Live & Study Abroad in Playa del Carmen

Surfing, sun, relaxation, fun and culture… At our Spanish Summer Camp in Playa del Carmen you can do it all!

Live & Study Abroad in Playa del Carmen - Spanish Courses - learn Spanish

People travel from around the world to visit the popular destination of Playa del Carmen. Find out what makes Playa del Carmen such a popular study abroad desination by browsing this page or clicking on the folling links:
Weather, Dining Out, Money & Finances, Health & Safety, Food & Drink, Telephone, Shopping

Quinta Avenida, Playa del Carmen’s main avenue, shouldn’t be missed. Along the avenue, there are great stores, shops, bars and restaurants filled with visitors from just about every nationality of the world.

Get out of the busy city and participate in water sports or just relax on the magnificent white sand beaches. Not only is the white sand beautiful to look at, it has a practical purpose in that it doesn’t get hot under the blistering sun. Therefore, you can take long strolls on the beach or lay in the sand without it burning you or your feet!

It won’t take you long to recognize that the Playa del Carmen locals are very tranquil people. The mesh of locals and vacationers makes the pace of this Mexican city extremely slow and relaxing. There is no doubt that the most important part of everyday is to find time to RELAX!

Must-See Highlights:
Some of our favorite sights are the Xcaret Eco-Archaeological Park, the Chichen-Itza Mayan Ruins and a daily ferry run to Cozumel Island.

No Dress Code in Playa del Carmen:
When planning for your trip to Playa del Carmen, picking your clothes is the easiest part. In this laid back beach town, feel free to dress as you please! The only factor you should worry about is the weather, but even that isn’t much of a worry because it is always warm! The locals typically wear summer fashion clothing and most of them don’t even own heavy winter clothing!

Weather in Playa del Carmen:
Pack your shorts and bring your sunscreen!
The climate in Playa del Carmen is sub-tropical as the city is located south of the Tropic of Cancer. The average temperature is 27º Celsius and the sun shines often and intensely. We, therefore, recommend lots of sunscreen during the day, especially days at the beach!
From June to August, Playa del Carmen is extremely HOT. Light clothes made from natural fibers, such as cotton, and hats are recommended to beat the heat. Regardless of your skin type, sunscreen is a must during the summer months, as the sun rays a relentlessly strong.
During the autumn months, it is rainy and stormy with the looming chance of hurricanes and severe tropical storms. In the winter, the temperature ‘cools’ down, but only for Playa del Carmen’s standards. On the coldest day of the year, you may need a light jacket or sweater.
What you’ll need while here is beach towels, cool clothes, hats, sunglasses, maybe a light jacket and lots and LOTS of sunscreen!

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Dining Out:
On La Quinta -5th Avenue- you’ll find the most bars and restaurants in Playa del Carmen. La Quinta is always filled with people! It’s the perfect location to have a cold drink while you observe the many different nationalities roam the streets.
The variety of cuisines is endless as you can find great local Caribbean restaurants or restaurants from just about every ethnicity in the world including German, Thai, Cuban, Swedish, Chinese, Mexican, Italian and much more! There should be no worries about finding something good to eat. There is so much variety that there everybody will be pleased!
The restaurants in Playa del Carmen are usually small, intimate and family-owned and operated.
Although La Quinta is the favorite for tourists, the city offers many other locations that the locals love to go to for dinner! If you wonder away from La Quinta, the chances of finding a truly authentic -non-chain- restaurant are much higher.
Average meal prices around the city are about 30 pesos. Meal prices on La Quinta are significantly higher, averaging 100 - 200 pesos! So it may be worth exploring the city to find a quality meal at a cheaper price.

Tipping:
In Playa del Carmen tips are always welcome! It is polite to tip the maid at your hotel, waiters in restaurants, taxi drivers, etc… 'Propina' is the Spanish term for ‘tip’. The standard ‘propina’ at a restaurant is 10% of the table’s bill.

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Money & Finances:
The local currency of Mexico is the peso. It is recommended that you travel with US dollars and/or US dollar denominated traveler’s checks. The cheapest and quickest way to exchange US dollars for pesos is through Automated Teller Machines (ATM) that are connected to the Cirrus and PLUS systems. For this you’ll need your bank card and your PIN number. Visa, MasterCard and some other credit cards are accepted at some restaurants, stores and the larger hotels. If you need cash, often banks will allow you to take a cash advance using your credit card. Also, your traveler’s checks can be exchanged for cash at banks and some retail establishments.
Tipping: restaurants and hotels typically expect no less than 10% but not more than 15% as a tip. Taxis appreciate tips up to 10%, but it isn’t necessary.

Banks & ATM's:
Money exchanges and other banking services can be done in Playa del Carmen at the following banks: Banorte, BBV Bancomer, Bital, Scotiabank Inverlat, CICSA, Intercontinental & Monex. It is important to note that most bank tellers don’t speak English and many of the banks don’t accept Traveler’s Checks. The PLUS system ATM's may charge a fee of around $3.00 per transaction. Before making withdraws, you should speak with your local bank to find out more about fees.

Health & Safety:
To enter Mexico, there are no required shots; however, you should speak with your local doctor before traveling. If you plan on traveling to Mexico’s lower tropical regions, it is highly recommended that you bring insect repellent with a minimum DEET of 20% and/or malaria pills. Before traveling, your tetanus, typhoid and polio immunizations should be up to date. For those staying longer than a few weeks, we recommend an immune globulin shot to protect against hepatitis. For more information on Health tips visit: www.cdc.gov.

Mexico does have a petty theft problem. There is an abundance of pickpockets in crowed places, such as the buses, trains, bus stops or train stations. It is recommended that you don’t carry all of your valuables on your person, but rather to leave them in the safe at your hotel or in a locked suitcase. One should take the same precautions here as they would in any large North American city. Women should be accompanied after dark and should be weary of wearing expensive jewelry and should be careful with their handbags. Official taxis or radio taxis are the only taxis that should be used.

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Food & Drink:
It is very important that you don’t drink the water unless it is boiled of bottled, this includes making ice, tea or coffee. Diary products should be consumed with caution. If you are eating uncooked vegetables, ensure that they are cleaned with purified water or peeled before consuming. Seafood in Mexico can be dangerous, especially the further from the water you travel, so again consume with caution. Of course, undercooked meat can also be hazardous to your health. Generally, you should travel with the mindset of “better safe than sorry”!

Telephone:
Making international calls from Mexico can be expensive and sometimes difficult as many of the public phones don’t allow access to international lines. If you need to make an international call, the best places to try would be hotels, the telecommunications office or LADATEL phones at airports, bus or train stations, and other common areas to travelers. It is possible for you to receive calls at your home stay, but it is probably not possible to make calls from there. Unfortunately, there have been numerous host families that have been left with extremely large phone bills from either inconsiderate program participants or the Mexican Phone Company double billing them for collect calls.

Shopping in Playa del Carmen:
Generally in Playa del Carmen, shops and stores are opened between 10am until 9 or 10pm. This beach town offers shops selling folk art, fine jewelry, crafts, gifts and souvenirs. The Amber Museum Shop has the most exquisite and intricate amber jewelry in the city. The owner/designer has amber shipped in directly from Chiapas. If you’re looking for Mexican clothing and textiles, try Telart or Manas Huellas. For something a bit less traditional in terms of shopping, stop by La Calaca, where you can browse the large collection of carvings and wooden masks of angels and devils. Just about everything in the shop is created from local artists.

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Learn Spanish, Make Friends & Explore Mexico this Summer at our Summer Camp in Playa del Carmen!