As mentioned in my blog, Travel Planning a Magical Riviera Maya Holiday, we chose to base ourselves in Playa del Carmen when wanting to explore the Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Read on to find out what Playa del Carmen town has to offer including – beautiful sandy beaches, island ferries, dance displays, shopping, murals, restaurants, water sports, theme parks, cenotes and even dinner in a cave.
Enjoy beautiful views from Day One
The first thing you’ll want to do when you arrive in Playa del Carmen town, especially if you have travelled long-haul to get there, is to spend some time acclimatising to your new surroundings, and time-zone if relevant. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place, and acclimatising in the surrounds of white sand beaches, palm trees, and a turquoise sea is blissful. Just kick back and settle into holiday mode.
If your accommodation has a view of the beach, or access to the beach, then set your alarm clocks early, so that you can enjoy incredible sunrises over the Caribbean Sea. We spent a lot of time watching ‘Pelican TV’ as the birds dived for fish and cheekily attacked the catch of the fishermen who appeared on the beach in the morning.
What to do in Playa del Carmen town?
Start at Parque des Fundadores (Founders Park)
Parque des Fundadores (Founders Park) is dedicated to the founding families of this once small fishing village and lies at the heart of Playa del Carmen town. It will no doubt be one of the first places that you visit when you start exploring.
You’ll discover a busy square filled with tourists, locals and hawkers of churros, corn on the cobs and jewellery, all overlooked by an impressive sculpture, the Portal Maya. Sip for a coconut whilst you take it all in.
Portal Maya – the enormous 15-meter-high Portal Maya sculpture stands in Founders Park overlooking the waterfront. Some say that it celebrates Mayan culture with hoops representing the Mayan ball game (more of that in my Chichén Itzá blog), whilst others say it is a symbol of the end of the Mayan calendar in 2021, thus representing a new era. Either way, it makes for a marvellous focal point and some great photos.
Fundadores Dancers – Founders Park is also the place to watch the ‘Dance of the Flyers’ (Voladores de Papantla), a Mesoamerican ritual performance recognized by UNESCO. It is performed by the Fundadores Dancers from the indigenous Totonac peoples. The dance requires them to bravely climb a 30-meter pole (to the left of the Portal Maya) and hang upside down from long yellow ropes, which are then swung around the pole as they descend to the ground in a spiral – all done to pan pipe music. The dance is usually performed on the hour from 3.00pm each day, although timings do vary.
Aztec Fire Dance – if you’re lucky you might catch other performers in Founders Park, such as the Aztec Fire Dance (yes, Aztec and not Mayan!) directly under the Portal Mayan.
There’s a public beach in front of Founders Park which is busy with locals playing football and volleyball so there is plenty of activity to watch. The multi-coloured ‘Playa del Carmen’ town sign is just at the edge of Founders Park for photos.
Catch the ferry to Cozumel
The ferry terminal for boats going to and from the large island of Cozumel is just next to Parque de Fundadores. Cozumel is only a 45-minute ferry ride away and so is easily visited on a day trip. It is a popular destination for cruise ships. If we had been visiting for 2 weeks, then we would have taken the ferry trip but decided to do other trips on our shorter stay.
Note – just watch your belongings in this busy area. We didn’t see or experience any trouble but had been warned to be careful. We were initially surprised to see vans of police in camouflage gear (the marine police) patrolling around the ferry port, armed with machine guns. It can be off putting if you’re not expecting it, but perhaps reassuring to know there is protection if needed however unlikely.
Shop on Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue)
From Parque des Fundadores you can pick up Quinta Avenida for 22 blocks of pedestrianised shopping, galleries, cafes, restaurants, and yoga studios.
First head to the Paseo del Carmen shopping centre at the southern end of the Avenue for good modern shopping options (including Zara) and art installations including, hearts hanging from the trees, illuminated signs and the bronze statue of a Mexican Revolutionary sitting on one of the benches.
Then stroll north along Quinta Avenida to explore the local shops selling leather goods, cowboy boots, souvenirs, clothing, and tequila. If you visit Hacienda Tequila, as well as bottles to buy, there is a small museum, and they will let you sample some tequila. The pedestrian section of the Avenue runs one-block parallel to the beach and is around 2 km long, ending around Calle 42 Norte. There is likely to be Mexican music blaring out from the bars and taquerias – look out for the bars with swing seats!
There are many murals to spot along the way, and you can book a walking tour of the murals with City Art Tours Mexico if you want to learn more. Alternatively book a Playa del Carmen Food Tour on Get Your Guide. There are also Free Walking Tours available of Playa del Carmen town.
Schedule some beach time
Depending on where you are staying, you might have beach access with your hotel or apartment but if not, you can access beautiful white sand at one of the public beaches.
The beach in the central section of Playa del Carmen, Mamitas Beach and Beach Club, is very popular and does get very busy, so instead head:
- north to Playa Punta Esmeralda – one of the prettiest beaches with a free cenote. Again, it can get very busy at the weekends, so weekdays are better, or
- south to Playacar Beach in a residential area.
Playacar gated community
The entrance to the Playacar gated community is just south of the Paseo del Carmen Shopping Centre. It is quite a large residential area and takes around 20 minutes to walk from the shopping centre to the most southern end of Playacar.
The houses in the gated community are wonderful – all different shapes and sizes, snuggled in between incredible trees with hanging vines and creepers. There are even some Maya ruins, Xaman-Há (see later), along the way. We spotted many agouti (a type of rodent which looks like a small capybara) running around and a white nosed coati (from the racoon family).
The public beach in Playacar has lovely soft which sand and is perfect for a stroll in front of the beach houses. If you’re wanting to access the Mayan ruins or Playacar beach then just explain this to the security guards as you enter. They just need to know who is on site which is patrolled by security guides on bicycles with walkie talkies.
Note – when we visited in February there was some seaweed (Travel Planning a trip to the Mayan Riviera) on the beach each morning which was picked up, put in bags, and taken away before most people were out of bed. The beach had however suffered some erosion after a bad storm which the villa owners said had been ‘unseasonal’. To be honest we wouldn’t have known any different! It was stunning.
Pass by the Mayan ruins, Xaman-Há
The Mayan ruins, Xaman-Há, dating back to the 13th century, sit within the Playacar residential area. Today they are unassuming, however once they were visited by Mayans from all over the regions, who would come to worship Ix Chei, Goddess of Fertility.
Today they lie in the trees, covered in foliage and hanging roots. You are more likely to see an iguana lazing on the stones or agouti eating the grass in front of them, than human visitors. They are free to visit, and something to see as you’re passing rather than making a specific visit.
Go paddle boarding at sunset (or sunrise)
If you want to get out on the water, then there are plenty of options in Playa del Carmen town including parascending and boat trips. We chose a sunset paddleboarding session with Aloha Paddle Club which was great fun.
We headed to the designated spot on the beach between Calle 6 and Calle 8 about 30 minutes before our session start time, met our guides, got changed and stored valuables in their secure box, before being given instructions and taking out boards down to the water.
Unfortunately, the water was rather choppy when we headed out as there was a storm coming, so I did find it difficult to stand up for long before being knocked off by the waves. I wasn’t the only one, however others managed more successfully. I continued by sitting on the board and paddling to the target buoys on the horizon.
Once at the target spot, we linked our boards together so we could sit and watch the sunset, before heading back to basecamp. Jonathan our guide took looks of photos with his Go Pro which were made available to the ground afterwards. They also offering kayaking as an option.
Choose one of the many theme parks
Playa del Carmen is the perfect jumping off point for one of the many themed parks on the Mayan Riviera – Rio Secreto (adventure in the jungle only 14 minutes from Playa), Xsenses (where nothing is as it seems, park of illusions) and Xcaret (an extensive park with lots of activity add ons). As the parks make an expensive day out, then you will probably need to choose one from the long list of options.
Xplor Fuego
We chose to visit Xplor Fuego, night entry into the jungle-themed park Xplor, situated in the forest and lit by torches, just 10 minutes outside Playa del Carmen. Everything was included in the entrance price, apart from the photo packages which you could add on.
At check in we were issued with lifejackets and helmets – the helmets had devises which connected with cameras around the park so, if you signed up for the photo package, which are sent to you at the end. The activities included:
- Zip wires – a course of 9 zip wires constructed over the forest trees. The last one took you through a photo frame of fire before splashing down in the water. We did the zip wires as soon as we arrived, with the bonus that the sun was setting by the time we finished, providing lovely views along the way!
- Toboganxote – an exhilarating waterslide on 4-man rafts, which start at 41 meters before entering several funnels, water pools and shuts as you make your way down to ground level at speed. Thank goodness for centrifugal force!
- Amphibious vehicles – you can drive 4-man buggies along jungle paths lit by torchlight, into caves and over wooden bridges. It’s fun and very bouncy due to a lack of shock absorbers in the vehicles!
- Paddle along an underground river – using your hands as paddles, raft along an underground river through caves full of stalactites and stalactites. It’s more relaxing than the Toboganxote, but a welcome break from all the adrenalin rushes.
- Photo points – there are lots of photo points around the park for fun group photo options. Just push the button, get into shot and then receive your photo later in the photo package.
- Buffet dinner – We had access to the extensive buffet for dinner.
Cool off in a cenote
There are numerous cenotes (sink holes created in the limestone ground) in the area around Playa del Carmen town, such as Cenote Azul, Cenote Cristalino and Cenote Eden all on the road south towards Tulum.
As mentioned in my blog about Travel planning a trip to the Riviera Maya, Each one is different and offers an opportunity to swim in an incredible natural setting. The experience of swimming in a cenote felt very special, as it’s not something we can do at home. Our favourite cenote of the trip was Ik Kil near Valladolid.
Enjoy fine dining in a cave at the Alux
Choosing a restaurant in Playa del Carmen town centre is easy as there is so much choice, however, make sure to head to Calle 38 Norte, where there are several restaurants set under Banyan trees with hanging roots and fairy lights, in particular La Cueva del Chango and Amate 38 which sits in luscious gardens with a small waterfall.
Alux Restaurant
We chose to push the boat out on our last night with a fine dining experience in a cave at the Alux Restaurant. It was an incredible setting with a large dining room in a cave illuminated in purple, green and gold lighting. However, the caves are extensive and lead off from the main dining room to VIP sections where you can even choose your music for your table section.
Apparently, there are some bats living in the roof of some areas in the caves although we didn’t see any. The food and cocktails were great, and we even had a snack of crickets! There was a showstopper of a pudding which was a cocoa bean pudding which the waiter set on fire at the table to reveal the seed inside (made from chocolate) – delicious!
Plan a couple of day trips
Playa del Carmen town is also well positioned for taking day trips elsewhere if you want to explore. We decided to plan two days out during our week on the Riviera Maya, to:
- Tulum
- Chichen Itza, Valladolid and Ek Balam – inland from Playa del Carmen and away from the Maya Riviera, in the Yucatan province.
Final thoughts…
You can be as busy or as quiet as you like on the Riviera Maya and in Playa del Carmen town. There is plenty to do if you are happy to stay in one place to relax and unwind, or alternatively you can plan a week of real variety incorporating beach time, shopping, Maya ruins, theme parks, cenotes. The choice is yours!
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