In short: Playa del Carmen is the best base camp in the Riviera Maya. You are an hour from Cancún, an hour from Tulum, forty-five minutes by boat from Cozumel, and you can do everything on foot from Fifth Avenue. This is where we live, and it is the town we most often recommend for a first trip to Mexico.
What to do in Playa del Carmen
La Quinta Avenida is the pedestrian artery running through town parallel to the beach for nearly four kilometres. Restaurants, shops, terraces, musicians: it is the lungs of Playa. The further north you go, past Calle 20, the more reasonable the prices and the more local the crowd. The southern stretch, between the ferry and Calle 10, is the most touristy and the most expensive.
The beach shelves gently and the water is calm. Playa Punta Esmeralda, north of town, is the local favourite: a cenote empties straight into the sea there, creating a freshwater pool where the sand ends — perfect with young children, and free.
Cenotes are all around. Federal highway 307 serves dozens of them between Playa and Tulum, open, semi-open or in caves. Cenote Kantun Chi, to the south, combines several pools and caves inside an eco-park. If you want to compare before choosing, we wrote a guide to the cenotes of the Riviera Maya.
Diving and snorkelling. Playa sits in front of the second largest coral reef in the world. It is also the departure point for bull shark dives between November and March, and the port of embarkation for Cozumel, one of the best dive sites on the planet.
Xcaret, Xel Há, Xplor and Xenses
The four Xcaret group parks are all less than twenty minutes from Playa del Carmen, and choosing between them comes up constantly in our conversations. Here is how we separate them.
- Xcaret: the most complete and the longest, some forty activities, underground rivers, an aquarium, and above all the evening show retracing the history of Mexico. Allow fourteen hours on site. This is the one we recommend if you only do one.
- Xel Há: the largest natural water park in the Riviera Maya, an inlet where the river meets the sea. Snorkelling, tubing, all-inclusive formula. Ideal with family.
- Xplor: the adrenaline one, deep in the jungle. For zip line and underground river enthusiasts.
- Xenses: the most original and the least known, a course that plays with perception and the senses. A half day that surprises everyone.
The tip that saves you a day: never stack two parks on consecutive days. These are long days, on your feet, in the sun, and fatigue arrives fast. Always alternate with a cenote, a beach or a Maya site.
When to go
The dry season runs November to April: the best weather, and also the high prices and maximum crowds between Christmas and mid-January. From May to October the heat rises, so does the humidity, and late-afternoon showers become the norm. Hurricane season runs June to November, peaking in September and October.
Sargassum reaches the coast from around April to October, peaking between May and August. It varies enormously from day to day and beach to beach, and it affects neither the cenotes, nor the parks, nor Cozumel, whose west coast is sheltered. Our sargassum briefing is updated regularly.
Getting there and ranging out
From Cancún airport, count 70 kilometres and about an hour by road. The ADO bus links the terminals directly to central Playa, comfortably and cheaply. A private transfer is worth it with children, luggage or a night flight.
The Cozumel ferry leaves from the pier at the foot of Fifth Avenue, one street from the beach and a few minutes’ walk from the ADO terminal. The crossing takes about 45 minutes, with a departure every hour during the day. Two companies share the route, Ultramar and Winjet, at around 200 to 250 pesos each way. Prices move, so compare the two booths on the day.
On the ground, everything in the centre is walkable. The colectivos, the white minibuses that leave from Calle 2, serve Tulum to the south and Cancún to the north for a few dozen pesos, stopping on request at the cenotes and Akumal. It is the handiest and cheapest transport in the whole Riviera Maya.
Where to stay: choosing a neighbourhood
- The centre, between Calle 4 and Calle 14: everything on foot, the ferry, the beach, the restaurants. Lively, sometimes noisy at night on the Calle 12 side.
- Playacar: the gated residential district to the south, quiet, green, with the big all-inclusive resorts and a golf course. Ideal with family, less practical without a vehicle.
- The north, beyond Calle 30: where residents live, local prices, good tables, Punta Esmeralda nearby. Our preference for a longer stay.
Our trips from Playa del Carmen
All of these leave from Playa del Carmen or pick you up at your hotel, with an English-speaking guide. Write to us if you are hesitating: we will tell you honestly which is worth it given the season and the time you have.
Common questions
Playa del Carmen or Tulum?
Playa if you want everything on foot, easy day trips and reasonable food prices. Tulum if you are after the jungle atmosphere and ruins by the water, accepting longer distances and higher prices. Many of our travellers do both, with two or three nights in each.
How many nights in Playa del Carmen?
Three to four nights let you string together a park, a cenote, Cozumel and a beach day without rushing. Seven nights make sense if you use Playa as your single base for the whole Riviera Maya, which many families do.
Do you need to rent a car in Playa del Carmen?
Not if you stay in the centre: everything is walkable and colectivos cover the rest. A car becomes worthwhile if you want several cenotes in one day, a run up to Valladolid or down to Bacalar. Our rental advice goes through the pitfalls.
Is Playa del Carmen safe?
Yes for a traveller taking the usual precautions. The centre is lively and policed until late. Avoid poorly lit streets far from Fifth Avenue at night, and use official taxis. We wrote a detailed piece on safety in Mexico.
Which park should you choose if you only do one?
Xcaret, without hesitation, for the variety and for the evening show, which is worth the day on its own. If you are travelling with children under eight, Xel Há is more restful and better suited to their pace.
Let’s build your Playa del Carmen stay together
Transfers, group or private tours, car or boat rental, English-speaking guide, restaurant bookings: we live here and we assemble every piece with partners we know personally. Tell us your dates and what appeals to you.