When in a foreign country and in need of a few trinkets, jewelry and other touristy stuff that we'd…read moreprobably not really need, most of us hit the streets and search out those "souvenir shops"... well, we not us ! We may visit those oversized souvenir shops and look at all their goodies and "maybe, just maybe" we'd pick up something rather useless like a shot glass or a bandana with "F Trump" printed on it... but normally it's all just junk. Normally we want something to remember our trip and not crap... jewelry usually does the trick for my Marisol. Here in Playa Del Carmen, there is 5TH AVE... plenty of those shit stores but there are plenty of street vendors with silver and leather goods and deals can be made but it's work; lucky for me, I had Marisol and Michelle to handle the purchases on the last visit (Marisol for translation and Michelle to hammer the vendors). BUT sometimes you come across a vendor that is just easy to deal with... bringing my sales team (Marisol and Michelle) isn't even necessary. We first came across the adorable street booth (more like a side of the road kiosk along 5TH AVE)... constructed from reused wood and painted a light turquoise color, the distressed booth has a sign painted with the store name "HIPPIE MAR" is colorful, hippy-like font. And the shop is loaded up with wall art, headdresses, purses, other knick-knacks and a little bit of jewelry (but the jewelry wasn't out; we asked and she just happened to have some). We were on our way to dinner but really glad we decided to stop and take a quick peek because in addition to the tiny-booth/shop looking so cute, the girl that owned and ran the booth was extremely welcoming and didn't give us crazy up front prices that you were forced to negotiate from... she gave a price for some toe-rings, we countered but with reasonable numbers and we agreed at a fair price... Both parties parted pleased !

Do not give this shop your business! Beware. They do not honour the posted price of their products…read moreand then push an additional product on you at the cash suggesting that it is free and part of the promotion. I was double charged and forced to buy three bottles of vanilla when it really I only wanted one. The Post price was two for one and then they pushed the third one on me for free. But they actually did was charged me by to get the third one free. I even insisted I only wanted one bottle and could I please just buy one bottle and they told me no. So I was charged $54 Canadian for vanilla that I did not want.

Went shopping and trying to keep track of the kids, not to mention the counters above your height…read more Get back to the hotel and start trying to pack souvenirs and half the stuff we purchased was missing. No phone numbers to call.

Playa has changed a great deal in the 17 years I've been coming here. There used to be many stores…read morewhere you could find interesting, one of a kind items, relating to life and culture in the Yucatán. Over the years, the stores have closed, and replaced by multiple outlets of sunglass shops, t shirt stores, and others selling the same stuff. Now, only Sin Pecado remains. They have unique items, and great prices. Please support them!!

What a treat to finally visit this terrific little shop, slightly off the beaten path in downtown…read morePlaya del Carmen. Alicia, the owner has amassed an incredible array of Talvera, in classic and modern designs. As a lover of folk art and pottery, I was in pure heaven!

This is a little local shop in Playa Del Carmen that has a great selection of Mexican crafts,…read moreceramics, textiles, etc. It's a small store, but has a lot to see. All the prices are listed on the items. It's away from the crowds, so it's a more relaxing shopping experience. Definitely stop in for authentic Mexican pieces.

Every time we take a trip there is always that "one friend" that says "bring me back something" at…read morethe last minute.... every time. I'm not complaining about him/her but do find it amusing so I typically look a tchotchke shop and find some tacky gifts... On my last trip to Playa Del Carmen, I stumbled across Wayan thinking it was the perfect tacky crap store... it was the Fish Pedicure that caught my eye; I had no interest in having fish eat my feet but figured any store with these spa chairs with your feet dangling in an aquarium in perfect view of every person walking along 5th Ave had to have wacky stuff... Turns out I was wrong... yeah, the fish pedicure is wacky but the rest of the shop had a decent selection of Mexican style (and kinda touristy) stuff such as handbags, clothing and jewelry (plus lots of other junk but not tacky enough for me to buy gifts for that "one friend"... But I did manage to buy some bracelets and Marisol bought a beach bag (which came in quite useful a few times since. My only dilemma is I despise walking along some parts of 5th Avenue because of the extremely pushy sales people selling jewelry, cigars and drugs... they tend to be very aggressive and it makes a peaceful walk stressful; sadly enough, Wayan Natural Wear is located in one of the worst spots.

Cute little shop with the exact same prices as everyone else. It was fun. I got a couple of wraps…read morethat were unique (I think because you never know).

Calle Quinta Avenida is the main corridor for tourist in Playa Del Carmen... a roadway with all…read morevehicular traffic now banned leaving it solely for pedestrian traffic and home to many touristy shops... tacos, tee-shirts, tequila and con-men seem are all present and with that come Souvenir Shops... Souvenir shops in this area are dime-a-dozen... they all seem to be fairly alike. Large retail space with brightly colored displays, high ceilings, yellow walls and skeleton mascots wearing sombreros selling all the typical... shot glasses, keychains, bandanas, salt/pepper shakers, maracas, small bottles of mezcal with a worm, woven bags, drink coasters and lets not forget the ever-popular wrestling masks But here at the Souvenir Store, it breaks the typical mold... not that it's any better but it is more unique. The store is small and appears to want to be more modern or clean (quite possibly designed by someone with OCD. The store basically sells all sorts of magnets and small knick-knacks that are in glass bins and shelves on the lower half of the walls and the top portions of the walls and ceiling are metal to display all the magnets. The store is certainly more organized but the organized displays isn't very inviting which seems to go against the grain if you want to attract tourist.

Probably the best mocha frappe I have had. Maybe it was the great air conditioned escape from the…read moreafternoon heat combined with the tasty and not so sweet mocha frappe. Definitely try on your after walk through 5th avenue.

Creative, interesting and tasty - this sweet spot has something for everyone. The tasting chocolate…read morewas very tasty! The Mayan chocolate was so unique- the flavor was one of a kind. We had some cake but the chocolate was the winner.

Yay! I'm the first to review this wonderful company! So,…read morePartylogue is the new company of "In Playa Wedding Souvenirs" that is also on Yelp. I initially contacted "In Playa Wedding Souvenirs" when I read a blog and someone mentioned them for wedding supplies in the cancun, Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel area. My wedding was only 10 days away and I needed more supplies/favors but wanted to buy them local and didn't know where to go! I'm from Florida and read a ton of unhelpful and outdated blogs but I'm so glad I found Partylogue! SPARKLERS: I really wanted fireworks at my wedding (who doesn't lol) but with all the chaos of work and life, I never got a chance to set that up. I asked my wedding coordinator about sparklers and she said she would find some for me. In the end, she was going to charge me 20 sparklers for $30 USD! Doesn't sound like a huge break in the bank but I read reviews to buy them local since you cannot bring them in your checked bags and they are much cheaper here. Crossing my fingers, I contacted Partylogue about their sparklers and 20 sparklers that were 90cm long (VERY long) were half the price! I ended up ordering 2 sets of 20 for the same price my wedding coordinator was going to charge me for half. AWESOME! SUNGLASSES: In addition to the sparklers, Eugenia also sent me a catalogue of all their other items. I couldn't believe how nice the items were and all of them were so much more affordable. I was so sad I found them so late in my wedding planning because I could have used them for 100% of my wedding decor, favors and even snacks/cookies. I did order custom sunglasses with our initials and date on one side of the sunglasses. They came out better than I imagined! Please see photo. For about 24 sunglasses, it came out to about $15 USD or less with customization! The quality of the sunglasses were very nice and they were not flimsy. They also protect against UV rays. PAYING: so I will admit, I was skeptical to pay a random company in Mexico and then completely trust that they would deliver on time lol. At that point, my wedding was only a week away. I spoke on the phone with Eugenia (owner) and she was very professional and asked me a lot of questions about the colors and customizations I would like. She also spoke English very well and I did not have any problems with communications via email or Yelp messages. She answered messages or emails within an hour or two. After you receive your invoice, you will receive a payment request from them by PayPal. Don't worry, this is normal. I paid both my wedding coordinator and photographer via PayPal. Please keep in mind that Mexico has a 16% tax and the invoice and payment is in pesos (which I actually preferred). Your bank linked to PayPal will convert for you at the current rate. DELIVERY: I downloaded "WhatsApp" prior to coming to Mexico, as it works very well with wifi for texting and many vendors use it here to communicate. Don't forget to add the 'plus sign' and country code (+52) then a (1) before their 3 digit area code and 7 digit phone number. The vendor we booked for our Chichen Itza tour also used this app which made it easy. I was able to text Eugenia with free wifi at the ADO bus station in playa Del Carmen when I arrived. I was staying in Cozumel so I wanted to pick them up prior to getting on the ferry. Within 20-30 minutes, they had met me at the bus station with all my items! Whew! It worked! The man who met me (Alberto) went though each box and item, to verify what I ordered and review them before I left. He instructed me to make sure my sparklers were in an AC room and avoid getting wet. Alberto was such a nice gentleman and greeted us with hugs. His positive energy and demeanor made you feel like you were seeing an old friend. After we got our stuff and left, my fiancé said, "Man, Alberto's such a cool and nice guy. I want to invite him to hang out with us!" It turns out, Alberto was the owner's father. What an awesome dad! So all in all, I am SO happy with my purchases and only wished I had found them sooner. I was unaware that in Mexico, Yelp is not as popular as Four Square (which I used way back in the days) which probably accounts for the lack of reviews on Yelp. Any questions about my purchases or wedding experience in Mexico, feel free to message me and I'd love to help. My wedding was on a private island off Cozumel called Isla Pasion with roughly 20 guests.

I used Partylogue for my destination wedding in Playa del Carmen. I did all the planning via email…read more Eugenia is amazing -- she was super helpful in answering my questions and was really fast in responding to me :) There is a huge selection of wedding favors and decorations. I highly recommend!