Playa Del Carmen

Quintana Roo State - Capital

Location: Coast of the Caribbean

Playa Del Carmen is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in the north east of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Playa Del Carmen's coast offers some good scuba diving opportunities, as well as cenote diving for the more adventurous.

Today Playa del Carmen, or just 'Playa' as it is colloquially referred to, is the center of the Riviera Maya concept, which covers from Cancún to Tulum and the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve. All tourist activity in Playa del Carmen centres on the Quinta Avenida, or Fifth Avenue, is a pedestrian walkway located just one block inland from the beach, and lined with boutique hotels, shops, bars and restaurants.

Playa Del Carmen wants to retain its small fishing village and artist colony charm, without becoming as large or tourist-dependent as Cancún. To this end, the city passed an ordinance by which all buildings, no matter what, have a limit of three stories, though a few four storey buildings were built before the ordinance.There is a significant European influence in Playa, especially Italian.