These 3 spots at the Yucatan Peninsula share the preferences of travelers from around the world, but all the three of them offer different things and cater to different public.
Cancún, the most known of them, and the closest to the airport, caters mostly to US “traditional” tourists, who prefer huge all-inclusive 5-star resorts. Nightlife has plenty of options, mostly dance clubs where it is frequent to spot “girls gone wild” scenes. Beaches are just perfect, and restaurant offer is diverse and meets the highest standards. The main disadvantage is that there is no “village & beach life”, to mingle with other tourists and locals you have no other option but to drive to a shopping mall or a dance club. Beach social life is also secluded to the private beach of your hotel. I personally do not like big hotels and the Cancún “tourism lifestyle”, though the beaches and the restaurants are probably slightly better than those of Playa del Carmen and Tulúm. My top restaurant pick in Cancún is Restaurante Puerto Madero, and classy Argentine-beef-plus-seafood place by a marina. It has a beatiful terrace overlooking the marina and the Cancún lagoon.
Playa del Carmen, just 70 km (43 miles) south of Cancun has experienced a fast growth (the fastest according to Guiness), and evolved from a small fishermen village to a huge city in just 10 years. As opposed to Cancun, hotels are much smaller and most of them are not all-inclusive (though there are many all-inclusive resorts along the highway and by the beach all the way in the 110 km (68 miles) road that separate Cancun from Tulum). European tourists favor Playa del Carmen. Playa (as it is know locally), as many beaches in Mexico has an important Italian residents community, that is why probably italians, French and other European tourists were attracted to Playa del Carmen in the first place. Playa del Carmen is today the best expression of the “European chic” in Mexico. Despite of this, Playa del Carmen attracts tourists from everywhere, including a lot of American. In addition to tourism, the immigration was a key driver for such a high growth. Immigrants came from other places in Mexico, Italy, Argentina, France and the USA. Playa del Carmen has many beach clubs that resemble Ibiza (Baleares Islands, Spain), like the beach club Mamita´s, home to many fashion shows and other trendy events in Playa.
The restaurant offering in Playa is big and diverse. My top choice is The Glass Bar, a sophisticated Napolitan restaurant with the best wine list in town.
Tulum is a totally different place. The town stretches along the road/highway that connects Cancún-Playa del Carmen-Tulum-Chetumal (all the Mayan Riviera) and is as awful as many other new Mexican villages (as opposed to the thousands of old charming Mexican “pueblos”). Despite the misserable urban planning, some stubborn neighbors decided to build some nice bars and restaurants along the main road. As you move from the main road to the beach (2.5 km away from town) there are some nicer small hotels and constructions. So, then, what makes Tulum attractive? Herebelow the reasons why:
1)Firstly, the people. It has a unique combination of hippies, european settlers, locals, backpackers, radical liberals and refined tourists. Easygoing is the right word to describe Tulum lifestyle.
2)The beaches are excellent, though 2.5 km away from town. Most travelers prefer to stay on the beach hotels, located direcly on the coastal road. Many of these hotels are sophisticated thatched roof bungalows, very cozy & romantic, though some of them are dirty tourist traps (like Diamante K).
3)Tulum hosts the only Mayan ruins on the beach. Though not the most important Mayan riuins in the Yucatan peninsula, the Tulum ruins boasts the an amazing scene that combines historic buildings, a pristine beach, the Caribbean blue and the jungle
4)An important urban project, expected to replace the existing downtown is under construction. Located between the town and the beach, Aldea Zama combines residential and commercial develpment. With a careful design and ecologic urban planning, Aldea Zama will become the new Tulum center (much closer to the sea).
5)The jungle: on the opposite side of the highway (to the west), Tulum has thousands of acres of jungle. There are some new developings and a few houses that allow you to stay in the middle of a jungle, and still only 5 minutes to the Caribbean beaches.
