Cancun and Playa Del Carmen
Time spent:
Cancun - 5 nights
Playa Del Carmen - 49 nights
I flew into Cancun from the states. It's a pretty popular tourist destination. A lot of high school grads go there to shit-faced because of the lower drinking age. I had some hotel points so I stayed 5 nights. It wasn't for me...it's like if Disneyland fucked Las Vegas and had an illegitimate kid, that kid's name would be Cancun.
The view from my hotel, gorgeous blue waters and a helluva sunset
Arriving in Mexico
If you have a US passport (or Canadian I believe) this is one of the easiest immigration check points you will ever see.
I didn't have to talk to a single person. I went to these sliding gates and scanned my passport and it spit out what looked like a receipt and it said "180 days" and I walked straight out of the airport. Now a very important side note: DO NOT lose that piece of paper, you need it to leave the country. I'm not sure what they are but there are some fees attached if you don't have it. After that I just strolled out of the airport without needing to talk to anyone. That is until I walked out of the airport....
Walking out of the airport was like walking into consumer hell! Everywhere you look is people screaming "TAXI TAXI TAXI" trying to get you to take what is probably one of the most expensive cab rides on the planet. It was 19 miles (31.4 km) to my hotel and they wanted $60 but I talked him down to $40.
A word of warning, I have AT&T for my cell service and I highly recommend it for traveling in South and Central America, it works just like it does in the states, no extra fees and I never had a problem with service outages while being gone 2 years, BUT the main strip of Cancun is a little off the mainland and I had terrible service there.
The beaches are trickier to get to than you would think, most of them have hotels and you have to cross private property to get to them. But there are buses that run up and down the strip and they were only a dollar. This is a public beach called Playa Delfines and it has the famous Cancun sign. Just hop on a bus and yell "proxima parada" (next stop) when you see it
As I said, I didn't really like Cancun. It didn't really fit what I was looking for in traveling. I think most people book all inclusive stays at the nice resorts and don't really leave the hotels except on trips with the hotel. I used as just a stop over to get to Playa Del Carmen. Being by myself I was pretty anxious to leave as soon as I got there.
Getting to and from Playa Del Carmen
The ADO bus is the better way to go. It was about $12....But I didn't take that...I had an Uber take me to the bus station and there were people in little white vans called "Colectivos" and I thought that was the way. It was very cheap, around $2 I think. There aren't any real departure time they just wait for it fill up then they leave.
Now my ass assumed that since we were full, it would be a non-stop ride to Playa Del Carmen.
I assumed wrong.
Apparently there is no Spanish translation of "I'm sorry, this van is full" because we stopped several times and picked up more people. When I said they wait until the van is full before they leave, I really meant, they wait until the seats are full. There is still technically empty space in the bus.
They crammed people in however they would fit, bent over standing in the aisle. I had a face full of ass for most of the 45 minute journey.
I think this is the only location I've been to I had to double back and go to my starting point of the Cancun airport. I booked an ADO bus back and I recommend you do too.
A coati near Playa Punta Esmeralda
Fresh water cenote in front of Playa Punta Esmeralda
Playa Del Carmen is an excellent jumping off point for people starting off their digital nomad journey. It has a good mix of the local culture while still being pretty touristy and having plenty of English speakers. The main attraction is the famous Quinta Aveninda or 5th Avenue. It is about a 3 mile (5 km) stretch of shops, bars and restaurants. You can also take the ferry for a day trip or spend a few nights in Cozumel, an island right off the coast.
While 5th Avenue is neat it can be overwhelming, people are going to calling at you to come in their shop along the whole street, you get used to tuning them out. A popular "scam" is someone coming up to you saying "Hey man, I was your waiter last night!" or "I work at your hotel" and then they try to get you to go to their friend or family members shop. I say "scam" but it is pretty harmless.
But don't spend all your time on 5th. I really I thought 30 Avenida was a cooler draw for a first timer out of the country. It is a few blocks up from 5th Avenue and a lot of shops and restaurants. It was a much more local scene and had lower prices.
Since I was there 7 weeks total, eating out of everyday would get expensive so I had to go grocery shopping. The best option is the Soriana Super, you can get everything you need there for the lowest prices. There is another store called Chedraui, it is a little more upscale (think Publix) and the prices reflect that.
Another option for stock up on fruits and veggies is the Sunday Market around Calle 54 and 56. Every Sunday they cordon of several blocks and have a market set up. Tons of food and clothes for sale.
Sunday Market
Coldest beer in town
Budget Friendly Things to do
For travelers on a budget there are a couple things to do that don't cost anything. Two spots I recommend checking out are Playa Punta Esmeralda and the archeological site Ruinamaya.
5th Avenue has a lot of stuff but it tapers off around Calle 50. But it does continue on as a nice walkway for a lot further. If you keep walking for about a mile and half after that you will come across Playa Punta Esmeralda, seen in the pics at the top of the page. This is a really cool beach, it has a freshwater cenote just a few feet from the ocean. Cenotes are really common around the Yucatan Peninsula. What they are is essentially water filled sink hole with crystal clear cold water. It was great way to get out of the heat.
If you head the opposite direction on 5th Avenue, all the way to end you will come to an archeological site called Ruinamaya. It is free to go to but you have to be careful because it is around private neighborhood, but easy enough to navigate with all the signs. It is long shaded path with some ancient ruins. Actually even without the ruins it is a pretty cool walk just seeing the natural rocks formations. Be sure to bring water because even in the shade the heat is tough.
Hurricane Beryl
Haha now not every traveler is lucky enough to experience this, but when I was there in 2024 Hurricane Beryl hit the island. It was pretty nerve racking because it hit in the early morning hours of Frida and my flight out was on Saturday morning. But they got back on their feet quick and had no problem with the bus back to Cancun or flight delays.
The power was out in the morning but they got most of the electricity in the city back by nightfall.
One thing I found really interesting is that in a lot of Latin American countries, they have something called Ley Saca, literally translated to "Dry Law" where they temporarily suspend alcohol sales. They enacted this a couple days before the Beryl hit. That meant no hurricane parties. Readers from Florida will know what that means.
From Playa Del Carmen I took the bus back to Cancun and caught a flight to Tuxtla Gutierrez. You can read more about that on the link below or skip ahead to one of my favorite stops in all my travels, San Cristobal de Las Casas
