Destination: Playa del Carmen

Sandy Lyon, one of our friendly Holiday Vacationeers, shares about her timeshare vacation to Playa del Carmen:
Recently, I went to Playa del Carmen and stayed at the Sunset Fishermen Resort, a Gold Crown resort right on the beach, but within walking distance to town.

I had friends who had stayed at this resort and really liked it, so I thought I would give it a try. More importantly, I really wanted to go to Playa Del Carmen for a change, instead of Puerto Vallarta, which is my favorite place in Mexico. I did an exchange using RCI Points. It was very easy through RCI’s online Points Exchange Web site.

There are so many things to do in the area. The ruins at Tulm are a must! We also went to Xel Ha which is a huge all natural water park, where we snorkeled and did the “lazy river floating on tubes” thing, which wasn’t so lazy . . . we had to paddle for an hour! We also spent the day at Puerto Adventuras, where we swam with the Dolphins. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would highly recommend to anyone. The shopping is great. Lots and lots of small shops to buy just about anything you would want in a tourist destination. We even had necklaces in silver personally made with our names spelled out in the Mayan language.

The town of Playa del Carmen is small and wonderful. The main part for tourists is about 18 blocks long and 5 blocks wide, so you can just walk to everything. You can catch the ferry to Cozumel from there also. There are many great restaurants, some are very chic, some serve authentic Mayan food, and many are Italian–definitely something for everyone’s appetite.
Many of the restaurants and pubs have entertainment, from old Rock and Roll, to authentic Mariachi, to music from Peru and Brazil. We were sitting at the Blue Parrott one night when all of a sudden a fire dance show started, 4 men and 4 women twirling fire batons. It was exceptional. We were also very fortunate that while we were there, they were having their 5th Annual Jazz Festival on the beach, which included George Benson and Tower of Power.

The beaches in Playa del Carmen are exceptional. Very nice white sand that doesn’t burn your feet. You can swim in the ocean and really enjoy the water there. I highly recommend this destination for anyone wanting beautiful weather, beautiful beaches, magnificent ruins, great shopping, lots of entertainment, good food, and a very small, personable town with lots of ambiance.

Vacation Tip: If you plan to go to Playa del Carmen, most of the resorts are all-inclusive, so you do have to pay all-inclusive fees, and they do vary per resort, so you need to check this information carefully. If you want to be close to town, make sure the resort is right in Playacar or Playa del Carmen, or you will be miles from town and have to take a taxi. When getting to the airport in Cancun, be sure to ask for a shuttle, because a cab is very, very expensive from the airport to Playa del Carmen.

Visit Sandy’s Page

Back Home