Playa Del Carmen Beaches

[Ms_Pammy]

Hi All....Ive had this question posted on the ports of call boards for 2 weeks with no response so hopeing someone here can answer:)

 

Can anyone recommend a nice beach that we can hang out at for the day. Looking for a beach similar to Paradise beach in Cozumel...where they have a water trampoline, floaties ext..., good food, and drinks.

 

Also does anyone know the name of the beach that Carnival uses for the "Beach Break" excursion?

 

I cant seem to find the anser to either question anywhere.

 

Thanks so much

[DreDay]

I'm not sure of a beach like Paradise Beach in Playa. It'a a very small town not developed like Cozumel from what I saw. That's the beauty of it though. Last time we went we did the snorkel excursion through Carnival (never again) and then left from there with a private driver to a Cenote. I wanted to the beach at Tulum but he asked if he could take us some place better. We agreed and were taken to this beautiful beach with a palapa covered restaurant. There were maybe 14 people on the beach (My group was 10) for as far as the eye could see in either direction.

 

The food in the restaurant was yummy too. It was post Hurricanes and the damage seemed minimal.

 

So gorgeous!!

[Cotton]

The only beach I'm aware of at PdC is the public beach just past the little park in the downtown area. It's nice, and is near some great restaurants on Avenue 5.

[yst347]

You might want to checkout Xcaret.

 

http://www.xcaret.com/park-attractions/xcaret-beach.php

[LHP]

For a little beach life, this is where you want to be tendered in (instead of docked). We were there Thanksgiving 2004 and tendered right into downtown. There is a Senor' Frogs immediately on your left as you walk off the dock. Hubby and I sat there while the boys played in the sand and surf. At that time, Senor Frogs also had tables and chairs on the beach. We were able to actually sit "inside" because it all opens up to the water and we could still watch the boys ( 16 and 13 at the time). Loved it!!

 

If you walk off the docks and turn right, you have to walk through a small section of the town before you hit beach again. A small bit of a hassle because of "time share hawkers". The town area was starting to build some pretty store fronts at that time. We did not walk far off the main street.

Watch those cobblestone streets though. You can twist your ankle.

 

If you end up docking, you have to grab a taxi to this location which (I believe is $10 per taxi one day).

 

Have a great cruise!!

Of course, all of this was before the last hurricane season...so I am running on the assumption that it is all still there.

[Third Coast Sailor]

I have not been there since mid 90's but just a short distance toward Tulum / Merida direction from Playa del Carmen there are a couple of places that were awesome back then , Jean Lafittes , Xel- Hai (could be off on the spelling) and Akumal . We stumbled on to them in the late 70's when Playa del Carmen was just a Ferry Landing with a few fishing huts there . Last time I was there was in 2001 and did not recognize the place .

Way too commercial for me these days .

[divadiverfl]

We rented a jeep for the day there and went to the ruins--after that on the way back on the same dirt road we turned off--it said beach--we turned there and it was great. A great open bar that served lunch--hammocks, some beach toys--very pretty and quite. It was a topless beach (very few tops off) but we had no little ones to worry about. :) :D

[downby50]

Not sure if you can get day passes but we've been to the Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal the last two years for 7 days and they have the most gorgeous beaches. :) About a 5 minute taxi ride from downtown Playa at a cost of $5.00. :D They don't have a water trampoline but for the people staying their you have use of non-motorized water sports and of course they have people on the beach selling Parasailing, Jet Skiing and stuff like that. Like I said you can check for day use. Can't say enough good things about this place, the beach or the people that work there.

[basketlover]

we did the carnival beach break to a beach about 20 min south of the pier it was nice and top optional saw no topless though. chairs and umbreallas a small shopping area an open bar with optional food. 34 dollars pp from the boat.

[sspeechly]

Definetly check out Xcaret or Xelha/Tulum. Both are very close to Playa and are well worth the price.

 

Xelha is an older park, but great for snorkeling, etc. At the entrance to the bay they feed "giant fish" every so often. I mean really big tuna, etc., no sharks! What a thrill, you can be right next to them............! The tour is usually combined with Tulum. Tulum is the only ocean side Mayan ruin in Mexico. Incredible, especially if you get the right guide. The last time we were there we had a retired professor of Archeology from the University of Mexico.

 

Xcaret is a much newer and bigger park and it offers more to do than Xelha.

If you go don't miss the "mayan ball game" or the cenote float tour.

 

 

Both have websites to look at for your convenience.

[crazycruzer68]

I hope that you get your information, as I too will be in Calica in OCT. and am looking for the same type of thing.

 

Keep us upto date on what you find.

[WellDeserved]

If you take the Shopping and Beach Excursion though Carnival the beach stop is the Blue Parrot. Carnival has an agreement where you will have access to the beach and lounge chairs for the 2 hour duration. The beach if I remember correctly is just south of the Int'l Pier.

When we were there on July 6th it rained all afternoon and did not have the pleasure of using the beach but we did walk down and it is a nice location.

Enjoy your holiday!