If you jump onto one of the frequent passenger ferries from Isla Cozumel it’s only an hour-long ride back to Playa del Carmen on the mainland. This little port has thrived over recent years as a resort town. The scuba diving might not be as good here as it is on Cozumel, but Playa offers one very long beach with clear blue-green sea and perfect powdery white sand… which after all is what most holiday goers are interested in!
In other words, Playa del Carmen is a very popular destination - and so the pretty port does feel a little inundated with visitors at times. But there are no cruise ship docks here thankfully, so you don’t get the daily deposits of clueless, stupidly rich tourists you find on Cozumel. Actually the pleasant and lively main street feels more like a busy town in Asia than Central America – we found Playa strongly resembled Phuket for some reason! Yes, there are plenty of tacky souvenir shops, tour touts and over-priced restaurants, but the town is green and leafy, beautifully manicured, and it has a relatively friendly atmosphere.
We only spent two nights in Playa del Carmen – partly because we have very little time left in Mexico now, and partly because we aren’t exactly the type of people to just go to the beach on holiday! OK, we had some lovely walks along the sand in Playa, but we really didn’t fancy the prospect of lying on a sun-bed all day, slowly turning a deeper shade of lobster red… Yes, many people here are really impressively burnt!
Anyway, our next (and last) stop is Cancun. We’ll only be staying another 2 nights in the famous Mexican mega-resort before catching a flight back to London… for yet another wedding – this time for Gary’s best friend, Laura. This year has certainly had distinct themes to break up our travels!
In other words, Playa del Carmen is a very popular destination - and so the pretty port does feel a little inundated with visitors at times. But there are no cruise ship docks here thankfully, so you don’t get the daily deposits of clueless, stupidly rich tourists you find on Cozumel. Actually the pleasant and lively main street feels more like a busy town in Asia than Central America – we found Playa strongly resembled Phuket for some reason! Yes, there are plenty of tacky souvenir shops, tour touts and over-priced restaurants, but the town is green and leafy, beautifully manicured, and it has a relatively friendly atmosphere.
We only spent two nights in Playa del Carmen – partly because we have very little time left in Mexico now, and partly because we aren’t exactly the type of people to just go to the beach on holiday! OK, we had some lovely walks along the sand in Playa, but we really didn’t fancy the prospect of lying on a sun-bed all day, slowly turning a deeper shade of lobster red… Yes, many people here are really impressively burnt!
Anyway, our next (and last) stop is Cancun. We’ll only be staying another 2 nights in the famous Mexican mega-resort before catching a flight back to London… for yet another wedding – this time for Gary’s best friend, Laura. This year has certainly had distinct themes to break up our travels!
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