If you haven’t noticed it yet, you will soon see that Playa Del Carmen is a city of fit people. The gyms in Playa Del Carmen are busy with gym bunnies. With a beach crowd that is ready for swimsuit season year-round and there is no such thing as “winter weight” people tend to be more fit. Even retired people get on the fitness bandwagon and use their free time to stay in good shape to take on living in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s while living in Playa. Working out is also popular among local youth because the peer pressure and presence of so many European fit people that come here and the number of jobs in the Riviera Maya that are dance, acrobatic or entertainment related.
Gyms have been gaining in popularity and prices are not as cheap as you might expect especially considering the pay scale here. Here is a gym guide to seven gyms that are located in Playa Del Carmen. Besides gyms there are dozens of fitness classes like yoga, dance, CrossFit, martial arts and even pole dancing classes. We will cover more of those in other articles.
Are there any weekly memberships at gyms?
Most gyms in Playa Del Carmen offer day passes. In the downtown of Playa Del Carmen at the big three gyms, you can expect day passes to be about 300-400 pesos or about $20 USD. That is a little pricy and you might actually be better off paying for a month. Check at the time of your trip to see if any of the gyms have specials or are offering week passes.
Some hotels in the downtown of Playa Del Carmen will have free gym passes to one of the big gyms in Playa. This might influence where you stay. Most of the time is it hotels very close to the gyms. There is not list of hotels since associations change year to year.
Here is thelist of gyms inPlaya Del Carmen
Evolve Gym(s)
We say Evolve Gyms because they have three in the central area of Playa Del Carmen. If you get a membership at the gym located on 24th St between 5th and 10th Avenue you can work out at all four of their gyms in Playa. One of their gyms is not in the center of town but convenient if you live further back from the beach. For more about Evolve, see their website here.
Evolve Gym (24th St)
This is the main gym in the downtown for Evolve and our favorite gym. It has air-conditioning and the most modern of the three gyms Evolve owns. This gym is 15,o00 sq. ft. of space with full locker rooms (sauna) juice bar, personal training and lots of classes. This is usually the best overall gym to join and the one we recommend to people coming to Playa Del Carmen. The type of people go there are the medium to upper income level locals, expats that live nearby and tourist looking for a good gym.
Location
Calle 24 (between 5th and 10th Avenues)
Phone number
984 803 0986
Hours
Monday-Friday 6:00 am – 11:00 pm. Saturday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm Sun8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Evolve Gym (Juarez Avenue)
This gym is located on the second floor of this building with views of Juarez Avenue and the Highway. It is air-conditioned but always feels just a little warmer than you would want. The large glass windows don’t help it. It does have a OXXO convenience store on the first floor of this building. There is also a juice bar in the gym. It has one bright and cheery classroom and good equipment although not extensive. This gym gets mainly locals that are fairly fitness minded. Located on the corner of Juarez Avenue and the Highway, Northwest corner.
Hours
Monday-Friday 6:00am-10:00pm Saturday 7:00am-8:00pm. Closed Sundays.
Phone number
984-859-3096
Evolve Gym Constituyentes Avenue
This is the fifth gym opened by Evolve. This one is at Constituyentes Avenue and 95th Avenue. It is on the second floor of a small plaza. This gym has all new equipment and two classrooms. This is a fan cooed gym so no air-conditioning. Also bring a towel to this gym because there is no towel service.
Hours
Monday-Friday 6:00am-11:00pm. Saturday 7:00am-8:00pm. closed Sundays.
Evolve Gym Plaza Xaman ha
Evolve has outdone itself this time! Now this is the new flagship gym from Evolve. This is one of the best gyms in all of Playa! The gym is all new and has top of the line everything! It is housed in an old office supply store, so you know it is big. The gym is across the highway from the Centro Maya Shopping Mall on the south end of town.
Hours
Monday to Friday 6:00am-11:00pm. Saturday 7:00am-9:00pm. Sunday 8:00am-7:00pm.
The Gym Playa Del Carmen
The Gym ispopular for day passguests, tourist, and the gym elite and fitness bunnies. It is the mostupscale and expensive gym in Playa Del Carmen. It has good equipment, a lot of services and central location. The Gym offers a snack bar, towel service, tons of classes, personal training and open 7 days a week so no excuse for slacking or not going. Check out the DJ nights at the gym, workout and have a live DJ spin for you. With this membership you get discounts and perks around Playa, ask for details when checking out the gym.
Hours or operation
Monday – Friday 6am-12pm Saturdays 7am-7pm Sundays 8am-5pm.
Location
1st. Avenuebetween Constituyentes Avenue and16th Street.
Phone number
984-873-2098
World Gym Playa Del Carmen
This is the latest big gym to enter the market in downtown Playa Del Carmen. It is a shiny new gym with great equipment and even better air conditioning. The gym is located in the Quinta Alegria Mall on 5th Avenue and Constituyentes Avenue. the gym has only access from the front side and is on the third floor.
Anytime Fitness Gym
This gym is for the people that want no excuse for going to the gym because they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. This gym is also good for people living on the other side of the highway.
Services
Bathrooms, showers, parking, free weights, machines, cardio equipment, classes and personal training.
Location
On the corner of Avenue Colosio and Avenue Chemuyil.
Phone number
984-109-4581
The Union
This is a boxing gym in Playa Del Carmen. It isone of thebest places to get training and practice. This gym is solely for boxing and the different types. Boxing enthusiast should check this place out. Check the link for class schedule and prices. The Union is on 10th Avenue between 42nd Street and 44th Street.
Gym tips for Playa Del Carmen
Here are some tips that apply more for Playa Del Carmen then other places in the world.
1. There are no drinking fountains. The reason being that Playa Del Carmen does not have drinking water coming out of the faucets. It is all bottled water. So, bring your own water to the gym. This means going to the store for lots of bottled water because it is not good to reuse cheap plastic bottles. You might want to invest in a large, insulated drinking container. This way you can reuse it and also it will not sweat so much leaving water rings around the gym.
2. Bring a sweat towel. Check with your gym of your choice if they have towels. Most do not and it is obligatory to bring one with you. Not all gyms have air-conditioning or air-conditioning that is cold enough to keep you from sweating. However, most of the upper end gyms do offer towels and some air conditioning.
3. Sweaty clothes will either have to be air dried before throwing them in the laundry or you might hand wash clothes to deep clean them. Laundry services don’t always deep clean really dirty clothes so you might notice them starting to smell after you start to use them again even though they were cleaned. You can rinse with water and soak clothes in water with a cap of bleach or vinegar to kill bacteria, then wash with soap and dry.
4. Not all gyms have lockers, so you might want a hip pouch to hold sunglasses or keys.
5. Take care of your skin! After sweating make sure you rinse off. It is hot in Playa Del Carmen, and you will find yourself sweating a lot. So, keeping your skin clean and dry will help prevent heat rash.
6. Not all gyms are open on Sundays. Thank goodness, at least one excuse not to goevery dayof theweek!
7. Don’t wear flip flops. It is a beach town, but these are not allowed. It is not that sneakers will protect your feet from falling weights, but they do give you better traction and footing and this prevents accidents.
8. Not all classes offered are in the basic membership. Cross fit is huge now and often is offered with gym memberships or for an additional charge.
Prices for Gyms in Playa Del Carmen
Prices for gyms can fall into day passes for those here for a short time, week passes and then monthly gym memberships. We will not give exact prices here because each gym has promotions and sometimes different prices for two or three people signing up together. The first two gyms though have the more expensive memberships though. We will say gyms on our list range from about 500-1200 pesos a month and day passes range from 100/400pesos.
So, what are the top three considerations for where to join a gym in Playa Del Carmen? Location, price, and air-conditioning. We will present the information and you can make the selection.
What is your favorite gym in Playa Del Carmen? Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear from you!
About The Author
Mr.Yucatan
See author's posts
