"Cuando no esperas nada, todo ilega- When you expect nothing, everything arrives"
- Mexican Proverb
Playa del Carmen is one of the jewels along the Mexican Riviera Maya with beautiful beaches, turquoise water and great nightlife, and more affordable than popular Cancun.
All Information and prices are updated to 2023.
How to get from Cancun International Airport to Playa del Carmen?
The cheapest way to get to Playa del Carmen is to use the ADO Bus, the public transport bus. It will cost you around 300 pesos per person and takes about 1.5 hours. The bus stops on Juarez Avenue and on 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen.
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You can also use a taxi, but it is much more expensive and hard to get a fair price from the cab drivers. It should cost you around 70–80 USD and should take about 45 minutes depending on traffic.
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A shared shuttle transfer from the airport will cost you around 29 USD per person.
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The most flexible option is to rent a car. We use Discovercars.com. Keep in mind that it can be hard to find parking in Playa del Carmen, so make sure your hotel offers free parking.
Rent a car with Discovercars.com
Top 3 Things to do in Playa del Carmen
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#1: Enjoy a whole day at Xcaret Park
A truly great way to spend at least a day during your visit on the Yucatán Peninsula!
Xcaret is an eco-archaeological theme park. It is located in the jungle facing the Caribbean Sea, with underground rivers, cenotes, and wildlife. There are many different activities offered where Mexico's past and present are celebrated.
The park offers a coral reef aquarium and a sea turtle center. Also, a butterfly garden, an aviary, and a rainforest trail.
There are different sections of the park where you can see jaguars, flamingos, spider monkeys, and bats.
While walking through the park, you can enjoy the Papantla Flyers ceremony, where five men climb a tall pole, and one of them stands on a platform at the top to dance and plays a flute and a small drum to honor the sun and the four elements. Or enjoy the pre-Hispanic dances in the pre-Hispanic village.
Walk through the "Bridge to Paradise" Mexican Cemetery.
Get a life vest, swim through the rivers in the park, and enjoy the views.
#2. Walk around Quinta Avenida
A colorful, 5 km long, must-see street in Playa del Carmen, lined with small stores, souvenir shops, cafés, bars, and restaurants. Take one of the many small streets that cross it to get to the beach.
Drinks?
Where to Eat?
#3. Swim in a Cenote
A cenote is a naturally formed water well. There are thousands to be found throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. Cenotes were considered gateways to the world of the dead by the ancient Maya.
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Today, many of these cenotes have been made safe for visitors to swim and dive in their crystal-clear blue waters.
Just a 10-minute drive from downtown Playa del Carmen is the Cenote Chaak Tun where you can take a 2.5-hour guided tour to explore the beautiful caves and snorkel in the cool water.
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Another great option is Chikin Ha. Here you can swim in a cenote in a cave or an open cenote, or go zip-lining through the jungle.
The best Day Trips from Playa del Carmen
Best Hotels in Playa del Carmen
A 4-star hotel just a few steps from the beach that offers great traditional Mayan cuisine.
Where to Eat?
Where to Eat?
A great 4* hotel near the beach that offers free bikes to explore Playa del Carmen.
A 5* hotel that offers full free access to Experiencias Xcaret’s nature parks and tours (Xcaret, Xplor, Xplor Fuego, Xenses, Xoximilco, Xel-ha and Xenotes).
Where to Eat?
* We paid for this Mexico vacation out of our own pocket. All tips given are our own. Some links are advertising links. This means that, if you book something through these links, we receive a small commission. Every month we donate 20% of our earnings to an animal shelter, animal sanctuary or animal welfare organization around the world.
Thank you for your support!
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