Beaches and Ruins on the Mayan Riviera I: Playa del Carmen
With the war on drugs raging in many parts of the nation particularly in are as close to the U.S. border, tourism to Mexico has equally been adversely affected with many visitors questioning their personal safety in light of exagerated media coverage on the ongoing battle between drug cartels. For visitors that actually do venture south of the border (if coming from the U.S.), almost all tourist areas are perfectly safe, offer great value for money and unforgettable scenery, pristine beaches and unique cutural and architectural treasures. The most popular resort areas to visit would include the Baja Peninsula, the Pacific Coast around Puerto Vallarta as well as the Mayan Riviera on the Yucatan Peninsula. Among those destinations, the Yucatan may be by far the most popular and most crowded, as in addition to North American visitors, Europeans equally flock here in high numbers mostly from France, Italy and the Benelux. The best advice to arriving passengers here would be to leave the urban overdevelopment of Cancun behind as quickly as possible and to head south for a visit to various less crowded resort communities on the Mayan Riviera.
No doubt, overdevelopment has reached the entire state of Quintana Roo with few deserted untouched coastal areas left to hide. The community of Playa del Carmen (PDC) about an hour by bus south of Cancun, was once a sleepy fishing village with a ferry terminal to nearby Cozumel island, but has since developed an identity of its own over the past decade and now boasts an infinite number of resort hotels, shopping opportunities and cafes, bars and restaurants catering to every budget and palate. The town also serves as a perfect gateway for exploring other resort areas on the coast as well as Mayan heritage sites further inland. From Cancun airport there are various shuttle services available to Playa del Carmen, but the least expensive and most reliable option would be the hourly ADO bus service directly to their downtown bus terminal near many of the central resort hotels and the commercial main artery of PDC lovingly referred to as "5th avenue".
As a result of heavy competition between hotels here, accomodation bargains are equally easy to find particularly if researched and booked in advance on line on sites such as booking.com or the local hotel booking site with the lowest prices mexvax.com (check hotel listings for Casa Ejido and Real del Mayab for instance). For visitors wishing to find peace and soltitude away from mass tourist crowds, renting a bike and riding about 15-20 minutes in either direction North or South may yet prove to be the wisest choice. Heading North to anywhere near Coco's Beach apartments may be a good option. Here beaches are still beautiful, unspoilt and uncrowded, although it may be advisable to leave before dusk as some semi-deserted coastal areas may not feel safe after sunset. For good inexpensive food option, alternative visitors to PDC are equally well advised to head away from downtown PDC. Many of the locals head north to the corner of 5th Avenue and 38th street past Constituyentes Ave. where numerous atmospheric restaurants may be found serving both Mexican and international cuisine at reasonable prices. (e.g., La Cueva del Chango). The use of a bicycle may equally prove worthwhile for heading up on Benito Juarez Avenue to the nearby CHEDRAUI grocery store to shop like the locals and prepare meals in studio-style accomodations.
Playa del Carmen may thus serve as the perfect local base for daytrips or longer excursions to nearby attractions, particularly Cozumel island, the scuba diving paradise of Akumel or the eco tourist destination of Tulum with its Mayan ruins. Cozumel can easily be reached from the ferry terminal downtown, while Akumel, Tulum and other mainland sights are linked directly and inexpensively by 1st class bus service from the central ADO bus terminal on 5th Avenue and Benito Juarez Avenue. In part II on the Mayan Riviera we will take a closer look at the breathtaking scenery, beaches and Mayan heritage sights to be found along the coast and inland further South.
Comments
Post a Comment