Nov 25-Jan 26 – Returning to Playa del Carmen, Mexico

We have visited Playa del Carmen before, in the winter of 2022. It’s a touristy city and our main reason to return is to finish our process for Mexican Residency. We considered a few other cities in Mexico, but chose Playa because we were flying from Florida, so it’s a short flight, and we could use the same immigration office and facilitator as our previous residency procedures.

We decided to stay for two full months to make things easier on ourselves. The residency process can be a bit bureaucratic, couldn’t begin until December 7, and we weren’t sure if we’d run into any challenges along the way. Also, with three holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years), having a longer stay makes it easier for us to make plans for those events.

One large factor as we reviewed lodging options is that we wouldn’t have a car on this visit. We found a few places in the Playacar residential area south of town, many apartments in the center of town, and some where we stayed previously, north of town. We eliminated our previous neighborhood, as we had relied on our car for shopping or to eat. We then opted for Playacar, hoping that the gated community with low through-traffic and wide sidewalks would encourage us to walk for exercise and not be too touristy or noisy at night.

Temperatures throughout our visit were hot, but not too bad – generally in the low 80s, but with a bit of humidity. Overall, we felt that the weather was a bit cooler than our last visit, and a bit rainier than we remember. We got rain about 25% of our days in Playa, but typically brief bursts of showers rather than a long, consistent downpour.

Logistics and Arrival – Travel logistics were simple – our cruise had docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and we caught an Uber from the cruise port to a Fairfield Inn near the Miami airport. The ride was only 25 miles, but took over an hour, and cost $80 including tip. Our hotel let us check in super-early for no extra charge and had an on-site laundromat for us to use. We had some great Cuban food from Bored Cuban nearby, and were able to pick up some items that we had shipped to an Amazon locker nearby.

The next morning, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport, then had smooth sailing through TSA with our pre-check. We found a Priority Pass Lounge – finally! - it’s been a while since we’ve been able to use this lounge network perk from our credit card. We were able to pass a couple of hours waiting for our flight with decent airport food and free drinks.

Arrival into Cancun was straightforward. Mexico has electronic kiosks, but we had seen online that Residents have had problems using them and should use the in-person lines. We did that, and the agent handled our entry correctly, noting RT (Residente Temporal) on our passport stamp – something that our facilitator later checked, to ensure that we wouldn’t have problems during our appointments.

We prearranged a private shuttle from the Cancun airport to our condo in Playa del Carmen through Happy Shuttle, for $87 USD for the two of us. The ride took about 45 minutes, with no issues.

Airbnb – Our condo was on the 3rd/top floor of the building. We later learned that most other units are occupied as 3-story condos, while ours had been subdivided into 3 individual units. The size of our 1-floor unit was perfect though – 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, a kitchen area, sitting area, and balcony. There was a shared washing machine on the first floor, and we didn’t have too much trouble finding it free when we needed it. Our apartment had a smart lock on the front door, which I prefer vs. keeping track of a key. The wifi was super-fast and worked great throughout our stay. We had access to a small pool that we never used, as well as a beach club that we used once.

For the negatives – Our apartment had a sliding door in the back but lacked any ventilation in front, so we relied on AC rather than fans/breezes to stay cool. It took a while for water to get hot, and the owner ended up having the water heater serviced because the pilot light kept going out. There were also some plumbing issues on the first floor, which the owner thought was coming from our unit. We worked with her team to investigate, then she asked if we would be willing to move out for a bit so they could work on the plumbing. She had another property nearby that we stayed in for 4 nights. It was actually a much nicer 3-bedroom, 2-bath house, with a full kitchen, dining room, and living space – quite an upgrade, and we’re happy that she had the place available while they worked on our space. We had no issues once we moved back, though it was clear that there was more work to do after our departure.

Our condo area / view from our balcony

Iguana in our neighborhood

We often saw the agoutis at dusk

The neighborhood around our condo was very nice. It’s a large gated community with a circular main road lined with hotels, houses, and a few side streets. The main street has wide sidewalks, though we had to stay alert, as we shared them with bicycles. There are many natural areas with large trees, and we occasionally saw a bit of wildlife (mostly iguanas, birds, agoutis, and coatis). We had a small shopping center about 5 minutes from our apartment, with a convenience store and a couple of restaurants. Halfway around the main road there was a larger shopping center that we rarely visited. Most mornings, we would walk the full loop, taking us a bit over an hour. We also walked a lot for food or supplies – about 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store or to the main downtown area of Playa. Overall, our condo location worked well for our visit without a car – away from the louder touristy parts of town, very walkable, and not too far from anything we needed.

Quinta Avenida - we walked here almost every day

Residency - Long-time readers will recall that we started the Mexican Residency process to give us more flexibility when visiting Mexico, mostly when considering travel with Gunner. We started the Temporary Residency process in January 2022, which required a renewal before January 2023. Temporary Residency can only be used for 4 years, so with our permit expiring in January 2026, we had a few options – 1) let it expire and return to a standard tourist visa, 2) let it expire and restart the residency process from scratch in the future, or 3) travel to Mexico and convert to Permanent Residency. Option 3 is final, with no future renewals or minimum-stay required, so other than the time and cost to complete, there’s no downside. We chose Option 3.

When we renewed our Temporary Residency three years ago, we used a facilitator - Milly Arceo at Legally in Mexico – to schedule our appointments and fill out our paperwork. The process was super-smooth, and eliminated all of our concerns about understanding the forms and filling them out correctly. Based on that experience, we contacted Milly again for our final renewal. Appointments with immigration need to be made about 1 month in advance, and her team was able to do this before we even arrived in Playa del Carmen. On the day of our appointments, we went to her office, signed a few forms, and paid for her services. We then went to the immigration office, got called inside at our appointed time, and were back out within an hour. We sat in a queue for about two hours before going back in to have fingerprints taken and our ID cards created. The whole process took about 5 hours. Given our multi-day experience three years ago, and reading other people’s recent experiences on Facebook, we were very happy that our procedures were finished in a single day on this trip.

Transportation – With no car, we walked almost everywhere, or relied on taxis or “colectivos” for longer trips. Taxis are more expensive in Playa del Carmen than most other locations in Mexico. The drivers are part of a collective/union, and the basic starting fare is 200 pesos ($11 USD) for a short 10-minute drive through town. We used taxis a few times, to get to the Xcaret park or to our immigration appointments, but generally avoided them due to their high prices.

A colectivo is a small, shared van, often used by locals to move north and south along the coastal highway. Conversations are in Spanish and payment is in pesos, in cash, so you do need some basic Spanish and small bills or coins. Also, the stops are along the highway, so you’ll need to walk any remaining distance to your destination. The colectivo starting point was next to the Chedraui supermarket, about a 20-minute walk from our apartment. There, we told an employee our destination, and they told us to get in a line for the next van. You tell the driver your stop when you board, and that’s also the best time to confirm what the cost will be. As the van proceeds along the highway, riders call out their stop as it approaches, and the van pulls onto the shoulder to let people out. For the return trip, you stand on the opposite side of the highway and flag a passing colectivo van, which will stop if they have empty seats. Admittedly, the first ride is a little daunting, but it’s really not that difficult.

Food – With no car, grocery shopping was more challenging on this visit. We made a big stock-up trip to Sam’s Club (mostly for breakfast supplies) and paid for a taxi back to our apartment. That was a one-off, as we chose to eat out almost every day, and future grocery trips were for smaller batches of items.

We revisited our favorite restaurant, El Fogon, on multiple occasions, usually getting an alambre - a sauteed meat/veggie mix with small pieces of bacon or ham mixed in - for 186 pesos ($10.50 USD), up 36 pesos ($2 USD) from 3 years ago. We typically shared the alambre and an order of guacamole with drinks for around 450 pesos ($25 USD) plus tip.

We tried a number of restaurants along “Quinta Avenida” - a long walking mall through the heart of Playa. We found most of them to be touristy, pricey, and with so-so food. One exception was Las Hijas de la Tostada, which we visited multiple times for their tropical ceviche, the “Cobá” tostada, and the “camarón caramelo” tostada for around 700 pesos ($40 USD) including tip. Another was the Zenzi Beach Club, right on the ocean as the name implies. We enjoyed their coconut shrimp, ahi bowl, and ahi burger, with our typical bill at Zenzi around 700 pesos ($40 USD).

Away from Quinta Avenida, we found a great, authentic, local spot – PikNik, where we enjoyed a variety platter with drinks for 670 pesos ($38 USD). Some non-Mexican favorites that we visited multiple times included Peruvian food from Machu Picchu (typically 550 pesos/$30 USD per meal) and ramen from Sakura (averaging 630 pesos/$35 USD).

Our fave - a chicken alambre at El Fogon

A variety at Las Hijas de la Tostada

Tigers milk ceviche and lomo saltado at Machu Picchu

Sampler platter at PikNik

Our final food-favorite was The Admiral - a sports bar with a great kitchen only 15 minutes from our apartment. The food was consistently good, with typical pub fare like fish and chips or burgers and fries for reasonable prices (averaging 630 pesos/$35 USD). The Australian owner put on nice Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners as well. On both occasions, we had 4 course meals with a welcome drink and a glass of wine for 950 pesos ($54 USD) each, pre-tip.

Side note - as much as we enjoyed our holiday meals at The Admiral, we were surprised at the lack of restaurants offering similar meals, with zero offering a holiday buffet. Our nicest holiday meal over the past 4 years of traveling was the Christmas buffet at the Hilton in Cabo San Lucas. Pricey, but extensive, and with zero complaints.

We also found a decent spot for craft beer – El Arbol de Diez – appropriately situated behind a huge tree on 10th Street. They brew a few beers of their own, and also had a wide selection of Mexican and import craft beers available. Unfortunately, their restocking seemed a bit random, and they’d often be out of a beer that we enjoyed previously. They were also a bit pricey, at 150 pesos ($8.50 USD) for one craft bottle/can.

Entertainment – Our first big outing was a day at the Xcaret park. This park has it all – animals, Mayan ruins, swimming, shows, and adventure activities. We only went for one day, but it would be easy to fill 2 or even 3 days. The land animals, such as jaguars, tapirs, and coatis, are kept in pens or on small islands rather than in cages. The sea animals, such as turtles and manatees, are kept in large pools surrounded by walking paths. There’s a small aquarium area, a spot to snorkel with fish, and a few small areas with restored Mayan ruins to explore as you wander between exhibits. There are three different “river routes” to swim - we thought these would be lazy rivers, but unfortunately the water doesn’t flow, so you’re left to float and paddle slowly for about an hour to reach the end. We ended up doing 2 of the 3 river routes and give them an average 3-star review because of the effort involved. There are a few up-charge activities like parasailing, jet skis, or marine life encounters that we didn’t do. The highlight of the Xcaret visit was their evening show. At dusk, everyone in the park headed to a huge covered arena for a 2-hour show highlighting the history and culture of Mexico. Base admission to Xcaret is around $130 USD, or a Plus admission with buffet lunch and lockers is $150 USD. However, there’s a quietly kept secret of local resident discounts – with our residency we only paid $80 USD each for the Plus package. We really enjoyed Xcaret, and would recommend visiting with the Plus package, even at full price. Xcaret is about 20 minutes south of Playa del Carmen, and we took taxis for 400 pesos ($22 USD) each way.

A bit of everything from the Xcaret buffet

The spectacular nighttime show

Traditional dancers at the nighttime show

Costumed Mayan warrior before the nighttime show

Another new experience was Rio Secreto – a flooded cave system with guided tours. Reservations are recommended, because there is a maximum group size for each time slot. We used WhatsApp to make our reservations, then paid for our tickets on site. We were outfitted with gear – a wetsuit, life jacket, helmet, and headlamp – and then loaded into a van for a 20-minute ride to the cave entrance. We followed our guide through a winding route in the cave, wading through water the entire time. The water ranged from ankle-deep to swimming depth, and we had no light other than our lamps. There were some formations in the cave, but nothing spectacular – the attraction of the cave was really the travel through it. The site doesn’t allow cameras in the cave, but a photographer follows the group for the full tour. After our cave swim, we took a van back to the main complex, returned our gear, looked at our (overpriced) photos, then had a decent buffet lunch featuring Mayan-style pork, chicken, and vegetables. Admission to Rio Secreto is listed at $109 USD online, but again using our residency discount, we only paid 750 pesos ($42 USD) each. We enjoyed the tour and lunch, and would give it 5-stars at that price, though are hesitant to say the same at full price. For this adventure, we traveled by colectivo – only a 4-mile / 10-minute ride for 15 pesos ($0.85 USD) each. As a comparison, Rio Secreto is across the highway from Xcaret, so we paid $3.40 USD for our roundtrip colectivo rides vs. the $44 USD for our taxis. Granted, our taxis were door-to-door, whereas a colectivo to Xcaret would have had a 20-minute walk at each end. Also, our ride home from Xcaret was at 9:30pm, and we would not likely have found a colectivo at that time of night.

We visited the Akumal Natural Park multiple times on our last visit to Playa, and really enjoyed our beach days and swimming with the large sea turtles there, so it was a no-brainer for us to return on this visit. Akumal is a 22-mile / 30-minute ride by colectivo, for 25 pesos ($1.40 USD) per person each way – quite the bargain! From the highway, we had to walk about 10 minutes to get to the entrance to the park. Basic beach access is free (all beaches in Mexico are public), but we paid the park fee for access to the beach chairs, showers, and lockers (locks can be borrowed for the day with a 50-peso deposit). The entrance fee is normally $7 USD, but only 50 pesos ($3 USD) with our residency. The public swimming area is outlined by buoys, and regulations require visitors to hire a guide to swim outside this area, where most of the turtles seem to be. We were quickly approached by guides, and just as quickly struck a deal for the two of us to take a private 1-hour swim for 400 pesos ($22 USD) each. We saw at least 8 turtles, plus lots of fish, rays, and our first lobster during our swim. Followers of my Facebook page will know that we also left behind a “Living Stone” in honor of the passing of our daughter-in-law last year, who joined us on a prior trip to Akumal in 2023. We later took a 2nd swim in the public area, where we saw a few fish and a 2nd lobster, but not much else. We had an expensive beach-club lunch at Lol-Ha (guacamole, ceviche, and cochinita, plus drinks for 950p/$55USD!) before heading back to the lockers and then out to catch our colectivo back to Playa.

One of Sandy’s favorite beach activities is collecting shells, but now that we aren’t traveling by car, she’s working hard to not collect so many. Fortunately for her, the beaches along Playacar have really changed. On our previous visit, there was a wide expanse of sand, lined with shells. On this visit, a lot of the sand has been eroded, and there were virtually no shells to be seen. As such, we didn’t spend a lot of time at the beach, and Sandy didn’t do any collecting.

On our last visit to Playa, we visited a number of Mayan ruins and some cenotes (freshwater pools with very clear water, usually excellent for snorkeling or to cool off on a hot day). Without a car, we didn’t visit either of these types of sites on this trip. Some cenotes are close to the highway, so we could have accessed them by colectivo, I guess we just didn’t feel like visiting them.

Costs – We noticed that food costs have risen approximately 20% since our visit three years ago. Overall, though, Mexico is comparatively inexpensive, with our grocery costs (mostly breakfasts and coffee) averaging $8 USD per day, and dining out averaging only $40 USD per day.

Regarding tips – the general guidance in Mexico has been 10%, but in the touristy areas of Playa del Carmen, that seems to have grown to 15%. As such, we tended to tip around 15% for most of our meals.

We also noticed that credit card usage is much more common. On our last visit, we paid for almost everything in cash – restaurants, groceries, even Sam’s Club. On this visit, we used cash for only about 20% of our expenses, with notably larger cash spending for our visit to Akumal and for a hair appointment for Sandy (cash only).

Rent has increased significantly in Playa del Carmen. Looking back at our visit three years ago, we paid about $1,600 per month for our larger and better-furnished Airbnb. This visit was almost $3,000 per month ($98/day). Because we stayed in a different part of town, I also checked our prior neighborhood and the rates are similar to what we paid in Playacar.

Expats – Playa del Carmen is an endless cycle of tourists, but also has many foreign residents. In our Playacar apartment, we had neighbors from Canada, the United States, and Brazil. Our host was Hungarian, and we ate at restaurants owned by Australians, Germans, and Peruvians. Many shops and restaurants will accept dollars, though you have to confirm what exchange rate you’ll get. Most times, it’s better to pay in pesos, though Xcaret is an exception – for some reason they still convert internally at 20 pesos/dollar rather than the current market rate.

The area is so popular with tourists that we were able to meet up with some Denver-era friends who were visiting Cancun for the holidays. They drove down to meet us for lunch one afternoon, and we have been invited to a wedding in the Peruvian Andes this fall – stay tuned for that travel blog!

Summary – After this second trip to Playa, we still feel it’s a great place to visit, with a large variety of attractions to keep families entertained, and with a nice selection of restaurants. We did feel a bit limited without a car, so we might need to rent one if we return to give us more flexibility to visit some cenotes, Mayan ruins, or other attractions a bit further from town.

We still prefer Playa del Carmen to Cancun, 45 minutes north, as it’s more of a town rather than a string of hotels and resorts. If we were to return to the general area, we think we’d travel to the island of Cozumel, just offshore from Playa. One side of the island is well-protected, and there is a lot of clear water with decent snorkeling. All of that said, while we enjoy beaches and snorkeling, we’re not fans of humid, hot weather, so this area is not likely a long-term destination for us.