Calle Quinta Avenida
Calle Quinta Avenida
3.5
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Busy street lined with all kinds of shops, art and crafts galleries, cafes, restaurants and bars.
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3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles2,300 reviews
Excellent
695
Very good
803
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462
Poor
149
Terrible
191

susan a
Red Deer, Canada24 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
We spent 2 hours on 5th avenue.
It was very long, because there are so many junky souvenir shops and people harassing you to buy their stuff or their excursions.
And then the guys pretending to be your waiter from the hotel. One we actually did recognize, and we went to his 'grandpa's silver shop' to look around. I think because he did recognize us he didn't push us to buy. We looked and left. Very cheaply made stuff. If you want good quality silver jewellery go to the Tura Jewellery factory.
Anyhow - then these 'waiters from our hotel' kept finding us and we finally figured out - we don't know these guys. But they all seemed to have a grandpa with a silver shop.
We didn't enjoy this because a) we don't enjoy the cheap tourist stuff and b) we don't enjoy being harassed to buy or look or talk to people about their sales. It would be nice to be able to access and see 'authentic' Mexican artisans. Some came to our resort and had a little market there which is a much better option for Mexican tourist articles I think.
Also there was a man taking photos of all the tourists coming to the drop off area. We really thought that there must be some kind of list provided of the tourists and then pictures of us so they know something about us. And then this is relayed down the line to merchants. One merchant actually mentioned that his wife was coming from 'Red Deer' which is where we were from. I mean really.... We said 'oh really' and he dropped the subject. That was just too weird.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lance S
Vancouver, Canada11 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
We are just back from our first trip to the Mayan Riviera where we had an amazing stay at an all-inclusive beach resort. The location initially concerned me because it was around a 15 minute cab ride from 5th Avenue, so I was worried we might be stuck in the middle of nowhere away from the action. A visit to 5th Avenue cleared up that concern.

We went one evening for dinner and a stroll. It's a tourist trap, and not a pleasant one. We could not walk more than a few steps at a time without being asked if we wanted girls or to get high. When it wasn't that, it was being approached to come into a store or restaurant. It's not pleasant or polite. Rather, it is a very aggressive "in your face" approach and in some cases following you down the street haranguing you. At first we tried politely engaging with people, but that got us nowhere. Finally, the only thing that worked felt very rude by Canadian standards: purposefully ignoring people, returning no greetings, acknowledging no one, and looking straight ahead while keeping on walking.

If it only happened occasionally it would have been bearable, but it's relentless - every few steps it starts with someone new. We lasted about 15 minutes, and then it just became overwhelming and was so stressful and unpleasant we found a cab back to the resort. I've always thought of myself as a resilient traveler, but that was definitely right up there as one of the most unpleasant travel experiences of my life, perhaps even the worst.
Written February 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Katiedog1
Washington DC, DC15 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021
Parts of 5th Ave are beautiful, shaded, and nice to take a leisurely walk for some souvenir shopping or to grab a bite to eat , but unfortunately that's not the reality. The merchants are beyond terrible and no matter how nicely you say "no gracias" if you don't visit their shop you get rude comments spewed at you. For example oh mami you look beautiful . is that your real hair?? Come look at my shop and buy something for your toxic boyfriend!!! Really, like that's going to make me want to buy from you...NOT! Never going back and will advise anyone I know to steer clear of 5th Ave. Buy your souvenirs at the airport it's much more relaxing and prices are comparable.
Written May 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MissHarris
Nottingham, UK3 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Couples
Walking down 5th avenue seemed fun at first until the novelty wears off and you realise you are pretty much being harrased by and endless stream of shop vendors, waitresses and waitors. Every few steps someone is calling at you to go into their shop and because if this I never went in any shops for the entire 10 days we were there. I always like to buy little gifts but I also like to shop in peace and you cant relax down 5th avenue at all. Someone needs to tell the shop vendors and restuarants to back off a bit and let the tourists breath. I'm not interested in returning. Also I think my partner was offered weed about 30 times!
Written March 31, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MermaidWW
Charlotte, NC10 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Couples
Could be so much fun... I'm a shopper/looker. I'd love to stroll down 5th looking at earrings and purses. Have a drink at a sidewalk cafe, people watch, pet dogs. I wish the "vendors" would realize people would browse and spend so much more money if they weren't endlessly harassed. You feel like you have to keep your head down and keep moving so you won't get accosted. I don't see it ever changing though. I know they are making up for Covid losses but wow, almost unbearable. I had a list of things I wanted to check out but didn't buy anything.
Written May 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sid S
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Friends
My favorite city and my favorite street. I’ve been 4 times and will be going back again soon. Absolutely love it. You just have to walk past the street vendors trying to hustle you and ignore them and they don’t bother you. I’ve walked the streets and all through the city many many times and never had any issues going back to 2012. Absolutely love the place
Written July 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GigiFanPhotography
Toronto, Canada66 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
I spent a week over there with my boyfriend. We've been to the town quite a number of times during our stay, for shopping and transportation. When buying things, use PESOS instead of US. It's abt 10% difference. Exchange rates are better at Scotia Bank (next to McDonalds). They have a central bus station to Cancun departing very frequently for only $32 pesos. The town is very secure as you see lots of police on the street. People at the vendors are quite helpful. We bought a MCC calling card which can be used at Telmex tel booth only (they have several tel. co). We couldn't figure it out at the beginning, ppl at the local tours booth proactively helped us. Don't forget to compare prices before deciding and remember to bargain. If they don't drop the prices, then simply walk away 'cuz you will find similar stuff on the street. Plaza la Fiesta sets a higher price. We got a pack of Kahlua choco candies from there for $39 pesos. But we found somewhere else selling it for only $22 pesos. We wanted to get a 500ml bottle of Sausa Tequilla (recommended by our hotel rep) to bring back home. We got it from somewhere else for $112.50 pesos, with a 10% discount. But they sold it for $250 (price doubled up)!!! If you want to get souvenirs, do it in Playa del Carmen. Things are generally more expensive in Cancun.
Written September 3, 2004
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maps874
Vancouver, BC3 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
My wife and I were in Playa del Carmen for 1 week. We stayed at a great resort, Club El Mandarin. We walked around town on 2 seperate days during our vacation.

The first day, it was a little bit overwhelming dealing with the merchants. We found the male store merchants somewhat rude and obnoxious, and did not really enjoy the time walking on the street. The street goes for blocks and blocks, and there are just hundreds of stores selling anything that you can think of. Most of them our typical "tourist" souvenior shops, with the typical shirts, glasses, hats etc.
There were several silver and jewelry store, hand made bracelets, beads etc. As I said, we were not expending such a forceful response from the vendors.

The second time around, we felt like veterns and enjoyed it a lot more.
The beach in town is beautiful. The town itself west of 10th avenue is quite dirty and ugly compared to most towns in North America, but of course, this is Mexico. We actually walked several blocks through town, and started to enjoy it. People leave you alone, there are police and traffic cops at almost every corner. It was interesting to see how the people live.

5th Avenue is the most expensive, as you walk west, prices get cheaper.
If you are looking for any alcohol, food or grocery items, walk towards the highway and go to the grocery stores, I forgot what they were called, but, Tequila was cheaper and we bought bottles of Vanilla for $6 pesos!! Essentially bought 6 for the price of 1 on 5th Avenue.

The Cozumel Ferry terminal is at the end of 5th Avenue. Not much to see, but fun to watch the boat come in. Very busy at times. Stay away from anyone asking about timeshare, or free day trips to look at new hotel etc. We had a bunch of these guys come up to chatting and talking, just say no thanks and keep walking. Samething for the vendors who yell out to you to come in to the store, just say no thanks, and keep walking. I found it easier to go into the shops with female staff.

Even when you started to barter on the price, we found that they never went down. We wanted one of the soft Mexican blankets, most of the places were $15 USD. When we asked the price, people would tell us, you don't do it that way, you give them a price, then they tell you. We would offer $10, they would say $15 or more, and not come down? Maybe we just were not good with haggling?

We took USD, but found that pesos would be just as good all the time.
Pesos are also cheaper when using Canadian dollars, next time, we would take a little USD, but mostly pesos.

If you like shopping and buying anything from tourist shirts, to pottery to hammocks to art, this is the place in the whole Yucatan.

We loved our trip, and would go again. The taxi service was excellent as well. We felt secure throughout too. Everyone was a tourist. I can see this place growing every year.

Have fun.
Written April 9, 2004
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Basse911
Hanko, Finland471 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Here´s some pictures for all you PDC lovers out there, no worries, 5th Avenue is alive and kicking!
Any questions I can help with, e-mail me!
Written November 29, 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DayTrip16120
Montreal, Quebec7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Very nice place to walk through for a day or even more. Many shops, some high end. Many restaurants and bars. The street goes from high end then to lower end and then to a very modern and luxurious area. Don't miss it, one of the best attractions in Mexico!
Written April 29, 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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