Playa del Carmen Trip Report
Mar 15th, 2004, 09:50 AM
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Playa del Carmen Trip Report
Friday
We left 62 degree weather in Chicago, plane left a little late. We arrived in Cancun about 25 minutes late, so we did not have a gate, we had to transport by bus. We arrived to long lines in immigration, but moved fast, about 15 minutes to get through. We finally found where are luggage was, and had another line to get through customs, but did not get stopped. We found a transport service - Transtar to take us to our hotel for $18 person. Had too make a couple stops first by the all inclusives, look really nice. First vision of our beach was from turning the block by our hotel ? Playa Maya. Playa Maya has beach only access. All of the terrific things I have heard about this hotel were true, we were very pleased. We stayed in two rooms, both were great, hotel is directly on the beach. Beach has some rocks, but down 100 feet it is perfect - in front of Treetops hotel.
We headed out on 5th avenue, quite a collection of shops and restaurants-bars. It was almost 5 p.m.
and we had not yet had lunch. Went to Limones for drinks and appetizer - very pretty and cozy, you travel down some steps to the restaurant. We had shrimp Quesadillas and mussels. Next went Bar Marqaritas, were you sit on swings at the bar, talked to a nice couple from Madison. Then went to another bar, Bourbon Street. Talked to another couple from Michigan. We had dinner at La Parilla. Very good. Chicken fajitas and Pork chops. However later that night, I was very ill, maybe too much tequila.
Saturday, slowly feeling better. Breakfast at hotel. My husband went to the Internet cafe, and I headed to the beach. Later on we explored the beach, walked to Capitan Tutix. Headed into town for authetic mexican meal. Found El Almendro restaurant, we had shiskabob and tostadas. More walking and beach that day. Stopped for drinks at the Blue Parrot. Had dinner at Blue Lobster ...we ordered lobster (quite large) and coconut shrimp, both very good.
Sunday, we had breakfast at hotel, took ferry to Cozumel. Sunday was very slow, not many cruise ships so we were approached by everyone to buy things, rent mopeds or snorkeling trips. We stopped for drinks at Fat Tuesdays. Then took taxi to Chankanaab park. There we went snorkeling, watched a sea lion show, went through botanical garden and ruins. There was a lovely lagoon there where you could see a lot of fish. We heading back to Playa del Carmen, thinking we would watch the sunset, but there were too many clouds. For dinner that night, we went to Karens Pizza, were we enjoyed a great band and ordered Karen?s Pizza.
Monday we had breakfast at hotel, and found the collectivo vans to go to Tulum. The vans were really easy to use. We toured Tulum and had snacks at the italian-mexican restaurant just outside of the ruins. on site. Took collectivo vans back ($2 usd each way each person. Back at Playa, we went for drinks at the Frida bar. We enjoyed a great dinner at Media Luna, calamari with wasabe and soy sauce and sesame shrimp.
Tuesday, we took taxi a to Puerto Aventuras. We had lunch at the dolphin experience, gross hamburgers. Then we were to go deep see fishing. We used Puerto Aventuras Fishing ? a complete nightmare! We arrived only to find that it was cancelled, not enough people. Kind of wondering why I told them where we were staying, a phone call would have been nice. We were told the captain was going to be right there, just having lunch. Then told it was cancelled but they offered to take us out for 2 hours instead of four. We made the mistake of going. We were on our way before we knew it and it was very wavy, so much so, that we couldn?t move around. We tried to get the first mates attention, but could not hear. We weren?t given any instructions, no life vests. At that point, we just wanted to go back in. We were very disappointed. Came back to Playa, sat on beach ordered bucket of beers and sat in sun, best part of the day. Between drinking and dramamine, did not go out that night.
Wednesday, had breakfast at Jaguars restaurant, good coffee. Hung out at the beach. Lunch at Playa Maya, very good shrimp tacos. Went for a nice long walk. Stopped for drinks Bourbon Street, then decided to arrange a tour for Chichen Itza for the next day. We had dinner at Babes noodle house. Great little restaurant. We ordered Pud Thai (hotter than I am used to), spring rolls and Thai
chicken were very good.
Thursday ? went to Chichen Itza. Stopped at a Mayan village, really just shops to buy trinkets. Group of Italian were not minding time, came back late. Took time away from our next stop at a cenote, very beautiful. I was very disappointed, didn?t have enough time to change and swim, wished I would have had swim suit on already. Italians late again, bus left without them. Next lunch and then onto the ruins. We had a great tour guide (booked through Tierra Maya Tours) who took us through the ruins. We went to the top of the Pyramid of Kukúlcan or El Castillo. Felt nervous walking around up there. Took our time going back down. Arrived back to Playa del Carmen by 7 p.m. Went back to Karen?s to try other menu items. We order calamari appetizer, and two entrees: Karen?s garlic grilled shrimp and spaghetti with shrimp both very good.
Friday, last day. Awoke early, went to get coffee at Java Joes. Had breakfast at our hotel. Enjoyed the beach as long as we could before heading to the airport. Saved some last minute shopping to do at the airport, unfortunately, the cash register system went down, was not able to make purchase, had to leave to catch flight. I will not save my shopping anymore, what I wanted to buy was Mexican vanilla and some spicy sauces.
Things I really enjoyed:
Drinks at Frida bar
Snorkeling in Cozumel
Swimming in the Ocean
Tulum
Chichen Itza
Walking/dining 5th Avenue
Overall, this was a great vacation. The temperature was great, the beach and water were beautiful. I am glad we decided to go non AI. We enjoyed trying the different restaurants and bars. The MapChick?s Map (Laura and Perry) was very informative and helpful. Also, I gained a lot of information beforehand from this forum, and I appreciate it. It seems like several people on here are very passionate about Playa. I am not sure if we will visit Playa again, but if we do, we would definitely stay at Playa Maya again. I hope you enjoyed this report and let me know if you have any questions.
We left 62 degree weather in Chicago, plane left a little late. We arrived in Cancun about 25 minutes late, so we did not have a gate, we had to transport by bus. We arrived to long lines in immigration, but moved fast, about 15 minutes to get through. We finally found where are luggage was, and had another line to get through customs, but did not get stopped. We found a transport service - Transtar to take us to our hotel for $18 person. Had too make a couple stops first by the all inclusives, look really nice. First vision of our beach was from turning the block by our hotel ? Playa Maya. Playa Maya has beach only access. All of the terrific things I have heard about this hotel were true, we were very pleased. We stayed in two rooms, both were great, hotel is directly on the beach. Beach has some rocks, but down 100 feet it is perfect - in front of Treetops hotel.
We headed out on 5th avenue, quite a collection of shops and restaurants-bars. It was almost 5 p.m.
and we had not yet had lunch. Went to Limones for drinks and appetizer - very pretty and cozy, you travel down some steps to the restaurant. We had shrimp Quesadillas and mussels. Next went Bar Marqaritas, were you sit on swings at the bar, talked to a nice couple from Madison. Then went to another bar, Bourbon Street. Talked to another couple from Michigan. We had dinner at La Parilla. Very good. Chicken fajitas and Pork chops. However later that night, I was very ill, maybe too much tequila.
Saturday, slowly feeling better. Breakfast at hotel. My husband went to the Internet cafe, and I headed to the beach. Later on we explored the beach, walked to Capitan Tutix. Headed into town for authetic mexican meal. Found El Almendro restaurant, we had shiskabob and tostadas. More walking and beach that day. Stopped for drinks at the Blue Parrot. Had dinner at Blue Lobster ...we ordered lobster (quite large) and coconut shrimp, both very good.
Sunday, we had breakfast at hotel, took ferry to Cozumel. Sunday was very slow, not many cruise ships so we were approached by everyone to buy things, rent mopeds or snorkeling trips. We stopped for drinks at Fat Tuesdays. Then took taxi to Chankanaab park. There we went snorkeling, watched a sea lion show, went through botanical garden and ruins. There was a lovely lagoon there where you could see a lot of fish. We heading back to Playa del Carmen, thinking we would watch the sunset, but there were too many clouds. For dinner that night, we went to Karens Pizza, were we enjoyed a great band and ordered Karen?s Pizza.
Monday we had breakfast at hotel, and found the collectivo vans to go to Tulum. The vans were really easy to use. We toured Tulum and had snacks at the italian-mexican restaurant just outside of the ruins. on site. Took collectivo vans back ($2 usd each way each person. Back at Playa, we went for drinks at the Frida bar. We enjoyed a great dinner at Media Luna, calamari with wasabe and soy sauce and sesame shrimp.
Tuesday, we took taxi a to Puerto Aventuras. We had lunch at the dolphin experience, gross hamburgers. Then we were to go deep see fishing. We used Puerto Aventuras Fishing ? a complete nightmare! We arrived only to find that it was cancelled, not enough people. Kind of wondering why I told them where we were staying, a phone call would have been nice. We were told the captain was going to be right there, just having lunch. Then told it was cancelled but they offered to take us out for 2 hours instead of four. We made the mistake of going. We were on our way before we knew it and it was very wavy, so much so, that we couldn?t move around. We tried to get the first mates attention, but could not hear. We weren?t given any instructions, no life vests. At that point, we just wanted to go back in. We were very disappointed. Came back to Playa, sat on beach ordered bucket of beers and sat in sun, best part of the day. Between drinking and dramamine, did not go out that night.
Wednesday, had breakfast at Jaguars restaurant, good coffee. Hung out at the beach. Lunch at Playa Maya, very good shrimp tacos. Went for a nice long walk. Stopped for drinks Bourbon Street, then decided to arrange a tour for Chichen Itza for the next day. We had dinner at Babes noodle house. Great little restaurant. We ordered Pud Thai (hotter than I am used to), spring rolls and Thai
chicken were very good.
Thursday ? went to Chichen Itza. Stopped at a Mayan village, really just shops to buy trinkets. Group of Italian were not minding time, came back late. Took time away from our next stop at a cenote, very beautiful. I was very disappointed, didn?t have enough time to change and swim, wished I would have had swim suit on already. Italians late again, bus left without them. Next lunch and then onto the ruins. We had a great tour guide (booked through Tierra Maya Tours) who took us through the ruins. We went to the top of the Pyramid of Kukúlcan or El Castillo. Felt nervous walking around up there. Took our time going back down. Arrived back to Playa del Carmen by 7 p.m. Went back to Karen?s to try other menu items. We order calamari appetizer, and two entrees: Karen?s garlic grilled shrimp and spaghetti with shrimp both very good.
Friday, last day. Awoke early, went to get coffee at Java Joes. Had breakfast at our hotel. Enjoyed the beach as long as we could before heading to the airport. Saved some last minute shopping to do at the airport, unfortunately, the cash register system went down, was not able to make purchase, had to leave to catch flight. I will not save my shopping anymore, what I wanted to buy was Mexican vanilla and some spicy sauces.
Things I really enjoyed:
Drinks at Frida bar
Snorkeling in Cozumel
Swimming in the Ocean
Tulum
Chichen Itza
Walking/dining 5th Avenue
Overall, this was a great vacation. The temperature was great, the beach and water were beautiful. I am glad we decided to go non AI. We enjoyed trying the different restaurants and bars. The MapChick?s Map (Laura and Perry) was very informative and helpful. Also, I gained a lot of information beforehand from this forum, and I appreciate it. It seems like several people on here are very passionate about Playa. I am not sure if we will visit Playa again, but if we do, we would definitely stay at Playa Maya again. I hope you enjoyed this report and let me know if you have any questions.
Mar 15th, 2004, 10:09 AM
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thank you so much for your report. We are thinking of going to PDC this summer, and if we do, would like to stay at Playa Maya. (although by the time we decide and get schedules together, there may be no rooms left!)
I have a question, you said you aren't sure if you'd return to PDC. Could you say why? We've stayed in Cancun, and really loved it, maybe because we stayed at the JW Marriott, a great hotel, fantastic beach, and are a little concerned we wouldn't be as happy in Playa Del Carmen.
Thanks again!
I have a question, you said you aren't sure if you'd return to PDC. Could you say why? We've stayed in Cancun, and really loved it, maybe because we stayed at the JW Marriott, a great hotel, fantastic beach, and are a little concerned we wouldn't be as happy in Playa Del Carmen.
Thanks again!
Mar 15th, 2004, 10:34 AM
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Good question, my original post explained why, but I didn't want to come off snooty so I deleted it. Our last couple big trips have been to Europe. And that seems like the perfect destination for my husband and I, lots of culture to experience, big cities and museums. Granted, I am sure Mexico has the same to offer, but my husband isn't a beach person, and can only take the heat so long. Me, I could relax on the beach forever. I think you will be happy at Playa Maya. Be aware, You will walk through the sand whenever you leave.
Mar 15th, 2004, 10:45 AM
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PDC vs Cancun, we chose PDC because it was closer to Tulum and Puerto Adventuras, and to say in a quieter area. You will get more of a taste of Mexico in PDC. I went to Cancun, it seemed Americanized to me compared to PDC and Puerto Vallarta
Mar 15th, 2004, 11:31 AM
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How funny, teri, I think you and I must have been on the same Chichen Itza tour! We also had a group that were always making us wait for them. I'm not really sure why they came at all since they seemed more interested in sleeping and gossiping that anything else. Oh well, it's well worth the time and effort to get there.
We were there March 2-11 and loved every minute and would highly recommend PDC IF you are a beach person.
Our only bad experience was with one of the beach tour operators. The guy by El Faro (Jamies ?)booked us a snorkel/sail tour and I put $20 down as a deposit. That was the last time we saw him. They did not turn up the day we scheduled or the following day. I'd suggest to anyone that a deposit is a bad idea. Just show up when you're ready to go.
We stayed 4 nites at El Faro, beautiful but a little pricey and the front desk had kind of an attitude. Stayed 6 nites at La Tortuga which was fabulous.
Can't say we had even a mediocre meal, everyplace we ate was fantastic especially Babes and Oasis.
Probably the only thing I would not highly rate was Xceret. The river swim was really neat and the butterfly exhibit was beautiful but forget the snorkel and beach areas. Not really sure it's worth the $49 per person.
I felt we barely scratched the surface of this place and will definately be back.
We were there March 2-11 and loved every minute and would highly recommend PDC IF you are a beach person.
Our only bad experience was with one of the beach tour operators. The guy by El Faro (Jamies ?)booked us a snorkel/sail tour and I put $20 down as a deposit. That was the last time we saw him. They did not turn up the day we scheduled or the following day. I'd suggest to anyone that a deposit is a bad idea. Just show up when you're ready to go.
We stayed 4 nites at El Faro, beautiful but a little pricey and the front desk had kind of an attitude. Stayed 6 nites at La Tortuga which was fabulous.
Can't say we had even a mediocre meal, everyplace we ate was fantastic especially Babes and Oasis.
Probably the only thing I would not highly rate was Xceret. The river swim was really neat and the butterfly exhibit was beautiful but forget the snorkel and beach areas. Not really sure it's worth the $49 per person.
I felt we barely scratched the surface of this place and will definately be back.
Mar 16th, 2004, 07:33 AM
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Thanks again for your report.
I love Europe, too, but Mexico is great for relaxing! I was never much of a beach person either, (and I still don't much like wearing a bathing suit!) til I saw the blue of the water in Cancun. Mesmerizing!!!
I love Europe, too, but Mexico is great for relaxing! I was never much of a beach person either, (and I still don't much like wearing a bathing suit!) til I saw the blue of the water in Cancun. Mesmerizing!!!
Mar 16th, 2004, 07:59 AM
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Teri77, Mexico does have so much more to offer than beaches! Keep in mind it is a huge country and there is a whole lot of 'interior' to explore - definitely culture, museums and big cities. My favourite experiences in Mexico have not been at a beach, but in the interior.
Mar 16th, 2004, 10:26 AM
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Yes, Mexico does have so much to offer. I would love to hear about some of your memorable places. One place I would like to visit is Merida.
However, during our vacation, some days my husband was uncomfortable in the heat (we had some 90+ days while there), I am not sure what to do about that. Even in the States when it is in the 90s, he does not enjoy it.
However, during our vacation, some days my husband was uncomfortable in the heat (we had some 90+ days while there), I am not sure what to do about that. Even in the States when it is in the 90s, he does not enjoy it.
Mar 16th, 2004, 12:00 PM
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It can actually be quite a bit cooler in the interior, especially when you get to the higher altitudes. We visited Morelia a couple of years ago, and made a day trip to see the monarch butterfly sanctuary - there was actually snow on the ground outside the park! I felt like I was home in Canada. Mind you, I think you're about 10,000 feet above sea level there. There are so many interesting cities in Mexico - you'd probably enjoy some of the colonial cities north of Mexico City. In many of those places, especially in the winter, you'll have to wear a light jacket in the morning or evening. Mexico City is also a fascinating place to visit. It was a little intimidating to me at first - it's huge - but there is so much to see and do there.
Mar 22nd, 2004, 08:08 AM
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Teri77,
Thanks for the report. We are heading to PDC in May and want to go to Chichen Itza. Driving in Mexico makes me a little nervous, but I don't want to go with a really big tour group. Could you give me some more information about the tour group you took?
Thanks!
Thanks for the report. We are heading to PDC in May and want to go to Chichen Itza. Driving in Mexico makes me a little nervous, but I don't want to go with a really big tour group. Could you give me some more information about the tour group you took?
Thanks!
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