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.