Playa del Carmen

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Quick Facts

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Coordinates

• Latitude: 20.631299
• Longitude: -87.073125

On Travellerspoint

• 2 Playa del Carmen Guesthouses
• 3 Playa del Carmen Hostels
• 11 Playa del Carmen Hotels

Contributors

• dr.pepper (45%)
  from Tea Blog
• idasss (20%)
  from Mexico Travel Plan
• KineAgathe (18%)

as well as Utrecht (11%), Lavafalls (4%), Peter (1%)

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Introduction

5th Avenue - Playa del Carmen

© All Rights Reserved CainTravel

Playa del Carmen used to be a little fishing town on the Caribbean coast in west Mexico (state of Quintana Roo, but has grown tremendously the last 10 years. It is now a popular holiday spot. The beaches are beautiful; you will find shopping centers, great bars and clubs, and amazing diving/snorkeling possibilities.

Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) runs parallel to the beach and is closed off for traffic. You’ll find pretty much anything you would ever need here. This is the nicer part of town, it's clean, new and built for tourists.

If you head away from Quinta Avenida you’ll see it getting more local for every block you go west. There are many hotels and good restaurants on the smaller side streets, usually at a better value than right in the centre, but here you'll also get the non stop traffic, which can be a bit noisy.

Neighbourhoods

Going south of town (a 10 min walk) you’ll enter the “Zona Hotellera” with big resort hotels located one after the other in a nice neighbourhood, guarded 24 hours a day. The beach is not accessible along this area, as it is for hotel guests only.

Sights and Activities

Xcaret

• Xcaret (pronounced e-shcaret) is an ecological theme park located to the south of Playa del Carman. It is one of the area's most popular tourist attractions. The regular price for adults is $69.00 (USD) and $34.50 for children (based on height - between 40'' and 55'' tall). If you book online or go at night, it's cheaper.

Scuba diving

Playa del Carmen was traditionally a stop-over point for scuba divers on their way to Cozumel, but in recent years many of those same scuba divers have discovered that the waters around Playa del Carmen are great for diving. If you're learning how to dive, shop around a bit and see if you can meet your instructor before signing up for your course.

Dive shops:

• Dive Shop Mexico - A really nice, small dive shop that only takes out small groups (less than 5-6 people) other dive shops take out larger groups. The instructors are really good and nice. You can go diving, fishing, snorkeling with them and be in good hands. Address: Calle 20, between 1 and 5 Ave.

Beaches

The best beach is Mamitas. It costs 30 pesos for a sun bed under a parasol.

Shop

MEGA is a supermarket / "big box store". You find it where Avenida 30 and Avenida Constituyentes meet.
You can easily find everything you need along Quinta Avenida including clothes, souvenir shops, tattooists, gyms, jewellery shops, internet cafes and tour agents. There are also many 24 hour shops/petrol stations a bit closer to the main road.

Events and Festivals

Weather

In the winter months (November - April) the temperature on the Yucatan Peninsula is comfortably warm (23 to 26^oC/73 to 78^oF) and the humidity is low. The summer months (May - August) are hot and humid. Showers can be fierce but are usually short. September and October are the most unstable due to the hurricanes that form off the Caribbean coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

Getting There

By Plane

The nearest airport is in Cancun.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

There are two bus stations in Playa del Carmen.

• For services to/from Tulum, Cancun and the airport, the bus station is on 5 Ave between Calle 1 and Ave. Juarez.
• For services to/from Mérida and Chichen Itza, the station is on Ave. 20 between Calle 12 Norte and Calle 14.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

Most of the street are one way streets, and there's quite a lot of traffic, so navigation is not always easy.

By Public Transport

Local busses go to the ourskirts of Playa del Carmen, but taxis are so cheap that it's probably a better (easier) option. Remember that taxis can't charge you over 40 pesos if it is in the Playa del Carmen area.

By Foot

You can get pretty much anywhere you want within Playa by foot.

By Bike

If you have hired a bicycle it's a great way to get around town, but watch out for traffic as it's not always very predictable.

Eat

• La Parilla: Really good Mexican food, and there are live Mariachi bands playing songs every night. Address: 5 ave. on the corner of calle 12.
• 100 % natural: Really good fruit juices and good lunch. Address: 5 Ave. close to Calle 10.
• La Fe: This is a bar, but during the day they also serve good breakfast and lunch. The "tingas de pollo" are recommended. Address: 5. Ave. between Calle 26 and Calle 28.
• La Vagabonda: Really good breakfast! They have omelets, fruit, eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes… Anything you would want. The fruit juices are great too! Address: 5 Ave. around Calle 24.
• Alux: This is a bar and a restaurant. The food is not the best, but it's ok. You can go to the bar at night instead of going there to eat. They are supposed to have good cocktails. What's special about this place is that it is inside a beautiful Cenote. Address: Avenida Juarez, between Manzana 12 and 13. Just say Al OOSH (alux) to the taxi driver.
• Dr. Taco: Dr. Taco is a little taco place with real Mexican tacos. They are known for fish tacos. The tacos are good, but there is another place on the other side of the street around Calle 12 where the tacos are even better and cheaper. Address: Ave. 10, Calle 10.

Drink

Bars

• Mambo cafe: This is a salsa bar. Address: Calle 6, between ave. 5 and ave. 10.
• Kitxen: Kitxen is a great bar with live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Address: 5 Avenue between Calle 20 and Ave. Consti.
• Other bars on 5th Avenue: Santanera, Blue Parrot, OM, Bali and Coco Maya.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

In order to work in Mexico you will need a work permit. Depending on how long the work will go on for and where you’re from you’ll need different kinds of permits. These are gained from the Mexican Government and are issued to people who are sponsored by companies in Mexico (or foreign companies with Mexican operations/subsidiaries), or by people with specific skills required in Mexico. The rules are quite strict, and there’s a lot of paperwork involved in getting a proper work permit. It’s hard to do by yourself, going through a company that already has the procedure set up is much easier.

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Laundromat

Just a couple of stores down from Dive Shop Mexico (see above) you find a really good and trustworthy laundry place called PlayaLav. The couple who own it speaks English and you can wash 1 kg for 12 pesos.