Playacar Fase 2
- Wide sand
- Calm hotel-zone stretch
- Long walk from Parque Fundadores
Overview
Playacar Fase 2 is the southern and larger section of Playacar, the planned development that begins just south of Playa del Carmen's ferry pier. It is where most of the area's all-inclusive resorts stand, laid out around the Playacar golf course, with the beach running along its eastern edge.
The beach here is wide. Phase 1, closer to the town, has lost sand to erosion in places, and the municipality has named the area near the Xamán-Ha pier, on the Playacar side, among the points where it plans to return sand.
It is quiet in a way the town beaches are not. Because land access runs through the resorts and the gated streets, the people on this sand are overwhelmingly hotel guests, and the atmosphere is closer to a resort strip than a public beach.
Photo summary of last month
They are published unedited and in date order, and they replace themselves as new submissions arrive, so what appears below is the most recent view of the beach rather than a promotional photograph.
Because this stretch is fronted by resorts, conditions can differ noticeably between one property and the next on the same morning, which is worth bearing in mind when reading any single image. The comparison worth making is with Parque Fundadores, just north of the ferry pier.
The comparison worth making is with Parque Fundadores, just north of the ferry pier, since the two sit either side of the same structure.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
Playacar faces east into the open Caribbean, in the path of the Yucatán Current that carries sargassum north-west along the Quintana Roo coast. There is no bay or nearshore reef to intercept it, so this stretch receives what is moving up the coast in a given week.
The local variable is the ferry pier. A structure of that size changes how sand and floating sargassum move along the shore, so the two sides of it can look quite different on the same morning, even though Playacar and Fundadores are only a few hundred metres apart.
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. Playacar is fully exposed to that calendar, without the geographic protection the north-facing beaches above Cancún enjoy.
The resorts along this stretch clear their own frontage, which does not stop arrivals but often means a heavy night is partly cleared before most guests are out.
Swimming conditions and safety
The water is generally calm to moderate with a sandy bottom and a gentle shelf, comfortable for most swimmers and noticeably quieter than the town beaches, since there is less boat traffic this far south of the ferry terminal.
Lifeguard cover, where it exists, is provided by individual resorts on their own frontage, and the gaps between properties are unwatched.
On sargassum: fresh weed floating in the water is harmless and merely unpleasant to swim through. The sulphurous smell comes from material that has decomposed on hot sand for a day or more, releasing hydrogen sulphide. On a wide beach like this one, weed pushed high up the sand dries rather than rotting in the shallows, which is why the smell is less common here than on a narrow beach with the same arrival.
Access and getting there
There is no public beach car park. All Mexican beaches are public by law, this one included, but the practical routes to the sand run through the gated streets and the resorts, so access is genuinely limited for anyone not staying here.
On foot along the beach. This is the usual public route. From Parque Fundadores in the town centre you can walk south past the ferry pier and continue along the sand into Playacar. It takes about twenty minutes from the centre and there is no barrier on the beach itself.
By taxi. Taxis will enter the gated streets to reach a named resort, which is the normal approach for anyone with a hotel booking.
By ADO bus. Playa del Carmen's Terminal Turística is on Fifth Avenue at Avenida Juárez, near the ferry pier, with services to Cancún, Cancún airport and Tulum. The Terminal Alterna, on 20 Avenida Norte at Calle 12 Norte, handles most longer-distance routes.
By colectivo. Shared vans run Highway 307 constantly in both directions and are the cheapest way to reach Playa del Carmen from anywhere on the corridor, though they stop on the highway rather than inside Playacar.
What is nearby
The Xaman-Ha archaeological site, a small group of Maya structures, sits within the Playacar grounds. Parque Fundadores, Fifth Avenue and the Cozumel ferry are twenty minutes north on foot. Xcaret, the eco-archaeological park, is about ten minutes south by road.
The live camera
This beach has a live webcam at Viva Azteca by Wyndham, which is the fastest way to judge conditions before setting out. A camera shows the sand and the waterline in real time, which no seasonal average can do. It appears alongside the photographs and the current score on our live map.
Check live conditions before you go
Conditions at Playacar change within days, and this stretch can differ from the town beaches immediately north because of the ferry pier between them. On the live map we track it with dated photographs, the Viva Azteca webcam and a daily condition score, so you can compare it against Fundadores, Mamitas and Tulum on the same morning.
See live conditions, photos & cams →