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This morning I started the day with a run along the beach, my bare feet thumping on the powdery white sand and splashing through the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. I’m not usually this athletic but with this view, running is more a pleasure than a chore, the dose of sun and sea setting me up for a morning of work.
Our latest digital nomad base is Playa del Carmen in Mexico. We’d heard mixed things about the city. Wandering Earl thinks it’s an ideal place to get some work done, while others think it’s overly touristy.
It is touristy but that’s restricted to the strip of hotels, restaurants and gift shops on 5th Avenue, and the lounger filled beaches between 2nd and 44th streets. Move away from here and it’s a normal Mexican town with tortillerias, paleterias, taco stands, and bicycle carts loaded with baked goods. We hardly spend any time in the tourist zone (except for the occasional trip to our favourite chocolate cafe Ah Cacao) and in our neighbourhood we rarely see another foreigner.
There are many reasons why Playa makes a great work base. It’s a small, walkable town with no high rises and it feels relaxed and safe. It has all the amenities you need—well stocked supermarkets, a comfortable, inexpensive cinema (with enchilada popcorn!), a diverse range of restaurants, lots of cafes, and even plenty of Italian delis. Most importantly for us, WiFi is prevalent and amongst the fastest we’ve had on our travels.
And then of course there’s the main reason people come here—the blue-green sea is a short stroll away, and outside the centre of town it’s easy to find a quiet patch of sand to yourself.
Although activities in Playa are mainly focused on the beach, there are plenty of day trips in the area. So far we’ve snorkelled with turtles right off the beach in Akumal, just down the coast, and swam beneath stalactites in an underground cenote. There’s also scuba diving, Mayan ruins and colonial towns to visit.
Our Apartment
We arrived a month before Christmas and it didn’t look like we’d be able to find an apartment for rent. So many tourists come here for Christmas that apartment owners are able to earn more in one week than they would renting it to us for a month. We were in touch with Elizabeth, a friend of Earl, who helps foreigners find apartments in the area, but even she thought it’d be impossible. After a stressful fews day walking the streets and responding to signs on apartment buildings, and being shocked by the high prices on the internet, Elizabeth saved us. She found us a place that usually rents for a six month minimum (so isn’t aimed at tourists) but she convinced the owner to rent it to us for two months.
It wasn’t everything we’d hoped for. There was no pool, no couch, and while it had basic furnishings it was plain and didn’t feel homely. We’ve become spoilt with some rather fancy apartments over the years, but we didn’t have a choice as we needed to settle down and work on the launch of our Trail Wallet, so we took it.
I’m glad we did. The price was right ($500 a month) and it has been good for us to be a bit more adaptable. We bought some things for the apartment to make it a bit more comfortable including a bright blue chair to (sort of) make up for the lack of couch. We focused on the positives: we’re surrounded by trees so can hear birds singing and watch the huge iguanas that live outside our window; and we’re only a two minute walk from a gorgeous beach, that’s quiet except on Sundays when large Mexican families create a festive atmosphere. I love having the beach so close for early morning runs, afternoon work breaks, and sunset walks.
Our Neighbourhood
We really like the Colosio neighbourhood which is a world away from the tourist parade of 5th Avenue. It’s a working class area with mostly simple one or two room houses, many brightened with a colourful coat of orange, purple or lime green, or a flowering tree. Music blares from open doorways; dogs, chickens and children roam the streets; women sell empanadas or tamales outside their front door; and there’s an abarrote on every corner selling basic groceries.
There are at least five tortillerias in easy walking distance where we buy a kilo of warm corn tortillas for 14 pesos ($1.08), and at least as many lavanderias where we get a load of laundry washed, dried and ironed for 30 pesos ($2.32). At paleterias or ice cream shops we’ve sampled agua fresca de guanábana (soursop juice) and paletas (ice pops) made with real fruit—mango and chilli was a particularly interesting combo that warms and cools your mouth at the same time.
It’s a 20-30 minute walk into town (particularly enjoyable along the beach), or we can take a colectivo (shared minivan) for 5 pesos ($0.40), or a taxi for 30 pesos ($2.32). There aren’t many restaurants nearby but we’ve been enjoying cooking—with lots of variations on tortillas, beans, pico de gallo and guacamole. We’ve also discovered the delights of warm homemade tortilla chips (totopos)—we just cut corn tortillas into triangles and fry for a minute or so in oil. They are so much tastier than the packaged stuff. Unusually we have an oven so we’ve been able to bake cookies and roast vegetables which feels like a real treat, and we were particularly grateful at Christmas.
As we’ve often found with “touristy” places it’s not hard to escape the crowds. After all, Playa del Carmen doesn’t just exist for tourists—Mexicans live here too. By staying for a while, avoiding the resorts and tourist restaurants, and participating in ordinary daily activities, Playa feels as Mexican as anywhere in the country.
Also see our cost of living in Playa del Carmen and our favourite veggie-friendly restaurants.
were looking to make a move in 2017. we wonder can we live on 1500 monthly? we would like to buy a amall car or jeep also my fiance would like to start a business ther. Is that hard to do? Thanks Janice
I’m looking for 1br apartment in Playa del Carmen now and see that some apartments can cost like $350, like this one Looks pretty good.
Hey Erin
Pretty much agree with everything you said, only thing to update is that there is a really nice co-working space now which I really loved.
Looks lovely :)
If you plan to stay for more than 30 days do you have to do a visa run out of the country?
Thanks,
As Uk citizens (and it’s the same for the US and many other countries) we got 6 months visa on arrival in Mexico.
Enjoyng your site. We are in the process of planning a Playa and using Earl and Elizibeth as sounding boards. Have visited the area many times over 15 plus years but are now thinking of something more permanant. I never want to retire and was wondering if you encountered any small American business’ operating off the beaten path..Thanks and enjoy your travels.
I am 53, my wife is 48. I can retire now at 95K per year (minus taxes/insurance). My wife has been a stay at home wife/mom for past 25 years. We currently live in Dallas TX. We have visited Playa twice and love it. Would my retirement be enough for us to live comfortably?
That would be plenty, you can live very comfortably on that. Enjoy!
Hey, looks cool. What is the climate like there? We are in Thailand but the humidity kind of ruins it here. Thanks.
It was in the late 20s C and not too humid over the winter. We didn’t mind the humidity in Thailand though.
I wish I had been running on the beach for fun instead of sprinting for the port. Cruise ships will leave you if your late enough. Then again I kind of wish they had left me :) Playa del Carmen can be beautiful and some of my favorite travel memories where there. Like sipping drinks at a little restaurant in Xcaret and floating through the underground river there. If you get a chance to go it could be a lot of fun, but I would wait till summer for the underground river. It was nippy when I went :)
Haha! Glad you enjoyed Playa.
Hey guys, this makes me pine for Playa! Elizabeth found us an apartment when we were there a few months ago, and we loved it so much we cant wait to get back!!
She actually showed us the place you rented too but it was only available up until Christmas. Looked nice though!
Not bad at all! :-)
Hello from your friends in CHILAQUILES-MEDELLÍN. Enjoy fresh tortillas (!What a delight¡).
Ooooh, that beach looks gorgeous. It’s a little more ex-pat heavy over here in San Pancho but we are still head over heels in love with the town. We definitely hope to make it over to the east at some point though. It’s such a shame we’re in the same country on opposite sides!
It is stunning! The Yucatan is very flat though so we’re looking forward to heading inland and over to your side for a change of scenery.
We have been upgrading our travel website over the past month while house sitting in Auckland, New Zealand. Having a base every now and again is a great opportunity to get stuck in and work on some of the things that get side tracked while on the road continuously. Your Trail Wallet App is just fab so the down time in an apartment has totally paid off! Keep us the good work and all the best for your adventures in 2013.
Thanks Charli!
We’ll be coming through there in a couple of weeks – would love to meet up with you guys!
We’ll be moving on to Belize for the first 10 days of February, but your post makes Playa seem like a place we might want to return to, at least for a bit. You are probably a bit far from town for our preferences, but not by much. We love being surrounded by abarrotes and small mom-and-pop restaurants. If it has just two tables, it’s probably delicious!
Hope to see you guys soon!
Let us know when you are in town -we’d love to meet up.
I loved Playa so much when I was there last year! I’m planning to spend a month or more there this year. It seems to be becoming a popular spot for travel bloggers lately. Xel-Ha is def. worth a visit.. and if you like diving don’t miss Cozumel.
We’re definitely hoping to make it to Cozumel.
DO YOU GUYS LIKE PLAYA OR COZUMEL BETTER. WE ARE PLANNING A MOVE SOMETIME IN 2017. WANT TO EVENTUALLY TRAVEL ALL OVER MEXICO BUT ARE STARTING ON THE EAST COAST. wE ARE RETIREES TRYING TO FIND A GOOD RENT NOT MORE THAN 400 DOLLARS. iS THAT REASONABLE?
Thanks for sharing! You’re giving me itchy feet to get on the move again! BTW if you’re ever in the mood for some great live music, go check out Zamas up in Tulum, I know the music director there and they get world class acts playing intimate gigs right on the beach!
Thanks for the tip Adam! We were just in Tulum yesterday, but maybe we can make it back. When’s your next trip?
Simon and Erin
Your travels are wonderful and I am impressed inspired by your courage and spirit of adventure. I love traveling and have reading about others who travel. I will be following your adventures from Cincinnati Ohio. Good luck and happy traveling!
Bill
Thanks Bill!
Looks amazing! Out of interest, where’s you fave place to take a ‘work break’? Does the Playa beat Chiang Mai?
We prefer Chiang Mai. Playa has the beach but Chiang Mai is cheaper, more vegetarian friendly, you can hire a scooter cheaply, and has more culture/lots of temples.
Wherever you are in the world, you always end up seeing brightly coloured houses. Here’s a shot from I took in Langkawi >> http://i.imgur.com/dL8Kz.png
Glad to see you guys are still exploring – I think it will be a long time before I make it over that side of the world!
What speeds are you getting with the wifi?
Around 2Mb.
You are such a tease! What a lovely beach! Our apartment in Phnom Penh doesn’t have much more furniture than yours either, but it doesn’t take much to make a place feel more homely! And who cares anyway if you can buy a kilo of tortillas for just over a dollar? :-)
You do get used to it quickly, although we still do miss having a couch!
Hooray! You have no idea how big of a smile I had on my face while reading this post and I think it actually convinced me to move back here for a while soon. I really am happy that you are enjoying yourself in Playa and that you found the non-touristy part of the town to your liking…like you said, there is no shortage of tourists here but it really is easy to get away from it all.
Hope to catch up with you there if the timing works out!
Thank you for your advice Earl, and for convincing us to come here!
*sigh*, Playa is so lovely. We’re visiting the area for the third time at the end of February, but staying in a big resort ‘cos when I’m booking from the UK it all seems a bit difficult and distant. I give it three days before we’re sitting in a little cafe in Playa wishing we had the balls to get it together and figure out how to be there for a few months!
Thanks for the tip-that looks very cool! Playa is cheap to live in (we’re easily spending less than 1000 GBP a month for the both of us) so why not take a break from work and live here for a few months? Enjoy your trip.
We went to Playa del Carmen for our honeymoon this time two uears ago. It was before our long-term traveling days so we quite enjoyed being spoiled at a resort. But I am glad to read that it also poses a good option for a longer term stay. I have to admit, I am quite jealous of you having an oven. Almost unseen around SE Asia. Enjoy!
I can definitely see the advantages of being spoiled at a resort-there are worse things than sipping a cocktail in a sun lounger. I know- we never get an oven! It’s the first time we’ve had one at Christmas in the 3 years we’ve been away so we made the most of it. Baking far too many cookies though :)
I LOVE Playa del Carmen…so many people go to Cancun, and I can’t figure out why when this paradise is so close and easy to get to! I am a little envious of travel bloggers who are permanent travelers (I am still needing to live and work in the real world) because you get a taste of places life Playa del Carmen that most people never get….you get to find out what daily life is really like in a way that someone who is just visiting really never does (and BTW: I LOVE your pet iguana!)
We haven’t been to Cancun but it does sound very different, and we’ve heard it’s hard to get away from the hotel strip and to the ‘real’ town.
Temporary Home? I would find it hard to leave LOL…enjoy and keep up the awesome posts…I love your blog :)
Thanks Linda! We always get itchy feet so it won’t be too hard to leave, although we’ll miss the beach.