Mexico’s “best” beach party city with lots of adventures and proximity to other incredible destinations.
I was there for 3-4 months in 2021. Some people love it (most people just wanting to have general fun and party). Some hate it (the ones who prefer a more spiritual vibe like Tulum).
Playa is good for 3 things:
- Central homebase to other towns, good infrastructure for remote working or just living in Mexico.
- Good partying, clubs, bars.
- Can still relax if you stay off the crowded touristy streets.
Where to stay:
- Hostels:
- Selina Hostel (now closed) – should be your default spot. Lots of people from all over the world, fun staff, with activities every night. Beautiful pool and chill area that is great for partying or working, beautiful rooftop and yoga area with view of the ocean and 5th Ave. Internet here can be annoying, works well for 45 mins then cuts out for 10 mins.
- Che Hostel – is 2nd best option (cheaper than Selina, less comfortable rooms) with very heavy partying (too much for some), smaller size, and cozy social area with fun activities, but the AC can fail and internet is worse than Selina.
- Selina and Che people usually meet up to go bars/clubs together. Any other hostel is probably even cheaper (often much less fancy) and completely full of dudes and no girls which makes for an unbalanced vibe. Che Hostel is mostly only young party folks, Selina can suit more professional/spiritual/peaceful people up to 50 years old or older.
- AirBnB – a popular option if you plan to stay awhile (and can save money staying with other nice people you met at hostels). There are great spots around $1-1.5k/month that even come with daily house-cleaner. If you want cheapest thing possible, you can find $300-600/month places which are much less fancy. For a fancy gated neighborhood, stay in Playacar (full of rich Mexicans or foreigners). People here have more money and upscale lifestyle and show it off. It’s also much safer and arguably “not Mexico”. Depending on who you hang out with, this can feel too far from the action.
- Hotels – there are tons of nice hotels from all price ranges and cute to posh vibes. $20/night 3-star hotel can still be really nice, only 2 blocks from the beach, and have a rooftop pool. I highly recommend getting a place with a rooftop pool for days when you want to be lazy but don’t want to feel like you’re missing out on the action. Rooftops have nice views and yet still social and fun vibe. Be careful some hotels are super peaceful whereas others have loud events on some nights.
- Anywhere near the ocean between Playacar (southwest) and Av CTM (northeast) are decent with lots of restaurants nearby and still only a short cab ride away (60-100 MXN) to anything you might want to visit. I wouldn’t worry about tourist noise unless you plan to be on the main street.
- Playacar is also a nice place where many foreigners like to live.
Sightseeing, activities, and walking areas:
- 5th ave aka “Quinta Ave” – loud, noisy, touristy, lots of live American-rock music bars all battling each other for highest volume. Some jazz and cuban can be found on the cross streets if you look/listen carefully.
- Beach – you can stay on the main beach areas (between 2 Norte & CTM) to see lots of period and beachfront bars/restaurants. Volleyball and local action happens closer to the white ferry dock building (south of 2 Norte), lots of cultural dancing and street performances happen here as well. For a quieter beach, go to “the Playacar side”, which requires you to walk through the white ferry building. On that other side is peace and quiet without anyone bothering you to sell stuff.
- 10th ave – restaurants, laundrymats
- 38 Norte – I call this “the sexy street”. Walk here at night! Nice upscale restaurants away from the noise.
- Shopping – there’s only 2 areas. The one by the ferry dock and the one by the Love sign. Speaking of which…
- The LOVE sign – drunk party friends like to meet here because there’s no mistaking it. Also good for running into other party people.
Where to party:
- Clubs – the main ones every night are either Santino (Fri-Sun opens extra floor with techno/house) or La Empajada; these 2 play reggaeton. Other clubs that are super touristy and not recommended IMO are Tequila Barrel (usually trashy/flashy Americans here), or the 4 by the intersection that has Mandala. Those clubs are more if you want book a huge table for your giant group of 15-20 people or you’re the type of weekend party tourist. Coco Bongo on 10th Ave is also this type of place. On Mondays…all the good clubs are closed and the only party is at The Rooftop. For electronic any night, go to Easy Hotel or the other one right across the street from it.
- Bars – a good beach bar is Fusion Beach Bar. You can go here any night around 10pm and up for a nice vibe with music and fire show but quiet/intimate enough to have deep conversation. It’s a great private spot on the beach. Dark lighting. The best beer bar with lots of imports is Club De La Cerveza, a very nice walk that helps you spot other things you may want to see. You can also pick any loud music bar when you walk along 5th Ave.
- Dance – if you’re into salsa/bachata (bachata is more dominant in PDC), go to Selina hostel on Wednesday nights (class at 7pm, dance 8pm-12am) or Encanto Beach any night. Once you meet the crowd, you can ask them where other events are. Best teachers out here are Pau & Mariano, but there are many other good ones too. Kizomba/zouk also happen but I don’t dance those. Argentino tango exists on a smaller scale as well.
Restaurants:
- Nordik – fancy Italian gourmet wine & dine vibe, in a cute side street. Very cute place with chill/fancy date-vibe atmosphere. You can sit outside and people watch over your wine. Italian chef running the place comes out to talk to you in his fancy blue suit and also give you on-the-house goodies. Great food and atmosphere.
- Trujillos – fancy Mexican hip gastro vibe with sexy house music and fancy-name cocktails. Lots of oooh-la-la looking food that makes you turn your head and take a billion photos. Trujillos is the spot if it’s someone’s birthday and you wanna throw a party. Make dinner reservations if it’s on weekends just to be safe (some nights are full). This is on the sexy street (Calle 38th Norte). After dinner, you can walk to the beach.
- Greek Restaurant – on Calle 38 Norte closer to the beach. It’s good and has live singer/music on some nights. Nice cozy chill vibe. More suitable for chiller or older crowd.
- For brunch, walk northwest on 10th Ave from like 8 Norte or also Calle 38 Norte.
- Machupicchu is my favorite Peruvian restaurant here, I went 3 times a week. I always got arroz con mariscos. Sorry, they don’t have arroz con pollo. The thai food next door is considered delicious by many people (but not for the ones who know REAL thai food, hahaha).
- After the clubs at night, most people go to street food stalls Calle 8 Norte and 10 Ave. You can also find taco stuff on Calle 10 next over.
- If you want to try a local food…I really like the “tikin xic” fish dish. Some restaurants do it better than others and/or with a better tasting sauce.
Cenotes:
If you don’t know what these are (natural Mayan outdoor swimming pools), you should DEFINITELY visit one!
- Cenote Jardin Del Eden – my absolute favorite. It’s also right next to Cenote Azul and Cenote Crystalino. Many people will try to visit more than one in one day. I personally think Jardin Del Eden is the best because it’s most beautiful and has less people. You’ll have many great opportunities for beautiful photos. I also recommend snorkeling or freediving along the back. There will be many little caves and narrow pathways to explore.
- Casa Tortuga – kinda lame touristy version of cenotes if you ask me. I’d say it’s better to spend the day in a real cenote. If you do insist on Casa Tortuga…you should only pay around 350-400 MXN per person, tops! Price only includes entry and not transportation. For transportation, you can take the collectivos or taxi.
Transportation:
- Around town – everyone uses taxi. Do not hail one from 10 Ave. Walk to 15 Ave and call from there, their pricing will be much cheaper. You can also WhatsApp message this number +52 984 217 7595 anytime (in English or Spanish) with your pickup and dropoff location, and they’ll respond with a price for confirmation.
- Out of town – “collectivos” are the small white shuttle vans (located on Avenida Juarez right under the freeway) goes frequently during day time and can reach many destinations cheaply (stops at cities or even midway destinations if you ask them), ADO are the fancier red coach buses that costs more and are more comfortable but only go to cities (and don’t stop in the middle like for cenotes), or private shuttle (find these online or ask your hotel).
- Airport – walk to the side of the ADO touristica station that’s near the beach, and you’ll see tons of taxis there. All kinds of taxi and shuttle drivers will try to rip you off with prices of 800 MXN. Just tell them you prefer to wait and share. After 10 minutes of ignoring you and pretending like the option doesn’t exist, one will approach you with a cheaper price like 200-300 MXN to share the ride with others. Sharing may require a short wait time.
Excursions:
- Cancun – 1hr north. Eww…I don’t see the point.
- Puerto Morellos – 30mins north. More relaxed seafood restaurants and small-town vibe boardwalk. Or you can be a beach bum. Popular spot for snorkeling. Has lots of colorful coral that you can actually swim through and touch. Day trip of 3-4 hours is enough. I wouldn’t stay here unless you like a really quiet beach-bum vibe. Lots of development going on so it might get fancier in 5-10 years.
- Akumal – 40 mins south. Has a popular turtle sanctuary and lots of super clean big hotels for old people. Either you’re here to swim and see huge turtles up close, or I wouldn’t even bother. Day trip is enough…come in the morning for the turtle sanctuary and then grab food at the cafe or walk across the street to the strip mall area to buy ice cream and goodies, then lay on the beach.
- Tulum – 1 hr south. Should rightfully be its own trip. Tulum is huge with many different parts of the city to explore.
- Cozumel – ferry ride directly from PDC. Go there in the morning, rent a car and drive straight to Playa Palancar to snorkel with starfish, stingrays, and corals. Then drive along the back of the island (south and east) stopping to explore the little beachspots that draw your eye. Eat dinner along the beaches or bring your car back to the center and eat there. Only reason IMO to go Cozumel is to snorkel or scuba dive. If you just want to explore an island, go Isla Mujeres which has way more things to do and beautiful spots to stay at.
- Isla Mujeres – you have to go to Cancun and then ferry from here to Isla Mujeres. IM can be done in 4-5 hours but I highly recommend you spend at least 2-3 days there. Some people fall in love with the private beach vibes in the south and stay 1-2 months.
Coworking:
- If you need absolutely solid internet – there are coworking spots with fiber-optic speed. Hotels can have reliable internet as well. Hostels are just good enough but can be annoyingly cut off every now and then.
- There are many cute co-working coffeeshops if you go to more local coffee-shops.
Miscellaneous:
- Laundry – my favorite was Lavanderia Smart Clean (good service and pricing). Do not go to Lavanderia Nikte, these bastards have a bad attitude and lose or shrink your clothes.
- Mosquitos – any place with a pool nearby is likely to have mosquitos annoying you.
Nearby towns:
- Playacar – more like gated community with Playa Del Carmen. Stay here if you want to live among people with money.
- Puerto Aventuras – super nice neighborhood. Nicest/richest in the area. Stay to live among people with lots of money.
- Puerto Morelos – small beach town with a turtle sanctuary. Usually done as a day trip.
- Tulum – I’m sure you’ve heard lots about it? Probably the hippest coolest major destination in east coast (if not all of) Mexico right now.
- Cancun – popular beach resort spot. I recommend it if you’re staying on a hotel resort. But not for backpacking.