Deciding to indulge in a little more R&R on the beach, we flew from Costa Rica to Cancun, hired a car and made our way to Playa Del Carmen. We hadn’t booked any accommodation on arrival in Cancun but we were quickly advised by the Tourist Helpdesk to look for places that were ‘All Inclusive’. All inclusive is basically a rate that covers accommodation, all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) and all drinks (tea, coffee, juices, soft drinks, beers, wines and fabulous cocktails).

We came across a hotel called Real Playa del Carmen which was located in the town centre and only a few blocks walk from the beach.  To find out more about our accommodation here, check out our Accommodation page.

There are plenty of things to do in Playa del Carmen or in nearby areas. Cancun is about 1.5hrs drive North East of Playa on the Yucatan Peninsula. If you are keen to do a little shopping or indulge in the night life, then this is where you want to be. It’s a very popular destination for US college students during Spring Break.

Cancun is bustling with shops, restaurants, bars and huge hotels

Playa Del Carmen is a little more chilled out. The town is filled with restaurants, cafes and various shops but not the large scale restaurant chains or retail outlets that are in Cancun.

The beaches are covered in beach lounges, umbrella’s and cabana style bars. There are vendors offering parasailing, scuba diving and wave runner hire.

We spent a lot of time here at our hotel Beach Club

We were able to take bikes from our hotel and ride to the beach or around town. So that’s pretty much what we did. Relax in the sun, enjoy cocktails on the beach and swim.

A great way to get around town

We also organised two days of scuba diving. The cost included two dives in the Caribbean waters and another two in the Cenotes which are amazing underwater caves.  The dives in the Caribbean were beautiful. Beautiful schools of reef fish, long adult trumpet fish, several stingrays and moray eels among other things.

Walking back from two dives in the Caribbean - such a good day!

The cenotes are famous for their diving. People come from all around the world to dive them, and they are certainly worth the effort. The visibility  in fresh water is absolutely incredible, the stalitites and stalimites along with the eyrie darkness of the caves makes it a diving experience we will never forget. If you aren’t qualified for diving you can snorkel in these caves and we certainly recommend you do this. The rest of the time is just perfect to simply… RELAX.

Diving in the Cenotes was like nothing else we'd ever seen before. An amazing world underground.

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