" A PERFECT VACATION IN THE MAYAN RIVIERA " Playa del Carmen by Frisbeeace

This last summer (your winter, northern hemisphere inhabitants) I decided to skip my traditional holidays at the beautiful beaches of Punta del Este in Uruguay to taste the famous Mayan Riviera for the first time. Most, if not all of the people I met were running away from tons of snow and ice but I was leaving summer at home to spend a week during winter time at the Mexican Caribbean. Kind of odd, isn't it?

5th Av. at Playa del Carmen

After the usual 1,000 + hours of research I arrived to the following conclusions which proved to be accurate.

Cancun has nice beaches but it is more a party place, with huge building type hotels lined up over the ocean one after the other and more American oriented. As you travel south the ambience is more quiet, family oriented and less American with more European guests.

Playa, as most people address this town, is 68 km (42 miles) south of Cancun. Not to many years ago it was a quiet village which lately has doubled twice in population in mainly due to Europeans who prefer its quieter lifestyle, gorgeous beaches, soft surf and coral reefs. The affluence of foreign people provides a singular bohemian traveler ambiance. Certainly the place keeps its own Mexican flavour and offers a good arrangement of gourmet restaurants, lively bars and souvenir shops. May be Playa is not a hidden retreat anymore but a good start point to enjoy great beaches, lively nightlife, archeological sites for families, couples, backpackers and trendy people. The backbone of Playa is the pedestrian-only 5th Avenue, running parallel to the beach, which has many hotels, stores and restaurants. However, I think this is not the best place to pick a hotel. The close Playacar residential area, only a 10’ walk from dowtown, has some of the finest hotels in one of the best beach strips of the Mayan Riviera.

The more expensive island of Cozumel is just in front of Playa, a short ferry trip to discover the best snorkel and diving spot in the world.
If you head further south you’ll find huge hotels located in large properties with miles of semiprivate beach for their guests. The area between Akumal and Tulum is where we chose to stay at, with a perfect combination of white sand and reef, being less crowded and surrounded by many interesting areas to explore and visit.

.

• In a nutshell:All inclusive fun