Playa del Carmen

Four days from Playa taking in Fifth Avenue, Cozumel and the cenotes

Spend your first Playa del Carmen day on foot. Start at Parque Fundadores by the ferry pier, where the bronze Portal Maya frames the sea, look into the small white church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, then walk the beach north toward Mamitas at Calle 28 and return along Quinta Avenida as the afternoon cools.

Detour to Parque La Ceiba inland if you want shade. Dinner on 10th Avenue, then drinks on Calle 12.

Day two. Take an early ferry from the pier at the foot of Avenida Juárez to Cozumel, about 45 minutes across. Book a snorkel boat to the reefs on the island's southwest coast or rent a scooter to circle the island. Be on a return boat before the last sailing.

Day three. Drive or ride a colectivo south on Highway 307. Stop at Akumal to snorkel with sea turtles in the bay, then swim in one of the roadside cenotes such as Jardín del Edén near Xpu-Ha. If you prefer one big organised day, Xcaret, just south of town, combines underground rivers, wildlife and an evening show.

Day four. Go to Tulum, an hour south, for the clifftop Maya ruins above the sea; arrive at opening time to beat the heat and the coaches. Back in Playa, end with a sunset swim at Punta Esmeralda and late tacos.

Taco carts, Calle 12 late bites and Yucatecan plates off Quinta

To eat well and cheaply in Playa del Carmen, walk two blocks inland from Fifth Avenue. Restaurants on 10th, 15th and 20th Avenues charge far less than those on Quinta and are where Mexican residents eat, while Quinta itself feeds the international crowd with Italian, Argentine, Japanese and vegan menus on almost every block.

Street food is the best value in town. Taco carts set up in the morning; arrive mid-morning, before the lunch rush, when the meat is freshest. Fish and shrimp tacos, battered and fried, are a coast favourite, along with carnitas, chicken and chorizo. Try tacos de poblano relleno too, with stuffed peppers in a tortilla. At night, the trompo turns for tacos al pastor; El Fogón, a few blocks inland, is the local institution. Pizza-by-the-slice stands keep going until about 06:00, when the bars finally empty.

Look also for the Yucatecan kitchen of the peninsula: cochinita pibil (achiote-marinated pork slow-cooked in banana leaves), sopa de lima, and panuchos topped with turkey and pickled onion, often best at small family places on the inland avenues. Seafood restaurants on the beach serve ceviche and whole fried fish. For dessert, crisp rolled marquesitas with Edam cheese are sold from carts around the Zócalo and Parque Fundadores in the evening.

Drinks follow the same rule as food: happy hours inland, cocktails with a view on the beach.

October rains, spring break and sargassum on the Playa del Carmen shore

December to April is the best time for Playa del Carmen: the driest months, bottoming out in March at about 28 mm, with the clearest water for snorkelling and the calmest Cozumel crossings. It is hot all year, with highs from 28C in January to 33C from July to September, so rain, sea and crowds decide the timing.

From May the humidity rises and the summer brings frequent showers. The real wet season comes late: October is by far the rainiest month, with roughly 284 mm, and November still sees around 130 mm. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, with the greatest risk from August to October. Most years pass without a direct hit, but travel insurance and flexible bookings are wise.

The modern wildcard is sargassum, floating brown seaweed that drifts in from the Atlantic and can pile up on Riviera Maya beaches, mostly between spring and late summer. The worst years have seen whole stretches of sand covered; in others, the beach stays clear. Hotels and the town clear it daily, but it can still spoil swimming. Cozumel's west coast and the freshwater cenotes along Highway 307 are largely unaffected.

Crowds follow the holidays. Spring break in March fills the bars on Calle 12, and the stretch from Christmas to New Year is the busiest and dearest of the year. Late April, early December and the shoulder weeks of May offer the best mix of dry weather and space.