Christmas 2008: Playa del Carmen Trip Report
Jan 5th, 2009, 02:57 PM
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Christmas 2008: Playa del Carmen Trip Report
This year the family voted unanimously for a warm weather destination for winter break so the four of us (DW & 16/18 yr old teenage boys) headed to Playa del Carmen. Simply put, we all thought this was one of our best vacations and wondered if we would ever go back to Hawaii again. The Mexican Caribbean has great beaches, warm climate and water, a wide variety of foods, and just the right amount of foreign intrigue.
Getting There
DW booked the direct, once-a-week United Airlines flight from SFO to Cancun. We arrived with no problem at the Alamo car rental desk to pick up our full-sized VW Jetta or “similar”, which turned out to be a dinged-up Chevy Optra?! with 87,000 hard km on it. After adjusting my standards to Mexico, I accepted the not-so-perfect vehicle and reluctantly added the full range of insurance options that increased the rental cost by a whopping 32%. I normally don’t add insurance coverage, however, friends have advised to do so in Mexico (your comments on this appreciated). Half way to PDC we stopped at a Pemex to fill up (Alamo gave us only ¼ tank) and discovered that one of the interior door handles was broken off. I wasn’t about to walk around and open my son’s door for an entire week, so when we got to PDC, Alamo agreed to drive down a replacement vehicle to our condo. The next day we made the switch from our gas-tank-full car to a replacement Optra?! with the Alamo standard ¼ full tank (but only 80,000 km on this car). Of course they would not credit my account for the extra gas I donated to Alamo, which still ticks me off a bit.
I will say that driving in Mexico is no more difficult than our other experiences in places like Rome, Paris, or London, however, should you see a red sign with the big letters A-L-T-O; it means that stopping is merely optional and takes the legendary California Stop to a whole new level. Nevertheless, IMHO a car is absolutely necessary to get around the Yucatan and well worth the extra cost, despite the frequent traffic jams due to road construction delays and military check points.
Accommodations
My DW rented a really nice 2-BR, 2-BA condo in Playa at the El Taj, which is part of the Porto Condo group (www.condohotelsplayadelcarmen.com). The north-side location served us well: ½ block from the beach and 1 ½ blocks to 5th Ave. The units look brand new, are very nicely furnished including washer/dryer, and beautifully landscaped (daily maid service was included). Some reviews on Tripadvisor mentioned noise from the nightclubs below 5th Ave. Although we are light sleepers, the faint music sounds drifting through the neighborhood at night didn’t bother us at all. During our walks around town, I did not see anything as nice as this property and would highly recommend the El Taj (their other units looked just as new and highly maintained). The condo is located one block from The Gym, a high quality workout facility that we used five out of our seven days in PDC.
Restaurants
For breakfast we ate in the condo after stocking up on groceries at the Wal Mart on 30th Ave. Lunch was usually taken at the various beach clubs we visited (see Beach reviews). Note that many restaurants in town only accept cash. We had dinner at the following local restaurants:
Da GiGi: An excellent Italian restaurant located on Constituyentes btwn 10th and 15th Ave. Recommended by the builder of our condo units. One of our better meals on the trip.
Il Pescadore da Ilena: Another Italian place north of Constituyentes on 10th frequented by the many of the Italian expats in the area. Ilena, the owner, is an interesting character and her mother helps out as well. Even so, I can’t understand why this restaurant is so popular since the food is quite pedestrian. Call me a San Francisco food snob, but this place was just not good, period. I wish we had tried out La Fragata instead (has anyone been there?).
El Asador de Manolo (on 10th near Il Pescadore): Having been to BA I wanted to try one Playa’s Argentine steak houses. We were there on Christmas Eve and they only offered a prix fixe dinner so we didn’t see the entire menu; missing out on my chance to order empanadas. The three-course steak dinner including beer, wine and desert was excellent.
HC Monterrey/El Fogon: Two great places right next to each other on Const. nr 30th. One way of experiencing both restaurants at the same time is by ordering your steak at HC (comes with baked potato and avocado) and going next door for the frijoles charros and grilled cebollas para llevar (to go) to eat with your meal at HC. I really liked the arrachera (a marinated flank steak) at El Fogon and their Aguas Frescas (papaya was the favorite). You will be surrounded by locals here (no English menus), so bring a dictionary if need be. Food portions are huge and the prices really cheap. It’s also not cleanest restaurant in the world and can be quite smoky from the grill, however, I loved it. I would probably not bring the In-laws here to impress.
Carboncitas: I was really hoping to have a good meal here. Our table was on the rooftop of the building, three flights up. We were pleasantly surprised to find a nicely laid out al fresco dinning area with views of the twinkling lights of Cozumel in the distance. Unfortunately the quality of the food served did not match this idyllic setting. It reminded me of the type of meal one would find at the Chevys Fresh Mex chain. One of our worst meals of the trip.
Yaxche Maya Cuisine: Our friends from back home picked this restaurant for our Christmas dinner. It was a good choice for a festive occasion, as their garden at night is transformed into a beautiful dinning space. The food was just ok, but certainly not horrible.
Babe’s (Calle 10 btwn 5 & 10 Av): Considering we just got off the plane and didn’t know much about 5th Avenue eating, I thought Babe’s was totally acceptable, especially with the kids. It’s an Asian fusion type of restaurant with a good bar scene. The food can be a little salty for my taste, but again not bad for some quick noodles or spring rolls and a glass of beer.
Ah Cacao Chocolate Café: We went to the 5th & Const. location several times during the week after dinner. Yes, the brownies are to die for. I didn’t really appreciate the spicy hot Mayan chocolate, but I thought the regulate hot chocolate and the chocolate frio was really good. Forget about the Starbucks in town and come here for sweets, coffee and people watching.
Lastly, don’t miss the taco/torta carts, or the women selling fresh fruit for 20 pesos on southern end of town near the pier. Both inexpensive and very good.
Beaches
This is the main reason we came to the Mayan Riviera (or is it Riviera Maya, Mexican Caribbean?). The sand is white and soft and the water is turquoise blue and incredibly warm. It’s hard to find a bad beach, although some have rocks near the shore, or are not well maintained (i.e. lots of seaweed/debris on beach). We are not AI people, so I can’t comment on the ubiquitous all inclusive resort scene around Playa, but they seem to be quite popular judging by the number of these facilities in the area. For the most part we chose to frequent the local beach clubs, however, if you don’t care to pay for the experience, I would go to Tulum with its miles of deserted sand.
Kool Beach Club: Before the hordes of vacationers arrived after Christmas, Kool was our favorite club. The chaise lounges (70 pesos) were comfy and the ceviche served on the beach was to die for. Unless you love the thump of techno beat music, I would be seated as far from the DJ as possible. Their prices for the chairs and umbrellas seemed to go up after Christmas, although still a fraction of the $100 per day we paid in St. Tropez last summer on the Plage de Pampelonne.
Blucacao: As the crowds descended on PDC, we decided to try out the free beach club that our condo development offered us. The Blucacao club is located about 10 minutes by car north of Playa, situated between the Coral Something Hotel (yet another AI) and a huge under-construction condo complex. The lack of a crowd made up for the somewhat strange location. The club’s brand new building and pool has that minimalist, Euro/ultra modern look to it and we really liked their beds and pillows on the beach. The restaurant was excellent (more ceviche) and the service impeccable. Water entry without footwear was a problem near in front of the club, but ok further down the beach. We actually grew to really like this beach and came over on another day to avoid the masses at Mamitas and Kool.
Tulum: Here is where one goes to avoid people. The Tulum beaches turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Turn left at the stoplight on Hwy 307 and drive east as far as you can until you come to a Y in the road. A left turn at the Y eventually takes you to our “secret” parking area for an easy entry into the Tulum ruins (there are also great beaches and some rustic accommodations w/thatched bungalows and a restaurant just south of the ruins, sorry can’t remember the name). A right turn at the Y takes you to the Zamas Beach Hotel where we stopped for lunch on the beach. This place is not to be missed; spectacular setting and great food. After lunch we drove south of Zamas along the beach road, passing the many simple, eco-resorts (the anti-AI experience) until we reached the OM Tulum Hotel, where we parked to access the beach. This was the most peaceful and pristine beach experience of the trip!
Akumal: This is another area south of Playa del Carmen that is not to be missed. It is a little tricky finding Akumal driving southbound. You must pass the marked Akumal exit (staying in the left lane) and take the next Retorno backtracking north to get to the road heading to the ocean. Another great place to stop for lunch is La Buena Vida on Half Moon Bay. You can even spend time a their beach after lunch. We decided to go snorkeling at the nearby Yal Ku lagoon. Maybe there are fewer fish to be seen here, but considering the ocean was quite rough at the time, I thought it was a great place to easily drop into, rent gear, and enjoy the day. They will ask you to only use biodegradable sun lotion here, which they sell for about eight dollars.
Other Sites:
Cenote Azul: This cenote is right off Hwy 307, 15 minutes south of Playa, but not easy to find. It took us two tries to notice the little hand painted Cenote Azul sign, but it was well worth the effort. Nice example of a cenote and the kids were able to jump off a cliff into the water. 50 pesos per person entrance fee.
Tulum Ruins: Much has been written on-line about these worthwhile to visit ruins. I would just note that they close at 4:30 pm, prior to reopening for the evening viewing at about 7:30.
Puerto Aventuras: We spent one afternoon at this development south of PDC to check out the beaches. We actually found some of our best shells of the trip here, beach combing in the back of the Omni Hotel. We had no use for the Marine World experience found here, but for some travelers with small children it might be fun to watch people “swim with the dolphins”, or feed the sea lions.
Leaving Mexico
With our flight two hours delayed, we were glad that the Cancun has the typical food court at its airport. The kids craved burgers and fries at Johnny Rockets and I had my final carne asada taco of the trip (it wasn’t that bad actually). Also, check out the tequila/rum bar at the duty free shop for unlimited free samples.
I can’t say enough good things about this part of Mexico. We enjoyed it as much, or probably more so than the west coast Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta etc.).
Happy travels…
Getting There
DW booked the direct, once-a-week United Airlines flight from SFO to Cancun. We arrived with no problem at the Alamo car rental desk to pick up our full-sized VW Jetta or “similar”, which turned out to be a dinged-up Chevy Optra?! with 87,000 hard km on it. After adjusting my standards to Mexico, I accepted the not-so-perfect vehicle and reluctantly added the full range of insurance options that increased the rental cost by a whopping 32%. I normally don’t add insurance coverage, however, friends have advised to do so in Mexico (your comments on this appreciated). Half way to PDC we stopped at a Pemex to fill up (Alamo gave us only ¼ tank) and discovered that one of the interior door handles was broken off. I wasn’t about to walk around and open my son’s door for an entire week, so when we got to PDC, Alamo agreed to drive down a replacement vehicle to our condo. The next day we made the switch from our gas-tank-full car to a replacement Optra?! with the Alamo standard ¼ full tank (but only 80,000 km on this car). Of course they would not credit my account for the extra gas I donated to Alamo, which still ticks me off a bit.
I will say that driving in Mexico is no more difficult than our other experiences in places like Rome, Paris, or London, however, should you see a red sign with the big letters A-L-T-O; it means that stopping is merely optional and takes the legendary California Stop to a whole new level. Nevertheless, IMHO a car is absolutely necessary to get around the Yucatan and well worth the extra cost, despite the frequent traffic jams due to road construction delays and military check points.
Accommodations
My DW rented a really nice 2-BR, 2-BA condo in Playa at the El Taj, which is part of the Porto Condo group (www.condohotelsplayadelcarmen.com). The north-side location served us well: ½ block from the beach and 1 ½ blocks to 5th Ave. The units look brand new, are very nicely furnished including washer/dryer, and beautifully landscaped (daily maid service was included). Some reviews on Tripadvisor mentioned noise from the nightclubs below 5th Ave. Although we are light sleepers, the faint music sounds drifting through the neighborhood at night didn’t bother us at all. During our walks around town, I did not see anything as nice as this property and would highly recommend the El Taj (their other units looked just as new and highly maintained). The condo is located one block from The Gym, a high quality workout facility that we used five out of our seven days in PDC.
Restaurants
For breakfast we ate in the condo after stocking up on groceries at the Wal Mart on 30th Ave. Lunch was usually taken at the various beach clubs we visited (see Beach reviews). Note that many restaurants in town only accept cash. We had dinner at the following local restaurants:
Da GiGi: An excellent Italian restaurant located on Constituyentes btwn 10th and 15th Ave. Recommended by the builder of our condo units. One of our better meals on the trip.
Il Pescadore da Ilena: Another Italian place north of Constituyentes on 10th frequented by the many of the Italian expats in the area. Ilena, the owner, is an interesting character and her mother helps out as well. Even so, I can’t understand why this restaurant is so popular since the food is quite pedestrian. Call me a San Francisco food snob, but this place was just not good, period. I wish we had tried out La Fragata instead (has anyone been there?).
El Asador de Manolo (on 10th near Il Pescadore): Having been to BA I wanted to try one Playa’s Argentine steak houses. We were there on Christmas Eve and they only offered a prix fixe dinner so we didn’t see the entire menu; missing out on my chance to order empanadas. The three-course steak dinner including beer, wine and desert was excellent.
HC Monterrey/El Fogon: Two great places right next to each other on Const. nr 30th. One way of experiencing both restaurants at the same time is by ordering your steak at HC (comes with baked potato and avocado) and going next door for the frijoles charros and grilled cebollas para llevar (to go) to eat with your meal at HC. I really liked the arrachera (a marinated flank steak) at El Fogon and their Aguas Frescas (papaya was the favorite). You will be surrounded by locals here (no English menus), so bring a dictionary if need be. Food portions are huge and the prices really cheap. It’s also not cleanest restaurant in the world and can be quite smoky from the grill, however, I loved it. I would probably not bring the In-laws here to impress.
Carboncitas: I was really hoping to have a good meal here. Our table was on the rooftop of the building, three flights up. We were pleasantly surprised to find a nicely laid out al fresco dinning area with views of the twinkling lights of Cozumel in the distance. Unfortunately the quality of the food served did not match this idyllic setting. It reminded me of the type of meal one would find at the Chevys Fresh Mex chain. One of our worst meals of the trip.
Yaxche Maya Cuisine: Our friends from back home picked this restaurant for our Christmas dinner. It was a good choice for a festive occasion, as their garden at night is transformed into a beautiful dinning space. The food was just ok, but certainly not horrible.
Babe’s (Calle 10 btwn 5 & 10 Av): Considering we just got off the plane and didn’t know much about 5th Avenue eating, I thought Babe’s was totally acceptable, especially with the kids. It’s an Asian fusion type of restaurant with a good bar scene. The food can be a little salty for my taste, but again not bad for some quick noodles or spring rolls and a glass of beer.
Ah Cacao Chocolate Café: We went to the 5th & Const. location several times during the week after dinner. Yes, the brownies are to die for. I didn’t really appreciate the spicy hot Mayan chocolate, but I thought the regulate hot chocolate and the chocolate frio was really good. Forget about the Starbucks in town and come here for sweets, coffee and people watching.
Lastly, don’t miss the taco/torta carts, or the women selling fresh fruit for 20 pesos on southern end of town near the pier. Both inexpensive and very good.
Beaches
This is the main reason we came to the Mayan Riviera (or is it Riviera Maya, Mexican Caribbean?). The sand is white and soft and the water is turquoise blue and incredibly warm. It’s hard to find a bad beach, although some have rocks near the shore, or are not well maintained (i.e. lots of seaweed/debris on beach). We are not AI people, so I can’t comment on the ubiquitous all inclusive resort scene around Playa, but they seem to be quite popular judging by the number of these facilities in the area. For the most part we chose to frequent the local beach clubs, however, if you don’t care to pay for the experience, I would go to Tulum with its miles of deserted sand.
Kool Beach Club: Before the hordes of vacationers arrived after Christmas, Kool was our favorite club. The chaise lounges (70 pesos) were comfy and the ceviche served on the beach was to die for. Unless you love the thump of techno beat music, I would be seated as far from the DJ as possible. Their prices for the chairs and umbrellas seemed to go up after Christmas, although still a fraction of the $100 per day we paid in St. Tropez last summer on the Plage de Pampelonne.
Blucacao: As the crowds descended on PDC, we decided to try out the free beach club that our condo development offered us. The Blucacao club is located about 10 minutes by car north of Playa, situated between the Coral Something Hotel (yet another AI) and a huge under-construction condo complex. The lack of a crowd made up for the somewhat strange location. The club’s brand new building and pool has that minimalist, Euro/ultra modern look to it and we really liked their beds and pillows on the beach. The restaurant was excellent (more ceviche) and the service impeccable. Water entry without footwear was a problem near in front of the club, but ok further down the beach. We actually grew to really like this beach and came over on another day to avoid the masses at Mamitas and Kool.
Tulum: Here is where one goes to avoid people. The Tulum beaches turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Turn left at the stoplight on Hwy 307 and drive east as far as you can until you come to a Y in the road. A left turn at the Y eventually takes you to our “secret” parking area for an easy entry into the Tulum ruins (there are also great beaches and some rustic accommodations w/thatched bungalows and a restaurant just south of the ruins, sorry can’t remember the name). A right turn at the Y takes you to the Zamas Beach Hotel where we stopped for lunch on the beach. This place is not to be missed; spectacular setting and great food. After lunch we drove south of Zamas along the beach road, passing the many simple, eco-resorts (the anti-AI experience) until we reached the OM Tulum Hotel, where we parked to access the beach. This was the most peaceful and pristine beach experience of the trip!
Akumal: This is another area south of Playa del Carmen that is not to be missed. It is a little tricky finding Akumal driving southbound. You must pass the marked Akumal exit (staying in the left lane) and take the next Retorno backtracking north to get to the road heading to the ocean. Another great place to stop for lunch is La Buena Vida on Half Moon Bay. You can even spend time a their beach after lunch. We decided to go snorkeling at the nearby Yal Ku lagoon. Maybe there are fewer fish to be seen here, but considering the ocean was quite rough at the time, I thought it was a great place to easily drop into, rent gear, and enjoy the day. They will ask you to only use biodegradable sun lotion here, which they sell for about eight dollars.
Other Sites:
Cenote Azul: This cenote is right off Hwy 307, 15 minutes south of Playa, but not easy to find. It took us two tries to notice the little hand painted Cenote Azul sign, but it was well worth the effort. Nice example of a cenote and the kids were able to jump off a cliff into the water. 50 pesos per person entrance fee.
Tulum Ruins: Much has been written on-line about these worthwhile to visit ruins. I would just note that they close at 4:30 pm, prior to reopening for the evening viewing at about 7:30.
Puerto Aventuras: We spent one afternoon at this development south of PDC to check out the beaches. We actually found some of our best shells of the trip here, beach combing in the back of the Omni Hotel. We had no use for the Marine World experience found here, but for some travelers with small children it might be fun to watch people “swim with the dolphins”, or feed the sea lions.
Leaving Mexico
With our flight two hours delayed, we were glad that the Cancun has the typical food court at its airport. The kids craved burgers and fries at Johnny Rockets and I had my final carne asada taco of the trip (it wasn’t that bad actually). Also, check out the tequila/rum bar at the duty free shop for unlimited free samples.
I can’t say enough good things about this part of Mexico. We enjoyed it as much, or probably more so than the west coast Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta etc.).
Happy travels…
Jan 7th, 2009, 06:56 PM
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I enjoyed reading your review. Thank you.
We've wanted to travel the Yucatan for a long time, but just can't find the right place to stay. We usually stay on the Pacific side of Mexico over the holidays. Seems like the Yucatan is much more money? On the Pacific side, we eat at popular places. Breakfast is around $2.50-$3.00 pp. A nice, geared-for-tourists type of dinner runs around $8, but we prefer eating at the more 'local' ones for around $3.5 pp (not dumpy by any means - just more home-grown).
The 2 bedroom beachfront rental (with pool)cost $1,000 per week. How do the prices you encountered compare?
Also, if you were to pick an area without loads of tourists, but not dead-quiet - what area would you recommend? We like to stay on the beach and in fairly nice places (with cooking facilities). All within walking distance of restaurants and groceries. We'll probably end up going to the Pacific side again - only because I simply don't know all the options on the Yucatan side.
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
WA state
We've wanted to travel the Yucatan for a long time, but just can't find the right place to stay. We usually stay on the Pacific side of Mexico over the holidays. Seems like the Yucatan is much more money? On the Pacific side, we eat at popular places. Breakfast is around $2.50-$3.00 pp. A nice, geared-for-tourists type of dinner runs around $8, but we prefer eating at the more 'local' ones for around $3.5 pp (not dumpy by any means - just more home-grown).
The 2 bedroom beachfront rental (with pool)cost $1,000 per week. How do the prices you encountered compare?
Also, if you were to pick an area without loads of tourists, but not dead-quiet - what area would you recommend? We like to stay on the beach and in fairly nice places (with cooking facilities). All within walking distance of restaurants and groceries. We'll probably end up going to the Pacific side again - only because I simply don't know all the options on the Yucatan side.
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
WA state
Jan 7th, 2009, 08:48 PM
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Hi dcsam: We certainly were not looking for bargains when we chose PDC, but relative to Hawaii, St. Barts, Tahiti, the French Riviera, and other "hip" beach areas I thought the prices were really good. A matter of perspective I suppose. For example, we paid roughly $10 pp at the "local" restaurants and double that at the "tourist" places. Our high-end condo (w/pool) was in the $2,700 per week range during Christmas.
I don't consider myself an expert in this area, but it seemed to me that the further south you go; say to Akumal, the quieter and more rustic the surroundings. Of course you won't pay Wal-Mart prices for groceries and the restaurant selection will be much less.
If we came down this way again, I would probably investigate places to stay on the beach near Tulum. Maybe others can provide more specific suggestions...
I don't consider myself an expert in this area, but it seemed to me that the further south you go; say to Akumal, the quieter and more rustic the surroundings. Of course you won't pay Wal-Mart prices for groceries and the restaurant selection will be much less.
If we came down this way again, I would probably investigate places to stay on the beach near Tulum. Maybe others can provide more specific suggestions...
Jan 8th, 2009, 03:56 AM
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La Fragata is one of my favorite restaurants for an early dinner/late lunch on my way back from the beach. They have a full menu plus a daily special for 75 pesos which includes appetizer, entre, dessert and drink (various fruit waters). All very good and homemade daily. I ate there almost daily all last summer. Sorry to hear about Il Pescatore as it was one I enjoyed but haven't been back to in a year. Found two wonderful fish places last week where the locals eat and plan on hitting those up again next month. Great trip review.
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