group of two! This venue is situated within a natural water park and is therefore perfect for adventure lovers, however I didn't see any adventure facilities for wheelchair users and there were lots of steps.

Transport & Parking

We were picked up at the front door of our hotel from a booked minibus for a very reasonable price. However, it's also possible to get there via public colectivo. The busses were easy to spot and the drivers were very helpful.

Access

As a blind person I found all steps in Mexico really hard to see. I also found signage to be very small and roads to be uneven. But I was perfectly able to navigate, just at a slower pace. There was no hoist into the water from what I could see, but I didn't need one.

Toilets

The accessible toilets were at the start of the park. They were clean and well kept, as well as spacious. Other, non-accessible toilets were situated frequently and well sign posted throughout the park and I was able to use these frequently.

Staff

This is really where the park excelled themselves! All staff were extremely helpful and nothing was ever too much for them. Whilst disability awareness is sparse, customer service is at the heart of everything they do. If you are clear in expressing your requirements and ask them specifically for what you need, they will go above and beyond to provide it. As already said, the staff put in an enormous amount of effort to ensure that I had a fully immersive sensory experience with the dolphins, which was above and beyond what they had to do.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

My visit to this venue really made my holiday memorable and I'd really recommend it to anyone. Disability awareness is, as I've already said, sparse in Mexico - I'm only blind so I was able to navigate well. I'd recommend phoning up the venue in advance if you have any further access requirements and be very clear in what you need - if they can support you, they will.

Photos