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Playa Del Carmen?

Posted by (Oklahoma City, OK) on

First time poster here, long time reader! Thanks for all the great advice you all have posted over the years!

We are going to the Cancun area (staying just north of Playa del Carmen) in a few months for a wedding. We have been to Cancun before - enjoyed good food, beautiful beaches, and a day trip to Chichen Itza. We have two full days of free time in the area and we're looking for recommendations of things to do (aside from attending the wedding ceremony, of course).

In particular, we are interested in any historic sites that are easily accessible from Playa del Carmen. Since we're traveling with family, we aren't looking to do a longer distance day trip.

Finally, we are really hoping to do a boat or catamaran tour, ideally with dinner or drinks. Any suggestions or recommendations of operators who sail from near Playa del Carmen?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
769 posts

I'd look at catamarans in Puerto Aventuras. We always did the Fat Cat Sail, but Catamaya is another one there.

I would go to Tulum one day, but that might be farther than you want to travel. Mostly, we traveled on our own using collctivos, but we did take a great tour with YucaTreks.

Posted by
6713 posts

Tulum isn't far, less than an hour south by bus. In addition to wonderful ruins it has a nice, though not large, beach. I'm sure there are easy ways to get there and back. Also some ancient sites on Cozumel and excellent diving if you're into that. (But if you were into that you'd probably know that already!)

Posted by
2291 posts

Did you see that Rick Steves took his family on vacation to Tulum recently? If look in the section "About Rick" the details with lots of specifics are in his travel blog.

My son got married in Tulum last year. Guests seemed to enjoy the Tulum ruins and also spent a fun day at Xel-ha. I'm not sure how close axel-ha would be for you, but it might be worth a look.

Posted by
7053 posts

Tulum (ruins/ archeological park) overlooking the sea is absolutely stunning. That would be my first choice hands down. The Tulum beaches are also very beautiful (my friend and I took a taxi from the ruins to the beach), and there is also the Tulum Pueblo (or small town). There are also other ruins called Cobá not far from Tulum (much, much less crowded than Chichen Itza). There are lots of swimming holes (cenotes) around in this area as well.

Posted by
117 posts

Go to The ruins at Coba. It is well organized for people of all ages and abilities. There is a short tour of some smaller ruins before you start your voyage to the major temple. To get to the large temple you can walk, rent a bike, or rent a pedicab. I recommend either the bikes or pedicab. It is a flat path but it is a mixture of shade and sun. It can get pretty hot even in the shade. At the temple, you can walk up for a great view of the surrounding area. Even halfway up puts you above the treeline.
Only 1.5 hours from Playa del Carmen. Get there when they open. It is cooler and the bus tours haven't arrived.

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