Playa del Carmen Travel Guide

Though it no longer has the feel of a village, Playa still provides that rare combination of simplicity (it's a small town that can be traversed on foot) and variety (in the many one-of-a-kind hotels, restaurants, and stores). The town has a casual, comfortable feel. The local architecture has adopted elements of native building -- rustic clapboard walls, thatched roofs, lots of tropical foliage, rough-hewn wood, and a ramshackle, unplanned look to many structures that reflects the town's taste for third-world chic. Slicker architecture has appeared, with chain restaurants and stores, which detract from Playa's individuality. But it remains a cosmopolitan counterculture getaway, and that's what makes it so different from the rest of the coast.Playa is perfect for enjoying the simple (and perhaps the best) pleasures of a seaside vacation -- taking in the sun and the sea air while working your toes into the sand; cooling down with a swim in clear water; and strolling aimlessly down the beach while listening to the wash of waves and feeling the light touch of tropical breezes on your skin. A strong European influence has made topless sunbathing (nominally against the law in Mexico) a nonchalantly accepted practice anywhere there's a beach. The beach grows and shrinks, from broad and sandy to narrower with occasional rocks, depending on the currents and wind. When this happens, head to the beaches in north Playa.From Playa it's easy to shoot out to Cozumel on the ferry, to drive south to the nature parks and the ruins at Tulum and Cobá, or to drive north to Cancún. Directly south of town is the Playacar development, which has a golf course, 13 large all-inclusive resorts, and a residential section. Farther south, at Calica, is the cruise-ship pier.