Playa Del Carmen, the perfect Mexican Vacation on the Mayan Riveria
By John McNamara
Playa del Carmen, Mexico,
a city situated between the more famous places, Cancun and
Cozumel. Where Cancun is more an Americanize place, they have
a hotel zone that you think you were in Miami or San Diego.
Then Cozumel, the famous cruise ship port, this city always
get an influx of hundreds and hundreds of tourist a day. Take
a deep breath and get ready to experience a Mexican vacation,
go to Playa Del Carmen and the cities along the Riveria Mayan
coast. The reason I like Playa Del Carmen, it has a great walking
areas, activities that are not limiting, places to stay for
all taste, food that is fun to eat, and easy transportation
to get around. Plus there are many great flight / hotel packages
this region.
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Playa Del Carmen is
one of those walking cities where your senses get challenged.
Your eyes will be filled with all the
stores windows to look at, the colorful people walking along
the street, tourist and locals, incredible ocean views, all
different shades of blues. The sounds, I enjoy hearing all
the Spanish mixed with the other languages, a lot of English,
almost everyone speaks English, but also, Italian, Japanese,
and German. Then in the evening, expect the sounds of Mariachi’s
(Mexican band, which includes singers, guitars and trumpets)
playing along the streets. On some corners you will find a
Mariachi hang out, where you will see 4 – 5 different
Mariachi groups waiting for work. You can not help and enjoy
the taste and smell of the Mexican food. There are plenty of
local Mexican vendors cooking on the street corners, great
Pollo Taco con Maze (Chicken and Corn Tortilla) you could
die for. I am not much of a drinker, but the cold Cerveza (beer)
is always a treat because of the heat. They always keep the
beer on ice to make it super cold. It seems the beer of choice
by locals is Sol. Walk, walk, walk until your heart is content
and best time to walk is at night, the city really comes alive
at 9pm – 10pm. You see many local families walking at
night with mother, father and children mingled in with tourists.
The Activities seems
endless for the everyone and for every level, from easy to
more challenging. Since the water is my
favorite, you can do swim with the dolphins, snorkel, and scuba
dive. Swimming is an extremely popular activity here and you
get a wide range of dolphin swims and places to do this. You
can swim with the dolphins, in Cozumel, Puerto Adventuras and
Xcaret. Cozumel you swim with the dolphins and also get to
enjoy the Chankanab National Park. Chankanab National Park
has some of the best beach snorkeling around. In Puerto Adventuras,
you can swim with the dolphins plus swim with Manatees and
Sea Lions. At Xcaret, you can swim the dolphins plus see an
amazing nature park of Xcaret which I will be writing more
about it.
Snorkeling, I think everyone can enjoy this sport from the
novice to the expert. You can almost snorkel everywhere and
see amazing reefs. You do not need to take a boat to see the
reef, like I mention, Chankanab National Park, you can beach
snorkel and dive. Even off Playa Del Carmen there is amazing
snorkeling. Now, while snorkeling is for everyone, scuba diving
is for those who are certified. This area is known for some
of the best diving in the world. You can make a vacation just
to get certified and scuba dive for 7 – 10 days.
The land activities
that is available for everyone is Parks and Beaches. The parks
range from Xcaret, Hel – Ha (pronounced
Shell Ha), and Chankanab Park. You will see lots of promotions
for Xcaret and Hel-Ha, which has transportation from your hotel
to these parks. I only visited Xcaret. Xcaret definitely exceeded
my expectation, from activities in the park to beauty. The
activities are amazing here, from scuba diving, snorkel in
the ocean and a lazy river through caves, snuba (where you
have a helmet and dive in the ocean, no certification), beaches
to swim, natural caves, the rivers, the ocean, and observation
tower that looks over all of coast line. The cost is $76.50per
adult and $38.25 (ages 5-12) per child with transportation
from you hotel. You will be spending a full day here, so plan
on it, bring cloths, swimming attire. Lockers are available.
Mexico is famous for all its Mayan ruins and this area has
plenty from Tulum to Chichein Itza. There are guided tours
from your hotel to get to these places. Don’t forget
when you come to Playa Del Carmen, you need to enjoy the beach,
at least 1 day. The beaches are beautiful and well maintained.
I was surprised to see everything in such great conditioned
after the impact of Hurricane Wilma, October of 2005. I would
say everything seems back to normal. Getting back to the beach,
you should consider one day to rent a Huge Beach Umbrella,
get a great book, and RELAX!!! Playa Del Carmen has
accommodations for everyone taste, from High End to quaint
villas on the beach. Go to Expedia’s
site for find deals here. (Everything
Mexico: Deals, Maps and More!)
Transportation is bountiful
here in Playa del Carmen, Taxis, Buses, and Ferries. The taxis
are relatively inexpensive; from
Playa del Carmen to Xcaret is only $12 US. The cost from
the Cancun Airport to Play Del Carmen is about $40 to $50,
1-hour
ride. Remember the cabs drivers do not expect tips and the
price is for the whole cab. You do not pay extra for more
people. The buses are very comfortable, I would take the bus
from Playa
Del Carmen to Cancun about a 1-hour ride, the cost was $4
US, on a sleeper type chair, with movie and cold AC. The ferries
run all day from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel. The cost is
about
$10US and takes about 30 minutes. You will have to go to
Cozumel for at least 1 day.
Overall, you need to
stay in Playa Del Carmen and enjoy these people that are eager
to please tourist of all nationalities.
You won’t be disappointed. Your Mexican vacation could
be the beginning of many more trips to this incredible region
of the world.
