When you find yourself too old for Cancun, but still want to soak up that Mexican sun, head straight for the Turtle.

For New Years, my friend Alison and I decided to run far away from the likes of this cold weather and bask on the white sandy beaches of Playa Del Carmen. Now if you remember from my last Column, Alison is the same lady I took that romantic trip with to Carmel, California, where we were upgraded to the ‘honeymoon suite’ and were constantly congratulated on our nuptials. I will tell you this, nothing changed on this trip except the location.

We picked Playa del Carmen because it seemed to be the most relaxed of all the cities in Rivera Maya. We chose our resort La Tortuga Hotel (The Turtle) specifically for the location. When we arrived, we decided to again upgrade to the honeymoon suite. It was, after all, our second honeymoon. The room featured a private indoor hot tub, a private balcony overlooking the bar and direct access to our own swim up pool. Every night, Alison and I enjoyed two hours worth of free drinks and every morning, I enjoyed an hour’s time of a painful headache.  The staff knew us by name (or as Packet and Evelyn, though we weren’t picky) and made sure we didn’t want for anything.  I will say my favorite part of our stay were the towel arrangements crafted by the hotel cleaning service. Each afternoon, they brought us towels shaped into different animals. We had dinosaurs, turtles, a snail, a polar bear and a very portly, short legged giraffe.

We had the best luck when it came to food. Off the beaten path, La Pesca was by far the best meal we had. I don’t know of another place where you can have the freshest ceviche while practically sitting under a waterfall watching turtle’s swim around your table. We also loved the Blue Lobster for its cozy, romantic outdoor dining. It seemed to fit the theme of our vacation.

I am not a big fan of snorkeling, but being in Playa del Carmen it is a must.  I’ll be honest, I appreciate squid, octopus, snakes, barracudas, stingrays and fish in general but I usually prefer to eat them with wasabi or watch them from afar in a tank. However, it was something Alison wanted to do so I had to oblige. The snorkeling in Playa Del Carmen leaves much to be desired so we took the forty five minute cab ride to Akumal, which means ‘place of the turtles’. Much to our disappointment, the only turtles we saw were on the back of T shirts for sale at the gift shop. While the snorkeling was just decent, it was well worth the trip because after we explored the town and parks, we then ate on the beach at a place called “The Hut” which served guacamole so intoxicating that I am quite sure it must have been illegal. After we drank four Modela’s each and ate our weight in pico and guac, we headed home for the best part of the trip.

If you go to Playa del Carmen and I can give you one piece of advice, it is this: walk along the beach and find the place that says “all day 70 min. massage, 18 USD”. I thought for sure I would be violated in some way during these 70 minutes but don’t let the scene fool you, it was clean, relaxing and one of the best massages I have ever had. 

So if you want to get away for a few days but don’t want to take 3 flights, one boat, a rickshaw and unicycle to get there, Playa del Carmen is the perfect spot. It has delicious restaurants, a relaxed Mexican-Caribbean feeling, an energetic nightlife and clean white sandy beaches.

Paget Pizitz launches her matchmaking business, Connections LLC, next month. To become a client, contact her at paget.pizitz@gmail.com.