Gay Guide to Playa del Carmen
By the end of 2022 same-sex couples could marry in every Mexican state, and Playa del Carmen, on the Riviera Maya between Cancún and Tulum, has grown into one of the coast's most gay-popular towns. Its compact, walkable centre runs along Quinta Avenida, the pedestrian Fifth Avenue a block from the beach.
Just off Quinta on Calle 6 Norte, Migajera has drag shows and go-go boys. Dominatrix, by the ADO bus station on Calle 12, is the late-night club for stripper shows and drag hostesses.
X Mahan Nah, further inland in the Ejidal neighbourhood, is the gay bathhouse, with a steam room, jacuzzi and garden. Across the water on Cozumel, a short ferry ride away, Pose Bar has drag shows and dancing.
The Arena Festival, an LGBTQ+ dance music festival, takes over the town for five days at the turn of January and February. Playa's own Pride, the Marcha de la Diversidad, marches in late June from the Polifórum to Plaza 28 de Julio.