Please Help With Question About Playa-no Answer On Forum

[lilmsonry]

Going to Playa Del Carmen....How do you know where to go to "beach it" for the day? Please, need to get something figured out before we get there and knew CC would be the answer. I tried other forum but the Playa forum is dead water....surprised it is going at all. Thanks ahead of time. Would love to hear from you! Double thanks!:D :D

[eelyak]

I don't know if this will help at all, but it's worth a shot. My SIL sent me some information about her cruise:

 

Both times we went to Cozymel and Calica/Playa del Carmen. Cozymel was commercialized with lots of shopping and fun restaurants and things to do. Calica is kind of run down, so definitely plan excursions for this day. We did excursions both days. The island excursions-there is an informative meeting about them when you first get there and we were glad we went. We went on a romanic island excusion on the honeymoon where we just laid on the beach. Then we went to Excarat park, which was really neat with a zoo, an underground river and you can go snuba or scuba diving...this was our best snuba expereince b/c the water was very calm. If you go snuba right off the beach in rough waters (which we did the second time), its not as pleasant. Donna says she liked just going to the beach and shopping in Cozymel, but we all think its worth it to just pay for the excursions so you have transportation and know where you are going.

[2cruiser]

I don't know if you're interested in this or not, but....

 

In Calica/PDC a couple of weeks ago, DH and I did the "Fishing the Mayan Riviera" (I'm pretty sure that's the name of it). It was a deep sea fishing trip, and we had a ball! It was a bit pricey ($100/pp) but well worth it. It was a genuinely "real" fishing experience! We're not avid fishermen at all! DH caught several fish...a baracuda, a yellow fin something, and a HUGE king fish. It was so fun watching him struggle to get those in the boat! After the 2 hours on the small boat, they cleaned the fish and cooked it for us for lunch at the beach! It was really fun! We had some time to spend on the beach, also.

 

It really was a "once in a lifetime" experience. I'd recommend it to anyone! Let me know if you have more ?'s.:)

[CougarMom]

Playa del Carmen was our favorite port both times we have cruised. Just do not take the jewelry factory tour for the free bus ride, taxi was faster and more fun. We went to the public beach then on to Senor Frogs, drank free tequila, too much beer and have some wonderful pictures. Playa was hit pretty hard by Emily though - hopefully they will bounce back quickly.

[lilmsonry]

Thanks so much for posting, I do appreciate it!

 

 

I would love to do excursions, but we are a family of 5 and excursions get quite pricey as you said. Just want a beautiful beach, great sand, palm trees, palapas, you know..."the I am on vacation" mode kinda place......Beautiful though!!

Any other helpers out there!

[camreesmom]

hey lilmsonry ~ check out this website for excursion ideas.....even if you don't book thru them, you can get ideas of what is available.

 

www.shoretrips.com

 

Julie

[sherry5557]

Thanks so much for posting, I do appreciate it!

 

 

I would love to do excursions, but we are a family of 5 and excursions get quite pricey as you said. Just want a beautiful beach, great sand, palm trees, palapas, you know..."the I am on vacation" mode kinda place......Beautiful though!!

Any other helpers out there!

 

We did the (on your own thing) in Playa and REALLY enjoyed it !!! Beautiful beach (right as you step off pier) ..shopping fun...the people there are so friendly!! but beware if you have young children as there will be topless sun bathers on the beach.

[parkglensteph]

Hey Lil,

Someone mentioned a beach club called Mamitas in Playa. Suppose to have a nice beach. Anyone know anything about this Beach Club?

[zydecocruiser]

I have seen the Blue Parrot Beach Club mentioned before:

http://www.blueparrot.com/

 

As well as Mamita's Beach Club:

http://www.hotellatortuga.com/playadelcarmenhotel/beach.htm

[DreDay]

Don't miss what Playa has to offer. You will be sorry. I cruised in May with a total of 9 and, trust me, I know how expensive the excursions can be:eek: . I found a great local place and we got a private tour (just our family) for a very very reasonable price that was the true highlight of our cruise. We visited the Tulum Mayan ruins that has a WONDERFUL beach right there, we then went to a Cenote, then to a small restraunt on another beach and we were back at the ship by 3:15pm (In port from 7am -4pm) We are going again in November and this time we are 10. I used the same place to book a private van and driver. I would like to go to the same places so I don't need a tour or excursion this time. The driver will take us where we want to go all day, wait for us, and then get us back to the ship. YAHOO!!!

 

We booked our previous tour and our upcoming driver & van through http://playa.info They are very professional!!

 

 

 

[tribbs1]

Playa del Carmen is very easy to get around. You can take a bus from town to the Tulum ruins and it would not cost much more than 5 bucks a piece. There is a fairly decent beach at the ruins so you could swim after you check them out. Otherwise try planning some excursions on your own. We are a family of 6 and yes, excursions cost a lot. If you do your research you can cut your cost by 1/3 to 1/2. Read the destinations section of this board, check frommers.com, tripadvisor.com, or your local bookstore for travel books. We were able to save $150.00 on our Stingray City snorkel in Grand Cayman in June by booking ourselves. Good luck and have fun.

[lilmsonry]

Thanks CC posters! I knew you guys would know what to do! I am not sure what we will do, many options, but I am sure we are going to have a great, fantastic time! Wish you could join us, so far, nobody on roll call, all the fun to be had with one group of 5. Come on, 4 days off work for 9 day trip (Labor Day) for us! Can't wait! :D :D