Explorer's Guide Playa Del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya: A Great Destination (Second Edition) (Explorer's Great Destinations) [Paperback]

Joshua Eden Hinsdale (Author)

Book Description

Series: Explorer's Great Destinations | Publication Date: November 17, 2008

Completely updated, this insider's guide veers off the tourist trail for intrepid travelers to experience the local color, intrigue and charm of the Riviera Maya.

For travelers in the know, Playa del Carmen is the little gem with all the beauty of white sand beaches that has drawn crowds from around the world to Cancun, with none of the high-rise overdevelopment. Playa remains a wonderful, sleepy town on a human scale, yet its discovery has resulted in a wide range of lodging and dining options. For families and adventurous travelers alike, there's something for everyone in this Mexican Riviera, known as the “Riviera Maya.” You can explore the fascinating Mayan ruins on the beach at Tulum, shop and have a fabulous lunch on the pedestrian area in Playa, stay in a full-service resort along Playacar, and go for some of the best fishing in the world near the famous Sian Ka'an biosphere in Punta Allen. The Riviera Maya is one of the true travel hot spots in the world today. This is the definitive guidebook on Playa del Carmen. As in all the Explorer's Great Destinations series guides, you'll find important contact information, including websites, transportation details, a calendar of events, an abundance of photos and maps, and essential local information. Black-and-white illustrations and maps

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joshua Eden Hinsdale has been traveling in Mexico and Central America for more than 20 years. He has worked in tourism development and consulting and reported for the daily Cancun News. Hinsdale divides his time between Mexico and Austin, TX.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Countryman Press; Second Edition edition (November 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581570945
• ISBN-13: 978-1581570946
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #756,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Mexico > Cancun & Cozumel
  • #37 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Mexico > Yucatan Peninsula

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2nd Edition could have used a lot of work, February 3, 2009

By 

Stanley Townsend (Portland OR, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Explorer's Guide Playa Del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya: A Great Destination (Second Edition) (Explorer's Great Destinations) (Paperback)

Just returned from a trip to Riviera Maya. I researched pretty thoroughly before purchasing Hinsdale's guide book and did so largely due to the recent release of this 2nd Edition. My impression is that more work needed to have been done and that it is essentially still a 2005 edition. I found (make that failed to find) several Playa restaurants closed, non existent, or mislocated. Tried to find a few beaches based on the guide, going to the specified Km post and finding an entrance to a mega-resort instead of the described dirt road. Tragically, such change is occurring rapidly to this stretch of coast, but I have to believe that a lot was not checked in putting together this 2nd Ed.

That said, Hinsdale's might be the best guide out there. In most guide books, the Riviera Maya is a chapter at best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Factually Incorrect, January 1, 2010

By 

J. Morosani (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Explorer's Guide Playa Del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya: A Great Destination (Second Edition) (Explorer's Great Destinations) (Paperback)

At first blush, this guide book seems to be all you could want for someone travelling to Playa del Carmen-lots of general info and history about the local area, things to do, hotels, restaurants, but two restaurants we went to (on this and no other guide book's recommendation) were just plain wrong. One-La Adela- was 'highly recommended' as a Mexican/Mayan restaurant. It was a complete waste of time-typical tourist menu, lots of upsell to the pricey marguaritas-I've had better Mex food in suburban Connecticut. The nicest thing you could say about the review was that the phone number was wrong, but unfortunately, they could take us without a reservation.

The other was La Fe restaurant, which again was one of the highlighted choices for italian food. The person who finally answered the phone seemed surprised that I wanted to reserve a table. When we got there, we understood why. This wasn't a retuarant, it was a bar. We couldn't even get them to give us a menu. Maybe the author was thinking about the italian restaurant next door Il Baretto, which was also reviewed (but not as highly).

Anyway-if you're looking for general info on the area, this is an OK guide book; if you're looking for specifics, try the Moon or Fodor guide books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 2009 edition? Looked like a 1969 edition, February 5, 2009

By 

Harold Chantker "Travel man" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Explorer's Guide Playa Del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya: A Great Destination (Second Edition) (Explorer's Great Destinations) (Paperback)

I was very disappointed in this book. It was a boring read with all black and white photos that appeared to be taken years ago. Information really didn't seem to be up-dated or maybe it was the boring photos. The only reason I kept it was to have something else to check out or, share with my lady friend.