This is a very important topic to many coming to Playa Del Carmen! Here is your guide to where to buy alcohol in Playa Del Carmen. We also have tips on buying beer and wine in town. It should be noted that not all stores sell beer and there are restrictive hours to sales of alcohol.
At the bottom of this article is an interactive map. We included some OXXO convenience stores on the map but there are many more available, we just have the most popular ones.
Where to buy wine, beer and alcohol in Playa Del Carmen
For the most part people buy wine, alcohol and beer in the large supermarkets. Mega and Walmart are the two most popular in the downtown area. Soriana and Chedraui are also decent for buying what you need, they are just more accessible with a car. Sams club also sells alcohol at the south end of town. If you had to choose between Mega or Walmart, Walmart tends to be cheaper for wine and some alcohol. Convenience stores like OXXO also sell beer and limited amounts of alcohol although prices for alcohol are often more.
You will be happy to know that wine has increased in popularity in Mexico. We get a lot of Spanish, Chilean, and Argentinean wines imported and a good representation of Mexican wines. Prices are reasonable. Try to avoid buying wine at corner stores (very local ones with no air conditioning), not only are the prices more, but wine is also often stored incorrectly with the heat and sometimes are in sunlight. This effects the quality greatly and a decent bottle can become undrinkable.
Best liquor and wine stores in Playa Del Carmen
If you are looking for more selection or something more specific, there are several stores you should check out that are all in the downtown area.
- La Europea has a store in Quinta Alegria Shopping Plaza on 5th Avenue and Constituyentes Avenue and a new location in the Paseo del Carmen Mall at the begining of Quinta Avenida. This store carries a large selection of wine as well as other alcohols. If you want to try some Mexican wines, they have a good selection here. This store is the best in Playa Del Carmen for looking around and buying alcohol and wine. La Europea has some other smaller locations which you can find on their store finder on their website.
- Winery & Plus is a smaller store located on 10th Avenue and 28th St.
- Cava del Duero is on the southwest corner Constituyentes Avenue and the Carretera (Highway 307). Cava del Duero is not a huge store and just offers a few wines that other stores might now have.
- Off the Vine has two locations in Playa Del Carmen. One is a wine bar and wine sales at 40th Street and 5th Avenue and another location in Playacar at Avenida Balamcanche 30
Fun fact: Legal age for drinking is 18
Un-fun fact: No drinking allowed on the street, that means no walking on 5th Avenue with beer in hand.
Where to buy beer in Playa Del Carmen
If you are looking for beer, there are little “Cervifrio” stores all over Playa Del Carmen that specialize in just beer and snacks. They have ice usually as well. The store in the photo is located on 30th Avenue and 22th Street.
There is a wide selection of Mexican beers for you beer aficionados. Most everyone knows Corona, Tecate, Sol, and Dos Equis but there are many other Mexican beers to try. Indio, Pacifico, Victoria, Montejo, Leon, Bohemia, Modelo, and Superior are all beers that can be found in Playa. Beers can also be found in limited quantities in convenience stores and supermarkets.
If you want to try even more beers make sure you visit Club De Cerveza on 5th Avenue. This bar has the largest selection of beers to try and many Mexican craft beers. They also have a food menu to accompany the beers.
Want someone else to shop for alcohol for you?
Here is a great service here in Playa Del Carmen. If you don’t have time or do not want to go shopping, they will do it for you. You can place your order and they deliver it to your door! How easy is that! Just click the link below to see how easy it is. Many of our readers really like this shopping service which also shops for alcohol.
Mezcal in Playa Del Carmen
Don’t forget mezcal. Mezcal is the new trendy alcohol made from the maguey plant, a form of agave. Even though this product has been around for hundreds of years, it is gaining in popularity. It is related to tequila in the sense tequila is a form or mezcal. Mezcal for a long time has been considered the cheaper and lower liquor (country cousin of tequila if you will) but now has emerged as a artisan spirit with cool labeling and many restaurants featuring them. In Mexico, mezcal is drunk in shots and also cocktails. The best Mezcal however is just sipped. Mezcal has a smoky flavor unlike tequila. A popular way to drink mezcal is in a shot accompanied with sliced oranges sprinkled with “sal de gusano“, literally worm salt, which is a mixture of ground fried larvae, ground chili peppers, and salt.
The best place to buy Mezcal is in La Europea in Quinta Alegria Mall on 5th Avenue. You can also find a nice artisanal store to buy some bottles in the La Memorable market on 1st Avenue and 26th Street. This is the market by the entrance to the Hyatt.
One great Mexican restaurant and bar to try mezcal in is La Perla Pixan Cuisine and Mezcal Store. This Mexican restaurant stays true to regional cuisine and prepares drinks with local liquors like mezcal.
Mayan liquor Xtabentun
Of course, if you are in the Mayan Riviera, you should try a local liquor called Xtabentún. Most tourist overlook this local liquor. It has an anise flavor to it and is made from honey and herbs. It originates right here in the Yucatan. The liquor is usually served cold or poured over ice. It has a yellowish hue and a fairly strong flavor. Some restaurants in the Yucatan add shots of Xtabentún to coffee. You will see this at tourist gift shops on 5th Avenue and prices are usually pretty good. A small bottle can be around 90 pesos and a large one 140 pesos. Besides 5th Avenue tourist shops, you can also find this in the grocery stores and La Europea.
Hours for alcohol sales in Playa Del Carmen
Remember hours for buying alcohol are different depending on the type of store or outlet. Stores on 5th Avenue will close up earlier then grocery stores. Convenience stores have longer hours than grocery stores. Cerifrios (beer distributors) are open most of the day and late at night. Sundays have shorter hours for liquor sales. And if you happened to want to buy liquor around an election, you are out of luck, sales are closed. So, in general buy between 10am-and 5pm and you will be safe. Stores will be open later but just make sure you get it when you want to, so you are not out at a bar when you want to be on your deck drinking.
The La Europea Store in Quinta Alegria is open Mon.-Sat. 11am-10pm Sun. 10am.-9pm. This store has the longest hours of any place that sells alcohol.
Important note: Dehydration can change your tolerance for alcohol. The climate here is very different to some places you might be familiar with. The heat, sun, walking around, and change in diet and pattern of daily activity can have a big effect on you. Make sure you hydrate well. Also take care walking at night if you have had a little too much to drink. You can read more about this in our safety article.
Other reading for you
If you enjoy alcohol, you might be interested in reading our article about tequila tastings in Playa Del Carmen. These tastings can be public events or a private event at your condo.
Where do you like to buy alcohol in Playa Del Carmen? Do you have some tips or stories you would like to share with us? Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear from you.
About The Author
This is a great of all the places to buy alcohol. We went to La Europea and got awesome tequila and the best wine from Mexico. We liked the selection and the people there were pretty helpful even with our bad Spanish and their pretty ok English. Somehow it all worked out and we bought a weeks supply of booze.
La Europea is our favorite place to buy wine and most spirits. It is nice to find some a nice selection of Mexican wines to choose from and the prices are very reasonable. We are glad you found this place and makes your vacation a little more cheery!
We were looking where to buy wine and found your guide online. Super! Saved us from walking around and trying to figure it out. We love La Europea and bought a lot of great wine there! We bought wine for $8 a bottle that was super! Many of the Mexican wines that we had that were $5 a bottle were excellent quality. Who know Mexico has such great wine? Well we do know now and will look forward to it on our next trip down.
Hello Allan
We are glad you found our site and got some great wine. Mexico does have the oldest winery in North American and is located just under California, so there is some good grape growing land here. We hope the rest of your vacation was good as well. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I would like to buy a Mascoto wine in Playa del Carmen. Or something like it.
Hello and thanks for your question. Moscato wine can be bought at La Europea. They have about 13 different types of bottled moscato wine. They range in price from 75 pesos to 249 pesos with the average price being about 140 pesos. We hope you find some wine you like and have a great time here.
The sunday hours for La Europea are wrong. When other places must stop sales on Sunday at 5pm, they are allowed to continue until they close. 10pm I think?
Thank you for the note on hours at La Europea. We checked the hours online and they now go until 9:00pm on Sunday. We updated the article about. So great news about buying wine and alcohol on Sundays!
La Europea is fantastic! Aside from being a complete liquor store they also have an amazing deli (I bought delicious chorizo for 70 pesos!). Also, you can find rare finds like chapulines (grasshoppers) and gusanos (worms) both whole and part of flavored salts for mezcal. Love this place!
Hello. I love La Europea. So many good products and nicely presented. The Mezcal is a little expensive but great selection of wine and some local made products. Best liquor store in Playa Del Carmen!
La Europea is a great liquor store. I stopped here as my wife shopped in the plaza. Got some great bottles of tequila for the trip and trip home. The people were helpful and spoke English there.
Awesome. I’m gonna go find some Mezcal. Thanks for the info.
Mezcal is really popular in Mexico now and spreading the world. The best place we have found is at La Europea in Quinta Alegria Mall. If you want to go to an authentic MExican restaurant you can visit La Perla on 34th St between 5th and 10th Avenue. They have mezcal cocktails there that are good.
We love Europea for wine and alcohol. They always have new things in stock and it is the biggest selection in Playa Del Carmen.
We always go to La Europea because they sell longer hours then most places and have the best selection of wine and alcohol.
Good tips. We are planning to doing our drinking at home so we save on money going out.
La Europea is our place to go! We know they will have most things and also a selection. They also have one near Los Olivos neighborhood.
Hi- I found your article on Caguameria and the beer and mezcal there. Good stuff and quality mezcal.
is there a wholesale distributor open to the public for buying beer? obviously a bigger quantity order then a 6 pack.
Hello Anthony
You could try Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Address: 50 Avenida Norte, Luis Donaldo Colosio, Playa del Carmen
Phone:01 800 237 8292
Hours:
Wednesday
8AM–6PM
Thursday
8AM–6PM
Friday
8AM–6PM
Saturday
8AM–2PM
Sunday
Closed
Monday
8AM–6PM
Tuesday
8AM–6PM
We don’t know if they sell to the public, but this is one place you can check out. If they do can you drop us a note here so we can pass on the info to other readers please.
Hello, great article! What do you think is the best option for selection and alternatively for prices for buying top-shelf extra anejo tequilas around Playa del Carmen?
This would be L’Europea. Not only do they have a decent selection, you can be sure the prices are normal and not tourist prices. The Yucatán Peninsula is not the best place to buy tequila because there is less of a selection but this shop will give you some options.
Very good guys, thanks for writing this. I do have one question. I want to do some cooking with wine. Do you recommend a store or palce that sells cheap white wine?
Hello Mich
You can buy cheap white wine in most of the stores we mentioned. La Europea has some bottles for 50-90 pesos that should be decent enough to cook with yet still cheap to use.
When did it change that you cannot walk on 5th with alcohol/beer? We have been going to Playa for years. Our last year there was 2013 and we were walking on 5th with open beers. Went to Cozumel in 2015. thanks for any info you can provide.
The signs have been up for a while (at least one year) Enforcement is different at times. Many times the police do not bother tourist that do not know the law, other times they confront tourist to let them know the law.
Where can we find Almond Tequila in Playa Del Carmen?
Hello Mel
We have not seen it but our best guess would be the store Hacienda Tequila on 5th near 14th Street. They have a large selection of tequilas.
How do the selection and pricing for tequilas compare between Hacienda and L’ Europea?
It is hard to compare in one way because many small brands are sold at Hacienda Tequila. One the other hand L’Europea offers retail sales that normal customers and restaurants buy at. We would much prefer buying there even if they have a smaller selection.
Does L’Europa carry Kalani coconut rum?
Hello Tom
We cannot say for sure if they do. We don’t recall that brand but they do have brands of coconut rum there and a decent selection of rum. Even some nice rums from Cuba which are decently priced.
Thank You
will check it out thanks again
Hi, i was hoping you can help with advice on where to purchase a large volume of wine and sparkling Wine. Likely looking at:
12x Rose
48x Red
36x White
36x Sparkling
You can talk to La Europea and if you can order ahead you can select what you want. If you need it to go right away the supermarket in Centro Maya has a large on demand stock of wine.
From Azul the Fives resort in Playa De Carmen, where can you buy Budweiser
You will have to go out to the Highway to a small store but to be safe, Walmart in Playa because not ever conveince store has Budweiser. It is a taxi ride away and they don’t come cheap. You might try this delivery service. https://everythingplayadelcarmen.com/delivery-service-playa-del-carmen/
Hello, I’m looking for a Tequila, Azul I believe it called and it comes in a beautiful decorative bottle. Can you tell me the best store to pick up a bottle. Thank you!
Hello Debbi
You should be able to get that at La Europea. The prices are the real prices for people and not tourist prices.
Where can I find Martini Asti D.O.C.G.
Hello Amanda
La Europea has this. They sell it for 350 pesos.
I am looking for where to purchase non- alcoholic wine. preferably a Merlot. It would be great to have it delivered to the resort (Dreams Riviera Cancun). Do super markets carry nonalcoholic wine?
Thanks
There is not a lot of non alcoholic drinks here. One good idea is check out this local shopping service and see if they can shop for it. If you don’t see it online, you can ask https://everythingplayadelcarmen.com/grocery-service/
Hello. If I use a grocery delivery service. What are very good dry red and white Mexican full body wines to ask for… with low sugar counts. Under $15 Usd each.
Or does the area have New Zealand Kim Crawford Sauvignon blanc and pinot noir wines?
Hello Camille
We don’t have many wines from New Zealand. It is mostly, Spanish, Mexican, Chile, Argentina, US and other nations of Europe. Casa Madero is a Mexican winery that have very decent wines and you can find them at or just above your price point. You can search the L Europea website to see what they have available. https://www.laeuropea.com.mx/ This is the best place and has the most selection. We like this delivery service because they have a great reputation and select good things for clients. https://everythingplayadelcarmen.com/grocery-service/
Is bourbon available in Mexico?
We have seen it but it is not that popular. La Europea is the best place to look for it and you can look on their website what they have. Amazon Mexico also delivers alcohol.