The Yucatan Peninsula has a great deal to offer any tourist, beautiful beaches, Mayan ruins, cenotes, nature reserves, Caribbean islands and colonial towns. However, it seems intent on attracting the mass tourist with holiday dollars to spend on tourist trash. First Cancún, a world class resort to rival Acapulco turned into a holiday destination for beer bellied men bearing their girths to all, spring breakers clad in gaudy mini skirts leaving nothing to the imagination, Elvis impersonators and want to be pirates. Following in Cancun’s footsteps, the European Chic resort of Playa Del Carmen has started to slide the slippery slope off the classy resort list.
What happened to European Chic?
Most of the guide books describe Playa Del Carmen as a European Chic resort. Fit Europeans supposedly pack the beaches showing off lean muscles and expensively small swim wear. Instead, it is mostly overweight bodies clad in discounted sarongs and slogan rich T- shirts.
Fifth Avenue and Souvenir Shops
The Glitzy Fifth Avenue not only looks like any other package tourist street in resorts of America or Europe, it is one. It could be any street in Myrtle Beach, Benidorm, Daytona Beach or Magaluf. Every second shop is selling genuine Mexican silver. On every block there is a massive souvenir shop with 4 T- shirts for $10 advertised. Most of the restaurants serve the same second-rate made for America cuisine and every 10 feet or so tourists are accosted by locals trying to sell tickets to theme parks.
The Mayan Riviera
Many people want large clinical hotels, busy beaches and two for one cocktails when on vacation but to others this is their idea of hell. However, Playa Del Carmen does have many redeeming features. The beaches are beautiful, the golf courses are carefully landscaped, it knows how to party and the sea is a stunning aquamarine blue. The hotels are so big on the Mayan Riviera that people do not have to step foot on fifth avenue with everything included in the price and most needs being catered for. Cheap deals can attract people to these big resorts but it is possible to sample some of the real Mexico by visiting nearby Tulum with its stunning ruins, powder beaches and snorkel trips. Around Tulum there are also many other delights to give an insight into the history and natural heritage of Mexico.
Sadly, Playa Del Carmen has succumbed to mass tourism but if it is just cheap accommodation and a base from which to explore some of the nearby archaeological sites, natural history and Caribbean Islands it is ideally situated for such a vacation
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