Playa Del Carmen, where to stay/avoid
 

Hola! I was wondering if anybody who has been to Playa Del Carmen can help me out so I don't get duped. I am taking my mom and niece on our first family vacation--I don't have a large budget but can maybe afford $1000 - $1500 for one week during Christmas ($$!). I want to stay close to the beach in a nice neighborhood. BUT I really want to stay away from all-night parties and crazy tourists/college students/thin walls, etc. My ideal is a small villa/condo with not a lot of units, no resorts and hopefully a hammock! Any ideas, let me know. Also, I hear vegetarian restaurants are plentiful..? Gracias!

Check out www.playadelcarmeninfo.com and www.locogringo.com. Lots of information on the different types of lodging and costs. The newly developed "north" end of Playa will be quieter than "in town". Lots of options from small inns to condos.

If you want to get in for Xmas, you should do it quickly...some things are already sold-out.

Not sure why you think you'll get duped, as you say, but basically you will not find "all-night parties and crazy tourists/college students" and the like in Playa. Those are purposely redirected to Cancun. :-)

Steve

Thanks everybody! Seems like the North part of town is good. I have lots of condos in mind, I was just wondering if there is any specific condo grouping that anybody has been to? The two websites offered up were great. Thanks! It's just I've never rented a private condo so I didn't really know what to try and avoid/what questions to ask, etc.

If anybody's interested I decided to stay at a place called Acanto Suites and Lodge. It is close to beach and 5th ave. Looks pretty good and had lots of favorable reviews on tripadvisor. It's a 1 bdrm suite with pull out couch. 7 units on the property so not too big. I haven't paid yet, so if there is anybody that has had a horrible experience let me know. Thanks!

If you're not paying the premium to stay beachfront, you might want to try to stay within walking distance of Calle 28 - there are a couple of nice beach clubs there.

This is also well north of the noisier part of town, and the beach is better in this area.