Mexico for the Weekend

Lifestyle Guide

Apr 30

With the pandemic being a dominant staple within the realm of Travel, most of the countries in the world have shut boarders off! Leading people to be prisoners of the their homes. All that remains but one country, MEXICO 🇲🇽 Thats right because of the world mostly shutting down the boarders of travel to stop the spread of Covid, only 1 Country remained opened, despite the dangers and complications being opened to tourism. With that being said this was the perfect time to plan a weekend trip to an area I’ve never been too. We are going to focus on Playa Del Carmen, this area is in the middle of Tulum and Cancun and perfect for getting around on foot for a weekend in Mexico.

Take Advantage of the Pandemic!

You cant argue that Covid has definitely changed the course of peoples lives and how we interact, but what people don’t see as much is how It’s affected the way we travel . A trip to Mexico from California is incredibly cheap because of how close it is to the American boarders. Its even cheaper with the covid prices being in full affect. My round-trip flight from San Francisco to Playa Del Carmen Mexico was $190 for 4 days, even If I were to stay a week it would of remained the same price.

Where to Stay?

While I chose to travel Solo, my expenses will differ from yours, I stayed in the area of Playa Del Carmen skipping Cancun and Tulum completely, The area has great villas, Air bnb’s and hotels to choose from, all with great rates depending on how you like to relax. In choosing where to stay you want to book your reservation near 5th Street. Think of 5th street as an outdoor mall with a huge variety of restaurants, shops, business and clubs. If you walk further south you will be rewarded with a magnificent white sand beach, home to a lot of Expats, locals.

Stroll through Playa

Let me ask you something, when was the last time rode a bicycle? Playa has one of the best bicycle rental systems that mirror Hawaii and San Francisco. It’s called Biciplaya and It’s really easy to use, Heres how to rent a bike.

Download the Biciplaya app
Sign Up
Choose your rate

https://en.biciplaya.com/landing 💻Website

Eat real Mexican Food!

Sadly Taco Bell was voted best “Mexican Food in the United States” The idea of how Mexican food is suppose to look and taste can be easily misinterpreted. There is nowhere you can go where you wont see restaurants, corner stores, or 24 hour dine in spots. Not to far from Sayab Hostel there is a 24 hour dine spot with a wide variety of real Mexican food.. Be prepared to have your spanish ready, makes you blend in a lot better with the environment. Scrolling through the menu you will quickly realize how cheap and affordable the meals are, especially my favorite 4 tacos for and equivalent of 1 USD.

24/7 Restaurant- Los Portales Del Mercado

Lifestyle-Tip - You can get the best MEXICAN FOOD at the Moms and Pops stores at the corner, you know the restaurant is legit if theres less than 4 chairs in the entire building and the spanish is music is blasting in the kitchen.

A Secret Cenote

Whats a Cenote? Great Question! A Cenote is a natural pit or Sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. In other words its a giant oasis in the middle of nowhere. Theres hundreds of Cenotes scattered all over Mexico, In Fact theres a few tours you can find on any corner offering from full to half excursions for the day. Now for getting your feet wet (Literally) I highly suggest checking out CASA TORTUGA . Prices vary depending on your party but it should be no more than 10 USD equivalent for a 6 hour event. You will be picked up and transported to the location, PACK LIGHT! Food and drinks will be available.

Now if your’e a feeling adventurous theres a rewarding Cenote 2 hours away from Playa Called Suytun Cenote, It takes time to get there but I promise its well worth it, because of Covid there was no one in this far out cave, I had the entire underground Cenote to myself. The location makes great for a good photo-op. Besides it looking like an awesome e Bat-cave theres numerous fish in the water when you go diving.

5th Avenue is your friend :]

5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen is a 5-mile long pedestrian-only walkway dedicated to catering to all of your touristic needs, and it’s an absolute MUST during your visit. While you’re in Playa for the weekend this is going to be an area you will probably visit more often than most, its an area created solely for tourism. Heres a list I compile for things you could do and see when passing through.