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Playa del Carmen | |
|---|---|
City | |
.jpg) Aerial view of Playa del Carmen | |
| Nicknames: Playa, PDC | |
  Playa del Carmen  Playa del Carmen | |
| Coordinates:20°37′41″N87°04′32″W / 20.6281425°N 87.0755°W /20.6281425; -87.0755 | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Quintana Roo |
| Municipality | Solidaridad |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Roxana Lili Campos Miranda 2021–2024 |
| Area | |
• City | 49.8 km2 (19.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Population (2020[2]) | |
• City | 304,942 |
| • Density | 6,100/km2 (16,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 304,942 |
| Demonym | Playense |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Southeast(US Eastern)) |
| Postal codes | 77710, 77720 |
| Area code | 984 |
| Website | letsplaya |
Playa del Carmen, known colloquially asPlaya, is aresort city located along theCaribbean Sea in the southeasternstate ofQuintana Roo,Mexico. It is part of the municipality ofSolidaridad. As of 2020, the city's population was just over 300,000 people during 2020, a small yet thriving portion of which are foreignimmigrants.[3]
Playa del Carmen is a popular tourist destination in Mexico'sRiviera Maya region. Its current growth rate is set at 7.5% per year. According to Guinness World Records, it is one ofLatin America's fastest-growing communities. In 2016, the city was the tenth most popular international travel destination for U.S. travelers, and more than one million tourists passed through the city a year later.[4][5] The main airport for Playa is theCancún International Airport, which is around 70 kilometres (43 mi) away.
The area is known for its white sand beaches, blue turquoise waters, coral reefs, surrounding rainforests, andbalnearios. The downtown area of the city revolves aroundQuinta Avenida, a busy pedestrian thoroughfare lined with many shops, clubs, and restaurants. The weather is hot year-round. The summer and winter breaks are peak season for tourism.[6]
Playa del Carmen is located within the Riviera Maya, which runs from south ofCancún toTulum and theSian Ka'an biosphere reserve. Playa is a stop for several cruise ships which dock at the nearbyCalica quarry docks, about six miles (10 km) south of the city. TheXcaret Eco Park, a Mexican-themed "eco-archaeological park", is just south of the town inXcaret (pronounced "ish-kar-et").
In October 2005,Hurricane Wilma passed directly over Playa del Carmen, remaining in the vicinity for two days and causing significant damage and a temporary drop in tourist arrivals. Most of the damage was relatively superficial and repaired within a few weeks of the storm. Hurricane Wilma arrived from the Caribbean Sea, passing overCozumel before making landfall in Playa del Carmen. It then moved north along the Mexican coast, hittingCancún especially hard.
Playa del Carmen has atropical savannah climate (Aw) with June to November receiving most of the precipitation. Summers are hot and year-round with warm nights.
| Climate data for Playa del Carmen (1951–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.5 (99.5) | 33.0 (91.4) | 34.0 (93.2) | 39.0 (102.2) | 40.0 (104.0) | 39.0 (102.2) | 39.0 (102.2) | 39.5 (103.1) | 39.0 (102.2) | 34.0 (93.2) | 35.0 (95.0) | 39.0 (102.2) | 40.0 (104.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.8 (82.0) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.6 (85.3) | 30.8 (87.4) | 31.7 (89.1) | 32.0 (89.6) | 32.5 (90.5) | 32.9 (91.2) | 32.6 (90.7) | 30.8 (87.4) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 30.6 (87.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.4 (74.1) | 24.3 (75.7) | 26.1 (79.0) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.9 (82.2) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.9 (82.2) | 26.3 (79.3) | 24.4 (75.9) | 23.4 (74.1) | 25.8 (78.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.9 (64.2) | 18.3 (64.9) | 19.0 (66.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.5 (74.3) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.1 (73.6) | 21.7 (71.1) | 19.4 (66.9) | 18.2 (64.8) | 21.0 (69.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) | 7.0 (44.6) | 5.0 (41.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 15.0 (59.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 13.0 (55.4) | 15.0 (59.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 13.5 (56.3) | 11.0 (51.8) | 9.0 (48.2) | 5.0 (41.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 61.2 (2.41) | 50.5 (1.99) | 28.1 (1.11) | 51.2 (2.02) | 78.1 (3.07) | 153.0 (6.02) | 126.3 (4.97) | 126.3 (4.97) | 168.8 (6.65) | 284.3 (11.19) | 130.3 (5.13) | 73.1 (2.88) | 1,331.2 (52.41) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.7 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 6.5 | 10.6 | 9.3 | 9.6 | 14.5 | 15.9 | 9.5 | 7.3 | 102.8 |
| Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional[7] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 17,621 | — |
| 2000 | 43,613 | +147.5% |
| 2005 | 100,383 | +130.2% |
| 2010 | 149,923 | +49.4% |
| 2014 | 186,700 | +24.5% |
| 2020 | 304,942 | +63.3% |
| sources:[8] | ||
Originally a small fishing town,tourism to Playa del Carmen began with the passenger ferry service toCozumel, an island across the Cozumel Channel and ascuba diving destination.
Playa del Carmen is generally a safe travel destination in Mexico. The town is generally secure for most tourists, except for risks such as hurricanes, sunburns, and common tourist scams. "Numbeo" reports that both the Safety Index and Crime Index in Playa del Carmen are in the low-moderate range, with scores of 50.55 and 49.45, respectively.[9]
The city is home toInter Playa del Carmen, anassociation football club founded in 1999. It competes in the south group of theSegunda División Profesional, the third tier of Mexican football league system.
TheWorld Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba is aPGA TourFedEx Cup golf tournament that was held at El Camaleón Golf Club between 2007 and 2023. Since 2013, it has been a full-points tournament where the winner earns full rights for a PGA TOUR win.
Numerous TV series have been filmed and set in Playa del Carmen. ThetelenovelaPeregrina takes place in Playa del Carmen. The CanadianReal Housewives of Vancouver featured Playa del Carmen in two episodes. The US seriesThe Amazing Race was shot on location in Playa del Carmen, andThe Celebrity Mole was set in that area. The UK reality seriesGeordie Shore featured Playa del Carmen. In the American seriesSpies in Disguise, the Yakuza arms dealer named Katsu Kimura lays low in a hotel in Playa del Carmen.
Playa del Carmen travel guide from Wikivoyage State ofQuintana Roo | |||||||||||
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