Want to travel to Mexico but have a bad reptile phobia

When I was younger, I had a few vacations at numerous beach resorts along the Mexican coast.

Sorry to tell you but there were iguanas and lizards everywhere. This is their natural habitat. In fact, they got used to being fed by the tourists so the weren't afraid to get up close and personal.

You'll be fine. You won't see an iguana or other reptile unless you go looking for one and put in some effort. At least that's true in Playa del Carmen proper - all bets are off if you venture beyond the town.

I've been traveling to, or more recently though, Playa del Carmen many times going back to the 1980s and as recently as about 8 years ago. I don't think I've ever seen an iguana or other live reptile there, even long ago when all the streets were unpaved, sandy tracks, and there was just a single telephone in the town. Nowadays, it's a crowded mega-developed tourist magnet, highly paved-over (no more sand streets) and someplace that I generally try to avoid (not because of iguanas, it's just seriously over-touristed).

Back in the day, I'm sure there were plenty of iguanas across the highway, as that was all just undeveloped jungle. But Playa del Carmen itself is now a HUGE, developed metropolis (by some measures, Playa del Carmen is the fastest growing city in North America, which says a lot about the mind-blowing explosion of tourism development there). I think you would have to work hard to find an iguana wandering around anywhere in the town or on the beach. Now, to be honest, it's probably been 15-20 years since I last "hung out" on the beach there for more than a couple minutes (just to stick my toes in the water on my way to/from the ferry) but I don't recall EVER seeing iguanas loose on the beach there (elsewhere in Mexico, yes, but not there). Unless someone has an iguana on a leash and is trying to get 5 bucks from tourists to take their picture with one, I don't think you'll see any. If you happen to spot one at a distance, just keep away from it (sounds like that shouldn't be a problem for you...). They are actually a bit skittish and really have no interest in approaching you. If it's any consolation, they generally move quite slowly - you could outrun them by just walking slowly (they can scoot along faster if they're very threatened, but they rarely move fast, they conserve energy by moving slow).

If you stick to the town itself (and to the beach, which is lovely, though too crowded for me), I really think you will be fine and will not see any iguanas or similar critters AT ALL. If I were you I'd try to cross this off my list of things to worry about.

When is your trip? I'll be there in mid-April and I can take a quick look around to confirm there are no wandering free-range iguanas there and will report back.

Where do you live? There are all those things all over the US--I would not be particularly concerned about a resort being full of them. And they are not exactly friendly or aggressive, they tend to run from people.
I have read that exposure therapy can be very helpful for things like this, go for it!

I know a place in Mexico City that makes an excellent grilled iguana. They serve it whole on a stick. That might get you past your phobia.

Interesting that you should ask. We spent 2 weeks at a lovely beach resort on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen last month. And there were iguanas and geckos and anoles all over the resort. Some of the iguanas were quite colorful. One, the unofficial mascot of the resort, who was named Kevin, was easily the size of a large cat. Would come up to the palapas looking for treats every afternoon.

Where do you live? There are all those things all over the US--I would not be particularly concerned about a resort being full of them. And they are not exactly friendly or aggressive, they tend to run from people.
I have read that exposure therapy can be very helpful for things like this, go for it!

I live in Everett, Washington, I have never seen a reptile here (besides turtles and maybe 3 garden snake sightings on a hike)

Interesting that you should ask. We spent 2 weeks at a lovely beach resort on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen last month. And there were iguanas and geckos and angles all over the resort. Some of the iguanas were quite colorful. One, the unofficial mascot of the resort, who was named Kevin, was easily the size of a large cat. Would come up to the palapas looking for treats every afternoon.

CJean how many? Like if you occasionally see 1 that’s ok with me. And do they come up to you? That’s my main concern.

I would be staying in the city of Playa Del Carmen

That paragraph makes me feel very uneasy, hmm, rethinking this now…

When is your trip? I'll be there in mid-April and I can take a quick look around to confirm there are no wandering free-range iguanas there and will report back.

Looking to travel April 12 to the 18th

how many? Like if you occasionally see 1 that’s ok with me. And do they come up to you? That’s my main concern.

Like I said, they were all over the place (outside, of course). And given that the resort grounds were full of beautiful gardens, you would see them almost everywhere that there were shrubs, trees, and flowers. Kevin was the only one that I ever saw approach people, and the vast majority would scurry away if anyone approached too closely. I've no idea how numerous they might be in the city. That's not somewhere I would choose to visit. YMMV.

Looking to travel April 12 to the 18th

Hah! I'll be there at the same time - I'll look for you and wave as we go by. I'll be the guy with a sunburn and a Mariners cap. ;)

Honestly, if you are in town, there's a near-zero chance you will see one at all. If you take an excursion out of town (to Tulum, or any of the ruins, resorts or other places) you might see a few here and there, but those will generally want nothing to do with you, and will do their best to keep some distance between themselves and all people, including you. Your only chance of getting close to one is if you seek that out or otherwise approach them, or if you surprise them (kind of like the chances of encountering a bear if you go for a walk near Everett - it's possible, but you would need to be stealthy AND lucky for that to happen). And any iguanas that you might encounter by chance will probably just slowly walk away once they see you heading for them. So keep your wits about you, don't panic, and you will do just fine.

I know from experience little lizards will come inside if you keep the doors open. So, keep the doors closed if that is a concern.

You might see them on the outside walls of buildings, but they are harmless.