Playa del Carmen online camera. Xaman Ha Condominiums
Playa del Carmen is a Mexican resort located 64 km south of Cancun. It is much smaller and the atmosphere is almost European. Until the early 1980s Playa - as it is usually called - was a simple fishing village. Today it is one of the fastest growing communities in Mexico. It attracts not only the weekend Mexicans but many people from all over the world. Among other things, huge cruise ships dock here twice a week to replenish the local population.
Both Playa del Carmen and the adjacent Playacar are located in the Riviera Maya, or Mayan Riviera, about halfway between the big, prestigious resort of Cancun and Tulum, a picturesque Mayan rock fortress. The ancient Mayans appreciated the beauty of the area long before the Spaniards arrived here in the 16th century, and the tourist boom began a few centuries later. The coast is peppered with Mayan ruins; the largest concentration is found around Playa del Carmen.
Avenida 5, a pedestrian street running through the center of the town, is full of boutiques, good restaurants and houses with interesting architecture. The heart of the town is the zocalo, the main square. Avenida Juarez goes west; it has a bus station, a post office and several banks. North of Avenida 5 you will find most of the hotels, restaurants, bars and stores. The further you walk down Avenida 5, the cheaper the restaurants and stores become and the less crowded the beaches become. The streets (avenidas) have numbers 5, 10, 15 and so on, so street number 30 is not as far from Avenida 5 as it might seem.
To the south of Playa del Carmen is the purpose-built, gated Playacar resort with an 18-hole golf course, large all-inclusive hotels, private apartments for rent, and an executive area. It's a 5-minute cab ride from downtown Playa del Carmen; there are plenty of Mayan ruins around Playacar, and there's not much to see in the resort itself.
The Riviera Maya beach stretches south from Cancun to Tulum, while Playa del Carmen and Playacar are nestled in the heart of the region. Here, the coastline is white sand and the water in the sea is crystal clear. The descent into the water is so gentle that the sea seems just a huge pool.
Most of the resort hotels are along the coast, where the white sand is particularly clean. The main beach of Playa del Carmen, with its bars and restaurants, narrows to the north and becomes less crowded. In front of the big yellow building of the Porto Real Hotel, the beach widens again; here, at one of the beach clubs, you can rent an umbrella and sun lounger.
If you walk north along the shore for another 10 minutes, you'll come to Coco Beach, where there are several restaurants and dive stores. Nearby is Chunzubul Reef, where you can rent a boat and snorkel from locals. Keep in mind, however, that most of the coral near the shore has been destroyed.
All beaches around Playa del Carmen are open and free and can be accessed from the promenade - there are several entrances. However, the further north you go, the harder it is to get to the beach - passage through private areas is restricted. It's best to walk straight across the sand, as most of the paths off the highway toward the shore between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen end in a dead end.
Once outside the main beach area, you will find yourself in the area of resorts: Playa Tucan, Mamitas, Shangri-La, Zubul and Coco Beach. There are bars and restaurants lined up along the coastline in this part of the coast, so you'll constantly have the opportunity to refresh yourself. All beaches have lifeguards, but that's no reason to be careless; take precautions when swimming.
Farther north are the best beaches of the Riviera Maya: the aptly named Mysterious Coast, Playa del Secreto, and the Paradise Coast, Playa Paradiso, both 5km wide. Sea turtles and crabs are frequent guests here. You'll find yourself in Punta Maroma and Punta Bete, where the limestone formations and jungle are a designer's delight. If you're coming with children, you might like the stretch of coastline around the resort of Porto Real. Here small thickets of coral form natural pools with warm water where fish swim - safe and interesting for the little members of the family.
Many restaurants in Playa del Carmen late at night are transformed into bars and nightclubs. Avenida 5 is full of bars and clubs.
