Playa del Carmen, a beautiful beach town in Mexico, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. Just an hour from Cancun International Airport, it’s an ideal central location for exploring The Riviera Maya.
As long-time residents of Playa del Carmen (over four years!), we love sharing our local knowledge. Recently, we celebrated a birthday and our anniversary by taking a staycation, experiencing our town like tourists. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to spend 48 perfect hours in Playa del Carmen Mexico.
Where is Playa del Carmen Mexico
Playa del Carmen is a popular beach town located on the coast of The Riviera Maya, Mexico. As the city is less than a one-hour drive south of Cancun, you can imagine that this is a popular tourist destination.Â
There are currently two international airports in operation in the state of Quintana Roo, which is awesome. You can get to Playa del Carmen Mexico from The Cancun International Airport in just 50 minutes. And, you can reach Playa from the new Tulum International Airport in just over 1.5 hours – pretty convenient!
If you’re visiting The Riviera Maya and planning to explore the region, Playa del Carmen is an awesome destination. The town is also pretty walkable and has some of the most diverse cuisines you’ll find in Mexico.
Why Playa del Carmen is the best spot in the region
There is no doubt that Playa del Carmen Mexico is the absolute best spot to base yourself in The Riviera Maya if you want to do a lot of exploring.
Starting in Playa del Carmen, you can get to most hotspots like; Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Xcaret etc. within an hour. Most of the tour companies also offer pick-up-and-drop-off services in most parts of Playa del Carmen.
And, aside from the proximity to the most sought-after sights in Quintana Roo, Playa del Carmen is also super tourist-friendly. The town is walkable and has a ton of accommodation options to choose from – making it accessible to most budgets.Â
If we haven’t sold you on Playa just yet, you can also expect to enjoy beautiful beaches, and a ton of fun things to eat, see and do on ‘La Quinta Avenida’ or ‘The 5th Avenue’.Â
Even after 4 years of living here, we still manage to find awesome things to experience in Playa. You’ll see in the 48-hour itinerary below, just how much is available to you!
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Where to stay in Playa del Carmen
Given the city’s size and diversity, it’s wise to start by choosing the area that best fits your needs before searching for accommodation. If you’re after a peaceful, beautiful, and safe neighbourhood with access to quieter beaches, the Playacar gated community is an excellent option. However, if you’re keen on exploring and want to be close to activities and nightlife, staying on or near 5th Avenue is ideal.
We stayed at the brand-new Aloft and we loved the hotel- and it’s location! We share more on the hotel experience below. You can use this map to look at Aloft or find more suitable accommodation for you 👇
48 hour Playa del Carmen Itinerary
When deciding where to celebrate our big weekend, the most important factors we considered were; walkability and tranquillity.
We considered popular spots like Isla Mujeres, Xel-Ha and Bacalar, but ultimately decided to enjoy Playa del Carmen like tourists. So, that’s how we decided on a low-key staycation in Playa del Carmen, which was so much fun and gave us so much more appreciation for the town’s diversity.Â
Although you can choose to stay anywhere in Playa del Carmen, we stayed in Aloft and loved it! So most of this itinerary is based on spots that are within walking distance from this particular hotel.
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Day 1 Playa del Carmen
We started our staycation by dropping our bags off at the Aloft Hotel before heading 2 minutes down the road to one of our favourite lunch spots in Playa del Carmen – Chey y el Guey.
Lunch: A booming Argentinian community lives in Playa del Carmen, and their food is to die for. This small, unassuming restaurant only serves Argentinian-style empanadas that come with all sorts of delicious fillings (veggie options too).
The empanadas are all pre-made and heated upon order, so this is a quick, affordable and tasty lunch option.
Coffee: Next up was our long-time favourite cafe for their legendary pastries. Chez Celine is a French patisserie and has a reputation in Playa for serving amazing food, pastries and coffees.Â
We’ve been visiting this particular restaurant for four years, and each time we return we tend to order the same thing – one almond croissant and an iced chocolate.
The intention is always to try different things from their menu, but the almond croissant is just so good, that we can’t pass up an opportunity to get one.
The Hotel: We chose to stay at the Aloft Hotel, not only for its convenient location but also because it is a new property, and who doesn’t love new things?
Straight after lunch, we walked 2 minutes back to the Hotel, checked in, and dropped our bags off in our beautiful room (more on that later). We then headed straight for the rooftop pool.
If you know anything about Playa, you’ll know that rooftop pools are popular and most hotels & condos have them. This property has two pools, the main one looking out onto the beautiful Caribbean ocean and the other facing the stadium. You’ll also find free-to-use cabanas, lounge chairs and a restaurant.Â
Although the hotel is not beachfront, you still get a pretty stunning view of the ocean, which is just a block away.Â
Sunset: We contemplated heading down to the beach to catch the sunset, but ultimately decided on enjoying it from the hotel rooftop – which was a great choice!
We’d highly recommend ordering a mango mezcalito cocktail, which was tasty and potent!
As you can see from these pictures, the changing sky was absolutely beautiful and we got a much better view than if we’d had gone to the beach instead.Â
Dinner: If you’re visiting Mexico for the first time, you may want to focus on Mexican cuisine, which is fair. However, as we mentioned earlier, Playa is an incredibly diverse town where you’ll find people and cuisine from all over the world.Â
P.S. If you’re looking for a Mexican restaurant to enjoy for dinner, we made two jam-packed YouTube videos that share some of the best spots.Â
Because we both lived in The Caribbean for four years before moving to Playa del Carmen Mexico, we became very fond of Jamaican cuisine. So that is why we chose to visit Roxy’s – an authentic Jamaican restaurant located just one block from the beach.Â
We got an order of the ‘festivals’ – deep-fried dough, and the coconut shrimp. Both plates were delicious and exactly how we remember them tasting at our local Jamaican spot in the Cayman Islands. However, we felt that the portion size was pretty disappointing considering the price.Â
Get over 400 of our favourite activities, sites, restaurants & secret spots in The Riviera Maya Mexico, on Google Maps!
For a truly great Jamaican meal in Playa, we’d highly recommend visiting Ferrons Jerk Chicken. Their meals are super tasty and you get a lot more for your money.Â
Although we had high hopes of revisiting our youth and going to a nightclub, we faded right after dinner and were showered and asleep by 10:30 pm.
Day 2 in Playa
Thankfully we chose to go back to the hotel, instead of clubbing the evening prior, because we got to experience one of the most fabulous sunrises the next morning.Â
Insistent on catching the sunrise, we got up at 6 am sharp, quickly dressed and took a five-minute walk to the nearest beach. When we arrived, there were already lots of people there, but we still had ample space to enjoy the water.
We didn’t take anything with us, aside from one phone and our hotel keycard as we’re apprehensive about leaving valuables unattended on the beach.Â
As you can see, our smart decision to skip the club and rather get up early was greatly rewarded with one of the most stunning sunrises we’ve ever witnessed. We’d highly recommend heading down for the sunrise, but aim to be at the beach no later than 6:15 am in the summer so you don’t miss it!
Breakfast: We opted for the breakfast buffet at Aloft Hotel because we wanted to take full advantage of the hotel facilities before it was time to check out.Â
The buffet offered pretty decent options for the price. However, I was pretty disappointed that there was no bacon on offer, lol. There are of course much nicer places to enjoy breakfast in Playa, like Somos Crisol and Choux Choux, but if you’re after convenience this is a great option!
The restaurant was beautiful though and we weren’t going to pass up an opportunity for a few Insta-worthy pics. As we visited the hotel at the very end of high season, they weren’t fully booked so we were able to get a late check-out at 1 pm – which was greatly appreciated!
Lunch: Our lunch choice was based primarily on the fact that we needed to be near Playacar to go on our afternoon adventure (more on that later).
If you don’t have a rental car, the best way to get here is by using a taxi. However, please be aware of the shady taxi drivers of Playa del Carmen, to avoid getting way overcharged. We initially waited on the side of the road and hailed a taxi, which quoted us 200 pesos (Approx. US$12) for a 7-minute ride. We just giggled and let him go on his way. The next taxi driver quoted us 90 pesos (approx. US$5), so we hopped in and headed to our destination.
P.S. We’d recommend using the RadioTaxi app or the InDrive app to request a taxi driver. Both of the Apps charge a fee to use them, but you won’t get any crazy over-charge.Â
We chose to grab some Nachos de Pastor from Don Sirloin – which was delicious, as always! You can also find tacos and quesadillas on their menu, and everything is very affordable. You’ll find another Don Sirloin near Playa del Carmen Centro.Â
We then walked next door to Cafe Antionette, another popular French Patisserie in Playa del Carmen. And I’m sure you’re not surprised to know we ordered another almond croissant and iced chocolate. The almond croissant was almost as good as at Chez Celine, but the iced chocolate was better here.
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Sunset Sail: The highlight of this staycation was without a doubt our sunset sail, which departed from the Puerto Aventuras dock.Â
We opted to do our sunset sail with Cancun Adventures because they have a great reputation and because we’ve been on tour with them once before to Isla Mujeres, and loved the experience.
If you’re celebrating something special, this is such a beautiful experience. You can read more about this tour below.
Why we loved Aloft Hotel
Marriott owns Aloft Hotel so you can expect an elevated experience regardless of star rating.Â
This property opened in December of 2022, so it’s pretty new, especially in comparison with many more dated hotels near 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen.Â
Aloft Hotel Overview
Location: As mentioned earlier, the hotel is not beachfront, but it has an awesome view of the Caribbean Ocean from its rooftop pool and restaurant.
Plus, they’re very conveniently located right above the brand new Chadraui Selecto (fancy grocery store), and just a 1-minute walk from the 5th Avenue. In terms of location, you can’t get much better!
The room: We got the most basic room, which was very pleasant and surprisingly spacious. Upon entering the room, you’ll find a modern and spacious bathroom, which leads to the bedroom.
The decor was fun but elegant, the bed was super comfortable and the natural light streaming in made the space feel clean and fresh.Â
The facilities: The decor in the hotel was so fun and modern, as you can see from these pictures. The downstairs restaurant and bar were very beautiful, but the rooftop area is what sets the hotel apart.Â
As we mentioned earlier, the rooftop has two pools and a restaurant/bar. We actually opted to use the secondary pool as there was a already crowd of people in the primary pool.
We were there for about an hour and it remained completely empty the entire time – which was awesome!
Check-out: As we visited the hotel at the very end of high season, they weren’t fully booked so we were able to get a late check-out at 1 pm – which was greatly appreciated!
We spent our remaining hours at the hotel enjoying the pool before showering, packing up and leaving our bags at the front desk.Â
P.S. One of the reasons we always choose hotels over Airbnb is because you can rest assured knowing that the hotels can hold your luggage for you.
More about the sunset sail from playa del Carmen
You can request a pick-up from most hotels and accommodations to get to the dock. We just met them at their offices near Playacar.
The vans that get you to the dock are big, air-conditioned and well-maintained. The pick-up and drop-off are also included in the price of the tour.Â
Upon arrival at the Puerto Aventuras dock at around 5:30 pm, you’ll board a big beautiful Catamaran that will take you out on a 2-hour sail up and down the coast of Quintana Roo. As you get on the catamaran, you’ll be offered a rum punch to get the vibes going.Â
Once the quick safety briefing is done, you’ll be able to order more to drink. Yes, the price of the sail includes all-you-can-drink alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) beverages. As we’re not big drinkers, we were very relieved to be on a boat with other guests who kept their drinking to a minimum.Â
Honestly, I could see things getting very rowdy if you land up with a party-crazy group. It’s important to remember that the drinking age in Mexico is 18, and unlike the strict laws and regulations in The US, you likely won’t be denied a drink in Mexico, even if you’re intoxicated.Â
The sail was beautiful, the catamaran was spacious and comfortable and the staff were fun and friendly. About an hour into the sail, we were served a snack – a fancy-looking charcuterie board. It was more than we expected to receive, as most of the boat tours in this region tend to serve nothing more than some guacamole and tostadas. The meat and cheese selection was alright, nothing to write home about, but satisfactory.Â
We were blessed with a beautiful sunset, which you’ll get most evenings in The Mexican Caribbean.Â
Upon arrival back to the dock, you can purchase photos that were taken during the trip, by professional photographers. The photos were beautiful but we chose not to get the package as we had our camera with us.
Additionally, you are encouraged to leave a tip for the boat staff as you disembark the vessel. Although tipping is not mandatory (obviously), it’s important to know that most hospitality staff in Mexico live off a bare-bones salary and rely strongly on tips to survive.Â
We then hopped back into the air-conditioned van and headed back to town, to conclude our awesome 48-hour staycation in Playa del Carmen!
We hope you got some awesome ideas of what to do on your trip to Playa del Carmen Mexico. Or, if you live here, we’re sure you’ll enjoy this itinerary just as much as we did.
Our honest thoughts on Playa del Carmen
As long-time residents of Playa del Carmen, it’s easy to take it for granted, but this little staycation reminded us just how special of a town it is.
If you’re looking to be centrally located within the Riviera Maya, you really couldn’t pick a better spot. Additionally, there is just so much to eat, see and do in Playa, that you wouldn’t even need to visit any of the surrounding towns to have a great vacation.
However, if you are interested in visiting some other spots in the region, we’d recommend Isla Contoy, Isla Mujeres, and The Xcaret Parks. Swimming with the whale sharks is also an awesome thing to do, but it’s seasonal, so you’ll have to plan accordingly.
We hope we gave you some awesome ideas on how to enjoy your time in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!
Please let us know about your favourite spots in town so that we can give them a try below in the comments👇.
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