Hopefully this will be a good spot to ask questions, get information, plan events, and have fun in this awesome spot in the world. Obviously anything in the Riviera Maya (PDC, Cancun, Tulum, etc.) is open for discussion.

I'm actually heading to Cozumel today for a few days of diving, but I'll post when I get back next week and hopefully we can get everyone that's down here together for some beers in Playa.

Living on the west coast of Mexico for the next 4 months, but may end up going to PDC after. It's so beautiful.

view from 8$ steak and eggs this mourning!playa

What are you guys paying for rent and what does your place look like?

Where do you bank, how hard was it to set up?

Looks beautiful, but damn it is blazing hot in Playa July, Aug., & Sept.

I, too, would be interested in learning what rents (say for a nice 2/2) & monthly living costs are in Playa. Seeing as it's developed into such a popular tourist destination over the last 10+ years, I'm guessing it's no longer that cheap.

I pay $1300/month that includes everything except electric (which is more expensive here than in the states fwiw) for a 2br 2.5ba at these condos http://www.realestateyucatan.com/eng...0&offered=sale

not as nicely furnished as the pictures show but it gets job done

banking is really easy, read the banking in mexico thread

What are some of the things you would recommend a tourist do on a trip to Playa Del Carmen?

If you're a certified diver, dive the cenotes!

If you're not a diver, take a dive class & get you're scuba certification.

If you're not a diver & not interested in becoming one, go snorkeling in the cenotes.

By the way, cenote is the Mayan word for "sink hole". The sink holes around Playa are filled with cool, crystal clear fresh water & are connected to the largest underground cave system in the world. Diving & snorkeling in them is other-worldly!

Other recommendations:

take ferry over to Cozomel & do some open water (ocean) drift dives.

shopping, drinking, eating on 5th Ave.

Checking out ruins in Tulum.

Kite surfing in Tulum.

Depending upon time of year, take a bus an hour north to Cancun, catch a 15 minute ferry to Isla Mujeres & go snorkeling with Whale Sharks.

Is anyone actually living on cozumel? Just finalized a deal on a condo in the north hotel zone there moving down in January and just curious if there are any other poker players living on the island itself, would be nice to have some people to hang out with occasionally once we get there.

Anybody interested in meeting up to watch some football tomorrow (i.e. NFL)?

Is the internet 100% reliable?

I use Playa Wireless and it's bulletproof, plus I have a backup connection.

I would have been had I checked the thread. watched the games at home today. definitely game for next saturday or sunday though

No worries. Next Sunday is the WCOOP ME, so I'll be out for that, but maybe Saturday or Monday Night Futbol.

Sat works for me LSU @ WVU oughta be good

How long is your lease? How did you go about finding it?

6 month lease. I used a guy that a bunch of us used down here. I can pm you his contact if you'd like

Can someone point me to some more information about PDC? I've heard good things from some friends (non poker players that lived there on a study abroad). The 2 places I'm looking at are:

- Playa Del Carmen and
- Cozumel

Safety? Not too isolated? Affordability? Rent? Cleanliness? Does it have some element of normalcy or is is more 3rd world-esqe? (I imagine PDC is more built up and Americanized than Cozumel)

Both spots look beautiful. Would love some more information to help me make a firm decision. Thanks,

Brian / bpm

how do you guys get around? taxis are super cheap? anybody buy a car? Is PDC small enough that you can basically walk everywhere?

Very interested to hear about the diving in PDC vs Cozumel in addition to the questions above!

i live in playa and haven't been to cozumal yet but you can see it from the beach in playa so its just a short ferry ride away.afiak diving is better in cozumel but living expenses will be much cheaper in playa there will be more places to eat and much beter bar/club scene in playa.PDC is a culturally rich city with tons of euro,US,CAN expats and vacationers.its the "slow" season right now and every time i go out bars are completely packed.

as far as "normalcy" goes this is obv going to be different for everyone but for me it took about a week before i was completely comfortable here.it is very safe i walk all over the place at all hours of the night by myself and have never felt sketched out or anything.

someone who has been to cozumal can give you better info about it.

everything in playa is walkable. also cabs are cheap and there several buses to choose from when you want to explore the yucatan.

Anyone have an open room for rent in Playa del Carmen?

Thanks Mr. Bum.

I read a trip report of someone who was completely freaked out by their <24 hour experience in that area. They said 5th Aven was dangerous and not what it is at all cracked up to be. Said their was ants all over the condo/apt he was going to rent and the property mgmer who showed him the place was answering questions about the drug violence saying "bodies are found every day".

Obv this person had a terrible experience, but I'm wondering if everyone's building up this place to be something that its not. I don't need to go diving, but would like some safety, clean accommodations, and stable power/internet source, with a reasonable society infrastructure. I would assume being a tourist stop would make this so. Also, can you discuss about anything with cost of living? Is it more expensive than most of Mexico bc it is a tourist area? thanks a ton for all your information!

yeah that guy just had culture shock. people will bug you a bit on 5th, asking you if you want cigars, weed etc. Their selling practices are definitely abrasive, but just tell them no if you're not interested no big deal

I think he made up the bodies everyday thing. I dont read news or anything but I'd be shocked to hear of murders. I def feel safer here than any major US metro I've ever been to which is a fair amount

I have a slight ant problem at the moment, but that's more because I dont clean as much as I should I think. I've had worse in the states (vegas), part of living in warm weather climates

cost of living is cheaper than the states, I don't know about other areas of Mexico. I think I read it is cheaper than Cabo.

Varies everywhere, I go to a taco place on 30th (way far away from tourist area) and 5 tacos con queso + coke is 69 pesos + tip. If you eat on 5th you probably spend between 150-400 pesos for dinner/drinks.

electricity is more expensive than the states, they bill every 2 months, we just got our 1st bill for 7k pesos

transportation cheaper, smokes cheaper (40 pesos/pack)

I think groceries are cheaper, but I never really pay attention to that so I could be wrong

beers are 25-40 pesos depending, there's a spot on 5th that sells 20 pesos drafts

this is total BS playa has a lower murder rate then many comparably sized us citys.do your own research if you doubt me.
lol no one has any incentive to do this.fwiw if the US changed their laws tomorrow and repealed the uigea i would not be moving back any time soon.i love it here.