Playa del Carmen, Mexico with kids

Have you ever wondered if Playa del Carmen in Mexico is great for kids? Well, we went there and this is what it was like.

For our 10th Anniversary we traveled to Playa del Carmen in Mexico. We spent a week exploring the city with our kids, and checking out everything they have to offer for families.

Our two kids were of course excited to get to the beach, while we adults wanted to see some historical sites and the cenotes. We were also eager to indulge ourselves with some authentic Mexican cuisine.

The experience for someone staying an all-inclusive resort will likely be very different from ours. We stayed in the “Centro” area between the main street (Quinta Avenida) and the beach, so we got to experience the downtown itself.

So how was it with kids and what is it really like there? Here are some things you might want to know if you are traveling to Playa del Carmen, Mexico with kids.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Playa del Carmen is a small town in the Yucatán Peninsula by the Caribbean Sea.

Playa, as the locals call it, used to be a small fishing town. After the cruise liners started making stops at Cozumel, Playa started getting more visitors and begun growing. The island of Cozumel is right by the city of Playa del Carmen.

In recent years there has been a lot of new development at Playa as they have been building more hotels, resorts and luxury apartments.

Playa del Carmen is located in the state of Quintana Roo, south of the popular vacation destination of Cancún. The resort area on the coast is called Riviera Maya and it extends from Cancún all the way south of Tulum.

Playa del Carmen is smaller, a little bit calmer, and more authentic than Cancún. You often hear people saying that it is preferred especially by European travellers.

Getting to Playa del Carmen

When travelling to Playa del Carmen you will be flying to Cancún International Airport. From there, it is about a 50 minute drive to Playa.

I recommend booking your ride beforehand, because it will be cheaper than if you just hail a taxi at the airport. I also noticed, that while many hotels will arrange an airport shuttle for you, in most cases the price was higher than if you book it directly.

We used a company called Cancun Airport Transportation and it worked well. First we had trouble locating them at the airport, but other drivers were very friendly and guided us to the right place. The driver was very nice and gave us so many tips about Playa del Carmen. You can also reserve car seats for kids through their site.

When it was time to leave back home, the car was there waiting for us exactly at the time we had requested.

When traveling with a family or a large group, a private taxi is often the same price as the shuttle rides are. If you are looking for a cheaper option, you can take the ADO Bus to Playa del Carmen.

Things to know when traveling to Playa del Carmen, Mexico with kids

Playa del Carmen offers families mostly just beautiful beaches and nice variety of restaurants. Most activities you see mentioned on travel sites are actually not in Playa del Carmen, like the cenotes and amusement parks.

It still a great base for doing various activities in the area and combining it to a nice beach vacation.

Beaches

All the beaches in Playa del Carmen are public, so there is no fee for entering them.

Most beach hotels have so-called beach clubs, where their guests can use lounge chairs, beach towels, and order food and drinks. You can buy a day pass to most beach clubs, even if you are not a guest in their hotel.

In summer months, usually from May to October, there can be some seaweed on the beaches in Playa del Carmen. However, last years sargassum seaweed has already arrived in January. If you are looking for clear waters, the best bet would be the winter.

Quinta Avenida

Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) is a pedestrian road and the center of tourism and night life. That is where you will find a lot of restaurants, bars and souvenir shops. It’s a fun place to do some shopping and walk around during the day. However, in the early evening it turns into a party street with blasting music and disco lights.

Police officers and military patrol by the night clubs. At the end of the week our kids refused to eat there because the music was just so loud. This was maybe the biggest turn off for us in the otherwise so nice town of Playa.

The fun part of the Quinta Avenida is that you will be able to see many street performers there. There was anything from dancers to acrobats and Mariachis in front of the dinner restaurants eager to entertain tourists for tips.

Restaurants

As already mentioned, we didn’t care for busy Quinta Avenida in the evenings. It was just too much. You couldn’t even carry a conversation while eating because all the bars were blasting the music.

If you want to find a quieter spot for dinner, just head a couple of blocks further in the Centro area. There are amazing restaurants where the locals eat and the prices are about half that of the main street. They might not be as fancy or menus as wide, but the food is for sure authentic and delicious!

There were a few restaurants that we especially enjoyed. El Cahuamo (Calle 6 Norte 706, Centro) had a nice variety of foods for breakfast and lunch. While our kids enjoyed some pancakes with berries, we tried some local foods. Their chilaquiles for example were amazing!

If you like seafood then Los Aguachiles (77717 Q.R., 10 Av. Sur 10, Playacar) is your place. The best food of our trip was definitely here!

Many restaurants in Playa del Carmen didn’t seem to have a kid’s menu, but we quickly learned we could order cheese quesadillas and such off the menu. Everyone was so accommodating and they loved kids. We always like to expose our kids to new dishes, but sometimes it takes time.

Hotels

There are many great hotels and resorts in Playa del Carmen. If you plan just to relax and not explore so much the resorts are great for that. They offer so much entertainment for little ones and you wont be wondering around looking for a place to eat.

For us however, exploring is part of the excitement so we usually just book a hotel room. We stayed in Maya Villa Condo Hotel and Beach Club which was great for a family. It would be great for a bigger group too as you get separate bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. It was only a one block away from a public beach and from Quinta Avenida.

If you decide to stay outside of the resort area like we did, make sure to do your research and read all the reviews before booking a hotel. If you book something close to Quinta Avenida you will likely hear some music all night long. We did not have that problem in our hotel which was great.

If you looking for an all-inclusive then you should check out the Fairmont Mayakoba or Hotel Xcaret Mexico. They are both popular and great for families.

Roads

If you are traveling with a baby or a toddler, bring a sturdy stroller. The roads and sidewalks in Playa del Carmen are not in very good condition.

There are a lot of cobble stone streets with pot holes, and you will end up jumping down from the sidewalks, since they are often blocked. Walking around with an umbrella stroller is going to be difficult. Most times you will end up sharing the road with cars.

Water

Tap water in Mexico is not drinkable, so make sure to carry bottled water with you. Most hotels will provide their customers bottled water and you can purchase some from grocery stores.

Many smaller or older hotels have a limited quantities of hot water for taking showers and might run out during the day. When booking a hotel make sure to read the reviews in order to find out if this is a problem in your hotel.

Shopping

There are a lot of tiny convenience stores in the touristy area of Playa del Carmen, but their selection is very limited.

If you need diapers, baby food or other kid products, there is a Walmart (30 Avenida Nte.) at the other side of the centro. It’s only about a 10 minute walk from the beach depending on which side of the town you are in.

Also the super market Mega Soriana next to Walmart had a good selection of both food and other products.

If you are looking for souvenirs, the biggest variety is on Quinta Avenida. There are also a couple malls along the road for those looking for clothes and such.

Mayan Ruins

Many visitors dream about seeing the ancient mayan city Chichen Itza and they absolutely should! But it is good to know that going there will most likely take most of your day. You can either rent a car and drive there, hire a driver or book a ready tour.

There are also other famous ruins in the Yucatán Peninsula but it comes as a surprise to many, that there are some Mayan Ruins also in Playa del Carmen.

Cenotes

While in Playa del Carmen you should definitely consider visiting some cenotes in order to cool off in a hot day. There is technically only one cenote inside the city of Playa del Carmen (Chaak Tun Cenote) but there are plenty to choose from if you venture out to little bit further.

We visited Cenote Oxman as a part of a tour but if you choose to do that, make sure your tour schedule is not too tight. Many of the tours offer so many stops along the way that you will barely have any time to swim.

✻✻✻

Our trip to Playa del Carmen was very nice and we had a blast, but we didn’t totally fall in love with the place. It is a great base for those who are maybe planning to rent a car and do a daily road trip, or for those who just want to enjoy a resort. But Playa del Carmen itself doesn’t offer tons to see.

Unfortunately we can also see that Playa is following in Cancún’s footsteps in becoming a party town. If you stay in the resort area and only visit the downtown during the daytime that will probably not bother you so much.

We definitely want to explore more of Mexico! People there were extremely friendly and we loved visiting the ruins and cenotes. We are also not saying NO to Playa del Carmen either but we would definitely be venturing out of the city even more.

Have you been to Playa del Carmen, Mexico with kids? What did you think?