Trip Report - April 20 -27, 2002

kfraser · 05-02-2002

Hello Everyone,

A friend and I just returned from a week vacation in Playa and had an absolutely fantastic time. I'd been to Cancun several times in the past, to Cozumel, and Tulum - but this was the first time staying in Playa. By far the best choice for so many reasons.

We stayed at the El Faro (lighthouse) which is centrally located, has a great beach and pool, and the room we were in had to be the best of any hotel on the beach (if you stay here, book in advance Room #1 which is on the second floor hanging over the pool, and has a window directly on the beach (not to mention the private roof top patio). Our room was $120 per night. You can find cheaper (****** was $85 and/pr Colibri about the same but not nearly as nice - well worth it). This included a large North American style breakfast every morning - our favourite meal of the day.

Spent a lot of time scuba diving during the day with The Abyss dive centre at ******. Really nice people, and very, very professionally run dive excursions - no messin' around with these guys, which was a nice change from the production-line type tours I've done in the past. Did some great open water dives and saw huge sea turtles, eels, sting rays, barracudas, and got lucky enough to see a 9 foot bull shark - amazing!

The best experience, which everyone should do, is to dive in the Cenotes (Caverns). We did two including Choc Mool and Taj Maha and both were incredible experiences. With Taj Maha you actually surface into a bat cave with hundreds of bats flying around above you. Not a freaky experience at all - everyone with us agreed that it will be the closest thing to taking a space-walk on another planet that we'll ever get.

We spent hours walking back and forth along 5th avenue from about 7-11 at night, stopped for dinner at any number of great places, and hung out on the roof lounge at Hotel Desseo (very cool - but the room we saw was incredibly minimalistic. We wouldn't want to stay there, but definitely a great place for a drink or two or three).

At around 11PM everyone in Playa ended up at Dragon Bar at the ****** to listen to the loud music, hang out by the beach, drink, whatever. At aroun 1-2AM the exodus began to Captain Tutix - a five minute walk down the beach (amazing that you can go from club to club along the beach with a beer in your hand). Captain Tutix was great, lots of House, Salsa, Dance music, again with tables on the beach if you wanted to get some air or hang out by the Caribbean.

Overall, a very cosmopolitan, quaint, and very cool place. Everything centred around 5th Avenue, so we would definitely stay in one of the smaller hotels in town again. If not for El Faro or Colibri on the beach (****** would have been really loud at night with the bar), we would definitely stay at something like Mosquito Blue (right next door to Desseo) or some of the other ones off the beach - only a block away.

Can't wait to go back. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Kurt.

05-02-2002

nice report thanks....what are some of the restaurants you ate at....

Isabel · 05-03-2002

Your trip sounded great. I will be leaving in less then a month now for my honeymoon! I would also like to know your favorite restaurants? What was the atmosphere like in the bars? I am so glad its not like Cancun, I really prefer a smaller crowd (but not to small) where you can get to know people and feel very relaxed! I like to dance, but not be surrounded by it! What was it like??

kfraser · 05-03-2002

We ate at the Fly Bar, which is right next door to the Desseo Hotel - great shrimps, and a funky atmosphere on a great corner of 5th Ave. to people watch. Honestly, I couldn't tell you the names of the rest. You really shouldn't worry about finding a great place to eat - within 5 blocks on 5th Avenue there are several places, most of which have patios right on the street - and you can see the meals people are eating, or judge a place by how many people are there. Depending on the atmosphere you're looking for - there is something for everyone.

As for the bars, we went to the two main places (Dragon Bar at ****** and Captain Tutix). Both are beach-side places. Dragon Bar is a much more casual place with a mix of bad-good music - but its the atmosphere that is great, if a bit cheesy. Captain Tutix is where everyone goes to dance to Salsa, House, Electronica, etc. The dance floor can get crowded and crazy but the nice thing is that there is a large door with steps down to the beach with tons of tables with tea lights - and there is always a spot to sit down because most people are inside. The music on the beach is still loud so you're not missing anything.

Have fun.

05-02-2002	#1 (permalink)
kfraser sandflea Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 3	Hello Everyone, A friend and I just returned from a week vacation in Playa and had an absolutely fantastic time. I'd been to Cancun several times in the past, to Cozumel, and Tulum - but this was the first time staying in Playa. By far the best choice for so many reasons. We stayed at the El Faro (lighthouse) which is centrally located, has a great beach and pool, and the room we were in had to be the best of any hotel on the beach (if you stay here, book in advance Room #1 which is on the second floor hanging over the pool, and has a window directly on the beach (not to mention the private roof top patio). Our room was $120 per night. You can find cheaper (**** was $85 and/pr Colibri about the same but not nearly as nice - well worth it). This included a large North American style breakfast every morning - our favourite meal of the day. Spent a lot of time scuba diving during the day with The Abyss dive centre at **. Really nice people, and very, very professionally run dive excursions - no messin' around with these guys, which was a nice change from the production-line type tours I've done in the past. Did some great open water dives and saw huge sea turtles, eels, sting rays, barracudas, and got lucky enough to see a 9 foot bull shark - amazing! The best experience, which everyone should do, is to dive in the Cenotes (Caverns). We did two including Choc Mool and Taj Maha and both were incredible experiences. With Taj Maha you actually surface into a bat cave with hundreds of bats flying around above you. Not a freaky experience at all - everyone with us agreed that it will be the closest thing to taking a space-walk on another planet that we'll ever get. We spent hours walking back and forth along 5th avenue from about 7-11 at night, stopped for dinner at any number of great places, and hung out on the roof lounge at Hotel Desseo (very cool - but the room we saw was incredibly minimalistic. We wouldn't want to stay there, but definitely a great place for a drink or two or three). At around 11PM everyone in Playa ended up at Dragon Bar at the ** to listen to the loud music, hang out by the beach, drink, whatever. At aroun 1-2AM the exodus began to Captain Tutix - a five minute walk down the beach (amazing that you can go from club to club along the beach with a beer in your hand). Captain Tutix was great, lots of House, Salsa, Dance music, again with tables on the beach if you wanted to get some air or hang out by the Caribbean. Overall, a very cosmopolitan, quaint, and very cool place. Everything centred around 5th Avenue, so we would definitely stay in one of the smaller hotels in town again. If not for El Faro or Colibri on the beach (**** would have been really loud at night with the bar), we would definitely stay at something like Mosquito Blue (right next door to Desseo) or some of the other ones off the beach - only a block away. Can't wait to go back. Any questions, feel free to ask. Kurt.

05-02-2002	#2 (permalink)
Guest Guest Posts: n/a	nice report thanks....what are some of the restaurants you ate at....

05-03-2002	#3 (permalink)
Isabel toe in water Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 46	Your trip sounded great. I will be leaving in less then a month now for my honeymoon! I would also like to know your favorite restaurants? What was the atmosphere like in the bars? I am so glad its not like Cancun, I really prefer a smaller crowd (but not to small) where you can get to know people and feel very relaxed! I like to dance, but not be surrounded by it! What was it like??

05-03-2002	#4 (permalink)
kfraser sandflea Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 3	We ate at the Fly Bar, which is right next door to the Desseo Hotel - great shrimps, and a funky atmosphere on a great corner of 5th Ave. to people watch. Honestly, I couldn't tell you the names of the rest. You really shouldn't worry about finding a great place to eat - within 5 blocks on 5th Avenue there are several places, most of which have patios right on the street - and you can see the meals people are eating, or judge a place by how many people are there. Depending on the atmosphere you're looking for - there is something for everyone. As for the bars, we went to the two main places (Dragon Bar at ****** and Captain Tutix). Both are beach-side places. Dragon Bar is a much more casual place with a mix of bad-good music - but its the atmosphere that is great, if a bit cheesy. Captain Tutix is where everyone goes to dance to Salsa, House, Electronica, etc. The dance floor can get crowded and crazy but the nice thing is that there is a large door with steps down to the beach with tons of tables with tea lights - and there is always a spot to sit down because most people are inside. The music on the beach is still loud so you're not missing anything. Have fun.

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