Ultimate Playa del Carmen Adventure: Tips and Tricks for a Quick International Escapade

Intro

Hey everyone! Welcome to part 1 of my Mexican adventure. The journey kicked off at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, where I grabbed a delicious Supreme Club from Jersey Mike’s before hopping on a United flight to Tulum. The excitement really hit when we landed at TQO Tulum International Airport. Our first stop was the gorgeous Porto Playa Condominios in Playa del Carmen, for an excellent stay. From exploring the vibrant Quinta Avenida to enjoying mouthwatering typical dishes, Playa del Carmen did not disappoint. Beach days, tacos, and cocktails made the experience even better. Stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll dive into our tour of the legendary Chichen Itza!

Planning the Playa del Carmen Escapade

This was one of the quickest international escapades that I had planned, with just a month and a half on planning time. And on top of that we were a group of 8 people scattered all over the US. So imagine only a few weeks till the Memorial Day weekend 2024, and then you have to buy flights, hotels, tours and everything in between.

Well, fortunately, this time I had help, and I did not have to plan every single minute of this trip. Another friend who was going, helped us looking hotels, tours and making sure everyone was aware of everything and pay whatever they had to.

As for me, all I had to do was to use my knowledge of the many times I had been to Mexico and travel in general, to provide with ideas. For example, the flights via Cancun from JFK were extremely expensive for that weekend, but I had heard of the new airport in Tulum, and was wondering if it was open. And it was! TQO International Airport opened just in December 2023, so we looked on Google Flights, and there it was, the flight from Newark EWR to TQO Tulum for a very good price.

The only problem was the distance, both airports are far. Newark, well, we had flown on this airport, and TQO was west of Tulum, which was not our main destination: Playa del Carmen. On Google Maps it showed a distance of 1.5 hours in between. We gambled with this price and we were hopeful we would get to wherever we needed to.

From EWR to TQO

The flight was early, so we decided to stay over one of our friends the night before, and then Uber to Newark International Airport. The terminal for United looked really good. I was able to check in this time and get a boarding pass, which was not the case for Dominican Republic a few months back.

While at the airport, I decided to get my fix of Supreme Club from Jersey Mike, part of my ongoing challenge to eat the recommended items from Keith Eat the Menu from The Try Guys.

Finally on the plane, and I was a little bit surprised that the screens would not show TQO still as the destination, instead they would show CUN or Cancun International Airport. This must be fixed, it scared for a second, thinking I was in the wrong plane lol.

After 4 hours we had arrived to Tulum, in the new airport.

Slowly but surely, the other parties on our group arrived at the same airport from the other cities in the US. Since the airport was new, we had no idea how to get to Playa del Carmen. We were a group of 8 people, and 2 taxis would have been very expensive. We asked around for about 20 minutes, and renting a van would had been also very expensive. At the end, we decided to take the ADO bus that would drop off us directly in Quinta Avenida.

Exploring Quinta Avenida

The bus ride was LONG, and I feel like we almost wasted this day. We would stay 4 nights total, and this day was almost over, but we walked from the very south of Quinta Avenida, the main road, to our hotel, Porto Playa Condominio. We had booked a couple of suites with private terrace and hot tub.

The room was also big. I liked the overall experience, obviously this is not a all inclusive resort, but it was right at the Quinta Avenida, where all the stores, restaurants, cafes are.

And after setting in and showering, we got ready and went out to explore the Quinta Avenida, and the city was just so busy, which sometimes this is very good, because it is very alive.

The first Evening

Picking up a restaurant where 8 people have to find something to eat, it is not easy task, but we were lucky to have open minded friends who got something from the menu every single time without complaining. In my case, since we were by the beach, I got seafood, of course.

I also got some local beers. I love micheladas which is basically adding lime to the beer and it makes it just so delicious. That night we decided to hang in the hotel, since it had pools and so many amenities.

And later that night when we were hungry again, we got some local tacos, which are obviously the best!

Beach Day!

We woke up not super early for a Beach Day, and the first thing we did was get coffee at the closest Starbucks, located in the Quinta Alegria Shopping Mall, at the Quinta Avenida. I NEEDED my fix of cold brew with almond milk and two shots of mocha.

Next up, we went to the beach, and as we expected, there was A LOT of seaweed.

The problem? It was more disgusting than we expected. The smell was ridiculous. We walked north in hopes to find a more cleared area, but everywhere it was just so bad. The locals were just hanging at the beach, so we decided just to suck it up and lay down on the beach away from the seaweed.

The spot we found was cute, but still not ideal, compared to other beaches we had visited.

We asked around for day passes in one of the beach clubs and the prices were extremely ridiculous, going to more than $800 for the group. We were in shock when we heard the prices, but we were still able to go to the Pool Bar at Mahekal Beach Resort to get some Pina Coladas. The view was amazing tho.

Relaxation + Fun

The beach left us tired, and we got some Argentinian hot dogs to go. We walked back to the hotel, and enjoyed the pool a little bit more.

This afternoon, we had a massage appointment at 7:00 pm. It was a discount for 2 couples, and even though the price for 1 hour of massage was great, the actual massage was one of the best ones I had ever had. Amazing. The place was Magic Hands Massage.

Later that evening, we went to a Tiki Bar, which that night had an open mic for comedians. I was about to step out because they were bombing so bad, or were extremely out of touch, but we stayed because the cocktails were good.

And the food was good too. The ramen I had was like a lot of food. Wow.

One more night

The next day we went to Chichen Itza, which you will see in another blog post, but that night we went to party at Mandala. Another side of the Playa del Carmen nightlife.

On the way back to the hotel, we noticed this location, where they have actual alive pumas and other animals, which is crazy to me, right in the middle of Quinta Avenida.

One last walk around Quinta Avenida

On the morning of my departure back to New York, I walked around Quinta Avenida, with Starbucks coffee in hand, and getting some last purchases, before heading back to Tulum. I had gotten my ADO bus trip online, and I just needed to go to the terminal, close to the Parque Los Fundadores.

Hard Rock Cafe was showing off this early in the morning.

And finally, even though we were here earlier in the trip, I was able to get closer to the famous Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Carmen.

And of course, the magnificent Parque Los Fundadores with the famous monument and the beautiful view of the blue sea. Find more about this trip and Chichen Itza in the next entry!