Playa Del Carmen, Mayan Riviera, Mexico - Anyone been?

[GreenLantern]

Looks like I will be going down there in March, staying at the Grand Co Co Bay resort. Anyone been and have any survival tips for me? Must hit restaurants? Fun activities? Cheap hooker locations?

It is 40 minutes south of Cancun, or so they say, so all Cancun goers can share some tips as well.

I have never been scuba diving but it is something I wouldn't mind getting into because apparently this is one of the best spots in the world. Would it be better for me to do my training here first and just rent equipment down there? I also want to try wind surfing and snorkeling.. and of course deep sea fishing.

For those of you who have no interest in Mexico but opened this thread anyway, I offer you this:

[FlamesAddiction]

I have been there, and to be honest, it wasn't my favourite part of Mexico. I much prefer the west coast of the country. The water is warmer, it's less windy, and less busy.

If you're around the university age though and like to party, than the Cancun area will be your thing.

[3 Justin 3]

Nice, I went to that area as well. Make sure you get some kind of tour to check out Chichen Itza. It is one of the new "wonders of the worlds", and it is that breathtakingly cool. Almost as cool as when I was in Greece looking at the Parthenon, almost.

There are a few other places I hit up in the area that were pretty cool.

[burn_this_city]

I've been to Playa twice now. If you plan on diving down there do your PADI certification in Calgary. Its much more expensive and time consuming to do your certification down there. The best diving is off Cozumel island, not so much off the mainland.

[flamesflames444]

I have only been to Playa once but stayed in a resort prob 15 mins outside of it. Given it was my first time in Mexico, I was taken aback by the amount of people begging for change, asking you to buy their crap...they were relentless... I thought it was much more there as compared to when I was in Jamaica.... it almost gets tiresome after awhile... and the funny thing...it's all the same crap!

Playa would be a nice day trip for a first timer, but I would rather stay at one of the all inclusives that are a little more isolated than stay in town... that is, unless you are young and looking for more nightlife.

[Frank the Tank]

The ruins at Tulum are quite amazing as well. Not far from where you'll be.

[Boblobla]

I went there for my honeymoon in August. Xel Ha was pretty cool, the wife did the swimming with dolphins.

[Ruttiger]

Went last year and loved it. Stayed at the Viva Wyndham Maya and found it to be excellent value for the money. PDC is outside of the party atmosphere of Cancun so probably a little quieter, but there are enough spots along 5th ave that you can do it up if you choose. Water and sand were gorgeous, weather was hot, and no shortage of excursions if you want to get off the resort. I'm going back to that area this February.

[GreenLantern]

We are going March 7th-15th, just curious what times you guys were down there and what it was like for rain/wind/sunshine?

We are 26ish, so we want the party when we want it, and we want the quiet when we want it. So it sounds like Playa is much better for us than Cancun. Although a night trip to Cancun will probably be in order.

Our resort is located just outside of the town, I think like a 5 minute walk along the beach on the northern part. I understand that 5th ave. is mostly busy for restaurants towards the southern end?

The dolphins is something I feel I want to check out, just because it is a rare thing for a Sask boy to get to do But the deep sea fishing really has me interested, it is supposed to be great fishing around there for Marlins, anyone try it out?

Thanks so far for the great responses guys, didn't expect so many so fast.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

I went there for my honeymoon in August.

Me too, Stayed at Secrets Capri. Loved it, the humidity took some getting used to but after that I just had a great time. I really recommend going to the Coba Ruins, it doesn't look like much (as it's incomplete) but it's the only one you're still allowed to climb. We didn't spend more time in the town itself, and yes the folk schilling the tourist junk are quite pushy but that's Mexico in a tourist town no matter the spot, met some nice locals outside of the main shopping area. Did some snorkeling on the reefs, piloted a catarmeran (spl?). Just had a great great time.

Didn't take in the nightlife, but I heard Senoir Frogs was a good time from other folk at the resort. The resort you're staying at will almost certainly have Nightlife excursions available so getting your party on shouldn't be a problem.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

But the deep sea fishing really has me interested, it is supposed to be great fishing around there for Marlins, anyone try it out?

I've been. I'll write more tonight when I'm not at work.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I have never been scuba diving but it is something I wouldn't mind getting into because apparently this is one of the best spots in the world. Would it be better for me to do my training here first and just rent equipment down there?

Yes. I would highly highly recommend getting your classroom and pool training up here first. You can then do the open water dives down there is nice warm clear water. We did our classroom and pool at Aquasport and then did the open water in Costa Rica.

There are several advantages to this:

1) Pacing. You can take a course over a 3 or 4 week time period which allows you to slowly develop the skills and think through the processes.
2) You'll actually read the manual this way. If you do it while on vacation you're not going to want to read which means the lessons and skills won't sink in as much.
3) I believe you get better training up here than you do at a resort which will ensure you're more prepared. I have a first hand example of someone on our open water dives who was ill equipped to handle a stressful situation.
4) The open water dives which might be stressful are done in the clear ocean instead of a murky cold glacier fed lake. It might be a little more expensive as you split the activities up, but it's worth it for comfort.

If you do decide to do this I'd recommend contacting vip-diving.net to arrange for your open water dives. This is a small company run by a Canadian couple. We dove with them in September and had an excellent time. Again, I think there are some advantages with them:
1) Being Canadian, they "speak our language" and understand the way Canadians think so there is a compatibility there.
2) Small groups. You might even be the only ones on the boat. Instead of being on a resort boat with a bunch of newbies you'll have the full attention of your instructor or be in a manageable group of likely a max of 4 instead of a boat of 20.
3) They will take you to lesser used spots which means no other divers or fewer divers on site leading to better coral and more fish.
4) Cheaper than the resort
5) From the looks of what we used, they have good, well maintained equipment for rent.

If you have any questions on the dive shops in the city or on what to expect feel free to get in touch.

Cheers.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

The ruins at Tulum are quite amazing as well. Not far from where you'll be.

Without a doubt, Tulum is probably the most beautiful place I have been. I just felt like cattle there because of all the tour groups.

I thought Xcaret was actually kind of fun. For those that don't know, it's a like a theme park filled with different cultural exhibits, animals, and nightly show with folk dancing. It is a bit on the corny side, but I liked it.

[prarieboy]

We were about ten minutes North of where you ar staying by a little town called Puerto Morelos. It's a cool little town that has a main square with some restaurants and shops you can check out. Not overly touristy.

We went out fishing with

http://www.puertomorelosfishing.com/

Check out the website and download the brochure, that's me with the Baracuda!!! Also check out the what's biting link to find a fishing calendar of what you can expect to catch at different times of the year. We were there in mid February and all I caught was that Baracuda. Bottom fishing is almost guaranteed success by the way.

It was also very windy the whole week we were there and we were fishing in 4-6 foot swells. Not Fun.

Make sure you want to invest the time and money. What is hoped to be a great days fishing can easily turn into an expensive boat ride. During March in that area you might pick up a Sailfish but you'd have a better chance for a Marlin a few months later. Of course you could always get lucky at any time but just don't get your expectations too high and you won't be disappointed.

If you think you want to give it a try I would definately recommend Diving Dog Tours. (the link above)
They worked really hard to put us into some fish. Changing lures, bait, depth etc.

If you do, say Hi to Kathy from Martin from Calgary.

Let me know if you have any questions, I've done lot's of charters over the years.

Have a good trip!!!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

We were about ten minutes North of where you ar staying by a little town called Puerto Morelos. It's a cool little town that has a main square with some restaurants and shops you can check out. Not overly touristy.

!!!

That's technically where I was too.

There is actually a book store there where the owners have a Calgary Flames sign in the window. I went in there to say I was a Flames fan too, but they didn't care.

[GreenLantern]

Ya getting skunked sucks, but it happens. I do a lot of fishing so I am used to it. Actually we did a three day house boat trip up to Tobin lake a few years ago. They opened the dam the day before we got there so the water was all muddy from the sand being disturbed. The fish couldn't see 1 inch in front of them. A boat of 12 guys fishing non stop caught 1 fish all weekend. That was about a $600 trip.. so I know a little about time and money investment in regards to fishing But then I have dropped $1200 on a fly in and caught 20lb+ pike steady along with trout and wall eye all weekend. Some times you get it sometimes you don't.

Just like the website says, its called fishing not catching. You go out for the company, the beers and the good times, catching fish is just a bonus

I think I will be using these guys though I like their style, did you book in advance before you headed down?

10 minutes north is by car I take it?

Which size boat did you guys use with how many people?

[prarieboy]

I'm guessing at the time. We were about 30 minutes fron the airport and could walk 20 minutes to Puerto Morelos along the beach.

We went with the 30ft boat. Just me and my wife. We booked in advance to be sure we got them. If you don't there is other companies but I looked around for a while before hand and they came highly recommended. Kathy actually offered to take us out for free a couple days after we went but the wife wasn't too keen. :-(
I don't know about now but she had a job at the time as a newspaper editor. She arranges everything and you go out with one of her crews.

We had a blast down there. Wish I was going again.

[OBCT]

I just got back from Playa del Carmen with a group. Really really enjoyed it. We were glad we went when we did, since it's "cool" (ie. high of 80oF, low of 70oF daily) and just past the rainy season, but still a little overcast every once in awhile (we're the rare type that don't necessarily travel towards the equator for the sun).

If you're looking for a place to catch some televised hockey while you're there, the End Zone Sports Bar ("EZ" for short) is a great option. It's on the south side of 5th Ave. (between 12th and 14th streets; about 6 blocks north of Benito Juarez) and often has Canadians stopping by to catch a game. They were happy to change the channel to the Flames when we asked.

Tulum was excellent, yes. I was expecting good things based on people's responses in the past, but I was still blown away. We didn't go on many tours during the trip, what we did "splurge" ($100 pp) on a full day guided tour to Tulum. It was so totally worth it -- much moreso than I expected it to be. Not only did we get a ton of historical and archaeological context to Tulum itself (and how it relates to the Mayan civilization and the other ruins, including Chichen Itza - which we didn't get to see, but would definitely like to in the future), but we got to snorkel in two incredible cenotes (sinkholes), had snacks and cold beverages included throughout, had traditional lunch made for us on a private beach, and got to ask all sorts of questions to a great guide and driver, who spoke excellent English. Did I mention how beautiful Tulum is?

Also, you have to snorkel/scuba off the Cozumel coast and/or swim with the dolphins while you're down there. Amazing stuff.

[troutman]

Rent a car and go to Chichen Itza before the crowds and the heat.

Drive through the jungle. Visit a colonial town. Explore cenotes (underground caves).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valladolid,_Yucat%C3%A1n

[GreenLantern]

I am out of thanks for the day but thanks guys again.

A sports bar is much needed since there are 4 Flames games while we are down there.

I will spend at least one day checking out the ruins.. I am a little nervous about renting a car down there and driving. Any issues over insurance or.. say corrupt local officials?

So many recommendations.. great stuff, hope we can try most of it out. I think pretty much everything I asked about has been covered so far except wind surfing, anyone give that a shot?