Playa del Carmen, Mexico - opinions?

Hi,

I've been invited on a holiday to Playa del Carmen in Mexico in July.

Just wondering if anyone has been there, and if so :
- whats it like - i.e. is it like Cancun and just full of all-inclusive hotels?
- is it a quiet place, or full of bars/clubs/spring break students etc
- am an AOW Scuba diver - are the many possibilities of scuba diving (and also other water sports like water-skiing, sailing etc).
- plan to stay in the G. Flamenco Xcaret - has anyone been there?

Any opinions/recommendations welcome!

Thanks,
Ragazza.

Much nicer than Cancun, IMO. There are all-inclusive hotels but most of these are in Playacar which is an adjacent mainly 5-star resort. Lots of budget hotels within the town itself. Playa Del Carmen is commercialised, but a really nice resort, buzzing place. Good mix of beaches / bars / restaurants. Night life is quieter than Cancun, but still quite good if you're going for that. Better mix of international tourists than Cancun. Regular ferries to Cozumel where you have some of the best coral reef in in the Caribbean, so great place also for Scuba diving. Should be plenty of other water sports as well.

Playa Del Carmen is lovely - lots of nice restaurants and bars. There are a few all inclusive hotels and it does seem to be very commercialised. Would definitely recommend it.

Agree with both above. I was there 3 years ago with my girlfriend and it was a great holiday. The reefs are great, walk about a mile out of town to the north and you can have a pristine beach nearly to yourself. We stayed in one of the cheaper hotels in the town itself but it was still really nice, they had american tv and there are some really nice restaurants and bars.

If you're into any culture, the pyramids at Chichen Itza are only about 1 1/2 hours away on the bus (tours organized daily).

Highly recommended

What's the diving like?(off the point sorry) & what's the weather like in Novemeber?

Re: Playa del Carmen or Cozumel, Mexico - opinions?

Hi there,

thanks for all the feedback.

Now the holiday options are between going to Cozumel or to Playa del Carmen.

Ideally I'd like somewhere thats not too touristy or commercialised, with some local character and athmosphere and nice beaches, where I could go scuba-diving. Wouldnt be too mad on nightlife - just maybe some nice restaurants/tavernas.

Taking that into account, does anyone know whether Cozumel o P. del Carmen would be better?

Thanks for the advice!
Ragazza.

the diving there is good off the coast, but the most amazing diving you will ever do is in the cenotes. These are the water holes inland. They were recently highlighted in attenboroughs planet earth on bbc1. If you are into diving, these are not to be missed. I did it near tulum, have dived all over the world and have never been so amazed as diving there. type in diving cenote into google for more info.

There last year, days before Hurricane Wilma hit, so missed the Cenotes by a day . Tulum is fab though, real hippy off the beaten track feel, still with a few bars and hotels. Gorgeous beaches!

Playa is the more lively place and has the nicer beach 'on the door step' vs Cozumel (unless you stay in one of the resorts outside of town). However, the wife and I are big into diving so we stayed in Cozumel. Village atmosphere, a lot more mexican, diving very beautiful (Aqua Safari were really good), plenty of fantastic underwater sea life. Dodging the floating restaurants (cruise ships) that dock there is easy enough as well. They are only 'in town' for a few hours...Maybe a couple of days on either side as the ferry ride is only 40 minutes or so? We stayed in a great place run by a french lady and a mexican architect, and really reasonable: http://www.cozumel.net/bb/tamarind/index.htm

November a great time to go as with October we 'thought' we were out of hurricane season...last word...mexicans are so nice...good luck...