Some people prefer to take the road less traveled, often in search of the true culture of a place they’re visiting. If you’re looking for non touristy things to do in Playa Del Carmen, a place that is heavily geared to the regular influx of tourists and vacationers, finding the true spirit of Mexico may be quite a difficult task.
That isn’t to say that it’s impossible though, as there are plenty of things for people to do in Playa Del Carmen that wouldn’t be considered touristy. You just need to know where to look. This guide may help turn your stay into a much more memorable one and a much less run-of-the-mill one.
Local Spots
A lot of folks who go to Playa Del Carmen in search of the true Mexico, but end up just doing the exactly what most of the guide books tell them to do.
If you don’t want to go in search of the most popular tourist beaches or browse Fifth Avenue for the best restaurants in the area and would instead rather take a leaf out of the locals’ book, and follow them instead, go ahead.
Following the locals can definitely lead to you finding hidden gems and secret spots that will provide you with an experience to remember. A top tip is to try and find the Oasis, where you’ll be able to sample some of the best ceviches on the planet.
The hot sauce is about as lively as the atmosphere and whilst the locals seem to be oblivious to your presence, this just helps you blend in and even adds to the experience a little.
Visit A Beach Bar
Blended lime margaritas should be enough to tempt anyone to anywhere, and the blended lime margaritas are served at pretty much every beach bar in Mexico. Margaritas in Cancun are surely some of the best in the world.
If you can get yourself to a Beach Bar, maybe Alebris Bar or Blue Bar, and keep yourself sober enough for the day and night ahead, the rewards will be more than worth your discipline on steadying the pace of your drinking.
Most beach bars offer awesome nighttime entertainment and they literally light up with live entertainment.
The difference here, outside of the hotel zone, is that at many of the beach bars you’ll likely find yourself standing shoulder to shoulder with locals as opposed to other tourists.
You can expect a range of different types of live entertainment from Irish bands to magicians, but once you’ve had your fair share of blended lime margaritas, it’ll likely all end up looking and sounding the same anyway.
Early Morning Beach Walk
Long before the crowds arrive with their towels and their beach chairs, the beach cleaners have been out working tirelessly to clean up from the day before.
The beaches look their most beautiful and well looked after in the earlier parts of the day when the sun is rising and the heat is starting to kick in.
A really good non-touristy thing to do for the whole family is to try and rise a little earlier than you normally would and head down to the beach for a little pre-breakfast stroll.
You could even paddle in the tide as you walk along the beach, not having to navigate your way through the swimmers and sunbathers for once, which might make a nice change.
For an added treat at the end of your morning walk, you could make a reservation at one of the areas fine restaurants for breakfast. Sitting down in the shade after a morning stroll can be just the thing to kick-start your day in the perfect way, and everyone should take advantage of that at least once on their holiday.
If you’re not a morning person, it really is worth making the effort just this once. Remember, you can always sleep when you’re dead!
Visit A Pet Shelter
If you’re looking for something non-touristy to do that isn’t all about you and your experience, something that a lot of kindhearted people choose to do is to help out at charities for a day or two.
If you love dogs in your home country, we’ve got news for you, you’re going to love the dogs in Playa Del Carmen.
You may notice a number of strays out on the streets as you wander around the place, and you’ll be aware of the signs advising you to be cautious.
If you simply can’t resist the charms of the local dogs, you could always lend some of your time and energy to the many pet shelters in the area.
They are always on the lookout for volunteers who are willing to get their hands dirty on the quest to look after the resident dogs.
You could end up shoveling poop for a little while, but just as soon as you’re cuddling a dog after giving it the first bath it’s had in its lifetime.
At the end, it’ll all be worth it, and you can enjoy the rest of your holiday safe in the knowledge that you’ve given something back to the amazing community. How very noble of you.
People Watch
Everyone likes to people watch every now and then. It’s human nature that we all happen to be so nosy, but a much more pleasant way to describe this engrained nosiness is taking the time to sit back and observe.
This is best done in Playa Del Carmen under the guise of making yourself appear to be one of the locals.
You don’t have to dress up for this, of course, you can simply buy yourself a Spanish newspaper, or maybe they offer them for free in the lobby of your hotel, and head on down to one of the many squares that Playa Del Carmen has to offer.
You can sit back and read the paper, or at least try to read the paper, whilst you watch the comings and the goings of tourists and locals alike. It’s an added bonus if you can actually read and speak Spanish, but for the purposes of this activity, that isn’t absolutely necessary.
Booking A Trip To Cancun?
One great thing you can do in Playa Del Carmen if you like previewing and enjoying amazing luxury resort properties on the beach is to take a resort presentation. There are many offers out there where the resorts let you stay for up to 80% off their regular rates and sometimes even give free passes to a nearby attraction or other freebie gifts in exchange for letting them show you their property for 2 hours. We here at Stay Promo specialize in offering these timeshare vacations and other highly discounted vacation packages here on our site year-round. With the deals we feature, you can really just search, compare, and save.
You can find almost 85% off of the retail price at a Luxury Resort with a 5 day, 4 night Cancun resort offer here on StayPromo since we’ve personally negotiated steep discounts to offer exclusively to our readers. Traveling to Cancun and staying in the hotel zone doesn’t have to be expensive. Here’s the search page for the All Inclusive promotions in Cancun and other cities, with meals and drinks included. If you’re planning a trip to Cancun, make sure that you don’t pay full price.
