Playa del Carmen

Introduction

5th Avenue - Playa del Carmen

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Playa del Carmen used to be a little fishing town on the Caribbean coast in western 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-minute 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 US$69.00 and US$34.50 for children (based on height - between 1 metre and 1.40 metres 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

Day of the Dead

Although the Day of the Dead is also celebrated in many Latin American countries except Mexico (and also in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa), the Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is most intensily celebrated in Mexciowhere where it is equal to a National Holiday. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. Although it is about the Dead, it is also a celebration where eating and partying both are common as well.

Weather

In the winter months (November - April) the temperature on the Yucatan Peninsula is comfortably warm (23 to 26 °C) 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

Cancun International Airport (CUN) is Mexico's second busiest airport and is located a few hours north of Playa del Carmen. It has numerous flights from other cities in Mexico, and cities in mostly North America and Europe.

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 del Carmen 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 are 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

Internet cafe's are widely available and you generally can find one in the direct vicinity. Sometimes photocopy stores or photo processing stores will double as an internet cafe with a couple of computers. Look for signs reading "Acceso a Internet" or "Cibernautica" or "Cibercafe". Charges range from approx. US$1 an hour to US$3 an hour, depending on the location.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Phone cards can be purchased anywhere and are needed for the majority of public phones. To call any number outside your region you have to dial 01 then followed by the area code. If calling a cellphone from a normal phone start with with 044. If calling cellphone to cellphone just dial the 10-digit number. To make an international call dial 00 followed by the country code then the local number. To call to Mexico, also dial 00 (most of the times) followed by the national code 52.

Post

The Mexican postal service is operated by Correos de México. The post service in Mexico is pretty good although not very cheap. It is reliable regarding the sending of postcards, but it takes at least a week to send it to other countries (US/Canada), more so if you send it to Europe or Australia. For packages it is better to use international services like FedEx or UPS. If you are sending a package internationally with the Mexican postal service, take the package OPEN to the post office, they may want to inspect it. Seal it up at the post office. Post offices typically open from 8:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and 9:00am to 1:00pm Saturday. You will find post offices (Oficina de Correos) is almost any town or city in Mexico. To buy stamps it is best to go to the post office, although you can also get them at stamp machines, located outside the post offices, at bus stations, airports and some commercial establishments.

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.