What are things to do in and around Playa del Carmen?

Question

My fiance and I have won an all expense paid trip (airfare and resort) to Secrets Capri in Playa del Carmen. What are some things we should try to experience and how much should we expect to spend. Are there any travel options from the Cancun airport to that resort that are more affordable than cab fare?

Answer 1

We just got back from there- honeymoon! Go to xel-ha. It was about $100 a piece with Best Day travel but sooooo worth it! They picked us up at the resort by bus in the am. We stopped at Tulum first- Mayan ruins right on the coast, so beautiful!!! Lots of iquanas. Then went to xel- ha. It is a huge water park- no chlorine here, it is all natural- reefs, tons of fish, snorkeling, tubing, kayaking, included all you can eat and drink. You snkorkel all day, eat, drink. THE most fun we had in Mexico. Go to the website and see. It was an all day trip. We also took a tour to Chitchen Itza, one of the new wonders of the world. ALso a beautiful and awe- inpiring trip. But it was really far away. We didn't care though! You learn so much and well worth the money too. On that trip we also stopped in a quant old Mayan town and got to swim in a cenote- underwater river/ pool. VERY COOL. I definitely suggest going to one of those. It was like paradise. And you woulndn't be allowed to swim in one in the states b/c people touch all over the stalagtites. Also, contrary to pop belief, Mexico is really expensive. Esp. in that area. Expect to spend what you would here. From Cancun we took a van, it was $45 a person for round trip. Well worth that since the roads are psycho. Easy to find way, but drivers are nuts! I think a taxi from Cancun to playa is more than that.

HTH!

Answer 2

I highly recommend you consider doing a tour to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. They are close by and a wonderful site, located on the Caribbean Sea. This site is small and coupled with a stop at an area eco park, I recommend Xel-Ha because they offer an All-Inclusive meal plan option. The other park is Xcaret, but it is much too large to see in a half day and you would be better off going there on its own day trip. You should also consider a visit to the Mayan ruin site of Chichen Itza. This site was voted in the top 7 man made wonders of the world. Finally, a swim with dolphins with Dolphin Discovery, or a swim with whale sharks which is only offered during the summer months should be on your list of considerations. Here is a great list of tour options available in the Cancun area:

http://cancuntop100.com/cgi-bin/in.cgi?i...

Just be sure that whichever local outfit you book with, that you read the fine print. Many great deals can be found and along with cancelation/rescheduling policies, something that is not offered at the resorts, hence the advantage to booking in advance online.

Have fun planning your free trip to paradise,

212eric

Answer 3

there is a expensive place, but you can look for thing out of the typical tourist sites, for example look for dive or scuba restaurants etc not on the fifth ave (calle quinta) try a night on the santanera second floor, if like to  eat native food try the panuchos, and if you like Thai there a very good one  there ask for it,  try tulum to see the mayan pyramids,  you will find a lot of things to do, go to mamitas beach to watch beautiful people walk on the beach, i there's a different ways to get to playa instead of the cab but i don't recommend that,  just go to the vans and wait to more people to get to playa and it will cost less to you, hope you enjoy Mexico!

Answer 4

Congrats on winning the trip, it should be fun!

Tulum ruins are about an hour south of Playa del Carmen.  You can take a van tour for about $65, most of those tours have an add ons for lagoon tours of Akumal or Xel Ha (trip price of $85.  The lagoons are pretty, but can be crowded at times depending on the time of year.  Xcaret is an eco-park about 45 min south of Playa.  It is also about $85 for a van ride and admittance per person.

A longer ride, but an amazing day trip is Chichen Itza.  It is about 2 hours out and 2 hours back, but a huge complex of ruins that are really well preserved.  It is about $99 a person for the day.

You can aslo check out some boat tours out to Cozumel or Isla Mujeres.

A cheaper alternative to the cab is a van ride.  You save cash, but usually end up in a jam packed van that has to stop at several resorts before yours.