Playa del Carmen
Discussion
Just impulsively booked 7 days all inclusive next week at Barcelo Maya Grand Resort.
Anyone been, any tips?
(if it's crap, I have 24h to cancel FOC
)
What activities/sites are recommended nearby?
I definitely want to see a Mayan site, check a bit of jungle out and also try a Cenote.
Is it worth hiring a car and going by yourself or is it better (and safer) to go on organised tours from the hotel?
Anyone been, any tips?
(if it's crap, I have 24h to cancel FOC
)What activities/sites are recommended nearby?
I definitely want to see a Mayan site, check a bit of jungle out and also try a Cenote.
Is it worth hiring a car and going by yourself or is it better (and safer) to go on organised tours from the hotel?
Have a look at Xcarat Park for a good day out, cave swimming is great fun.
Your tour guides will have a full day trip, Mayan ruins in the morning, lunch then cenote in the afternoon.
I wasn't a fan of PDC itself if I'm honest but mainly because every time SWMBO went into a shop I got accosted by some oick or other offering me some of Mexico's finest.
I've never driven there and not sure I'd want to, the buses are regular but I'd rather just book trips and let someone else take care of it
Your tour guides will have a full day trip, Mayan ruins in the morning, lunch then cenote in the afternoon.
I wasn't a fan of PDC itself if I'm honest but mainly because every time SWMBO went into a shop I got accosted by some oick or other offering me some of Mexico's finest.
I've never driven there and not sure I'd want to, the buses are regular but I'd rather just book trips and let someone else take care of it
Just got back from a trip there. First time visitor and stayed at the Playacar Palace which is a 5 minute walk from the Avenida Quinta where all the shops and bars are. Really enjoyed it. We stayed all inclusive so didn't eat out but same sort of bars and restaurants as in Spain & Portugal.
We took a day trip to Tulum & Cenotes which are about 45 mins away. I you leave early (7:30) you get a head start on the Cancun crowd and have the place to yourself. Huge crowds had built up as we were coming out with a line to get in. We also did 2 Cenotes, the first in a cave swimming through holes in rocks with fantastic clear water. Would definitely recommend an underground Cenote. The second one was more of an open air lake with not so much to see.
I wouldn't like to drive myself. There are a lot of checkpoints around PDC and according to our tour guide, they tend to tap rental car drivers for a "contribution". Not sure if this is true. The standard of driving was OK though.
We did a private tour with a guide who was particularly good swimming with us through the underground Cenote. We organised ourselves and was much better value than the Hotel recommended private tour.
We also did a day trip to Cozumel but ended up with a bit of a walk to the sister hotel for lunch and a swim. You can take a bus to some lovely beaches and snorkeling I'm told.
We took a day trip to Tulum & Cenotes which are about 45 mins away. I you leave early (7:30) you get a head start on the Cancun crowd and have the place to yourself. Huge crowds had built up as we were coming out with a line to get in. We also did 2 Cenotes, the first in a cave swimming through holes in rocks with fantastic clear water. Would definitely recommend an underground Cenote. The second one was more of an open air lake with not so much to see.
I wouldn't like to drive myself. There are a lot of checkpoints around PDC and according to our tour guide, they tend to tap rental car drivers for a "contribution". Not sure if this is true. The standard of driving was OK though.
We did a private tour with a guide who was particularly good swimming with us through the underground Cenote. We organised ourselves and was much better value than the Hotel recommended private tour.
We also did a day trip to Cozumel but ended up with a bit of a walk to the sister hotel for lunch and a swim. You can take a bus to some lovely beaches and snorkeling I'm told.
Thanks for the advice so far!
Looked into car rental and it works out at the same price as the airport transfer offered by the hotel.
I’m thinking it might make sense for going to Chichen Itza and other sites and then paying just entry fees, rather than then no doubt overpriced tours ?
Looked into car rental and it works out at the same price as the airport transfer offered by the hotel.
I’m thinking it might make sense for going to Chichen Itza and other sites and then paying just entry fees, rather than then no doubt overpriced tours ?
matrignano said:
I’m thinking it might make sense for going to Chichen Itza and other sites and then paying just entry fees, rather than then no doubt overpriced tours ?
I'd definitely go for the organised tour of Cichen Itza. It's an early start (5.30am the one we did) but as mentioned, you wheeze in and have an uncrowded and through tour before the masses descend at the hottest time of the day. You get a nice lunch, cave swim, stop off in an old an interesting town and on the way back they come round the coach with the Tequila.... lots of Tequila! :-)Look out for the Speedboat experience and Reef Swim.... not that expensive a great afternoon where you're discover your inner Miami Vice!
Enjoy.
If you're not going to loaf in the resort i'd have a car there tbh. You have to research pretty carefully which ones dont suddenly try giving you a whole load of extra fees once you land. The ones I've found tend to be need a pick up and shuttle to an off airport lot. The big names tend to scam you with the extra "insurance" fees.
From memory reliable are (and please double check)
Avant Car rental
Yes Car rental
You definitely need to go to chichen itza and one/two of the cenotes. You're pretty close to Akumal too, which is supposed to be fun to snorkel with turtles.
Looking at the map you're quite a bit outside of pdc, but even though you have all inclusive (which i hate tbh, food in mexico is incredible and cheap) you really should drive into pdc for an evening or two and grab some food.
My absolute two favourite places in PDC are:
Rockas Jerk Chicken -absolutely unreal
https://goo.gl/maps/2rBeLezSSegoPuie8
La Cochi Loka -Cochinta Tacos (like a marinated pulled pork)
https://goo.gl/maps/T9KDTG9bPghJYMmJ6
From memory reliable are (and please double check)
Avant Car rental
Yes Car rental
You definitely need to go to chichen itza and one/two of the cenotes. You're pretty close to Akumal too, which is supposed to be fun to snorkel with turtles.
Looking at the map you're quite a bit outside of pdc, but even though you have all inclusive (which i hate tbh, food in mexico is incredible and cheap) you really should drive into pdc for an evening or two and grab some food.
My absolute two favourite places in PDC are:
Rockas Jerk Chicken -absolutely unreal
https://goo.gl/maps/2rBeLezSSegoPuie8
La Cochi Loka -Cochinta Tacos (like a marinated pulled pork)
https://goo.gl/maps/T9KDTG9bPghJYMmJ6
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