Just returned from Playa del Carmen..loved it. If anyone is heading that way and wants any advice I would be more than happy to give suggestions of restaurants,hotel,excursions shopping etc. Feel free to contact me here.

Hi - why don't you write a trip report? It's really not difficult and it's a great experience to put your thoughts together and it sure is a help to the rest of us! Glad you had a great time...

Skrabblegal,

Yes, please write a trip report! That would be fun to read! I went there last year for Christmas with my mom and sister and enjoyed it very much - although I felt a little shortchanged on "real Mexico"... I am currently in Mexico City for business and the food here is just amazing! Playa del Carmen has great restaurants from all continents but I often found that the Mexican restaurants there were a little too adapted to foreigners. Just my two cents!

Agreed, please write a trip report. My husband and I have been to Playa del Carmen and we loved it, so much so that we have returned a number of times. We plan to head back down in March. We love 5th Ave, so many shops and restaurants. Lots of night life, the beaches are lovely and lots of places to go and explore. We were fortunate in one of our recent trips of stumble upon a great little hotel. It is now our home away from home! and it is owned by two Canadians. I don't hesitate in recommending this one - Tropical Casablanca. wwwtropicalcasablanca.com
Perhaps we will see you in Playa!

When visiting Playa Del Carmen, take the shuttle over to Cozumel. Chacanaub Lagoon is a great place to snorkel and has a very nice botanical garden nearby.

There is also the ruins of Chichen Itza. You should be able to travel there on a local bus from Playa Del Carmen.

We stopped in Playa del carmen and found it to be crowded overdeveloped and just not our cup of tea at all. RR

quote:

Originally posted by Robert Rainey:
We stopped in Playa del carmen and found it to be crowded overdeveloped and just not our cup of tea at all. RR

Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend for a number of Caribbean destinations. They seem to think that if a little is good then a lot has to be better.

I agree with Spinnaker, we're trying to plan another Caribbean vacation for much later this year and started looking at the Tulum area but most of what we're finding is very overdeveloped. We decided against an eco-resort this trip which from our great experiences on St. John in the USVI's is the way to go to avoid the overdeveloped areas- we just wanted to try something different but now I wonder We may end up looking for some place to stay under the eco-resort title after all unless we find a location that doesn't seem like Disney World in Mexico. Pretty sad really. Why do "we" have to go to resorts in underdeveloped (someone please explain what that word even means- not enough malls?) countries where unlimited food, unlimited drinks, plasma TVs in the rooms, unlimited planned activities, kids clubs, swimming with dolphins, etc, etc are the norm? Kind of sad.

Actually the "Kid's Club" at family resorts can be a good thing. Swimming with dolphins almost always bad for the dolphins, and sometimes dangerous for the humans.

And if a resort wants to have all of those other amenities, while not my cup of tea, they can do what they want.

My objection is when the Caribbean/Mexico governments allow their to be overrun with development. I have always enjoyed the Caribbean/Mexico because of it's slow way of life and the simplicity. Now, in many cases, going to a resort area is like visiting Miami.

Karrie, I posted under my tulum thread (1/14) a link to an eco resort south of Tulum. It may suit you RR