Things to do in  Playa del Carmen

Our family had a blast on our private tour of Tulum and swimming in the Cenotes! Jony was a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable and his English was impeccable. When we were done he found us a great place in Playa del Carmen for us to stop for some local cuisine. Yum!

Marcos drove us to our destination and provided water and friendly conversation. The handoff between Viator and E-Transfers needs some work but we got there in the end. All is well. We paid for a round trip, so we will have to see if that goes smoothly. We are happy to be here in Playa del Carmen.

Abbi was in time, great sense of humor and spoke English. He was a safe and courteous driver and I will definitely ask for Abbi as a driver next time I go to playa del Carmen

They picked us up from our hotel at 7am in Playa Del Carmen. Had to travel 2 hours to get to Holbox. Nobody spoke English in Holbox. Had to share a golf cart with other people when it said we get our own. Food for lunch was ok. Made it back to hotel around 10pm.

I highly recommend this trip. It was the highlight of our stay in Playa Del Carmen. First the transport arrived promptly at 6:00 am as confirmed. The drive over was long but passed quickly with our wonderful driver Fernando and our bilingual guides Francisco and Patrice. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and shared valuable insights about the archaeological sites and were excited to share their knowledge with the group. Then the Cenote experience was unforgettable. A couple of recommendations for this excursion is to wear swimming shoes to walk in and bring a towel and a dry change of clothes. The third stop included Coba and the Limousine ride which was a bicycle is well worth the $ 9.50 usd. Coba was equally as beautiful and there is a wealth of knowledge to see there. Overall we had the most amazing day.

All-in-all this was a great excursion. The guide Juan "Juam" was quite entertaining and the driver Fernando was great as well. Juan explained the historic and cultural backgrounds of the places we were going to see before we got there. He also pointed out and told the story of specific locations at Chichen Itza. This is a loooong excursion. People in Cancun started at 8. We started at 9 from Playa del Carmen. We were back around 9 PM. The people in Cancun still had an hour to go. Keep that in mind and plan accordingly. We barely passed by Valladolid. I would have liked to hang out there a bit instead of the subpar coffee break at a probably "partner" establishment to the tour. It felt like wasted time. Even at that "artisan" shop, do not buy anything for full price. You can find the same stuff (obsidian or cheap stuff or hand-made stuff) at Chichen Itza and you can bargain more there. Chichen Itza was great. We had one hour guided tour and one hour free, which felt enough. Lunch: The food at lunch was quite good. Cenote: The life jacket you have to rent, but it wasn't much. We didn't get a locker. Just take your bag to the lower dock with you. If the guy says you have to leave it on the upper dock, wait until he is not looking. Other people took their stuff before us, so I did as well. The swim in the Cenote was amazing. It was not a crowded cenote, but it definitely wasn't a subpar one. Suggestions: 1- It would have been nice for the tour to provide a cooler with water and soft drinks for the road, instead of us relying on small insulated containers for water. 2- Include the Chichen Itza fee in the tour price (even if it is raised). You have to pay 36.5 USD each (fee + card processing fee, as they don't allow cash payment for some reason) 3- Include at least soft drinks and water in the lunch buffet. People can pay extra for beer and alcohol if they want. 4- Either make the coffee break decent (it felt way too cheap, just to make us stop at that affiliate marketplace) or replace it with a coffee stop in Valladolid so we can see the church at least.

My husband and I had a very smooth, safe experience with the staff of Excellence Transfers. I especially want to thank Rosie who helped us with every part of our trip between Cancun airport and our hotel in Playa del Carmen. I mistakenly booked the wrong private transfer from Cancun airport to the Cancun hotel zone, when we needed to go to the Playa del Carmen hotel zone. Rosie caught my error and helped fix it. We were exhausted when we arrived after a red-eye flight from Tijuana to Cancun - our driver met us promptly and drove us directly to our hotel in Playa del Carmen. When it was time to return home five days later, our return trip to the airport was confirmed and we had a safe, easy trip. Our driver let us include a couple friends who needed a ride to the airport, since their flight had been delayed and they had not pre-reserved transportation from the hotel. The prices were very reasonable, compared with the expensive transportation we could've reserved through our hotel. Overall, everyone who helped us at Excellence Transfers was professional, friendly, reliable, safe, and courteous. They all spoke English fluently. I would definitely book with them again on our next trip to Cancun/Playa del Carmen. Excelente!

My husband and I had a wonderful time on this trip. We were part of a small group of 11 people split into two groups (English speaking and Spanish speaking). Our driver Edgar, and our guides Gabriel and Jesus were fantastic. It was a long day (about 11 hours from the time we left our resort in Playa del Carmen to the time we returned), but it was fun. We got to see Tulum, spend some time on a private beach, traveled to Coba, had lunch, toured the ruins, and ended the day with a swim in an underground cenote. I would definitely recommend this trip if you are looking for some adventure a little more off the beaten path. Definitely worth it!

The tour started on a pick up point closed to my hotel. Then they take you to the main place where you pay the extra money 30USD, get a bracelet and a sticker with the name of your tour guide and the bus number. The bus left around 8.30am. We arrived at a restaurant around 11am. There you have lots of souvenirs and a buffet lunch with not many vegetarian options and the food is not great. After that you go to Chichen Itza and get 2 hours to visit. Then the cenote where you get 1 hour. And then valladolid city for 30mins. We left valladolid at around 6.30pm and arrived at Playa del Carmen at 9pm. It's a very long day but you get to do many things.

I completely forgot about setting up transfers from the Cancún Airport to our hotel in Playa del Carmen. So I got on Viator the night before our flight out and even though I didn’t see a way to book it myself, I did the chat with Haya and everyone to and from got booked! It dissolved the stress. We were told who to see and where to meet, so it was easy!

Very early start, but well worth it. Got picked up at meeting spot in Playa del Carmen at time given. Tried to pick up at two other hotels but guests were no shows (likely slept in). We then met the main bus along the highway from Cancun. New bus so that was good and only about 20 people total so good sized group. Marco explained everything to us before we got to Chichen Itza. We were the first tour bus there and got in as soon as the site owned. Lots of chances to take photos without crowds of people. Marco provides a lot of historical info, along with some humour, so it was good to stay with him. If that isn't your thing, he gave the option of exploring on your own and meeting the group when it was time to leave. Good we were early as the parking lot was packed with buses as we were leaving. Next stop was at Yaxanuh, a smaller, but older site being restored and funded by the owner of Amigo Tours. Good to see the difference and good to see Amigo Tours doing something good for the Mayan people. Our next stop was the buffet lunch and as promised by Marco, there was no wait and we got started right away. Finally, our last stop was Cenote Saamal. As we kept to schedule, things worked out perfect. The tequila tasting was good and when we headed into the cenote, there was never more than 20-25 people in it. Not the dozens and possibly hundreds with a later tour. It was a long day, but am glad we did it. Marco is a fantastic guide and ensured we were well informed and we kept on schedule. Highly recommend this tour, unless you plan to party late into the night beforehand.

A great walking tour of Playa del Carmen, hosted by Enrique. We were met with a welcome Guava drink and given some local history knowledge before getting away from the main strip. Food stops included Quesadillas, Mole and Enchiladas, a couple of (delicious!!) Tacos and Ice Lollys. All of the food stops were super yummy and gave us an authentic taste of the local food. From small restaurants to taco stands and canteen dining. Enrique was friendly, with lots of fantastic stories and set off at a gentle pace in the heat of the day! We also got to see some of the amazing street art in the neighbourhood and had pictures taken throughout. We really enjoyed the introduction to the fruit and veg markets and tasting some local sweet treats. A must do tour for all ages!

Early access tour to Chichen Itza with a Amigo Tours is a must. The 5am start was worth it if you want to miss the crowds and get some awesome pictures. Amigo Tours were very professional with their communication and our driver turned up on time. A big thank you to our tour guide Marco who was great throughout the day and was very informative and passionate about the Mayan history and culture. Very impressed that Amigo Tours is investing in a new archeological site close by which we got to visit. The only slightly disappointing thing was the lunch experience, but this did not detract from the excellent visit to Chichen Itza. The Cenote was a refreshing break! before our journey back to Playa del Carmen. Would certainly recommend this tour to friends and family.

Bus came to lobby door of hotel. Florencia Esteves was a very kind, knowledgable Guide. Can be tough to hear him at times due to situations, but he really made this a special trip for me and my gf on our 3 year anniversary. He went above and beyond to be patient, kind, and honorable. Never felt tricked or taken advantage of. Always felt safe & secure with my belongins. Always felt in good hands. This is an all day tour. It was well worth the money. Paid $7usd for coba (do it). Picked up others along the way (11 total in our small bus). There was about 10 in the other bus coming too (same tour). Yes free entrance through this tour to Tulum, Coba, Cenote, Lunch, Stores, etc. It’s legit! 1. Tulum 11-1:10pm. It’s quick, but i recommend snapping pictures as guide talks to you. You will not go everywhere with guide. There is a moment where you can go off on own—utilize it to see everything (15min max). Guide will wait a few extra minutes for ppl to return before leaving through exit on other side. Note* we had a couple that didnt come back within 10min past meeting point so we began to leave. They met up with us at van before departure. I would recommend asking what time to meet at bus and utilizing this moment to leave Guide. Too much waiting for others. Just leave. Meet @ Bus. Tell Guide this. Be courteous. Lunch-cenote-shaman location: 2-3:50pm: Shaman does mayan welcome in Mayan Village in Zona Archaelogical by Cenote. 1. 2:30pm Lunch - Delicious. 2. Mayan village (shaman/healer $26usd—$500 pesos). Pancheta-Mexican shaman spirit of qotemoc. Not enough time for this, but you could. Shaman will bless purchased items for free but gotta tip. Very cool experience. Do it. We bought a bracelet & necklace. Blessed it. Cool! 3. 3-3:30pm Swimming in cenote: zona de archaelogical de coba. AMAZING! Be quick. Upgrade when Guide says to. Saves time. 4. Coba 4pm-5:15pm: ruins. Beautiful! Paid for the optional upgrade ahead of time for $16usd/$300pesos to skip line, jump on bike at coba. Bike lets you see more faster without lines since ahead. Do it! Omg do it. So much to see & its a mile walk. No time to walk and see it all. Bike was great & fast. Worked well on dirt bumpy road. Trust me! If athletic and dont mind a few bumps its best. 5. 6:30-7:40pm: Playa del carmen on way back. Shopping district/street. Lots of restaurants. Some street food. Be fast on your own. See more. The 25pesos for pizza slices are the best bang for buck. 6. ✅Optional: Upgrade early with tour guide for free tequilla/drinks at bus from guide, Life jackets @ cenote (otherwise $) so save time, Bike rental in coba (otherwise $) so save time. It is 300 pesos / $16usd (card). Saves time/money. We loved it! UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save time and money. They will feee you Tequilla or drinks through your time near tour bus. It was the way to go.

So we didn’t actually get to go to Chichen Itza English Tour, Buffet Lunch, Cenote,Tequila tasting & Valladolid. We were told the archeological sight closed down the day we were supposed to go and they gave us the option to either reschedule or go to Tulúm, Coba, Playa del Carmen, and a cenote. We didn’t want to reschedule so we accepted that offer and it was a great time! We were with Esther’s group and Mina. She had so much information it was great. I loved how you can see that they took pride in their heritage, was excited to share the history and the experience was rich with culture. The ruins at Tulúm were BREATHTAKING! I would definitely recommend going on this excursion, as well as bringing a hat, Sun glasses, and sunscreen. I think everyone had a great time, they made sure to check on all of us and ensured we were well cared for.

This tour was wonderful! Michel was very knowledgeable about the Mayan culture and history. He even taught us a few Mayan words/phrases. Michel was also very knowledgeable about the history of Playa del Carmen and the surrounding areas. Michel showed us the some of the main tourist attractions, but also some of the lesser known non-commercial areas. When I wasn't feeling well, he was gracious enough to take us to a local grocery store so I could buy some medicine. The best and most marvelous part of the tour was the sit down lunch at one of the local authentic Mexican restaurants located in the downtown area. The food was absolutely delicious!! Michel truly made this a tour to remember!

We arrived on 2 flights: 4 of us from Toronto and 2 from LA. The Toronto flight was delayed by 2.5 hours as a major winter storm hit Toronto. The shuttle was in touch on the day multiple times. They were also in touch after we landed. We met riour driver, our 2 LA travellers and arrived at our Airbnb in Playa del Carmen. The driver helped with luggage at both ends of the trip. Very good service.

The tour was a very long day. Many different pick ups and drop offs for different tours. Therefore didn’t get to Tulum until 11am. keeping the group together and on-time was hard given the size of the group. Tulum guide was ok (although glad had done a chichen itza tour the day before when we got a lot more info on the Mayan beliefs). Had some time to ourselves to wander around and take photos. Lunch was not good. Ceynote was ok. Got to Coba just before it closed at 4pm. Would not have got to the main temple site unless taken a tricycle or hired bikes due to the 2km distance and 55 minutes we had. Went to playa del carmen main strip but was after it got dark. Got back about 9.30 which was 13.5hrs tour. Crammed a lot in and was good to see all the sites but less pickups from various spots would have ensured the day was shorter and spent longer at the sites especially Coba.

This was great opportunity to get away from the tourist traps and try some local cuisine. Alma was very friendly and knew a lot about Playa Del Carmen’s history. The tour felt like going to visit a friend in a foreign country. Come hungry, because there is a lot of food on the tour!

Ramon was absolutely amazing! Gave an amazing tour! Was able to see a lot, didn’t get to see the Cobá ruins, but got to go see playa del Carmen! Overall it was well worth it.