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Playa Del Carmen has much to offer. Its calm, turquoise waters are perfect for swimming, kite surfing, windsurfing and snorkeling. Along the coastline there are a number of immense coral reefs teeming with an abundance of colorful marine life. The many dive shops along the beach will provide you with whatever equipment you need for various sorts of dive expeditions.
Inter Playa del Carmen is the lower division (minor league) soccer (football) club. Their stadium is located by 20th Avenue and 34th Street. Or, every taxi driver in town will know how to find it. The season runs from August until May, with a break around Christmas. They have a "split season" and playoffs, so if the team does well; the season may run longer. As of December 2006, tickets were 50 pesos. All tickets are general admission. The toilets are located under the south stand. The very noisy supporters' clubs ("porras") with their sirens hooked up to generators and drums take up positions near the midfield stripe. If you want to learn Spanish, boy, will you learn some interesting new words and phrases when the supporters' clubs greet the referees and visiting players.
Cenote Cristalino and Cenote Azul
Both are located on Highway 307 directly across from the BarcelĂł Maya Resort, about 15 minutes south of Playa del Carmen. Both have small signs near dirt roads that lead back to the cenotes. An admission fee is charged for each. Both cenotes are very large and can be quite deep. As the water is crystal clear, the snorkeling is very good. However, the sea life is very limited. Cristalino has a rock overhang from which the brave can jump into the waters below. Both places have a beautiful tropical jungle setting and both places are popular with locals as swimming holes. Snacks and restrooms available.
In the same general location you will also find three other cenotes: Chikin Ha (Meaning "Water from the West" in Mayan), which is a group of three cenotes; Kantun Chi (Meaning "Snake over There" in Mayan) and Eden.
Cenote Angelita
This dive site is must do for advanced divers who are looking for something a little different. The name means "little angel" in English and there may not be a better way to describe this magical dive site. The setting is perfect as you walk a short distance through the jungle to the rather large hidden away cenote. To describe it simply this cenote does nothing else but go straight down 200 feet. Fresh water with unlimited visibility makes up the first one hundred feet and salt water the other half is separated by a mystical layer of hydrogen sulfate. This layer in the middle appears as a dense cloud from the top and strange colored hue from the bottom. Bring your dive lights, as you will need them if you are going to penetrate through to the bottom. There are not many dives in the world where you can dive in the clouds at 100 feet and see trees, but this is one. The deepest point of this cenote really is at 200 feet so go with the proper gasses in your tanks but more importantly the right guide showing you the best and safest dive possible. www.cenoteangelita.com
Fifth Avenue:
There are plenty of great places to get a drink on Fifth Avenue. In the north end, you will find Feliz Hora (Happy Hour) between Calles 26 and 28 and Cabalova (a sports bar featuring TV screens with American sports many nights), between Calles 28 and 30.
Heading south on Fifth Avenue, you’ll find the Deseo rooftop bar between Calles 12 and 10. Ultramodern and hip, it features a totally alfresco bar. In addition to chairs, they offer double beds for lounging with friends, many with flowing white linen curtains. You can also take a dip in the rooftop pool, all the while watching 20’s and 30’s silent movies projected onto the adjacent wall. Cool is the operative term here. On the same block is the legendary Tequila Barrel. Sit out front on the street-side lounge and watch the Fifth Avenue nightly promenade. Or move to the interior and watch American sports on the TVs. If you really want to get adventuresome, move into the back where the dance floor features a pole normally found in locales with exotic dancers.
Continuing south, you’ll find the Fah bar between Calle 10 and 8, located in the Siesta Fiesta hotel. Again, an outdoor sidewalk venue, Fah features live music most nights, usually bands covering American rock/pop tunes. On the next block and across the street, you’ll find Bourbon Street between Calle 6 and 8, a bar featuring live blues and rock music.
All the way at the end of Fifth Avenue, in the Paseo del Carmen shopping area, you’ll find Carlos & Charlie’s, the Mexican “it’s always spring break” chain. In the same area, you’ll also find Bodeguita del Medio, which is owned by the same people who run its namesake restaurant in Havana, Cuba. The bar is large, noisy and fun. The restaurant features a dance floor where incredible salsa dancers practice their stuff in front of a live Cuban band every night. Salsa lessons are offered early in the evenings.
Near Fifth Avenue:
Santanera on Calle 12, between Fifth and Tenth Avenues, is an extremely cool bar/club featuring DJ music. This is the club for the young and beautiful or those who want to be. Cover charge. Right across the street you’ll find Playa’s newest dance club, Bali. Opened in the spring of 2006, it is known locally for outrageous cover charges (up to $25 per person) and a very hip atmosphere. On Calle 12 heading towards the beach, you’ll find Om. Hookah water pipes, flowing linens, oriental rugs and a European crowd.
La Ranita, on Calle 10 between Fifth and Tenth Avenues, is a quiet neighborhood bar and a hangout for expatriate American locals. Across the street is the more raucous but equally loved Sharkey’s Beer Bucket Caribbean Shack (aka the Beer Bucket). Two floors and two bars, it attracts an interesting mix of locals, expatriates and tourists in the know. It’s nothing special—just a great bar. The Tequila Barrel, Beer Bucket, La Ranita crawl is a local tradition. Also on Calle 10 between Fifth and Tenth Avenues is Básico Lounge. One of the only elevators in Playa takes you to the rooftop bar. New and stylish.
On Calle 6 between Fifth and Tenth Avenues, you’ll find the Mambo Café, which is not a café but in fact a large, cavernous dance club featuring both live and recorded music. It attracts a younger crowd, but regardless of age, don’t be afraid to go in and “bust a move.” It generally gets going late in the evening and continues until early in the morning.
On Calle 4 between Fifth Avenue and the beach is Bliss, an indoor dance club with an outdoor balcony. Live rock music on the weekends, with recorded 70s and 80s music on Sunday nights.
On the Beach:
Coco Maya is located on the beach between Calles 12 and 14, just north of the Blue Parrot Hotel, and features DJ or live music most evenings until 3 am. No cover charge.
Just south of Coco Maya, at the end of Calle 12, is the entrance to the Blue Parrot Bar, self-proclaimed the “Sexiest Bar in Playa del Carmen.” On the beach, it features DJ/techno/house/’thump thump’ music, a dance floor, and a giant circular bar upon which female patrons are known to dance. Playa’s oldest and most established party place, it attracts a young crowd and stays open until the wee hours.
Next door to the south of the Parrot you will find the El Pirata housed in the Costa Maya hotel. Also on the beach, it bills itself as a reggae bar. A small dance floor, recorded music, lots of tables and good service, it is a quieter alternative to its more hip neighbor. Here you can drink and hear your companions talk.
On the beach between Calles 4 and 2 is the Bad Boys Beach Club, sometimes called Captain Dave’s on the Beach. Look for the Jolly Roger (skull and crossbones) flag flying out front. The BBBC is a standard beach club which, in addition to food and drink, offers live blues music between 3 and 7 pm most days. Often many of the performers from Captain Dave’s perform at the beach club and vice versa. A pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
Next to the ferry dock at the end of Fifth Avenue on Calle 1 Sur and the beach, you’ll find the newly reopened (after Hurricane Wilma) Señor Frog’s. Music, food, drinks, dancing, frivolity. Part of the chain you will find in Cancun, Cabo and other places. Close to the Playacar community, it attracts a mixed age group intent on having fun.
Good to Know:
The beach bars are safe at night. However, don’t go walking the dark beach by yourself. Boat lines, holes dug in the beach by the waves, rocks and the occasionally unpleasant person make this a bad idea.
Fifth Avenue and the surrounding area are generally very safe. Tourist police patrol on a regular basis. High spirits and a bit of alcoholic based revelry are generally within the limits. Public urination, fighting, or causing a scene will get you an unwanted pass to a Mexican jail. Regardless of the ongoing changes in Mexico’s drug laws, the beat cops are still in charge of law in Mexico. Offers of drugs on Fifth Avenue should be rebuffed or ignored for safety’s sake.
Most of the bars on Fifth Avenue are after-dinner places and close early. By 11 pm or midnight at the latest, Fifth Avenue is pretty deserted.
The dance clubs and beach bars mentioned above generally don’t start getting crowded until 11 am or midnight (about the time Fifth Avenue closes down) and will often stay open until dawn.
The drinking age in Playa is 18.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. Bars, clubs and restaurants come and go in a resort area like Playa del Carmen. As you stroll Fifth Avenue you’ll receive flyers, brochures and free newspapers advertising the latest additions to the nightlife scene. After a long day working or sightseeing, you will enjoy sitting in one of the many Fifth Avenue cafes or restaurants having a quiet drink or cup of coffee and watching the world stroll by. Give it a try. Whatever your preference for nightlife entertainment, have a good time.
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