Another fantastic stay at Playa Sonrisa. Murph and Cindy are incapable of disappointing. They are clearly committed to offering the best naturist experience this side of the Atlantic, and do so at prices so low that they are never going to get rich. But they aren't in it to get rich; Murph jokes that they took a vow of poverty when they opened. Any money they take in goes right back into the resort.
Before you leave, make sure you get enough pesos from your bank. Sure, many places take U.S. Dollars, but they really prefer pesos. And the exchange rate you get at home is *much* better than you'll get at any restaurant in Mexico. Budget conscious? Bring pesos!
(At Playa Sonrisa, you pre-pay your room by PayPal or credit card in US Dollars when you book, but food and bar tabs are paid on check-out. Murph prefers pesos for your tab, as all of his expenses are in pesosm and it's getting more difficult to change US.)
We find about 1,000 pesos per day total to be about right for two people, and we live pretty large. (Our food and drink tab at Playa Sonrisa is usually an insanely low 1,500 pesos per week per person, but we go out to eat at different restaurants a lot.)
On renting a car. Renting a car and driving to Playa Sonrisa from Cancun is really the only option that makes sense. Mexico requires you to buy Liability insurance for third parties, is typically $14 per day (on top of the normal rental rate.) This is not the Loss Damage Waiver which your credit card company offers. I've never been able to buy it from anyone but the rental agency, and everyone always complains at the counter, but they always end up paying in the end. Except this time, I pre-paid with Budget through Hotwire, and then Liability insurance was included. That gave me a 12-day rental for $250 all-in (rental and insurance), and our friends paid $800 for an equivalent rental. They really didn't want to let me go without buying *some* type of insurance, but I held my ground and won out in the end. (They threatened to put a $10,000 USD hold on my credit card if I didn't take their "optional" insurance, but when they ran the card, it was for $__,___ - blank spaces, not numbers - and nothing ever came if it.)
It takes about five hours to get from Cancun to Xcalak along very good road (and there's never any traffic). If you want to stock up at Walmart on the way (an excellent idea, as there is nothing to buy in Xcalak), then just as you enter Playa del Carmen, take the "arco vial" (bypass) to the right. You'll see signs. Walmart is a few miles up on the right.
There's also an arco vial around Felipe Carillo Puerto which might save you 30 seconds.
From there, it's pretty easy to get to Mahahual; there is good signage. It's a *very*good idea to fill up at the Pemex gas station at Mahahual, which is just beyond the turn-off to Xcalak. (You want to have a full tank when you get to Xcalak.) Gas is always about 10 pesos per litre. While you're there, pick up a few bags of ice for 20 pesos a bag. (There's a store in Xcalak that purports to sell ice, but they never actually have any.) There are three ATMs in Mahahual (including one at the Pemex) but they often aren't working.
On eating: Murph and Cindy prepare very good dinners at ridiculously low prices, usually four or five times per week. They have a standard lunch menu. But the best eats in town are at the Leaky Palapa (leakypalaparestaurant.com). Go there lots! The lobster bites are to die for. This year they were open Thursday through Monday for dinner only, and a very good idea to email ahead for reservations. If Murph and Cindy aren't serving and LP isn't open, try Tierra Maya, halfway between PS and Xcalak (by the little red Coke sign) which is open for lunch or dinner. TM also has very consistent WiFi (no password required at present!)
The beach at PS is very clean, because the staff sweeps it daily. Further down the beach... Not so much. Lots of plastic garbage washes up (a sign of our times) and with no one to clean, it accumulates. But you'll only see it if you walk down the beach a half-mile (which requires being clothed). PS is always very clean.
If you need consistent WiFi access: Murph's WiFi is not great and you often need to ask him to reboot it. Tierra Maya or Toby's (in Xcalak) is much better. And don't be turned off by Playa Sonrisa's website, which is somewhat difficult to navigate and dated. It's not a reflection of the resort!
Playa Sonrisa is the only place we've found where you can legitimately be naturist on the beach with no gawkers. The resort is HUGE for the six rooms (of which half are usually empty). It's never a problem to find a chair; there are many more chairs than guests. If you're looking for a a laid-back naturist spot, this is as good as it gets.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
