Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen is rightfully one of the most popular vacation destinations in Mexico. Located in the heart of the Mayan Riviera and is a quick 45 minutes from Cancun and just a ferry ride away from the island of Cozumel, a world-famous scuba diving destination. The layout of Playa del Carmen city is on the coast of the Caribbean Sea and everything is conveniently located within walking distance.
Locally, Playa del Carmen is sweetly referred to as just “Playa” and keeps its small town friendly charm that it’s famous for. Currently, no buildings may be built beyond 3 stories as the people of Playa do not want to become a carbon copy of Cancun. Residents and tourists are proud of the way Playa del Carmen is and want it to remain that way.
While Playa del Carmen is an excellent place to be a beach bum, it also has a number of activities to keep you busy while you are on vacation. Water sports are huge and you can snorkel, windsurf, kayak, sail, and kitesurf (new extreme sport that combines surfing and parasailing) right off the beach. For scuba divers, there are boats that depart right from the beach which offer outings to the Great Mayan Reef which is the second largest coral reef in the world.
Close to Playa del Carmen are two beautiful ecological parks: Xcaret and Xel-Ha. They offer numerous amounts of activities and sights to see with in the parks and are well worth the day trip. Also located near to Playa are the many “cenotes” or sinkholes and underground river systems to discover where you can swim, snorkel and dive in.
Come nightfall, we recommend that you take a stroll along the infamous 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida), one of Playa del Carmen’s most happening areas. The avenue is lined with restaurants, bars, cosmopolitan nightclubs and a shopping mall with exclusive boutiques, clothing stores and jewelry shops.
Whether you are looking for a lazy beach vacation, or one full of adventure and water sports, Playa del Carmen is the perfect place to discover it all.
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