BEST Things to Do in Playa del Carmen

Looking for the best things to do in Playa del Carmen? I’ve got you covered.

Playa del Carmen has changed a LOT in a short period of time.

I stayed in Playa del Carmen in 2025, and have been able to discover all the (current) amazing things there are to do there.

Playa del Carmen is a bustling city with a foodie, nightlife and a bit of a party vibe. But there are a lot of things to do there besides those things.

When you arrive in Playa del Carmen, you’ll see that there are many people trying to sell you tours.

Before accepting, READ this article so that you can be well-informed on what your options are for the most amazing things to do in Playa del Carmen. Let’s jump in!

BEST Things to Do in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

1. Walk up and down the Quinta Avenida

My favourite thing about Playa del Carmen, hands down (since I’m not a beach person) is the Quinta Avenida – known as “Fifth Avenue” in English.

You could spend literally hours walking up and down. There are endless souvenir stores, cafés, restaurants, live music, museums and other activities.

You want to take time. I spent hours walking up and down, because my hotel was on the street (which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend by the way, since its loud at night)

My favourite thing to do was simply to walk around, taking it in. Playa del Carmen is one of the safest places in Mexico, and even as solo female traveller I always felt safe walking around (night and day.)

Pro Tip: Don’t limit your walking just to Fifth Avenue. Playa del Carmen is such a walkable city, especially the whole downtown area. Keep your eye our for beautiful murals and street art.

**As you’re walking around, don’t be surprised at all if there are often people calling out to you, trying to sell stuff/get you into their stores (especially if you’re a visible foreigner.) A simple “No gracias” will be useful.

2. Check out the Portal Maya sculpture

Be sure to check out the Portal Maya sculpture near the ferry ports – its a 52 foot tall statue of a man and a woman embracing.

it was designed by Mexican artists and is a celebration of the Mayan calendar. It’s been there since 2012.

Right near the Porto Maya sculpture are the Playa del Carmen sign that is popular for selfies and photos. You may have to wait to get your picture taken as there will likely be a lot of other people with the same idea, but I didn’t find the wait was too long.

2. Go see the Playacar Mayan Ruins

The Playacar Mayan Ruins are also known as Xaman-Ha, and they’re just a short walk from downtown Playa del Carmen.

These ruins were once a sight of pilgrimage for Mayan women in the area, and were abandoned in the 1500s after the arrival of the Spaniards.

Check them out while you’re in town – it’s free, and only about a 10-minute walk from the Mayan sculpture above.

3. Check out cenotes

What makes the Mayan Riviera so unique to the rest of the world is all the cenotes. You definitely can’t visit the area without going to at least one cenote.

There are so many cenotes and many different tours. There are three different types of cenotes:

• open (they basically look like a pit in the ground)
• half-open – like the one in the photo below
• closed (underground and in many cases, still undiscovered)

You can swim, snorkel or even scuba dive in cenotes (the water is fresh, and warm year-round.)

There are so many tours you can take that will bring you to various cenotes. Here are a few that I suggest:

• Hidden Cenote Exploration in Playa del Carmen Visit an underground cenote by venturing through a cave, followed by swimming in its clear water. Includes lunch. $150 per person
• Bike ride into the jungle to visit a lesser-known cenote. This tour is with Alex who runs Mama Nature and is about $100 per person, and includes all equipment. I did this tour, it’s about a 4-hour tour and when I look back on my solo trip to Playa del Carmen, it was one of the highlights of my trip. I cooled off from the bike ride by swimming in the cenote

• Exploring hidden cenotes in Playa del Carmen this tour will take you to a few different cenotes! (4 hours, $100 per person, snacks, water and snorkel equipment provided)

Some cenotes have amenities like restrooms and some aren’t built up at all ( like the ones in the photo above.) Regardless of which cenote you go to, be sure to leave it how you found it to preserve this incredible piece of nature. If you want a cenote that has restrooms, then I recommend Dos Ojos National Park – it’s closer to Tulum than Playa del Carmen (25 minute drive), but it has several cenotes attached to it that you can swim and snorkel in, and they have washrooms, showers, souvenir stands, etc.

4. Get your photo in front of the Playa del Carmen sign

Right near the Porto Maya sculpture is the Playa del Carmen sign that is popular for selfies and photos.

You may have to wait to get your picture taken as there will likely be a lot of other people with the same idea, but I didn’t find the wait was too long.

5. Take a traditional Mexican cooking class

Daytime, 3-hour cooking classes are offered right in Playa del Carmen with a Mexican chef.

You’ll learn to make homemade tortillas, salsa, and guacamole. Sounds simple, but the tortillas are definitely the most challenging part – plus getting the spices for the salsa and guac right.

You’re also given tips on where to find the most ‘authentic’ food in Playa del Carmen. Click here to read reviews and book (cost is around $100 per person.)

There are also lots of other cooking classes in Playa del Carmen, but the above is the most well-rated.

6. Have a beach day

Playa del Carmen has easy access to a few public beaches – its name is playa after all. 

There are not as many good beaches as in Cancun, but there are a few good public beaches you could enjoy the sun, waves and swimming at.

Public beaches in Playa del Carmen

• Playa Incluyente, right in front of the Portal Maya sculpture
• Playacar Playa, short walk from Playa Incluyente, on the other side of the ferry dock

7. Shop

Playa del Carmen has turned itself into a decent shopping district. In addition to the endless souvenir stores that you will see, there’s a large open-air mall downtown Paseo del Carmen.

Paseo del Carmen is an upper-scale, open air mall that feels like a mix between a mall and a jungle. It’s lush inside, with water fountains.

Paseo del Carmen carries some American brands, but also many European brands that aren’t common to North America.

I realize that most people don’t come to Playa to buy a new wardrobe, but if you do want new clothes I would check out the brands in advance. I bought some really nice nightware imported from Italy.

The mall has water fountains and is a nice place to walk through even if you don’t buy anything. It helps even just to escape the heat of day for a short while.

Check out the shops at Paseo del Carmen here

8. Experience the nightlife

Nightlife has become a huge thing in Playa del Carmen, it’s what many tourists are going there to enjoy. (It was the reason I had to switch rooms at my hotel – a garden-facing room from a street facing one.)

Everything in Playa del Carmen is also open until very late. Restaurants and stores typically don’t close until 10:30-11pm, so even if you’re not a nightlife person you can do your shopping or late-night snacks or drinks and still experience the nightlife.

Here are some specific ways to enjoy the nightlife in Playa:

• Coco Bongo Show. You’ll see many people on the streets selling tickets to a Coco Bongo Show, which is a night performance. You can also buy tickets here. The show starts late, and often goes until 3am!
• Many bars and restaurants with live music. All you have to do is walk up 5th avenue (the main strip) and many of the joining streets and you’ll see countless, countless of them

9. Frida Khalo Museum

The main Frida Khalo Museum is located in Mexico City, where she lives – however there’s also a small one in Playa del Carmen that you can visit!

There isn’t any originals of her artwork here (just high quality replicas) but if you get a guide you can learn about the history, sexism, homophobia that shaped Frida’s world and her work.

You can read reviews and grab a ticket on Viator here.

10. 3D Museum of Wonders and/or Wax Museum

Playa del Carmen has a couple different places where you can visit just to go inside, and get funny photo ops and selfies.

They are:

• 3D Museum of Wonders
• Wax Museum (currently closed, but that may change)

11. Spend a day at Xcaret Park

Xcaret is a nature-based amusement park about 20-minute drive from Playa del Carmen.

There’s an underground river you can swim in, a coral reef aquarium, and even some traditional Mayan and Mexican shows you can watch.

12. Try a surf lesson

Aloha Paddle Club in Playa del Carmen offers surfing for all levels.

They also offer kayaking, Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP). They do lessons, rentals and even tours to snorkel sports and cenotes.

13. Go skydiving

Skydiving in Playa del Carmen is offered through Skydive Playa. They’re said to be the safest skydive company in Mexico, and have a great reputation and reviews.

I’ve tried skydiving already, in Australia, and once was enough for me. Being able to do it on the beach was a beautiful experience, the views were incredible. I imagine you’d get a very similar view in Playa del Carmen.

Check out prices for Skydive Playa del Carmen here.

14. Take the ferry to Cozumel

Part of what turned Playa del Carmen into such a tourist hotspot is its proximity to Cozumel. It’s so easy to hop on a ferry to Cozumel from Playa, and it’ll only take 45 minutes to get there.

The ferries leave once an hour, so you could easily leave in the morning and come back in the evening.

The ferries from Playa del Carmen bring you the area that’s closest to the Punta Langosta Cruise ship terminal in Cozumel. Read my post on things to do near the Cozumel cruise port for fun ways to spend a day in Cozumel.

14. Explore the foodie scene

There are SO many restaurants in Playa del Carmen.

Name it – it’s probably there. Asian food, Mexican, American, Argentinian, Italian, Jamaican – pretty much everything.

I love vegan restaurants and tried almost every vegan restaurant they had. My favourite was SALVEI vegan concept.

Here are some notable, high rated and quality restaurants to consider in Playa del Carmen:

• Papa Charly. Great pasta house, with so many different kinds of food. Recommended to me by a Playa del Carmen local. Likely a 10-20 min walk depending on where you’re staying.
• LOTS of upscale Italian cuisine. Osteria de Roma, and Nicoletta Playa Del Carmen both serve upscale Italian food on 5th Avenue. Date night atmosphere

15. Take a day trip

You will be bombarded with day trip options when you visit Playa del Carmen. It’s very easy to visit all kinds of places around the Mayan Riviera or the Yucatan peninsula.

Some ideas for day trips you could easily take from Playa del Carmen:

• Puerto Morales (36 km or 22 miles), only 40 min drive from Playa del Carmen. Small, quiet beach town in between Playa del Carmen and Cancun
• Tulum – 64 km or 39 miles (1 hour drive.) Visit the town, and the ruins! You can drive yourself, take a cab, or join the many tour options
• Cozumel (see ferry tip above)
• Chichen Itza – 185 km or 114 miles from Playa del Carmen, so it requires a very long day trip, as it’s typically a 2+ hour car ride
• Isla Mujeres, an island off the coast of Cancun. There are many tour providers offering trips here from Playa

Where to Stay in Playa del Carmen

• Budget: Apart Hotel Casaejido Located a bit deeper into the city of PDC, but that’s better because it means its quiet and you can get a good nights rest. Has a pool, AC, airport shuttle. Next time I come to Playa, I’m staying here
• Mid-Range: Hotel Lunata – amazing place, located right on 5th avenue. I stayed here, and I’d recommend it. The only thing is, if you want to go to bed early/are not a late night partier, then be sure to choose a garden-facing room. I had to switch to one because the noise on the street was loud until the early morning
• Luxury: Wydham Altra Playa del Carmen The ultimate adult-only resort in Playa del Carmen, has 2 swimming pools, hot breakfast, a spa, room service, and airport shuttle

Things to Do in Playa del Carmen FAQ

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about Playa del Carmen, and planning a trip and things to do there

How many days is enough in Playa del Carmen?

The amount of time to spend in Playa del Carmen really depends what types of things you’re interested in doing. I would say in general, 3-7 days is good for Playa del Carmen if you’re planning to use it as a home base. I stayed in Playa del Carmen for just 3 nights, which was enough, because I planned to move on to other parts of Mexico.

What is Playa del Carmen best known for?

Playa del Carmen is known for its laid-back, beach town atmosphere. It has changed a lot over the past couple of decades and has become a bit of a party city with a vibrant nightlife – lots of late shows, and stores and restaurants open until midnight. It’s a great hub for exploring the Mayan Riviera; beaches, cenotes, and other small coastal towns.

Final Thoughts on Playa del Carmen

By now, you know about many of the key things to do in Playa del Carmen. It’s without a doubt one of the best cities in Mexico to visit, because of its unique walkable and fun atmosphere. I’m so glad I finally visited after so much time exploring other parts of Mexico but never the Mayan Riviera.