As soon as you get to Playa del Carmen you can sense a certain kind of magic, suddenly, all those magazine pictures come to life and even have a smell, the salty beach fragrance and taquitos being cooked at a street stall, what else do you need in life?
Of course, you need more things, nice local coffee shops, great quality farm markets, friendly coworking spaces, shopping malls, you name it, Playa del Carmen has it all !!
Whether traveling to Playa del Carmen for a weekend vacation or planning a longer stay, you’ll need some local advice to make your visit one for the books.
Enjoy yourself at an exclusive hotel rooftop, mingle with locals at the beach, visit every cenote and beach around, and become an official Playense (slang for local citizens) Welcome to the Ultimate guide on what to do in Playa del Carmen.
source: reportur.com
1. WALK THROUGH DOWNTOWN PLAYA DEL CARMEN
EL CENTRO
A small-city- life-vibe town, colorful avenues and streets packed with local and international shopping stores, art galleries, and tradition everywhere you look. As you walk through the usually crowded 5th Ave, you’ll come across folklore dance performers, Mariachis playing the greatest mariachi tunes along with the latest hits, and street vendors selling handmade traditional crafts.
The Mayan Empire representation can be found in every aspect of the Playense life.
Traditional parties are celebrated all year long and even faithful Mayan followers perform ancient plays and dances every night at Founders Park (Parque Fundadores: 5th Ave / Juarez Ave). The perfect place to watch the Sun rising below the Mayan Portal. Try as many snacks as you can from all the street vendors around, mangos or coco with chile, ice cream, chips, peanuts, and grasshoppers.
source: twitter.com/profeco
2. TASTE YOUR WAY AROUND THE WORLD
Because of the international cultural influence that characterizes Playa del Carmen, a large variety of flavors and traditions are represented in each restaurant found all over town. El Centro offers not only Mexican traditional food but also Italian ristorantes, Argentinian and Brazilian steakhouses, Mediterranean, Vegan, Vegetarian, Thai, and Sushi eateries too. Coffee shops and French bakeries, Mexican seasonal fruits for breakfast, and lots of ice cream shops for dessert!
In order to fulfill your Mexican food craving, the Eating with Carmen Food Tours team is willing to take you into the ultimate local experience foodie adventure around Playa del Carmen Downtown. Taste the real Mexican flavor at each food stop, get to know the local cooks, and all the inside scoop on Playa’s food and drink worlds. Just pick the perfect food tour for you! The Local Authentic Experience, Seafood Madness, or The Vegan Delight.
3. IMMERSE YOURSELF IN AN ANCESTRAL CULTURE
Playa del Carmen is located in the state of Quintana Roo, which is part of the Yucatan Peninsula, ancient land that witnessed the rise and fall of the Mayan Empire. The vast amount of ancient ruins found in the southern territories is still here to teach us a lesson or two in History, Astrology, and Math, subjects represented in the majestic stone pyramids and in which the Mayans are worldwide recognized.
source: amoplayadelcarmen.info
Despite the fact that Tulum and Chichen Itza are perhaps the most visited ruins in the Riviera Maya, a bunch of archeological sacred temples in ruins, are scattered all throughout the Caribbean shores of México Guatemala, and Belize.
Choose between these Top 8 Ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula for your next archeological adventure. Booking an official tour for any of the cultural activities it’s always the best option. Prepared and professional tour guides will take you on a journey through time, mixed with some ancient tales, the type of information you could only get from long-established Playenses.
Playa del Carmen is in a constant renovation process to offer tourists and locals the ultimate Mexican experience and the Frida Kahlo Riviera Maya Museum is no exception. The recently reopened museum offers exhibition rooms showing the essential parts of Frida Kahlo’s life, like her unique wardrobe, her inspiring paintings, and all the gossip about her and Diego Rivera’s love story.
4. ROAD & WATER TRIPS
Road trips are always a good idea, right? filled with unknown exciting adventures and yummy snacks. Playa del Carmen is a great starting point for a road trip around the Yucatan Peninsula. Drive to nearby towns and cities such as Akumal, Bacalar, Tulum, Merida, or Puerto Morelos. Grab a yacht or a ferryboat for a water trip to either one of the closest islands around, like Holbox, for a shark-whale sighting tour and Cozumel, surrounded by the second biggest coral reef in the world. The perfect island for surfing, snorkeling, and diving activities.
source: vivalatravelista.com
5. DIVE INTO THE CARIBBEAN BEACHES
The Mayan breathtaking beaches are the ideal landscape for your upcoming vacations. The beautiful blue and turquoise waters, (with a touch of seaweed every now and then) are year-long visited by tourists from around the world. All across the shore hotels and beach clubs offer food, drinks, and all kinds of entertainment. Tourists and locals are able to enjoy the beach either on a rental sun chair or by grabbing any open spot along the seashore.
Among Playa del Carmen’s most popular beaches and closest to El Centro are Mamitas Beach, the beach on 38th street, and Playacar, but if beach hopping it’s your style, you might as well visit all the other nearby waters such as Punta Esmeralda, Xpu-Ha, Mahahual, Maroma and Akumal, where you can swim with turtles.
source: seccionamarilla.com.mx
The Caribbean’s calm waters are the perfect stage to perform any type of water activities, ride the Caribbean waves on a rental jet ski or enjoy either a sunrise or sunset paddle board session. Sail your way across the ocean on a fancy yacht while fishing your own huge Mahi-Mahi for dinner with experienced sailors and exclusive amenities on board.
Forget about the busy world for a while, relax and enjoy yourself in these paradisiac waters.
6. CENOTES: A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE.
A must-not-miss activity at the Mayan Riviera. Cenotes are natural swimming pools created after the erosion of limestone over many many years. Though some cenotes are widely open, and filled with fresh water, perfect for cooling down in this tropical heat, other cenotes are deep underwater caverns that lead straight to the Mayan underworld, this kind of cenotes can only be accessed by snorkeling or diving.
A bunch of Cenotes can be explored all throughout Playa del Carmen’s Federal Highway, as close as a 15-minute drive from El Centro, like Cenote Cristalino or Cenote Azul, but once you hit the magical vibe of one cenote, you’ll probably want to visit all the Top 10 Cenotes to visit in the Mayan Riviera.
Most Cenotes have easy access from the highway, you can take a taxi, drive your own car, use the local bus transportation or just book yourself a tour.
source: vivalatravelista.com
7. START A NEW LIFE
For several reasons, the Mayan Riviera has become a popular tourist destination in the last few years. As for Playa del Carmen, well Playa has it all, the paradisiac turquoise waters, the beach-town chill life, the gastronomy, and the culture, but one thing that has attracted people from all around the globe is the diversity of nationalities that can be found in the settled population at Playa del Carmen. Reason enough to make some changes in their daily routine, and move their lives to Mayan territories.
If starting a new chapter of your life in Playa del Carmen has been on your mind for a while, hesitate no more. Big families, backpackers, remote workers, entrepreneurs, ex-pats, everybody is welcome.
The Playense community is more than happy to help you with any advice you’ll need to become a true Playense in the blink of an eye.
Starting from where are the BEST spots for a house rental, Where To Go Grocery Shopping, or even How to Get Around in Playa del Carmen like Local. We might help a little with making the transition even easier.
source: elmaya.mx
No wonder why we Playenses have chosen Playa del Carmen as our home sweet home, everywhere you look around there is always something exciting to do, see or eat.
Have fun!!
-Abbey
Your Playense Adviser.
