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Center of the action by day is the main beach, with more beautiful soft, white Yucatán sand and plenty of shoreline cafés. Beach volleyball is something of a specialty.

Stretching north from the town plaza, “Fifth Avenue” is Playa’s main drag, for daytime shopping and nighttime promenading. Spread along the pedestrianized avenue is a multicolored array of shops, cafés, hotels, clubs, and pavement restaurants.

After dark the Quinta buzzes with wandering crowds meeting up, dining and bar-hopping. With mariachi bands in some bars and techno DJs in others, there’s plenty of variety. The center of the action is the junction of the Quinta and Calle 12.

Playa is well known for its stylish small hotels, like Mosquito Blue on Calle 12, El Faro, and especially Deseo(see Deseo, Playa del Carmen). Discreetly spectacular and with wonderful pools, they showcase contemporary elegance.

Playa shares its ground with the site of a Mayan settlement known as Xaman-Ha. Several temples survive, most scattered around the Playacar area.

This smartly landscaped development shows a different side of Playa. It encompasses resort hotels, winding lanes of luxury villas, a fine aviary, Mayan ruins, beach clubs, restaurants, and a championship standard golf course (see Golf.)

The aviary within Playacar contains a fine collection of toucans, parrots, flamingos, and over 50 other bird species in a lush green setting that seems almost like real jungle. A very easy way to see some of the Yucatán’s rarer birds without trekking into the forest.

Two beach clubs, with laid-back bar-restaurants, palapa-sunshades and loungers for hire, and snorkel tours. The hotels nearby all have arrangements so that guests can use the beach-club facilities free of charge.

Playa’s best snorkeling spots are found on the beaches north of Mamita’s, beyond the striking cabañas of Shangri-La (see Shangri-La, Playa del Carmen). There are also nudist beaches along this stretch of coast.

Created around a natural lagoon 6 km (4 miles) south of Playa, Xcaret is a huge, imaginatively landscaped “eco-park” bursting with flora, fauna, and sea life (see Playa del Carmen: Xcaret).