Visitor's guide to Playa del Carmen, Mexico

INSIDER'S GUIDE TO PLAYA DEL CARMEN

General Area Information

Playa del Carmen (“Playa”) is a popular vacation destination located on the coast of the Caribbean in the northeast section of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Located just 40 miles south of Cancun, the city has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade and is currently Mexico’s fastest growing city (population: 70,000)

Playa began as a passenger ferry service to Cozumel. While passing through, people realized that it was a nice place to relax away from the tourist traps of Cancun, but with access to the same alabaster-white beaches, turquoise waters, gentle surf, and coral reefs. The first hotel in Playa was the Blue Parrot, which opened in 1984.

Today, Playa del Carmen has become the center of a major tourism development dubbed the “Riviera Maya”, which stretches across Cancun to Tulum. Despite the widespread construction of new roads, golf courses, massive resorts, and even a race track, Playa del Carmen resists commercialization. The city takes steps to retain its charming European villa feel, such as by an ordinance by which limits all buildings to a maximum of three stories.

Playa is a global destination for travelers the world over, with major concentrations of tourists from the U.S., France, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, and Italy. Many local residents and business owners are expatriates from these countries.

Avenidas (Avenues) in Playa run parallel to the ocean. 1st Avenida is a minor street that runs close to the ocean and provides access to the beach and their hotels. All tourism in Playa centers on Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue), which is a pedestrian walkway located just one block from the beach, and lined with boutique shops, hotels, bars, and restaurants. 10th Avenida has many shops, hotels, and restaurants to choose from but is far less trafficked than 5th.

The slow Latin pace, European charm, and American joie-de-vie combine to create a charming local culture. In Playa, you’ll meet backpackers, divers, archaelogy buffs, and of course, the young and beautiful. The days here are long and restful, best spent enjoying the world-class beaches, shopping in town, or experiencing some of the wonderful local cuisine. There are plenty of adventures to be had here as well. Scuba diving in Playa is second only to Cozumel (the dive capital of the world), and Playa also offers spectacular watersports, jungle tours, ATV rides, and eco-adventure experiences as well.

Online Resources for planning your Playa del Carmen trip

Hopefully, you'll find most of the information you need about Playa del Carmen on our website. However if you don't, we can suggest a number of other websites where you can dig deeper.

For a general overview of Playa del Carmen, try this article over at Wikipedia. For up-to-date information about the area however, you'll need to look elsewhere. The general problem with most Playa sites is that they have a smattering of information and it can be pretty difficult to find what you're looking for. They are also very commercial. Nevertheless, they can be helpful for planning your next trip. There are a number of random travel articles at PlayaDelCarmen.com. TravelYucatan has a smattering of information about Playa - their hotel map can come in handy when planning your trip (also see our street map - it has more detail than any online map we've seen). Playaguide has a long list of activities and descriptions, but strangely there's no booking information. If you see a tour you'd like to try, you can schedule pretty much anything in town from our Playa del Carmen activities page. Finally, iTravelNet provides a good source of links to sites about other Mexican travel destinations.

And if you are looking for something but can't find it, please email us and let us know! We'll try to help you out!

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