My sister is coming today. For two weeks we'll be graced with her presence. She's mid air as we speak, and will arrive in Cancun airport at 9.40 pm this evening.
Then she'll hop on the taxi that I've booked her, and a short 40 minutes later she will arrive here in Playa del Carmen. Let's have a look at what I've planned for her visit!

Isla Mujeres

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Just off the coast of Cancun, Quintana Roo, you can find the beautiful island of Isla Mujeres. The word says it: The women's island. So I thought, it's the place to go!
From what I've heard, there are many beautiful white sandy beaches on the island. You can get around by walking, taxi, or better: you can rent a golf cart. Which we will do. Because I want to hahaha.

I managed to book us into a lovely Airbnb for two nights, right at the beach. Literally walking down the stairs and rolling yourself onto the beach kinda close.
Just the way we like it!

I'm not quite sure if we'll go snorkeling there as well, since we're also going to do that elsewhere, but I keep that open. There are some pretty cool snorkeling spots and reefs around the island, so maybe we will.
Isla Mujeres is also known for Musa, the underwater museum. It's pretty cool! Check it out here.

Chichen-Itza

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My sister wanted to go to at least one of the Mayan temples, and this one is really one you need to see if you're in the area. Located at a three hour distance from Playa del Carmen, in Yucatan, the sacred site of Chichen-Itza was one of the most important and one of the greatest Mayan centers of the Yucatán peninsula. It's also one of the (original) 7 World wonders, so I figured, this is the one we should visit. It's not every day that she comes to Mexico after all.

Tulum & Cancun

Tulum leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, because I've heard so many weird stories about the place. I can only imagine what it's like, but it definitely stops me from moving there. However, a visit to the place is definitely in order. The beaches seem to be amazing, and there are also some Mayan ruins close to the town, so it's a must on our list.

My daughter and I spent one night in Cancun so we didn't really see much of the city, but that's OK. We're going there for sure. It's a big party city, but when you're downtown it's actually really quiet. Almost dead. Nothing like the hustle and bustle here in Playa del Carmen, where people seem to be out and about almost 24 hours a day. We'll see, and I'll be happy to report back to you, to let you know how much of a terrible time we're having hahaha.

Snorkeling in Cozumel

This we did already. Loved it, and going back.
Off the coast of Playa del Carmen, there's Cozumel, which can be reached by ferry (or plane). The ferry ride is around 30 minutes and takes you right into the tourist area, with cute restaurants, and little souvenir shops.
I don't really advise anyone to go there just for the town, but if you're into water sports, it's definitely THE spot.

Snorkeling and scuba diving is absolutely amazing here.
Our tour brought us to 2 reefs that time, which was amazing. We even saw a puffer fish, and a sea turtle! If I would have figured out how my GoPro worked at the time, I would have been able to show you that, instead of an empty ocean floor with every now and then a little fish swimming by...
Lesson learned! Got myself 3 extra batteries, and watched more instructions. I'm ready to go!!!

The city of Merida, Yucatan

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At a 4 hour drive (or less for some) or a 6 hour bus ride, there's the city of Merida.
Throughout the years I've spoken to many homeschoolers, and worldschoolers, that were there and they absolutely loved it. The city seems to have everything, lots of things going on, but what held me off is that it's still too far from the beach. Maybe when hurricanes come blasting the place here...

We want to go, not for the city, but to get tattoos...hehe. Not my sister, just me and my daughter :)
I'll let you know how that went!!! But while we're there, we might as well enjoy the city a bit haha.

So, now that you've seen my 'to-visit-list' what do you think? With so much beauty in the area, can you understand how we got stuck here a bit, and why we love it so much?
This place is really quite central for everything fun under the moon. I know there will be a time when we will travel the country more, but till then, Playa del Carmen is really the place to be.