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Playa del Carmen, Mexico

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Playa del Carmen Hotels

Tours & attractions

Airport Transportation

In Playa del Carmen and its neighboring resort area, Playacar, grand all-inclusive hotels and resorts rub shoulders with dozens of small, boutique hotels. You will run out of vacation days before you run out of things to do on your vacation. Snorkeling, visits to Maya ruins or eco parks are among the most popular tours. Cancun Airport Transfers can be reserved one-way or round-trip from the airport to your hotel in Playa del Carmen. Choose from a shared shuttle van service or a private taxis
> Playa del Carmen Hotels > Tours and Attractions > Airport Transfers
 

"Playa del Carmen (known simply as Playa), once a soporific, very Mexican fishing village, has mushroomed in recent years and now has the dubious distinction of being the world's fastest growing town (by a rate of 26 percent per annum)"
-Guinness Book of Records

 

Introduction to Playa del Carmen  

Playa is a fantastic place to hang out. The town has grown along the beach, so wherever you go, you will feel the closeness to the ocean. The main street is called Quinta Avenida, or 5th Avenue. It is a pedestrian walkway and a common point of reference.

Now head north on 5th Avenue, walking parallel to the beach. This first part of Playa is where you find most hotels, restaurants, bars and shops. It is the main street where the visitors gather in a typical Mexican atmosphere. During a walk down this pedestrian street where automobiles are not permitted, you will find a variety of restaurants with all kinds of Mexican and international menus to satisfy any palate.

You will find a wonderful variety of stores and shops to make your purchases, and a great variety of services offered to visitors. The serenity that is felt when strolling on this street is in keeping with the calm of the sea at a mere 50 meters. Along Fifth Avenue, there are musical groups contributing to the atmosphere, the "Mexican Mariachi" with their unique melodies, duets, trios and quartets, along with the romantic "boleros".

South of the dock is an area called Playacar. This planned development is where all the big, all-inclusive resorts are located. You'll also find the golf course, some private homes and condos, the aviary, and some interesting Mayan ruins. 

Playa del Carmen Map  

 
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Playa del Carmen Virtual Tour

Take a stroll through Playa del Carmen with Google Street View.

 
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Beaches and Attractions

Playa del Carmen provides an enormous variety of water activities, ranging from swimming on the beach, or more strenuous sports such as windsurfing, sailing or diving in the nearby reefs to going on boat trips or using other types of watercraft.

Extreme sports enthusiasts will enjoy scuba diving in the open seas in the crystal-clear waters of Playa del Carmen. You can go snorkeling and scuba diving on the Great Mayan Reef, located less than 100 meters out from the beach. Alternatively, you can go diving in the caves, which is a great experience.

Playa del Carmen is also an ideal spot for visiting one of the most beautiful parks in Mexico: Xcaret, which is also the place where ferries set off to the Island of Cozumel. It is also near the natural well area of Puerto Aventuras while the largest natural aquarium in the world, Xel-Ha, is just forty-five minutes away.

 

Eating

Playa del Carmen is heaving with restaurants of every kind. Although the quality of food here is often very good (particularly Italian ) it's rarely reasonably priced.

The pedestrian section of 5th Avenue is edged end-to-end with dining tables where you can eat pizza, pasta, burgers, chips and veggie stuff - you name it - but if you're on a budget you'll need to search out where locals go for tacos and comida corrida . As a rule of thumb in Playa, the further from the sea, the cheaper the food - as is everything else.

Probably the nicest places, though, are the beach restaurants and bars, where your can sift sand between your toes while eating fresh fish and sipping icy margaritas. Keep an eye open for the various happy hours.

 

Bars and Nightlife

You can wander through Playa del Carmen well into the night, following the happy-hour trail and listening to all sorts of music from salsa and reggae to 1970s classics. Drinks aren't cheap if you pay the full price, but it's a great way to meet people.

Nightlife in Playa del Carmen starts definitively in the 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida). All along the beach there are also bars where you can stop and get a drink anytime you want to. Dance in the warm powdery sand to music that ranges from Caribbean reggae to that like in any world-class club.

People are always in the mood for a party here. It is a more bohemian place with a good mixture of foreigners and Mexicans. Many restaurants in Playa del Carmen seamlessly transform into nightclubs in the evening after the dinner hour has passed.

 

Getting to Playa del Carmen

Cancun Airport Transfers
We offer 2 types of Cancun airport transfers with comfort and security from the Cancun International airport to any hotel in Cancun and the Mayan Riviera, including Playa del Carmen and to the ferry docks for Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox. We also provide VIP service to Chetumal, Chichen Itza, and other areas in the Yucatan Peninsula.  Our shuttles are late model air-conditioned vans carrying up to 10 passengers comfortably. 
Colectivo from Cancun Airport: A colectivo is usually a van that will take up to 10 people. They don't leave at any specific time, but you will have to wait until it's full enough to justify the trip. You may have to make stops at other resorts and hotels along the way, which can easily double the time it will take you to get to Playa del Carmen. To take one of these authorized taxis, go to any of the TTC kiosks located around the terminal and buy a ticket.
Bus from Cancun Airport:  Mexican bus company ADO operates a direct bus service between Cancun airport and Playa del Carmen. Check their web site for schedules and prices. Check their web site for schedules and prices.

Bus from Cancun to Playa del Carmen:  Buses run regularly, up until midnight, between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. The buses run from Cancun's downtown terminal. Check their web site for schedules and prices.

 

Maps

Cancun, Mexico map & travel guide

MapChick's Can-Do Maps & Travel Guides. Hands down, the best Playa del Carmen map available. Features hotels, restaurant recommendations, tours, shopping, beach clubs, nightlife and more!

Maps

 

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