On our final stop on our Yucatan road trip, we planned to stay about 4-5 days in Playa del Carmen, before returning to Cancun and leave the state. But we´ve stayed for more than three weeks in Playa del Carmen. It might not be the most picturesque city in the world, nor the most cultural, but we still quite simply liked being there!
This is our Top 10 Things to do in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Bienvenidos guapa!
First, let´s talk about Playa del Carmen
This coastal town/seaside resort on the (beautiful) Riviera Maya in the state Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula has about 300.000 inhabitants. In 1996, that number was just 10.000. Playa del Carmen has made an enormous jump in prosperity, inhabitants, and overall development. It looks and feels more like a Spanish seaside resort area like Benidorm or Marbella, instead of a very typical Mexican town with colonial trademarks like Vallodolid or Merida. You will hardly notice any typical Mexican ´things´ as we´ve seen our road trip through the Yucatan Peninsula (Cancun, Holbox, Valladolid, Chichen Itza, and Tulum). It´s very western, and quite ´complete´ in many aspects. We found Playa del Carmen very ´liveable´ if you know what I mean.
The biggest upsides of living here
The year-round temperature in Playa del Carmen hangs around 78 Fahrenheit / 25 Celsius, meaning that is a perfect hub for pensionados, sun lovers, families on holiday, singles who are ready to mingle, lovey-dovey couples, models, influencers, digital nomads, and everything in between. And that´s what you´ll see in the streets and on the beaches. The beaches are very close to the city center, there are dozens of fun activities to pursue, eat out every day, and you can literally shop till you drop.
You can stay in one of the many apartments, hotels, and Airbnbs in the city center, but also on Playacar. This is the hotel zone for Playa del Carmen and this is where the big resorts and hotels are located. You can luckily visit Playacar Beach as a guest!
Let us tell you more about what you can do in Playa del Carmen in this extensive top 10 list.
Top 10 Things to do in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Shop till you drop
My goodness, this city is shopping heaven for shoppers. There are many malls, shopping streets, and even a ´Fifth Avenue´called Calle Quinta Avenida. You will find every known western brand you would hope for. Bershka, Tag Heuer, H&M, Zara (& Home), Rolex, Krispy Creme, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, Victoria´s Secret, Forever 21, Michael Kors, Starbucks, Haagen Daaz, Lacoste, etcetera, etcetera, they are all here in Playa del Carmen. And some annoying salesmen who want to sell/scam you a tour, or some overpriced bags and touristy accessories.
It all looks and feels very American/European. And it has little to do with Mexican culture. This is not a complaint, just an observation. We kinda liked to shop around these streets for a couple of days!
Calle Uinta Avenida is one big street connecting many malls and shops together. The main malls to visit are Quintana Alegria and Paseo del Carmen. And if you have seen it all, you can also go to Plaza Las Americas and the Liverpool department store just outside the main road (taxi or car needed).
And not to forget, many big supermarkets like Chedraui (pronunciation: as in cheddar and Maui) and Soriana are also fun to visit. These supermercados are quite big and will have many of your favorite products. Or a whole bunch of new things to try out!
Where to stay in Playa del Carmen? We've curated the finest luxury hotels, but also the best luxury hotels, hotels, and Airbnb rentals!
Eat out, every day!
Food lovers, you are in a great place here! Playa del Carmen is filled with great restaurants from all over the world, excellent street food carts, and many dozen options for tasty snacks. You will not lose a pound of fat in Playa del Carmen, trust us, we have discovered that firsthand 😉
There are many restaurants we liked, but some were tastier, more special in ambiance, or offer better service. These restaurants in the link below are our 10 recommendations you will love. ¡Provecho!
>> The 10 best places to eat in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
The rooftop bars
You can start your night out on one of the many cool sky bars / rooftop bars. Deck 5 and Be Playa were some of our favorites to visit. The views are not that spectacular, but the whole vibe of drinking cocktails with fun new friends with the sun setting is just nice. Very nice.
Even during the day, you can lounge, drink, eat, and sunbathe here in style. Salud amigos!
Correction; the views from The Fives Downtown rooftop bar were epic. We really loved our day out here from 10 am till 7 pm. You need to spend at least 700 pesos per person to stay here (about 30 dollars, to spend on food and drinks). The menu is quite affordable and delicious. Try the full nachos, superfoods salad, and the brie salad!
ps; we got pink as little pigs! The sun can be quite rough some days, so don´t forget your suntan oil and a hat, and please do sit in the shade when the sun is blazing hot.
The nightlife
Looking for (fast) love? Or a couple of tasty drinks with your (new) friends? Or a crazy wild night out that you will not ever forget? You will find all three in the exciting nightlife scene of Playa del Carmen. Beautiful people, sexy people, wild people. You will encounter them all while out in town.
After getting a couple of drinks in, move towards one of the many bars and small clubs. And don´t forget to have a blast, get drunk, and be sure to bring home a babe or hunk 😉
Pro-tip: Don´t get too drunk and don´t just walk home alone at night. There are stories of people being robbed by thugs and even by corrupt police. Be aware!
Cenotes all around town
There are dozens of refreshing and beautiful cenotes around Playa del Carmen to swim (and snorkel) in, but we asked locals and Yucatan-experts, and they all recommended about the same cenotes: Cenote Jardin del Eden, Aktun Chen, and Dos Ojos.
Cenote Chaak Tun (north of Playa del Carmen, 10 minutes from the city center) is an option as well, but you will pay about 40+ dollars per person to get a 1.5-hour tour with gear (helmet and vest) around this cave complex. Pretty cool, but expensive in comparison to other cenotes that usually cost around 4-10 dollars. Also, a very expensive, but amazing option, is the Rio Secreto park. These caves are mind-blowing, but it will cost you about 80 dollars per person to get in (just the entrance…).
But we found that the cenotes in Tulum and around Valladolid are even prettier. Within an hour or two, you can visit these cenotes from Playa del Carmen. It will be worth your time!
>> The best 5 cenotes to visit in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
And you will need a car for visiting these cenotes. A taxi can be quite pricey, and a collectivo bus quite busy, so be sure to get a cheap rental car at Rentalcars.com. Road trip!
The Xpensive parks of Xcaret
That was a little joke calling it Xpensive, but in reality, it´s very true. Xcaret is like the Disney of the Riviera Maya. They host the most lavish and beautiful parks in the area, like Xcaret, Rio Secretio, Xsenses park, and Xplorer. If you visit one or more of these parks, you will absolutely love your day out here. These parks deserve all the praise for their design, service, and just for being awesome. But all that comes with a hefty price…
Tickets for entrance are just bonkers. You could pay up to 100 dollars per person just to get in. We found that kinda nuts, to be honest. And because we didn´t have kids with us, we skipped these parks. We would have loved to see them, but spending hundreds on these (mostly for kids) parks is not quite our thing.
These parks are a must-visit if you come to Playa del Carmen (or Tulum/Cancun), but be prepared to sacrifice your hard-earned cash to the Gods of the Pesos.
Enjoy!
Snorkeling on the second biggest reef
Did you know the Riviera Maya is the second biggest reef in the world? Well, now you know. And if snorkeling is your thing, you will be in heaven here. It´s not our thing, so we skipped out on this (we might be fools for this…), but if you want to know more about snorkeling in this area, please check The best Snorkeling spots in Riviera Maya. And snorkeling in the cenotes is also highly recommended by fanatic snorkelers!
Beaches, beaches, beaches
There are many beaches to visit in Playa del Carmen, but the main beaches are right next to the city center. In about a 2-10 minute walk, you can be at one of the beaches. Playa Mamatias, Playa Incluyente, and Playa Punta Esmeralda are all close to the city center. The last mentioned is our personal favorite in Playa.
These short beaches are not that special to look at. The water is a bit sandy, there is a lot of seaweed, and the water level is kinda shallow. It´s refreshing, yes, but it´s not very picturesque. The biggest upsides are how lively these beaches are. Many people from all walks of life are having a great time here. Expect fun music, sexy beach bodies, fat beach bodies, live mariachi bands, pranksters, Mayan kids who sell bracelets, tanned pensionados, and so much more. Never a dull moment on the touristic beaches of Playa del Carmen!
Playacar Beach
Our recommendation when in Playa del Carmen; walk towards the Playacar Beach from the Cozumel Ferry / Senor Frogs restaurant. In about 5-10 minutes, you can relax on the beaches of Playacar (the Hotel Zone beaches, which are a bit nicer!). You can stay here for free by the way, and it is a lot quieter than the aforementioned beaches. But, side note, there are no facilities here like restaurants, minimarts, and toilets. Come prepared.
A little further down the road from Playa del Carmen, about a 15 minutes drive, is Xpu ha Beach (Ex Pu Gha). You just pay a small fee for parking and then you´ll have a lovely beach to hang out all day. There are even some (overpriced) beach clubs, but we walked a little further down the beach and had the whole place to ourselves.
Our favorite little beach was in Akumal, about 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen. This place is filled with tourist-scamming scumbags, but it is a magical place you must visit. After evading all the hyenas, and paying the entrance fee of about 5 bucks per person (or pay for the fun upgrade pack with swimming gear), you will encounter an amazing beach where you can have a wonderful day. Snorkeling with actual turtles, swimming with fishes, relaxing and tanning on the beach, etcetera etcetera. This place is truly a slice of paradise.
Where to stay in Playa del Carmen? We've curated the finest luxury hotels, but also the best luxury hotels, hotels, and Airbnb rentals!
The (huge!) island of Cozumel
Right across the pond from Playa del Carmen, you will find the gigantic 30-mile long island of Cozumel. This paradise-island is just a dream for people on vacation and especially for people who love to dive or snorkel (the reef here is stunning!). It is one of the top locations in the world where divers and snorkelers go for their underwater adventures!
There are so many tours and fun activities to pursue here. An ATV tour, a Jeep tour, scooter tours, and more are some of the many options. And you can go to the impressive beaches on the east side of the island, surf here, bbq, relax, and just simply have a great time. Pirates used to have a great time here in the olden days, and so should you in this modern era!
You can go to Cozumel by arriving here on a cruise ship, from a little plane from Playa del Carmen, or as most people will do; by ferry from Playa del Carmen (30 min boat ride, costs about 10 bucks one way).
Be sure to check out our cool Instagram Stories for more atmospheric videos and pictures!
And so much more (!)
The 3D Museum, the Coco Bongo Club, the Frida Kahlo Museum, volunteer dog walking with strays, paddleboarding, jetskiing, sailboat trips, parasailing, and so much more. There is so much to do here, that we truly understand why so many people chose Playa del Carmen to retire there. There is so much to do around this city, that you would need a couple of years to cross them all off your list. The day trips to wonderful places like the paradise beaches of Tulum (one hour drive), to the Maya ruins of Coba (also about a good hour drive), and Chichen Itza of course, is a must when you are in this region.
Side note: nothing is quite cheap in Playa del Carmen when we speak of touristic hotspots. A simple ticket for a museum can be 25 bucks, and an entrance ticket to one of the parks can be up to a hundred dollars per person. Everything else here is quite affordable and very enjoyable. We will return someday soon!
¡Viva! Playa del Carmen 😉
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