To the Editor,
My husband and I have been coming to Playa del Carmen for 20 years and have owned a condo on the north end of town for 9 years.
Over the years, we’ve seen several changes in city administration and correlated changes in policies related to vendors, noise, and other tourist zone issues. We’ve observed years with firm restrictions, years with lightly-enforced restrictions, and years with few if any restrictions.
These variations are most obvious on Avenida Quinta north of Constituyentes. There have been years when sellers with blankets displaying souvenirs and other wares left little room for people to pass by. There have been years when no blankets or kiosks were allowed—perhaps an effort to project a better image of the city.
As a replacement for the Quinta street vendors, a modest market area of kiosks was established west of Quinta a couple years ago. Here sellers can nicely display and sell their goods. In our opinion, this was a great idea— a start toward a vibrant market as is seen in other touristed cities in South America and Asia.
However, instead of further developing this modest market, movement of vendors back onto Quinta began in 2024. A few vendors with blankets or carts and a few solo “singers” with a background sound track appeared every night.
It was sad to see that some of the home-grown singers with tip jars had their babies and small children with them for hours each night…children who would normally be home at night. This year, to our dismay, the situation on Quinta got worse with more singers and more blankets, carts and kiosks on Quinta.
At the same time, the noise on Quinta and on the formerly-relaxing Calle 38 has grown louder and louder as restaurants and bars compete for customers. The north part of Quinta has taken on the same crowded, loud street scene vibe that in earlier days existed only at the south end of Quinta. There appears to be no regulation— or at least no routine monitoring— of the decibel levels of these venues.
We would like to urge the City administration to re-examine the image of Playa that they want to project to visitors. Does their experience make visitors want to return? We have doubts.
Our experience with guests and family is that Playa is “too much”— by which they mean that it’s overcrowded, over-populated with souvenir shops, lacking in arts and culture, and with unregulated noise on what are otherwise beautiful streets. Where does it end?
A Permanent Resident
