Wellness Guide To Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

4 min readJun 26, 2022

I want to preface this guide by saying that Playa Del Carmen would not be the first on my list of travel destinations in Mexico. I didn’t love it + won’t be back… it’s very much a party culture with mediocre food [although I definitely found some gems ; )].

Playa is a big expat hub for entrepreneurship because of the wifi quality + cost of living. That being said, the coworking spaces were nothing to write home about [I’ll get into that later!]. Nevertheless… I still wanted to write this guide after traveling + working remotely in Playa for a week — in case you decide to visit!

Coffee + Smoothies:

#1] Liquid Prana: Obsessed with this spot. Really good juices + smoothies + coffee + bone broth.

#2] Wow Cafe: Found this the last day we were in Playa + wish I had known about it the entire time! It’s was SO cute + colorful.

#3] Choux Choux Cafe: This place is adorable, + has great outdoor seating. Also, good eats!

#4] Peace + Bowl: Cute acai shop tucked away in a collection of cafes.

Cafes:

#1] Fresco Habito: Vegan restaurant with amazing bowls.

#2] Moots: Fast, casual bowls… kind of reminds me of sweetgreens. I had a really good salmon bowl!

#3] BIO-Natural: Grocery store + cafe. Good for breakfast + to grab to-do snacks. I also loved their popsicles in the grocery store!

#4] Asadero El Pollo: This was such a fun experience. They only serve one item: “the chicken plate.”

For Next Time: The Pitted Date Vegan Cafe, Los Aguachiles [fish tacos], Ressio.cc

Restaurants:

#1] Lara + Luca: THE BEST RESTAURANT. We went here for brunch + dinner… multiple times. Everything is SO, so good. If you only have time for one restaurant in Playa, let this be the one!

#2] Nordic: New restaurant with such a sweet chef. Loved their salmon!

#3] Yum Yum Thai: If you’re into Thai food, go here!

#4] Cassa Ceviche: Very trendy, Peruvian spot. Loved their ceviche… obviously ; )

#5] AY TACO! For super casual dinner, go to this taco stand. So good!

For Next Time: Belmonte, Primo, Luma, Harry’s, Trujillos Cantina De Selva, Tiny Tiki Hut

Wellness:

#1] Massage: Emily Schwarze — she was SO good.

#2] Outdoor Track + Gym: Stumbled upon Deportivo Mario Villanueva Madrid + it became our sanctuary. It felt like such a community — people running, doing Zumba, lifting weights, all the things!

#3] Cenote: Explore all the cenotes! We visited Jardin Del Eden + had mixed feelings. It was beautiful, but the nature vibes we’re mixed with loud American kids… so it felt a bit like a water park : ) I’m sure if you went early on a weekday, you’d have it to yourself.

Outdoor Adventures + Day Trips

One of the best parts about Playa, is that it’s a great jumping off point to many other spots in the Yucatan Peninsula. See specific city guides below:

3 Weeks Yucatan, Mexico Road Trip
Valladolid
Merida
Tulum
Holbox — I wanted to go here so badly!

Pro Tips:

The beaches were *so* crowded… + it was very much a party culture on the beach, so sadly we did not spend any time on the beach. I’m not sure if this was due to the time we visited [February] or if it’s always like that.
We stayed in this Airbnb, which was nice because it was still walking distance to everything — but far enough that it wasn’t too loud ; )
Coworking space: We went to NEST a couple times. Good wifi, but not the cutest lol. We ended up working at home most days, since our Airbnb wifi was great.
Recommended stay: As mentioned, I *wouldn’t* recommend staying in Playa, unless there was a specific reason you were going to Playa or if there was a hotel you were obsessed with [these hotels actually looked amazing: Palmaia + Banyan Tree]. I preferred Tulum!

Have you been to Playa del Carmen? What favorite spots of yours did I miss? Let me know!

Elisabeth