In November I knew it was gonna be cold AF in mid-to-late January so I spun up the ‘ole computers and visited southwest.com. I booked a cheap ass flight to Cancun. I know what you’re thinking…Cancun is for spring break or for Middle Class Fancy white people who want to say they’ve been to Mexico without actually going to Mexico. The reality is that if you’re going to any destination in the Yucatan Peninsula you have to fly-in to Cancun. Except, bougie people hate admitting that they’re “going to Cancun” so they say they’re going to Tulum or Riviera Maya. More on that in a bit.
Well I too am one of those bougie people but I’m also Mexican so I can say what I want. A couple of years ago I had the same bright idea and booked an AirBNB in Playa Del Carmen and I had an awesome time. So much so that I have been plotting a way to move down there during the winter months as I learned many a snow bird from Canada and Europe do. Seriously, many, many Canadians. That’s one of the things that struck me when I spent a week down there. Believe it or not, Playa has a very international feel. It’s not uncommon to be walking down the Quinta Avenida and hear “nice day eh”, “comment ca va,” and whatever the Germans say.
This time I took my Mexican pops with me to give him a taste of the city he missed on his previous trip down because he stayed at a resort (girlfriends smh). I was also hoping to work some Inception on him to buy a property there since he’s retired and I can visit. Having already been familiar with the different parts of the city, I booked another AirBNB, but this time much closer to the action and the beach. [Note: If you’re just looking to completely unplug and relax for a weekend, Playa proper may not be for you. There are plenty of resorts in “Playa” and up and down the coast.]
Playa Del Carmen is about a 45 minute drive south of Cancun along the coastal highway. The route is littered with resort after resort for kilometer after kilometer. Don’t get me wrong, I like a resort as much as the next honeymooner, but there’s a time and place (see above). Most of the aforementioned gringos usually go to these or they keep going all the way south to Tulum where they can take curated photos for Instagram drinking margaritas from a hut. Tulum is actually very, very beautiful and is free from the resort plague that has inflicted the Riviera Maya. It’s my understanding that it will remain that way given it’s historical significance. It’s home to one of the more popular ruins of Mayan culture in this part of Mexico. Unfortunately, even Tulum is not immune from a little bit of cheese in that entrance to the ruins is subject to a fee from a tourism company in a parking lot that can best be described as the entrance to an amusement park, souvenirs and all. If you’ve never been to ruins in Mexico it’s worth at least the price of admission and if you’re up for it the upsells to take a boat ride for IG photos. They also sell you passes to “Cenotes” or “sinkholes” which you can take a pass on as there are literally hundreds of others along the coast for much less than this location.
This particular trip I only went down to Tulum for the day which is very doable with or without a rental car. We actually met a super friendly Mom/daughter from Calgary, Alberta, which we came to learn is Canada’s Texas, cowboy boots and all. We stayed at an awesome condo for 8 days and just tried to treat it as if we were living there, grocery shopping and all. We even had a parking space which was clutch for our rental although there was plenty of street parking. I think the best way to describe it is that it’s a perfect middle ground between Tulum and Cancun, both literally and figuratively. If you want some of the night life that Cancun has to offer, you got it. You can also experience some of the beautiful beaches of the Riviera Maya and can escape the crowds by laying down a beach towel on the northern end. There’s so much more to this awesome town but I’ll leave you with this for now. We scouted out a few properties and even talked to a realtor so hopefully by this time next year I’ll be reporting from a rooftop pool with a mini umbrella in my drink. Until then, think warm thoughts because it’s cold AF.