Gliding over the aquamarine Caribbean waters back to mainland Mexico was quicker and easier than anticipated. That’s always nice when it comes to travel days. The ferry from Cozumel was barely at quarter-capacity but the random luggage area was full of strollers and bicycles. The Ironman triathlon had just wrapped up on the island so there were several athletes lugging their folded-up bikes onto and off the boat.
As we neared the pier in Playa del Carmen (PDC), the boat slowed and we had gorgeous views down the beach.
First Impressions
PDC is a heck of a lot sandier than Cozumel, which had mostly rocky beaches. It also sprawls quite a bit more than Cozumel, where the single town of San Miguel only occupies a compact portion of the western part of the island.
Our Airbnb
Our Airbnb hosts met us at the pier and drove us to our “home” for the month. We reserved a spacious two-bedroom apartment located a few blocks outside of the tourist zone. Our unit shared a pool and a nice tropical garden with two other units. The only bad things about the unit is that the beds are hard (typical for Mexico) and the pool water was cold. Otherwise, we loved the area and the unit. There were so many restaurants within a 10-minute walking radius.
Our first meal out was to Carmelita Pech, a cute establishment three blocks away featuring dishes typical of the Yucatan. Lunches were around $5-10 per person, including drinks. We liked it so much we ate there at least once a week! Just like on Cozumel, one of the specials on Monday was always frijol con puerco, pork braised in a black bean soup.
The City
PDC has over 300,000 residents and receives more than a million visitors per year. The city originally grew based on being the location for the ferry service to Cozumel. Now PDC is a destination of its own, and you can fly into it via Cancun, Tulum, or Cozumel.
The roads of the city are in a street/avenue grid system, starting from the beach and ferry pier. The streets run west/east. The main street is Benito Juarez (like many other Mexican cities), which starts at the park by the ferry pier and heads west. The streets north of Juarez are even (such as Calle 2 Norte), and south of Juarez are odd (such as Calle 1 Sur).
The avenues run north/south, and generally increase by fives. The first main road west of the beach is Quinta Avenida, or Fifth Avenue. This is a touristy pedestrian-only drag, with expensive restaurants and a busy club scene where it meets Calle 12.
Five blocks west is Avenida 30, which seemed like a more authentic retail strip, away from the malls and from Fifth.
Where Avenida 50 would be is the federal highway that travels through town. West of the highway is quieter and more residential than east of it, and although the highway divides the town, it is easy to cross. We stayed west of the highway around Avenida 65, and it was less than a 20 minute walk to get all the way east to the beach. Where you choose to stay will depend on what you are looking to do in Playa del Carmen, but we found that the highway was not much of a barrier from the east side of town, and the lodging is much less expensive.
A block away from our Airbnb was Parque La Ceiba, a preserved and fenced-in section of jungle, with nice walking trails. While not large, it was a good spot to get away from the city and feel the cool fresh air, and only one block off of Benito Juarez.
Highlights
Our month in PDC was all about relaxing and planning for travel in 2025. Between January and June, we will be on an 80-day world cruise, and then two other cruises. With so many port visits to research, we spent a great deal of time just lining everything up for the various ports of call.
The weather was unusually cold and rainy for the time of year. While we were able to enjoy the beach once or twice a week, the weather was generally uncooperative. If we saw blue skies we tended to drop everything and make the most of sunny times before the downpour started. The clouds tended to gather in the late morning and a shower would come in the afternoon.
Where Benito Juarez and Quince Avenida meet is the site of both the ferry terminal and a large plaza called Parque Los Fundadores, home to the notable Portal Maya sculpture, as well as regular cultural performances. Traditional Mayan dancing and drumming takes place underneath the sculpture, and each night there is an acrobatic show from a tall pole in the plaza. It was a similar show each day, but was still fun to watch. The performances are free but the performers are supported by donations from the crowd.
Dentist
Not everything was surf and sun. It had been a year so I saw a dentist for a cleaning and exam. He ended up finding a small cavity so I went back and had that filled. The two visits together cost around $120 USD, which seemed like a good value.
Friends
We met up with a few nomadic couples while in town. The first was a Go With Less brunch meet-up at Pik Nik. Mike and Diana live in PDC but also have French residency, and Bill and Meg are from Seattle! Both couples write about their travels, and their respective blogs are at livingchapter2.com and howbillrolls.com if you’d like to check out their stories.
We met another couple from Go With Less and had such a fun time getting to know them that we hung out a few times. From speakeasies to disco dance parties – we had fun with Wael and Amy.
A bit of strange luck meant that our good Seattle friends Krista and Robbie stayed a few nights in PDC. We met up a couple times, including Robbie driving us all out for a day of sightseeing.
Coba Mayan Ruins
We woke up early one morning, packed a backpack for a day trip, and hopped into the car with Robbie and Krista to make our way to Coba.
Coba is a deserted Mayan city spread out amongst the jungle. Once the dominant city in the region, it lost a power struggle with Chichen Itza and was abandoned by the time the Spanish arrived in the area. At this point the ruins are overgrown with trees and a jungle canopy, and the walkways were quite shaded. It gave me total Tomb Raider vibes.
There are two admission fees for Coba. One is paid to the parking lot attendant (for the vehicle and the people), and another is paid at the gate. It ended up being around $10 USD per person.
The site is spread out, and there are pedicabs and bicycle rentals once inside. We chose to walk, as the paths are clear and the canopies provide shade. It is a very different experience from the blazing heat and commercial focus at Chichen Itza.
There has been a great effort to uncover and preserve the ancient edifices. We spent a few hours checking out the various structures. The highlights were the large pyramid structures, the tallest of which is taller than the tallest Chichen Itza pyramid. As of December 2024, visitors are not allowed to climb on the pyramids, and that is probably best for preservation’s sake and tourist safety. There are still many lower structures in the site that can be walked on and around.
Valladolid
We drove to the nearby Pueblo Magico called Valladolid for lunch, stopping at a place called Don Gato y Su Parrilla (Sir Cat and His Grill). From the grill we were served a pile of pork ribs, along with a selection of sides and salsa. With all of us ordering a drink, the price was $24 USD for four people: just great for a mound of meat, even though ribs are not my favorite!
The town was fairly busy with busloads of tourists that had been touring either Coba or Chichen Itza.
We spent about an hour walking around the colorful town. The main square had cute benches, a nice fountain, and local vendors lined up. We grabbed some ice cream as it was very hot and humid. The town reminded me of small European cities – a bit of Spanish flair. We could have spent more time walking around or enjoying a cold margarita on a patio, but we were all eager to cool off in a cenote.
Cenote Xux-Ha
The Yucatan Peninsula is a limestone plain with countless sinkholes known locally as cenotes. With the low elevation, many of these are full of rainwater and groundwater, and are perfect spots for swimming. With hundreds of cenotes being developed for visitors, we had some difficulty deciding which one to go to. Corey and I had previously swam in two cenotes around Tulum so I was looking for a good experience that was different from those and not swarmed with people.
While there is a cenote in the center of Valladolid, we chose to drive about 20 minutes east of town to a cenote called Xux-Ha. It was just what we were looking for! We all changed into our swimsuits, rinsed off, then descended down the staircase into the dimly lit cave.
I saw a large black spider with long, skinny legs near the railing and I prayed I wouldn’t see any more. It was about 6 flights of steps down to the swimming platform. The wood was sturdy and we all felt fairly comfortable.
There were about twenty folks swimming and taking pictures in the sparkling blue waters. The lighting was perfect and the ambience was incredible. As typical for these wells, the water is clear and cold. But the air outside was so hot and humid that it felt great!
As we lingered in the cave, gradually people left and after about an hour we were almost the last ones (except for two other visitors and the lifeguard).
It was the perfect finish to a long day. As we were pulling out from the parking lot, rain began to pitter-patter on the windshield. It rained the entire 90-minute drive back with a heavy downpour as we approached Playa. Bright flashes of lightning flickered over head and it remained stormy all night. We were happy that Robbie was in the driver’s seat, as the skills he honed in Seattle kept him steady on the wheel through the Mexican traffic.
Food
We continued to enjoy the Yucatan favorites that we had found in Cozumel, including Monday’s special frijol con puerco, which we tried at three different places.
Barbacoa de res was a new favorite for me: beef braised in a savory broth. We preferred it in taco form with a side of the broth, called consome. We both preferred a late-night stand located on Avenida 20 and Benito Juarez, where the allspice notes reminded us of pho broth. I will have lingering dreams about that rich broth!
Our favorite taco stand was El Nero. There are two locations in PDC but we frequented the one on Benito Juarez, close to the highway. The menu here is simple: tacos. No variations, just classic tacos on corn tortillas. Al pastor for pork cut off the spit, or a ton of beef options. We liked their version of suadero, which used brisket crisped-up on the flattop.
For NFL Sundays, we bought a roasted chicken (pollo asado) from one of a cluster of at least five roasted chicken establishments on the same block (Avenida 85 and Benito Juarez). The bird plus sides was around $10 and made great meals.
We tried cochinita pibil, pork braised in bitter orange and achiote, giving it a bright color and a sour flavor. Perfect for a torta (sandwich) so the crusty bread can absorb the juices.
In addition to the limes common to Mexico, the markets in the Yucatan featured many varieties of sour and bitter citrus, which we found perfect for flavoring water or cocktails.
Quesadilla restaurants will hand press a tortilla on the plancha (griddle), fill it with gooey cheese and a filling, and somehow sell this for around $1 USD. It was my first experience with huitlacoche, a fungus that infects corn and makes it a truffle-like umami bomb. What is a defect to corn farmers is a Mexican delicacy. It was tasty!
On the other side of the spectrum was Mezcla, a restaurant serving high-end versions of Yucatan and Mexican classics. Corey enjoyed the rich flavor of the pork belly in mole, and I really liked the truffle potatoes, and lamb.
We met the chef, who is from the United Kingdom, and he tempted us to return on Christmas Eve to enjoy a traditional English turkey roast (served with mashed potatoes, veggies, and gravy). We dined a third time when first meeting up with Krista and Robbie.
We ate at Bendita Costilla, an Argentine steakhouse that was not only in our neighborhood, but multiple folks told us was the best steakhouse in town. Other than the prices (which were reasonable but not Argentina-cheap), it was authentic to our memories of dining in Argentina. The fugazzetta pizza had the mammoth amount of cheese and onions that it should, and the steak was bountiful.
Just down the street from there was their casual burger joint. The smashed burgers were charred, crispy, and juicy. Skip the milkshakes and just order another burger instead. They cost around the same but the milkshake was nothing special.
For dessert: Marquesitas! Carts can be found all over Playa del Carmen with batter and a hot iron, ready to crisp up something similar to a waffle cone, filled with your choice of fruits, nut butters or caramels, and shredded cheese. Perfect for a sweet snack when walking around.
Final Thoughts
The beaches are very clean with very little trash. The seaweed sargassum is common, which creates a sulfurous odor as it decomposes. But every day city crews comb the beach, removing sargassum and trash, meaning that the public beaches are just as clean as those abutting luxury hotels.
However, the jungle spaces around the city are littered with garbage. The city parks are clean, but there are many undeveloped lots (some large!) that are sadly used as dumping grounds.
We also enjoyed playing tennis weekly at a nearby public park. so fortunate to find that in both Cozumel and PDC. Some hotels have courts but charge American rates for court rentals and pro workouts.
There is much street art around the city, from murals on municipal walls to works on smaller residential streets.
It was a nice place to chill out for a month. We feel refreshed heading into 2025 and another busy year.