BIG fan of the playa area! We've been down there 6 times in the last 4 year. Stayed 3 times at Riu Palace Riviera Maya and have always enjoyed it. The discussion about the effect of AIs on the local environment aside it's the best of the places in Playacar (south of Playa). It's a 5 min $5 cab ride to downtown or a nice 20 minute walk. I would stay away from any of the dive shops associated with the AIs, I've been out with Jason before and seen 25-30 freshly minted OW divers jump off a Scuba Caribe boat and turn 100' vis into 25' in no time.
The cenotes are NOT to be missed. The reef in Playa are nice but I'm so infatuated with the cenotes I've got on my diving goals list going down there for a week+ and getting my cenote or cave cert. There is nothing else like it in the world.
For our 10th anniversary my wife and I had a wonderful week at Dreams Tulum. Wonderful beaches, great food and service and close to the cenotes. Their on site dive shop was the first I ever dove with and in hindsight was quite good.
Have fun and enjoy the sunsets!
The cenotes are NOT to be missed. The reef in Playa are nice but I'm so infatuated with the cenotes I've got on my diving goals list going down there for a week+ and getting my cenote or cave cert. There is nothing else like it in the world.
For our 10th anniversary my wife and I had a wonderful week at Dreams Tulum. Wonderful beaches, great food and service and close to the cenotes. Their on site dive shop was the first I ever dove with and in hindsight was quite good.
Have fun and enjoy the sunsets!