Even Shopping is an Adventure

Playa del Carmen is perfect for the adventurous shopper. As you walk along checking out the various shops. Look around. You'll see neat little mexican statutes & interesting people. An individual walking their iguana or maybe a 3 foot mastiff. You just never know what you might see. A giant frog floating above a building maybe? Then comes the real adventure as you wander through the shops. You get to negotiate on all those Pareos, t-shirts, mayan jewelery, brightly covered sundresses, silver jewelery, cigars, brightly decorated pottery, silver mayan statutes, mexican rugs, baskets, handmade hammocks, crocheted tablecloth's and yes, various pipes crafted to look like mayan gods. You can even negotiate for the finer jewelery made of gold, tanzinite, ruby, emerald, etc. If you don't like the response or price given back...keep negotiating. If you still don't like the price and can't get them lower...just turn & walk out. 9 times out of 10 they'll come running after you accepting your offer or just walk to the next vendor, he'll have the same items & might accept your offer. BTW, in Playa del Carmen you can get a better deal on items than you can in Cancun by at least 25%. If you never negotiated before, have no fear, by the 4th or 5th shop, you should be an old pro. Watch the other purchaser's & you'll soon pick up all the tips & tricks & realize this is a common practice...so go ahead & have some fun with it. If you get called loco or a cheap jew, then you know you've gone too far & hit the price too low, but it sure is fun to see how low you can go before they get mad, lol. So go ahead & splurge. It's well worth your American Dollar, not only do you get a break on prices but our dollar down there is generally worth $1.25. Worried about carrying around a bunch of cash? Then fear no more, most of the stores & vendors accept Visa & Mastercard and American Express. But stick to these 2 as not everyone accepts American Express or Discover.

For you women, this is the perfect place to pick up some really quality jewelery....especially mayan, since it in fashion, but it be can picked it up here for 1/4 the cost you'll pay in the states & you'll be able to afford those pieces inlaid with Malici, Lapis & the like. Even the finer jewelery stores are a bargain & those items are guaranteed. They'll repair or replace if your piece breaks or needs repaired. They have websites w/locations & instructions. Some of these finer jewelery stores even offer trade-in's or should I say trade-up's. The Mexican Rugs, Pareo's, colorful sundresses and the silver mayan gods. Leather is also a good buy there. Go ahead & pick up those leather purses, backpacks & the kind. You could sell all of these items back in the states for twice what you paid for them. The handcrafted crocheted tablecloths are also a bargain, look elegant & are a conversational piece. So unique!

Prices vary depending on your purchases. Crocheted tablecloths - $10 to 15. Pareao's - $5 to $15. Hammocks - $25 to $40. Mayan Jewelery - $20 for a simple bracelet or earrings on up to $250 for the intricate & more precious stone inlaid necklaces. Gold or finer jewelery - $50 for a pair of simple gold earrings on up to $600 + for your gemstone rings, necklaces & earrings. T-Shirts - the more you buy, the bigger the break you get - $10 - $25.