Playa del Carmen is named for Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who is the patron saint of Cancún. The first recorded visitors to the beaches of what is now Playa del Carmen came during the Brand-new Classic Period (a.d. 300-600) of the Mayan civilization. Then called Xaman-Ha, or "waters of the north," Playa del Carmen was a holiday stop of sorts for travelers commanding their instrument from the decided cities of the Mayan terrene to the island of Cozumel.
The coast and lowlands of the peninsula were still heavily populated with the descendents of the fallen civilization when the Spaniards arrived. Tulum, less than an hour south of Playa, was the last Mayan outpost and there are plenty of meager ruins in Playa del Carmen. The Spanish focused their contemplation around the sphere of Mérida, where conditions were better for growing henequén (sisal), a fibre used to make rope. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Caribbean Playa Del Carmen Villas coast was thought-out a savage field with not much to offer for potential settlers.
