Top Playa del Carmen Unique Experiences

Chefs, home cooks, and foodies who appreciate a good meal will enjoy this hands-on cooking class led by a local. Meet up with your host and the rest of your small class at a local spot, then hit the shops and spice markets to gather ingredients for the meal. You’ll be cooking at your hosts’s home, and the best part is that you get to eat the dishes you prepare. 

Enjoy an unforgettable swim with whale sharks during this serene, all-inclusive adventure, with private hotel pickup in Playa del Carmen. Hop a boat to head out on the open waters, while you keep an eye out for turtles, dolphins, and manta rays. Whale shark sightings are guaranteed, so get ready to snorkel alongside the peaceful sea creatures. All levels are welcome, and drinks and breakfast are included.

Make new friends and perfect your dance moves by attending a social salsa dance session in Playa del Carmen. Experienced dancers and complete beginners alike are welcome, and if you’ve never danced salsa before, fear not: a professional dance host will be on hand to show you some basic steps.

Take a cooking class with a local chef and learn to make authentic Mexican dishes. The class begins with a discussion about the items on the lunch menu, then it’s off to a nearby market to shop for ingredients. Back in the classroom/kitchen, help prepare the meal as you learn about local cuisine and culinary techniques. Once the cooking is done, enjoy the home-cooked meal together.

Earth’s largest fish, whale sharks feed on plankton and are completely harmless to humans. They migrate past the Yucatan between mid-May and mid-September every year, and this tour gives you the chance to swim with them. Enjoy up to three encounters, depending on how many sharks are present—you can expect to see at least one on most trips—in a group no larger than 10. Your package includes lunch but excludes tax.

Each year between June and September, hundreds of whale sharks visit the warm waters off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. With this tour, you'll see and swim with these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat. In addition to whale sharks, you’ll also have a chance to see dolphins, sea turtles, or manta rays. Your tour includes lunch and hotel pickup and drop-off in Playa del Carmen.

Enjoy a yoga session and a traditional Mayan steam bath on this guided experience. After a convenient hotel pickup, strike a pose with a professional yoga instructor and sweat it out in a temazcal, a Mayan sweat lodge, with a local shaman. Enjoy complimentary fruit and water and take a relaxing swim in a natural pool called a cenote.

Purify and renew your being in the womb of mother earth. Come with us to enjoy the ancestral temazcalli ceremony, "Steam House", where you can detoxify body and soul in direct contact with nature surrounded by the jungle in a mayan community. We will start consuming cocoa beans to activate the organism, then we will enter the temazcal to receive the benefits of contact with steam and herbs, ending the day by immersing ourselves in sacred waters to lower the body temperature, close the pores and activate the immune system.  In addition to living this beautiful experience, this tour support 5 mayan families with your visit.

Connect with a local professional photographer in Playa del Carmen and capture the memorable moments of your stay with a private photoshoot. This package is perfect for honeymoons, family trips, engagements, anniversaries, romantic getaways, multi-generational trips, babymoons, and solo trips. Plus, get insider tips on the best things to do in Playa del Carmen, including where to eat and what to see.

Swim and snorkel with the largest fish on the planet during a private whale shark tour from Cozumel or Playa del Carmen. Ideal for nature lovers, this one-in-a-lifetime experience comes with a naturalist guide, who can shed light on the biology and behaviors of the whale sharks.

Float underwater alongside gentle whale sharks during this full-day, guided snorkelling experience that includes a Caribbean lunch. Dive in two people at a time with your guide in a known whale shark watching area. Watch as these massive, elegant creatures glide through the water around you while keeping an eye out for turtles and fish.

Swimming with whale sharks is one of the most unique activities available anywhere in the Riviera Maya—but you need a boat and local know-how to reach the gargantuan fish. This private full-day tour makes it as easy as possible by offering transportation from Tulum and a private boat ride out to Isla Mujeres, where the whale sharks feed on plankton. Spot the sharks, swim in pairs accompanied by your guide, and celebrate with a ceviche lunch nearby before returning to Tulum.