Playa Mamitas

Overview

Playa Mamitas is the section of the Playa del Carmen town beach that runs north from Playa Constituyentes to about Calle 38 Norte, with its centre at Calle 28 Norte, a few blocks north of the busiest part of Fifth Avenue. It is the most popular stretch of sand in the town and is usually crowded, particularly at weekends and in high season.

It is the most social section of the town beach. On a typical day the sand is shared by families, couples and groups of friends, some on towels and others on hired loungers, and the water is busy with swimmers.

The beach takes its name from Mamita's Beach Club, which occupies part of the frontage and remains in operation. The sand itself is public, as are all beaches in Mexico, and there is open beach on either side of the club.

Photo summary of last month

Conditions vary along the town beach itself, which is why we track several Playa del Carmen sections separately rather than as one beach.

Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt

Playa del Carmen faces east into the open Caribbean, squarely into the Yucatán Current that carries sargassum north-west along the Quintana Roo coast. There is no bay, rocky point or nearshore reef to stop it, which is the fundamental difference between this town and the sheltered beaches at the northern end of Cancún.

Cozumel lies offshore and is often assumed to shelter the town. Our photographs show that it does not: sargassum moving north along the coast reaches the Playa del Carmen town beach in the same way as the open beaches to the south.

What does vary is the shape of the shoreline. The Playa del Carmen town beach is broken by piers, breakwaters and the ferry terminal, and these structures change how sand and floating sargassum move along the coast. As a result, one section of the town beach can be covered while another a few hundred metres away is clear on the same morning.

Mamitas generally fares relatively well within the town beach. In our photographs, the stretch from Mamitas south to Avenida Constituyentes is often clearer than the beaches further south, between Calle 16 and Parque Fundadores, which tend to collect more sargassum on the same days.

The sargassum season

The regional season runs from roughly May to August and peaks in June and July, when the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt reaches its greatest extent. Playa del Carmen is fully exposed to it, with no geographic protection of the kind the Cancún bay beaches enjoy.

From December through March the town beach is generally at its best, which is also the busiest tourist season. The wider picture, including how the belt has grown over the past decade, is set out in our Riviera Maya sargassum season guide.

Swimming conditions and safety

The water here is generally calm to moderate, with a sandy bottom and a gentle shelf, and it is comfortable for most swimmers. It is livelier than the Cancún bay beaches but far calmer than the open-sea beaches at the southern end of the Cancún Hotel Zone.

The real hazard is boat traffic rather than surf. Playa del Carmen is a working ferry port and dive centre, and small craft operate close to shore along much of the town beach. Stay inside the marked swimming areas.

On sargassum: fresh weed floating in the water is harmless and simply unpleasant to swim through. The sulphurous smell comes from material that has decomposed on hot sand for a day or more, releasing hydrogen sulphide. A strong smell means old weed, and moving a few hundred metres along the beach is usually more effective than waiting.

Beach clubs and loungers

Mamita's Beach Club rents loungers, umbrellas and day beds and provides washrooms, showers and food and drink service. Its charges are usually set as a minimum spend on food and drink, and they vary with the season and the day of the week, so they should be confirmed on arrival.

Hiring a lounger is optional. Bringing a towel and using the open sand on either side of the club is normal practice and costs nothing, and there is no entrance fee to the beach itself.

Access and getting there

Parking near the beach is limited and difficult through the middle of the day in high season, and most visitors reach Mamitas on foot.

On foot. The beach is a short walk from Fifth Avenue, which runs parallel to the shore through the whole town centre. From the main square and the ferry pier it is a walk of about twenty minutes north along the avenue to Calle 28.

By colectivo. Shared vans run Highway 307 constantly in both directions, north to Cancún and south to Tulum, stopping wherever passengers ask along the route. They are the cheapest way to arrive from anywhere on the corridor.

By ADO bus. Playa del Carmen has two ADO terminals. The Terminal Turística, on Fifth Avenue at Avenida Juárez near the ferry pier, is the more convenient for the beach and receives the buses from Cancún airport. The Terminal Alterna, on 20 Avenida Norte at Calle 12 Norte, handles most longer-distance departures.

By ferry. The Cozumel passenger ferry leaves from the pier at the foot of Calle 1 Sur, in the centre of town.

What is nearby

Fifth Avenue runs directly behind the beach, with restaurants, bars and shops along its whole length. Parque Los Fundadores and the Portal Maya sculpture are fifteen minutes south, beside the ferry pier. Punta Esmeralda, at the northern edge of town, has an open cenote flowing across the sand into the sea and is the quieter alternative when Mamitas is busy.

Check live conditions before you go

Conditions along the Playa del Carmen town beach change within days, and sections a few hundred metres apart can differ on the same morning because piers and breakwaters change how sargassum moves along the shore. On the live map we track Mamitas alongside the other town beaches with dated photographs and a daily condition score, so you can compare them rather than guess.