City overview
The Riviera Maya runs about 130 kilometres of Caribbean coast from Puerto Morelos south through Playa del Carmen, Mayakoba, Puerto Aventuras and Akumal to Tulum, and packs white sand, jungle cenotes and Maya cities into a single stretch of Highway 307. Playa del Carmen is the heart of it, a walkable beach town built around Quinta Avenida, and it is also where Jewish visitors will find the region's kosher scene. Two Chabad houses operate in Playa del Carmen and a third serves Tulum, between them running a synagogue, a mikvah, Shabbat meals and more than a dozen supervised kosher kitchens, bakeries and shops. It is one of the densest concentrations of kosher food anywhere in Latin America outside Mexico City, and it sits within walking distance of the beach.
Parque Los Fundadores and Portal Maya
Riviera Maya · Free
Playa del Carmen's central square by the beach, dominated by the Portal Maya, a forty-five-foot bronze arch of two figures leaning together, with Maya voladores performing beside it.
Time needed
30 minutes
Hours
Open daily 24 hours
Tips
The voladores pole ceremony runs several times a day. The square sits between Quinta Avenida and the Cozumel ferry pier, so it is hard to miss.
Neighborhood
Centro, Playa del Carmen
Activity providers
Kosher map of Riviera Maya
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.