11 Fantastic Things to Do with Kids in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Activities for the whole family to enjoy in and around Playa
The Riviera Maya (Mayan Riviera), running from Cancun in the north down to Tulum further south, is famous for its white sand beaches, beautiful blue warm waters. With the second longest coral reef system in the world, its loved by divers and snorkelers. While many families travel to Mexico’s Yucatan and stay in or around their resort , there is so much more to see and do down the coast and inland, including some of the finest archaeological sites in the Americas.
This post outlines our favorite things for families and groups with kids to do in and around Playa del Carmen - we are pretty sure there’s at least something here for every member of the family! If you’re hungry for more, don’t miss the links at the end of the article for even more things to do on Isla Cozumel (just a short boat ride away) and within 30 minutes to a couple hours’ drive along the coast or inland!
📍A Brief Intro to Playa del Carmen
“Mayan Portal”, Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen (known locally as just “Playa”) is the fastest growing of the Riviera towns, located on the coast about halfway between Cancun and Tulum, with world-famous Cozumel island offshore. In short, odds are that wherever you’ve planned your stay on the Riviera or inland, Playa is not far and definitely a trip worth making! (See the note at the end of this article on the coming-soon Maya Train!)
While the water isn’t as clear nor the sand as powdery as other Riviera locales, Playa has fantastic reefs for diving and snorkeling close to shore, home to eels, turtles, and beautiful corals. Quinta Avenida is the main street and is lined with small shops, coffee shops, and traditional restaurants. Since Isla Cozumel is a very popular cruise ship stop, cruise passengers coming over to Playa can make the tourist areas feel crowded.
💦Check out the stunning Cenotes!
Cenote Chaak Tun
Cenotes are natural limestone pools, sometimes in the open and sometimes in caves; pronounced “seh-no-tays”. They often have spectacularly clear water, allowing you to see the bottom easily. They can be found all across the Yucatan peninsula, including many near Playa del Carmen. In our opinion, cenotes are a “must do” for any traveler to the Riviera Maya, but we’ve found that not all cenotes are great for all kids. Some good options for families near Playa include:
Cenote Xca-Ha (right in town)
Cenote Los Buhos (a little bit inland)
Cenote Chaak Tun (a little bit inland)
Cenote Phocea Mexico is a great option for ocean or cenote diving (and for diving lessons/PADI certification if that interests you).
…and many more - just search ‘cenote’' on Google Maps, and check out reviewers’ photos for ones that suite your family. Every cenote is a new adventure - our kids never got tired of checking out a new one!
Some important things to (ce)note :)
All cenotes we’ve gone to provide life jackets (and require that you use them), so its not necessary that any kiddos be particularly good swimmers.
Bring cash - many cenotes do not take cards.
Know that, depending where you go, there may not be cell signal once there - make sure you have an non-internet-dependent return transportation options :) PS. I’m sure the cenote staff are used to tourists getting stranded without signal for Uber and will help you find a solution - we can go on for days about how kind and gracious Mexico’s people are.
🎪See (& eat during!) the world famous Cirque du Soleil
The incredible Cirque du Soleil circus has a (rare!) permanent site in Playa del Carmen. The buildings are beautiful and located in a cenote. There’s a stunning bar area with delicious food and drinks you can enjoy before and after the show.
The show (JOYA, when we went) was incredible, AND its one of the only Cirque du Soleil shows at which you can enjoy a full service meal during the show - the meal’s presentation is nothing short of breathtaking.
Tickets are expensive but our kids still talk about it to this day and so we highly recommend it. We bought our (show only) tickets here and they worked without a hitch.
✨ Discover the Rio Secreto
The Rio Secreto (“Secret River”) is an amazing shallow underground limestone cavern 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) long that you can hike and swim through - be the intrepid explorers you always dreamed of!
Lifejackets are provided and you don’t have to be a good swimmer (but note this particular tour is not for kids 3 and younger). Here is a great option for tickets and a tour.
🎆 Splurge on an XCaret Theme Park (or three!)
XCaret Theme Park
Xenses Park
XCaret is a huge attraction a little south of Playa that is like a combination of beach resort, zoo, archaeological area, and theme park (!!) built around the ruins of Polé, a Mayan settlement. Xcaret has 2 underground rivers that you can float on across the park, a jungle trail, a recreated Mayan village, the opportunities to swim with dolphins and see bats, pumas, jaguars, and butterflies (mariposas - one of Mum’s favorite Spanish words) on their 2 Big Cat islands, performances of the voladores (flyers; we explain this in our post here), and much more. Fair warning: tickets are not cheap, but they are almost all-inclusive, covering use of snorkeling equipment and full buffet lunches. Here is a full day ticket option but do look at other options including combos with other XCaret-family parks or including transport.
With XCaret’s success (and often being sold out), the XCaret company has opened additional new themed parks. Xoximilco and Xavage in Cancun are two - we cover them in our Cancun-focused post here. The 2 other Playa del Carmen-located ones are next to XCaret park:
Xplor is a jungle adventure park with extensive zip-lining (14 segments, and the tallest in the Riviera Maya), amphibious vehicles, rafting & underground rivers. Here is one ticket option, but do look at others. Xplor Fuego is their nighttime park option.
Xenses is an outdoor amusement park focused on mystical sense-themed activities & optical illusions with dizzying slides, bird-flight simulating zip lines, spa-like experiences like mud-baths and saltwater floating, and a whacky town that tests your sense of balance. One ticket option is here, and Xenses Insomnia is their nighttime option.
All XCaret parks are recommended for kids 5 and up.
Another note: The XCaret company also offers various tours (Xenotes to various cenotes, Xichen to Chichen Itza, and to Tulum and Coba) - we don’t recommend these here because you can do them all yourself at far lower cost (and we cover them in this post!) but if you’re interested, all the info is here.
🛝Have a blast at the local EcoPark
For those who don’t want to pay the internationally-driven prices of the XCaret parks above, the Riviera Maya Recreation Center (Centro Recreativo EcoPark Riviera Maya) is very affordable and low-key.
There are several pools and slides, a cenote, and petting zoo(ish) variety animals kids will love including horses (to ride!), turkeys, turtles, and chickens. This is not fancy, but kids can’t really tell the difference and still have a great time.
🐚Bask at the beach & out in the waves
There is no need to travel to any particular beach - Playa means beach, and the local beaches are pretty much uniformly warm, shallow, calm, and seaweed-free.
Two things worth noting:
‘Private beaches’: While some hotels like to stake out beaches in a way that makes it seem they are private, all beaches are public under Mexican law. Enjoy the sun and surf in whatever spot you like!
Beach toys/gear: You can of course bring your beach/sand toys from home, but many hotels and AirBNBs have toys for guests’ use (try messaging them to ask if you’re worried). The many local shops offer a great variety as well.
Other posts you may enjoy!
There is so much more to do with kids within 30 minutes to a couple of hours from Playa! Check out:
Easily catch a ferry over to beautiful Cozumel Island - see our post on things to do with kids in Cozumel!
Cancun, just an hour north - see our post on to-do’s in Cancun with kids!
Puerto Morelos, just 30-45 minutes north - see our post on activities for kids in Puerto Morelos!
Tulum is about an hour south - see our post on family activities in and around Tulum
For the truly intrepid (and kids small or grown who think they are Indiana Jones), head inland into the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle to discover incredible ruins and the beautiful town of Valladolid - check out our post here!
Keep in mind for getting around the Riviera and inland: Mexico has been building the Maya Train (Tren Maya) for the past few years, and they’re making speedy progress. Soon, visitors will be able to expediently visit all of these spots via the train. For more and updated information, go here.