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When we stayed at the Blue Diamond Luxury Boutique Hotel, we decided to take a day trip to Playa del Carmen, which was just about a 20-minute taxi ride away (dependent on traffic). We loved the feel of Playa del Carmen. It was vibrant and lively, without feeling too touristy. Keep reading for some highlights from our short time in Playa del Carmen!
Read more about our stay at the Blue Diamond Luxury Boutique Hotel here.
GO ON A FOOD TOUR
We had heard about how amazing the food in Playa del Carmen was and we thought one of the best ways to explore the food scene and culture was to book a walking food tour! We looked at reviews and chose local food tour company, Eating with Carmen. There are multiple tours to choose from and we opted for the Vegan Delight tour to accommodate our dairy allergy. Our guide Enrique was awesome! The first stop on our food tour was at a smaller grocery store where locals shop. Enrique had us taste many fruits that I was not familiar with, including guanabana, chicozapote and nopal. We also had freshly made horchata at the juice bar in the grocery store. My personal favourite fruit was the chicozapote which tasted like candy! The vegan tour had a total of five food stops and we were decently full. I would highly recommend booking a tour with Eating With Carmen!
EXPLORE PLAYA DEL CARMEN’S STREET ART
As part of our vegan food tour, we also explored a neighbourhood in Playa del Carmen that had beautiful street art and many murals painted by local Mexican artists. We really appreciated having a guide show us the different murals and explaining the meaning behind them. There are maps online that show you various locations for the murals, but there are several local companies you can book tours with.
EAT VEGAN TACOS AT PLANTIVOROS
One of our favourite dishes from our vegan food tour in Playa del Carmen were the jackfruit tacos at Plantivoros. The restaurant is easy to miss, as it’s hidden away on the second floor of a residential looking building. An obscure doorway leads up a set of stairs, where the restaurant overlooks the street. The tacos here were so tasty. We wish we had more time to come back and try more dishes.
Location: Calle 32 esquina con, 40 Avenida Nte., Centro, 77710 Playa del Carmen, Q.R., Mexico. Click here for the map.
DINNER AT ROCKAS JAMAICAN FOOD
Our dinner at Rockas Jamaican Food was the best meal we had during our entire week-long trip in Mexico. We looked at reviews on Google which were all amazing, so we decided to give it a shot. It’s a very popular spot among locals and we can definitely see why! The food was hearty and flavourful. We had the Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken, Coconut Shrimp and Sweet Fried Plantains. If we lived in Playa del Carmen, we’d definitely be regulars here.
Location: 1a Avenida, MZA 77, Lote 2 Centro 77710 Playa del Carmen Q.R MX, entre Calle 26 y 28, Mexico. Click here for the map.
FEAST ON VEGAN BAKED GOODS AT PANNERIA
With our dairy allergy, we looked up spots for vegan dessert to bring back to our hotel after our food tour. We were pleasantly surprised to find Panneria, a vegan bakery within walking distance from Plantivoros (it’s also about a 10 minute walk from Rockas Jamaican Food). There was a great selection of cakes, as well as pastries and donuts. We loved their cakes so much that we came back a second time to try more flavours. We loved the Truffle Double Chocolate, Chocolate Mousse Cake and Oreo Cheescake.
Location: Calle 34 MZ 99 CASA 21 entre la 20 y 30 Av, 30 Avenida Nte, Tohoku, 77720 Playa del Carmen, Q.R., Mexico. Click here for the map.
