Playa del Carmen report & observations
 

Thanks for the help!
ADO bus was just as we were informed: Bought tickets at the window and the bus was right outside terminal 3.

Took a Tulum only tour. Price was good, but took forever to get there/back due to picking up other people. In retrospect, we should have just taken a cab or bus.

Took the Fat Cat tour, which was wonderful. Snorkeling was better than in Cozumel, which I found odd.

Took a glass bottom boat/snorkeling tour to Cozumel. Enjoyed it. More fish, but the reef seemed less dense and shallow? One note, in our ignorance we arranged for this tour through the condo. I’m sure we could have done it much cheaper by just taking the ferry over (there are a bunch of these boats at the Cozumel pier). Just a note, the Cozumel ferry made us feel a little queasy (which we didn’t feel on the other boat trips).

About Xaman Ha Condos. Great facility and location, but research your specific unit. We stayed in 2 different units (the desired unit wasn't available for the first night). 100% difference. 1 simple thing to look for is whether the a/c has been upgraded to "mini-splits" (compared to old fashioned window units). Much quieter and near the ceiling. Easy walk to downtown, either through Paseo Del Carmen or a slightly more direct walk through a walkway near the pier in an area north/adjacent to the Palace.

Restaurants: Out of ignorance and in search of view, we ate at Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlies. We later found better beach options, such as the Blue Parrot and the Playa Maya. Really liked Ronaldi’s (sp?) pizza in the Paseo del Carmen. Mannes Biergarten had very good, reasonably priced food (but not a great view). Best restaurant tip: Lunch at the museum in Cozumel. Great food, view, and relatively quiet.

Be glad to answer questions/add specifics.

FYI: nothing wrong with Frogs or C & C, per se. Food was decent, but service was iffy. Also (obviously) more of a party place, even at lunch.
Also enjoyed La Parrilla.

Beware that shopping is annoying. The constant comments and pressure probably meant we spent LESS than we would have. Our observation was that shopping was more relaxed at the north end (by the Real resorts) than at the Cozumel pier).

thanks for the report bitter. Sounds like you did good!

I'll add additional comments as they come to me: The beaches in Playa del Carmen were in pretty good shape (though I don't know what they once were like). There was little evidence of sandbags. There is a beach adjacent to Xaman Ha (to the south) not really visible from the webcams. pdc

Thanks for the report, Bitter! We are going to PDC in 4 days and cannot wait! My husband and I are taking our 11 and 16-yr old daughters, so we will do the AI deal (Sandos Playacar) so they have options all day long. We all want to try windsurfing, etc.
We have booked a tour on the Fat Cat as well, so I'm really looking forward to that. We love to snorkel, and so far the snorkeling we did in Cozumel in '05 and '06 was the best.

We would like to find some cenotes in PDC as well. If we get bitten by the PDC bug, we will probably go back without kids and try a small hotel on the beach, or La Tortuga.

I'm glad you had a great time. I do have one question. The shopping was irritating after awhile in Cozumel with all the comments . . . is it like that on 5th in PDC?

Sorry for the delay in answering: The shopkeepers seemed to be most annoying near the Cozumel pier going north. Up by the other (unused? pier) coming south it was a very different, shopkeepers were almost indifferent, which was nice. That said, a lot has to do with body language. If you look like you are shopping or even glance at a shop (at least near the cozumel pier) the shopkeepers will try to engage you. Also, once in the store, you can't get a straight answer. If you ask a price, it gets into a huge bargaining match. I probably would have bought more things if it wasn't such a battle.