Travel Guide to Playa Del Carmen Mexico

All this cloudy, cold weather in Germany has me day dreaming of hot sunny days under palm trees with a refreshing Caipirinha in my hand. I’m dreaming of Mexico! What an absolutely beautiful country it is.

While looking through photographs the other day I ran across a picture of my husband and I on our honeymoon. Sweet memories! We love Mexico and decided that we wanted to have our honeymoon in Playa del Carmen. There were so many other choices to be honest but Playa del Carmen just drew us in with it’s beautiful crystal clear blue water and endless options of resorts. {To see All-inclusive Resort deals I used Expedia} For some reason, I always call this place Puerto Morelos. I guess because it’s one of my favorite places in Mexico. But that travel guide will be in a different post. This one is the travel guide to Playa del Carmen Mexico because it’s must visit as well.

Honeymoon Breakdown:

Stay: We picked BlueBay Grand Esmeralda. An all inclusive resort on the beach with options galore. Most flights to The Riviera Maya arrive in Cancun’s International Airport. From there, it’s about a 30 min drive to Playa del Carmen or however long to your destination. *BTW, The Riviera Maya is not a city. It’s an area in southern Mexico that is packed with beauty, history and fun. Back to our resort: Upon arrival we were upgraded to an ocean view suite. Which we were excited about. The Resor itself is beautiful. But with all things there is good and there is bad.

Good

Beach. Crystal clear blue swimable water. Some beaches are not swimable as the tide gets high or rough or too much seaweed. We were beyond excited that we could get in the pretty ocean water. I do remember seeing seaweed but the staff worked tirelessly to clean it.
The food. Wow! It was out of this world. I remember the taste of our first Chinese dinner (my mouth watering as I type this). It was so good, I licked the plate. {well almost} Out of all the resorts I’ve been to, I still compare the food I had at Esmeralda. There were different restaurants to choose from, authentic Chinese, French, Mexican and other options by Reservation. The reservations were made a day in advance but I didn’t mind as it gave me something to look forward to. They also had a buffet with a killer ocean view and close walking distance from the pool. Literally like 10 steps. It was life saver! Specially when the sun completely drained us and it wasn’t even noon yet.
Pool. It’s gigantic! And it wasn’t crowded when we were there. It was also very hot. Maybe that’s explains it.
Staff. Customer service was excellent! They went above and beyond to make our stay fantastic. They also had staff constantly running drink orders. It was nice to just sit on a pool chair, under the shade, sipping on a Margarita and getting a refill without asking.
Night show. Super entertaining and very well put together. In my opinion, the shows we watched on our honeymoon are still the best shows we’ve seen in any resort.
Bars. Plenty of drink options. You name it they make it. They have a bar by the ocean with swings as seats. I remember meeting a couple from Canada while sitting there, sinking my feet in the sand. I can stil feel the coolness of the sand.
The room. The bed was comfy and the room was spacious. AND they had AC, which was a plus.
The shops. Yep suvenier shops inside the resort so you didn’t even have to leave.
Excursion. Soo many of options. It was exciting picking out excursions. Definitely a must!

Bad:

Large Resort. It was so spread out that walking was a good option if you wanted to get your daily excercise but in 90-100 degree weather you literally melt on the way to a restaurant.
Transportation. Again, the resort is so spread out that they have golf carts to transport people from one building to another. Although it ran every 10 minutes it was still not good. We often ended up waiting to be picked up.
Swim up bar. There is none! With our experience now, a swim up bar is a must! It’s a lot of fun.
No Adults-Only. The resort is family friendly. We were ok with that (because honestly we didn’t know any better) but being that it was our honeymoon we would have liked it to be Adults only since they tend to be more quiet. With our travel experience trust me when I say, the difference is unbelievable. *Note: we have nothing against kids. But on our honeymoon we could have done without the screaming or the occasional run over push. It wasn’t distracting though, I was too busy slurping on my piña colada and soaking up the sun. We survived, so there you have it.
Mosquitos. Lots of mosquitos. I don’t like the bastards and they just bothered me.

Do:

Fifth Avenue is a must! The longest shopping strand I’ve ever been on. It just keeps going: shops restaurants, bars, you name it. And the food, it’s finger licking good.
Punta Esmeralda. Beautiful beach.
X-Plor theme park. Half natural, half man made. Tons of zip lines and water activities are sure to ramp up the fun! We did all the zip lines, the kayaking, the underground river swim and we had a blast.
Excursion. We rapelled of a hill, had food prepared by the local Indians and cooled off in a super secret under ground water hole, also known as a Cenote. Finished it off with a shot of tequila. Our group and tour guide was fun. It was wild experience.
Walk up the Chichen Itza, Muyil, Tulum or Coba Xel-Ha Pyramids. We went up Coba and the experience was unforgettable. It is found in an ancient Mayan site where so many ruins are stilll being uncovered. Rent a bike and pedal your way through history! It was surreal and I learned a lot about the Mayans

Tips:

Plan ahead and save up your pennies.
Before leaving: make a copy of your passport and place it in a different bag, just in case.
Keep an open mind. With travel comes unplanned events, like late flights.
Relax! Really sit back and forget about the crazyness back home. It’s just a few days anyways, might as well enjoy your stay.
Wear comfy beach clothes.
Sunscreen! It’s important you don’t let that gangster Mexican sun get the best out of you. Sunburn is not fun!

Cecil and I have been married since 2010. And Wow! Time sure flies when you’re having fun. Our honeymoon will forever be the beginning of our many adventures. We have learned so much about each other and grown together with every life experience. Life with him is easy, fun, and adventurous! Cheers to you all: the ones married for 40 years and the ones barely starting out! May you live a joyful life together, complete with adventure and all this world has to offer.

A few photos from our honeymoon.