The population of Playa del Carmen has more than doubled in the last few years, primarily from the European crowd who has discovered a tropical paradise. Because Playa del Carmen sees a lot of international travelers, the town is very eclectic. 

Playa is located about 40 miles south of Cancun. It has beautiful beaches, wonderful shops and restaurants, and is a very good value in the Caribbean.

Club Bananas is a small all-inclusive property located within the town of Playa del Carmen. Recently, it has been purchased by the "Real Resorts" chain of hotels. (More about that later) We chose Club Bananas because we had read good reviews, it was close to town, and we were able to secure a great rate of $90 per night for both of us. (Yes that is correct, this included the room, food, drinks, and taxes)

We arrived at Club Bananas at around 5:00 PM on Sunday. Upon checking in, the front desk had our reservation, but had a "different rate" than we had expected. I gave them my printed web reservation confirmation along with the confirmation email we received and they honored the low rate.

We had what they call a "junior suite". It consisted of a sitting area, a dressing area, and a bedroom. The room was very clean and quite charming. Club Bananas is located about 4 blocks from the beach so there was no "view" to speak of, but the grounds are nicely landscaped.

We stayed in room 211B which was a corner unit on the second floor in the Coba wing. (I believe the building had four floors total) 

The bed was "muy firma" but actually more comfortable then other beds we have encountered in Mexico.

Club Bananas has an "Animation Team" which provides great entertainment throughout the week. The Animation Team was one of the highlights of our stay at Club Bananas. Our first night we got involved with a "name that movie" trivia contest. If you answered incorrectly you got a shot of tequila. (It was actually very watered down tequila/sugar water. It was all in good fun)

One of the reasons why we booked Club Bananas was for their wonderful beach club. We had been to Playa del Carmen once before and knew the location of their beach club. It was on a beautiful stretch of beach. 

So our first day we decided to take the "Banana bus" down to the beach club. (If you don't take the bus it is a short 10 minute walk.)

The bus dropped us off at the end of Constitutiones Ave, near the Gran Porto Real hotel. We thought, "OK this is close, all we have to do is walk to the left". To our great surprise we found that the original beach club had been closed! 

The Gran Porto Real hotel is building a new "wing" which is encompassing the old Club Bananas beach club. Ah, so now it was becoming clear as to why the Real chain of hotels purchased Club Bananas.... 

The new Club Bananas beach club is part of the Gran Porto Real property. Both hotels "share" the same beach. This was a huge disappointment to us because the beach at the Gran Porto Real is not that great. 

It is not very scenic and because you are "sharing" the beach it is much more crowded.

While we were at Club Bananas we personally talked to at least five couples who were "displaced" from the Gran Porto Real because of overbooking. We had read this on the web but didn't realize that it was so prevalent. In every case when the people arrived at the Gran Porto Real they were told that they were "overbooked" and then they were moved to Club Bananas or some other all inclusive. In most cases the move was only for one night, but we did run into one couple who had to stay at Club Bananas for 4 days! The Gran Port Real looks like a nice place, but we do not recommend this property due to their reservation policies. It was sad to see people who paid three times what we did for their "ocean front" room only to be stuck at another property. In most cases the "displaced people" were offered compensation in the form of a lobster dinner. 

Big deal, you lose at least one day of your vacation transferring between hotels and you get a dinner...

We also noticed that they were in the process of upgrading all of the furniture in Club Bananas. We have since noticed that their rates just went up dramatically as of July 1. So it looks like the "Real Resorts" chain has raised the rates to pay for the furniture...

The food at Club Bananas was average. This was our first all-inclusive so we really can't compare it to other properties. But the food was pretty good and varied. One night we ate in the "Mangos" sit down restaurant. It was very nice but nothing spectacular. For "dessert" we had a flaming cucaracha.

The Animation Team offered numerous activities throughout the day. This included volleyball, soccer, Spanish lessons and snorkeling. We participated in the Spanish lessons and snorkeling. The snorkeling near the hotel is pretty poor so the snorkel trip entails walking down to the end of the bay, to a beach called Coco Beach. The snorkeling at Coco Beach is actually quite good. (click here to see more information on Coco Beach)

We cannot say enough about the entertainment that the Animation Team provided. Within a few short days we felt like we had three new friends in Playa del Carmen. They really made an effort to interact with the guests in a special way. Cheers to Niss, Pepe, and Claudy!

Most of the snorkeling near Playa del Carmen is not good from the shore. But we did find one place that is pretty decent and it is a short kick from the beach. It is called Coco Beach. It is at the end of the beach near Playa Toucan and Mamitas directly in front of the Coco Beach Hotel. The reef is located directly in front of a deserted scuba shack.

Once you get out to the coral you'll be in for a treat. There is lots of nice coral heads and numerous fish.

We went out early in the morning and ran into a huge school of blue tangs. At first they were a little "skiddish", but once they got used to us, they allowed us to "become part of the school". Very cool experience. We slowly kicked and followed them around the reef. They allowed us to be part of their group for at least 10 minutes.

On Tuesday we took a drive out to Coba. This was one of the highlights of our trip. Coba is about 1.5 hours from Playa del Carmen so the drive wasn't too bad. We chose to hire a "guide" to give us some historical background to what we were seeing. He was very good. I think the cost was around $20 USD. The entrance fee was about $3 USD per person plus another $3 USD for the video camera.

Coba has the second highest pyramid in North America. It is located in a dense jungle. The entire place has an "Indiana Jones" feel to it. 

We arrived at around 10:00 AM and there were not too many people hiking to the top of the pyramid. By the time we started coming down, there seemed to be "busloads" of people arriving. So arrive early to beat the crowds!

Carroll and I both climbed to the top of the structure. The steps are rather steep, but it isn't too hard as long as you take it slowly. Coming down is actually harder than the hike up. 

The view from the top is magnificent. Absolutely amazing that this was built centuries ago. As with everything else up and down this coast, visit Coba now before it becomes overrun with tourists.

Yal Ku Lagoon is a interesting place to snorkel. It affords you the opportunity to snorkel in a brackish (freshwater/salt water) lagoon. 

We had snorkeled Yal Ku a few years ago so we knew what to expect. We were surprised at how much less sealife there was this time. We snorkeled out towards the ocean to the breakers.

We really didn't see much sea life. A little coral here and there but nothing special. We did get a quick look at a rather large ray. (shown at right)

If you swim to the left when you first enter the water, you should see schools of brightly colored fish.

The best part of Yal Ku is having the opportunity to snorkel a clear lagoon. The snorkeling is very safe and easy.

The entry into the water is very easy. There are numerous stairs that lead down to a nice sandy bottom. The water is about 3 feet deep near the stairs so it makes for an easy place to put on your snorkel gear.

The cost for Yal Ku was about $6 USD per person. 

After snorkeling Yal Ku, we headed over to a beach club on Akumal Beach. Very relaxing place, although the cerveza was a little expensive.

Although the Fat Cat is a nice catamaran and the staff is very nice, we cannot recommend this snorkel trip. We had 38 other passengers with us on our trip. This made 40 passengers plus crew on a medium size 40 foot catamaran. The boat was so crowded that everyone had "one" place to sit and you could not freely roam the boat. We have done numerous snorkel trips and we would have to classify this one as a "cattlemaran".

The Fat Cat goes to a secluded bay called Xaac cove. It is a very pretty spot. They will soon be building an all-inclusive resort on the property so this place won't be around in its present state much longer.

The snorkeling was poor. The visibility was poor, and there was almost no fish to speak of. We did see a little coral here and there, but it was overall not a great place to snorkel.

Since the snorkeling wasn't that great, we spent most of our time walking up and down the beach. The cove was very scenic.

The skipper, shown to the right, was Kimba. The drinks aboard the Fat Cat were very good and plentiful. The "snack" was packaged tortilla chips and store bought guacamole. 

On the way to our second stop they let people do some "boom netting" which looked fun but we passed.

The last stop is a visit to "Tye-Die" island. This is a floating island made of plastic bottles which was built by an eccentric Englishman.

This was a nice place to take a quick swim before heading home.

FAT CAT UPDATE

The Fat Cat contacted us with some updated information. 

It looks like things are changing for the better.

Hi Dave

Thanks for replying to my mail.

I wanted to let you know about the changes we have made to improve our tour so you could let your readers know that the tour is now very different from when you guys went out.

Firstly we have changed the management of the company and have a new owner. Most of the crew on board are the same as they are a great bunch who really know how to look after people on the cat.

We now have a larger catamaran which is licensed to take 60 people, however we impose our own limit to 45 people to allow for that little extra space for everyone. Just to give you an idea, 50% of the cat that is covered is a seating area with enough spaces to seat all 45 people.

Take into account that not everyone will sit in this are for the day means that there is another 50% of the cat to stretch out on (the front trampoline net, the sides and the back).

As there is to be a new hotel at Xaac bay and construction has started we no longer visit here, which is a shame as it was very picturesque in the bay.

We now sail to Bahia Inha with far superior snorkeling available. We also do something that no one else is doing, we sail right to the beach front, drop the front steps and enable people to walk into the shallow water onto the beach. It is really a great place to visit. No crowds of people and no buildings.

Kimba is no longer on board as she injured herself and has had to be medically retired. For all who remember her fondly she is healing well.

Our salsa and guacamole are made freshly each morning of the tour even though, yes, our tortilla chips are store bought. It's a shame you didn't try boom netting as most describe it like being in a giant Jacuzzi (though a little more salty).

And finally no more visits to Tie Die Island as it was destroyed during the hurricane. By trading up to a wider 50 foot catamaran and not increasing the numbers onboard too much we hope to get away from the "cattlemaran" image you have of us.

If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me. We hope one day you try our new tour.

Best regards Jason

Jason Hillsley

Marketing Manager

Fat Cat

Our transportation for the week consisted of a rental car from Avis. This is the second time we used Avis and we had no problems. The rate was about $175 for the week. We were glad we had a car because it gave us the opportunity to have the freedom to sight see. 

We have heard numerous "horror stories" about renting a car in Mexico, but both times we found it to be pretty stress-free.

Playa del Carmen is still somewhat of a sleepy little town. Unfortunately, a huge cruise ship dock has been built which I'm sure will change the landscape of the town dramatically. We visited Playa a few years ago and we were surprised at how much it had changed. 

Even though we stayed at an all-inclusive this time, we did get out to a few nice places to eat lunch. One such place was Gringo Dave's.

We stopped by Gringo Dave's on our way back from Coba. Gringo Dave's is located directly on the beach near Tulum.

The beach at Gringo Dave's was breathtaking. We secured a table on a bluff overlooking the ocean. We looked at the menu and really didn't see anything that excited us, so we just relaxed and had a few cervezas.

One of our favorite places was Oscar & Lalo's. It is located near Soliman Bay. This is where the famous "Corona Commercials" are filmed. 

We split an order of fajitas, which were very good. The prices were a little high but the atmosphere was muy bueno. We highly recommend this place.

Each table was "seaside" and was beautifully decorated.

They have actual tables built showing the actual spot that each of the Corona commercials were filmed. It is pretty funny.

One day we had lunch at one of our favorite places, Playa Toucan. Playa Toucan is a great beach bar that is mainly frequented by Europeans. 

They have a new bar which includes swings. Very good food and cheap cerveza. Muy bueno!

There is also a Senor Frogs in Playa del Carmen. We never ate there but the location is awesome. Directly on the beach near the ferry dock.

On our way back to the airport, we had some time to kill so we stopped at Los Pelicanos in Puerto Moreles and had lunch. What a great place. Very nice restaurant directly on the beach. We had the guacamole. Puerto Moreles is a sleepy little town that is full of United States citizens. We drove along the coast and saw numerous license plates from the United States.