The BEST Gyms in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Where to work on the beach bod...
A beautiful 86 degrees at the end of November! With amazing weather, Playa del Carmen also has a surprising number of fitness opportunities for such a small location. An initial search showed about 20 gyms in the vicinity! Unfortunately, I couldn't find any calisthenics parks on the beach or out in the amazing weather.
We planned our time in Playa del Carmen around healthy food and exercise. We booked an Air BNB in Syrena Studio Living which gave us a kitchen AND a gym. Usually you only get one or the other, but luckily we got a great price with both included. This layout was similar to the idea used in Madrid which you can read about here: https://www.fitnesstravellovers.com/post/madrid-s-cost-effective-hotel-apartment-gym
The gym was minimal but functional. Two treadmills, dumbbells up to 20 kgs, a cable apparatus with pull up handles at the top, a bench and a shoulder press seat.
We also scouted a few other gyms throughout the city. I wanted to train Muay Thai kickboxing but the gym was closed when I went by. The gym was named The Union and has amazing ratings.
We checked out two "normal" gyms:
Evolve, https://www.evolvefitness.com.mx/gym-locations/evolve-fitness-5th-ave/
The Gym, https://www.thegym.com.mx/
Both gyms were extremely busy when we scouted during the early afternoon, but both were also very large gyms which can accomodate lots of people. We took a quick tour of Evolve and it had a large amount of serious fitness going on. They were ripped! Our type of people! It was semi-expensive, around $12.50USD at time of writing for the daily drop in fee, BUT they listed this fee at the door and on the website which is so efficient for those of us visiting. I can't begin to express how frustrating it is to arrive in a new city and find a gym, only to be told they don't do drop-ins, or it's a monthly membership, or you can't workout because you don't have a towel (yes, being serious). So for a gym to list the prices everywhere it's very ideal.
The Gym also has their prices listed on their site at 300MXN, around $15USD at time of writing. It has a spinning room (Evolve does as well), tons of equipment, and even a functional outdoor exercise area. Both gyms also offer a multitude of classes.
My backup plan when traveling is if I can't find a decent gym near me, I will drop-in to a Crossfit gym. This is risky because they're usually ridiculously expensive and some make you take a class (sometimes acceptable but usually I don't want a full-body workout). I saw a plethora of Crossfit gyms in Playa del Carmen if that's your thing.
If I were visiting Playa del Carmen again here's what I would do- book an Air BNB or hotel with a good gym. If that's not possible, find one gym on google maps within a 7 minute walk of where you're staying and give it a shot. I specify only one because "gym shopping" takes too much time .Try one near you and if it isn't sufficient, go to The Gym or Evolve (whichever is closer to you).