Condo in Riviera Maya / Playa Del Carmen

[ronscuba]

What are the condo options in Riviera Maya and Playa Del Carmen ? I'm looking for an upscale nice condo. I don't plan on renting a car, so a location convenient to restaurants, shopping, supermarket, etc., is necessary. Planning on going in Feb/Mar. Will do a mixture of Cenote and ocean diving.

I've never been to the area. How would you describe the vibe and feel ?

 

[Ed Hatfield]

I have a condo in PDC but it is not available FEB/MAR as I plan to be there myself. However you can search www.homeaway.com you will find many condos in the area. The dive shops tend to be in the downtown core and as far north as 38th Street (Cyan Ha at the resort that used to be called Shangri-la. They changed the name and I don't recall the name off the top of my head.) When you check out a condo make sure you get the actual street address of the building and then check Bing Maps (or similar) for the location. A lot of condo promoters tend to be less than truthful about location.
Using my place as an example: I am at the corner of 20th Avenue and 32nd Street. The Avenues are numbered in increments of 5 starting from the beach. 20th Avenue is then 4 blocks from the beach and 2 blocks to 5th Avenue, the tourist area. I can walk to the Mega Store in 10 minutes and 5 more gets me to the WalMart. Both have full grocery and cabs waiting to take you home. I can walk to the downtown core (Scuba Playa, Geofish, Phantom Divers & Phocea Dive) in 25 minutes. Closer are Scuba 10 & Cyan Ha. Once you select a dive shop your gear stays there for the duration as cenote dives are booked right through the dive shops. They all have package prices that will get you a any combination of reef and cenote as well as possible day trip to Cozumel if you wish.
Vibe and Feel. I love the area and although the diving on the reef is second class compared to Cozumel the cenotes are unique and spectacular. The town is full of life specific to the tourist industry and yet has some of the old world charm once you get out into the surrounding areas. You are close to ruins and mulitple tourist theme parks such as Xcaret, Xplor and Xel-Ha. There is everything from ATVing through the jungle to zip lining.
My building is called Aqua Terra on HomeAway you can enter listing number 340841 to see it. I have some pictures there that may give you a better feel for the area.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

Just a side note: PlayaCar is adjacent to Playa Del Carmen and is a gated community of wall to wall tourists. You will require a cab to get anywhere but there are hundreds of condos and they tend to be cheaper. I woudn`t choose PlayaCar unless there was nothing else available.

Just my opinion. I don`t mean any disrespect to anyone who has purchased there.

 

[ronscuba]

Do you know anything about the Condo El Taj, El Faro or Aldea Thai ?

 

[warmwaterturner]

El Taj is nice but there is a bar very close that can rock all night. Don't know about the other two. But as to the vide and feel - Playa is fantastic. I too plan to retire there. It is a bit laid back. You walk everywhere. It is safe as any city. 5th avenue is a blast. The diving is good BUT not the same as Cozumel.

 

[driftwood]

What are the condo options in Riviera Maya and Playa Del Carmen ? I'm looking for an upscale nice condo. I don't plan on renting a car, so a location convenient to restaurants, shopping, supermarket, etc., is necessary. Planning on going in Feb/Mar. Will do a mixture of Cenote and ocean diving.

I've never been to the area. How would you describe the vibe and feel ?

First you have plenty of time for planning. My first step would be to get the PDC map from cancunmap.com-Your information source . It will have all the condos in PDC listed with websites.

Second, I would put a big red spot on the map at the intersection of 5th Ave and Calle 12. That is ground zero for the tourist zone in PDC. Personally, I would be a bit careful booking a condo close to the beach there. That area has developed into the designated entertainment district and they like the music loud.

Here is a link to condos in PDC, Playa del Carmen Vacation Rentals by Owner, Playa del Carmen VRBO®, Playa del Carmen Resort Rentals, Playa del Carmen Lodging

You also might want to talk to michele on Playa del Carmen info . Super nice lady who is a local real estate agent with some really nice listings.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Las Casitas, Akumal Mexico. There is no other place close. Beautiful bay, laid back village, good restaurants, 2 dive shops, bet beach bar on the Yucatan, all in walking distance from the condos. Vibe is Mexico 1950, laid back, dreamy, and more sea turtles per square foot than anywhere else on the planet. We are headed there next month for the 5th time. Really, its that good. Diving is "primitive" - small boats, one tank and back in to change out- but very reasonable (10 boat dive package for less than $300 US. ) Also, Cenote diving excursions if you want.
DivemasterDennis

 

[TSandM]

If you aren't wedded to Playa, consider Puerto Aventuras. That's where we have stayed on almost all of our trips. It is a resort, so it's touristy, but the nice thing is that the place is built around the lagoon where they do the dolphin shows. There are a number of restaurants there, and although none of them is anything to write home about, the food is okay and the margaritas are great -- and you don't have to drive after dinner, which is a big deal for me. There is an all-inclusive resort, the Catalonia, which seems pretty nice, but we rent a condo through Debbie at Dive Aventuras. Here's a link to one we have stayed in (it's the top one on the page) -- they're very nice.

There are two dive ops in Puerto, Dive Aventuras and Aquanauts, and both have pretty good reputations. I haven't dived with either, as I have done only one salt water dive in the area Both can arrange cenote tours, as well.

I have stayed in Akumal, and it's sleepier and less touristy, but the restaurants are more spread out and can be a significant walk.

Tulum is growing as a lodging option, although I haven't stayed there. Tulum also has some restaurants one can be excited about eating at. I have heard the town can be noisy at night.

 

[ronscuba]

We aren't wed to Playa. However, we do want a condo. All inclusive is not our style. We like having a full kitchen. We also like to be walking distance to a decent town with shopping, restaurants, activities. I don't want to rent a car or take a cab everyday. We don't plan on any ocean dives. Just 1 or 2 days in the cenotes. Playa looked to be the best match, but I don't know the area.

 

[TSandM]

Actually, if you aren't going to do ocean dives, you might seriously want to look at Tulum. I have friends who have rented condos there -- the prices can be a little lower than PA. You have access to restaurants, shops, and bars, and my favorite cavern dives are closer to Tulum.