If you are a beach person and don’t mind a tourist-y vibe, Playa del Carmen is a must. There are so many beautiful beaches close by from Playa 88 in the Colosio to a little further a field in Akumal, Xpu-Ha or the surrounding Islands.
We didn’t spend much time downtown on 5th Ave and ate a lot at home but still managed to rack up an expensive month with two overnight trips and activities but it was worth every penny!
| Expenses |
|
| Rent (see our apartment here) | $773 |
| Other Accommodation (hotels for 2 x weekends away – see below) | 388.35 |
| Cellphone | $29.96 |
| Groceries | $186.84 |
| Eating Out | $333.42 |
| Activities | $336.82 |
| Toiletries/Pharmacy | $14.14 |
| Laundry (we had a washing machine in our apartment) | $0 |
| Transport | $395.82 |
| Total for 2 people for 28 days | $2458.35 |
Weekends away
We have included in the costs above two week trips we took while in Playa del Carmen as we don’t think a trip to PDC would complete without them.
1) Isla Mujeres – see our post about getting from Playa del Carmen to Isla Mujeres here
Isla Mujeres is a laid back island with stunning beaches, 20 minutes ferry from Cancun. We spent two nights on Isla Mujeres at the Ocean Drive Hotel.
The biggest cost here were:
- The hotel which cost MXN$4030.10 / USD$193.17,
- a day pass for Garrafon (a waterpark/resort type of thing) MXN$1964 / $94.14 which included unlimited food, drinks, snorkelling and a zipline.
- and we also hired a golf cart which was MXN$1,200 / USD$57.52.
2) Cozumel
Cozumel is another Island but this one is closer to Playa del Carmen – a 45 minute ferry from downtown. Cozumel is more geared toward diving and is much larger than Isla Mujeres.
Here we had one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever stayed in and it was completely unexpected! The hotel had recently completed a newer building next door to its original which was adults only and we were given an upgrade to the new section (yay).
The hotel we stayed at was Hotel B and cost us USD$175.39 for two nights!
Other costs on Cozumel were:
- Car hire for two days MXN$2,200 / USD$105.45
- Snorkelling for two MXN$1980 / USD$94.91
Activities breakdown
| Bike Tour of Playa del Carmen | MXN$808.62 / USD$38.76 |
| Akumal Snorkelling with Turtles | MXN$1415.09 / USD$67.83 |
| Snorkelling at Cozumel | MXN$1980 / $94.91 |
| Yal Ku Cenote in Akumal | MXN$860 / $41.22 |
| Garrafon (Isla Mujeres) Day Pass | MXN$1964 / USD$94.14 |
Transport Breakdown
| Bus to Cancun, Return | MX$260 /USD$12.46 |
| Ferry to Isla Mujeres from Cancun, Return | MXN$798 / $38.25 |
| Golf Cart in Isla Mujeres for 24 hours | MXN$1,200 / $57.52 |
| Ferry to Cozumel, Return | MXN$1,200 / $57.52 |
| Car Hire for 2 days in Cozumel | MXN$2,200 / $105.45 |
| Taxi to Akumal, Return | MXN$1,200 / $57.52 |
| Taxi to Xpu-Ha Beach, Return | MXN$1,200 / $57.52 |
| Taxis Around Playa del Carmen | MXN$600 / $28.76 |
