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Exclusive Area Guide
Selvamar
A forty thousand square metre ecological park, a swimmable cenote and twenty nine residential communities behind two controlled gates, ten minutes from Fifth Avenue. The community families buy when they want space and green rather than a beachfront address.
Jungle first, beach five minutes later
Selvamar is a gated master plan of roughly sixty hectares in the Zona Diamante, the strip of high end development north of downtown Playa del Carmen that also holds Corasol, Grand Coral and the Xcalacoco beaches. It sits about a kilometre and a half back from the sea, which is the single most important fact about it.
That inland position is not a compromise, it is the trade. Because you are not paying for sand, the same budget buys a larger lot, a bigger house and a garden, inside a community whose central asset is four hectares of preserved jungle with a natural cenote in it. Residents here routinely see spider monkeys, coatis and toucans from their terraces.
Structurally, Selvamar is not one condominium. It is a master community developed by Provisa Grupo Inmobiliario: twenty nine residential communities plus nine commercial and condo hotel ones, each with its own regime, its own fees and in most cases its own second gate. What they share is the perimeter, the roads, the ecological park, the cenote and the security. Two access gates serve the whole plan, one on the federal highway and one on the Prolongación Quinta Avenida.
A 40,000 m² eco park
Preserved jungle down the spine of the plan, with walking and cycling trails, a duck lake and an amphitheatre.
A cenote you can swim in
A natural cenote inside the community, conditioned for residents to use.
Layered security
Controlled access with staffed booths, a fenced perimeter and a second gate at most communities.
A school inside
A Montessori school within the gates, which is why so many of the owners here are full time families.
What the gate actually buys you
Selvamar’s amenities belong to the master community, which means they come with the address rather than with a separate membership. That is the opposite of how the golf communities on this coast work, and it is a large part of why the running costs here are lower.
Nature and water
The reason the plan looks the way it does.
- A 40,000 m² ecological park down the centre of the plan
- A natural cenote, conditioned for swimming
- Duck lake and open lawns
- Walking, running and cycling trails
- Open air amphitheatre
- Resident wildlife: monkeys, coatis, birds
Sport and family
The everyday programme, and the reason families stay.
- Grass tennis courts
- Basketball, volleyball and soccer
- Children’s playgrounds and Jardín del Arte
- Bike paths through the whole community
- Holistic centre: yoga, temazcal, cacao and meditation
- Montessori Cancún school inside the gates
Services inside the gates
The commercial strip, which is unusual for a residential community this size.
- Selvamart, the market inside the gates
- Mediterranean restaurant and bar with live music
- Deli and health food shop
- Administration office and sales palapa
- MVNGATA Beach Club at Xcalacoco, about ten minutes away
- Two access gates, 24 hour security
The cenote and the eco park belong to the master community. Beach club access does not work the same way: it is arranged per community and per year, so ask what your purchase includes and what it costs, in writing.
Inside the gates, community by community
This is the part that catches buyers out. A listing that says “Selvamar” tells you the perimeter, not the product. Behind that gate are twenty nine residential communities, fifteen of them currently named by the developer, Provisa Grupo Inmobiliario, plus the earlier phases now trading on resale. The fee, the rental rules and the second layer of security all belong to the one you actually buy in.
Lots to build on
The land side of Selvamar, most of it sold out in the earlier phases and now trading on resale. Services are already underground.
- Miramar, single family lots
- Essenza, single family lots
- El Trébol, single family lots
- El Jaguar, single family lots
- Horizonte, single family lots
- Lumina, single family and condominium lots in pre sale
Apartments
Where most of the transactions happen. Several are finished and delivering immediately rather than selling off a plan.
- Natura Apartments, luxury, immediate delivery
- Parque Real, luxury, immediate delivery
- Uva del Mar, luxury apartments and lots
- Selvakoba, apartments and lots
- La Ceiba, houses and apartments, immediate delivery
Houses and villas
The family product: finished homes with gardens and private pools, on lots larger than anything comparable in central Playa.
- Vía Serena, houses and single family lots
- Sool Village, houses
- Villas Sayab, houses
- Orquídeas, houses and single family lots
Always ask which community a listing is in, then ask for that community’s own fee and rules. Two apartments five hundred metres apart in Selvamar can pay very different maintenance and follow very different rental rules. Lumina is the current pre sale; Natura, Parque Real and La Ceiba are the ones delivering now.
Who actually lives here
Selvamar is a residential community first and a rental play second, and that shows in the streets: school runs, dogs, bicycles and a lot of full time residents. It is the answer for buyers who want the Riviera Maya without living in a tourist zone.
Families
The school inside the gates, the courts and the trails make this the default choice for buyers relocating with children.
Full time residents
Supermarket, deli, restaurant and clinics minutes away, with none of the noise of central Playa.
Long stay and snowbirds
Quiet, secure and easy to leave closed for months, with a community that keeps the gardens and the streets running.
MVNGATA Beach Club, ten minutes from the gate
Selvamar has no beach of its own, so this is where owners spend the day at the sea. MVNGATA sits on the sand at Xcalacoco: a rooftop infinity pool over the reef, beds and cabanas on the beach, a spa palapa and a restaurant. Access is arranged per community, which is why it belongs on your list of questions before an offer.
The nearest beaches are Xcalacoco and Punta Esmeralda, both public and both a few minutes away by car. MVNGATA Beach Club is about ten minutes from the gate, and Fifth Avenue around ten minutes south.
What you can actually buy here
Selvamar is one of the few gated communities in Playa del Carmen where a lot, a family house and an apartment are all realistically available at the same time. Prices below are starting points from current inventory and move with the exchange rate, the community and the phase of construction.
Serviced lots of roughly 300 to 400 square metres in gated sections such as Via Serena and Miramar, with water, power and internet already underground. You build to the community’s guidelines.
Two and three bedroom apartments in the condominium ring, from garden units with swim up terraces to penthouses. The bulk of the market sits between this figure and around USD 320,000.
Three bedroom villas with private pools and gardens, on lots larger than anything comparable in central Playa del Carmen. Larger custom homes run well above this.
Before you buy: the rules that change the numbers
Two fees, not one
You pay your own community’s fee for its pool, gardens and gate, plus a master community fee for the perimeter, the roads, the eco park and the cenote. Ask for both, in writing, for the last three years.
Rental rules are per community
Selvamar as a whole does not decide this. Some of the developments inside run vacation rental and others restrict stays to longer terms, so the regime and its rules have to be read before an offer.
Beach club access is separate
The cenote and eco park come with the address; the beach club does not automatically. Confirm what your community holds, what it costs and whether it renews.
Fideicomiso applies
Selvamar is inside the fifty kilometre restricted coastal zone even though it is not on the sand, so foreign buyers title through a bank trust with an annual fee to budget for.
Sending your money from the US or Canada
Funds move by international wire from your bank to the notary or to the developer trust account, never in cash. Plan two to four business days, a currency conversion that is usually better through a specialist exchange house than through a retail bank, and the source of funds paperwork that both your bank and the notary will ask for. See financing and payment options.
North of town, off Highway 307
The gate is on the inland side of the Cancún to Tulum federal highway at kilometre 296+400, north of downtown Playa del Carmen in the Xcalacoco area. Everything is reached from that one turn: town and Fifth Avenue to the south, Puerto Morelos and Cancún to the north.
The practical advantage is that you are out of the tourist grid but still inside the city’s services. Supermarkets, clinics, schools and the highway are all minutes away, and the beach is a short drive rather than a walk.
Selvamar inland of Federal Highway 307, north of downtown Playa del Carmen
Reasons to choose Selvamar
More space for the same money
Because it is not beachfront, budgets stretch. Buyers regularly find that the same figure buys a larger lot and a bigger house here than in Playacar or Corasol.
Amenities without a membership
The cenote, the eco park, the trails and the courts belong to the community, not to a club you join. That keeps the annual cost of ownership noticeably lower than in the golf communities.
A real neighbourhood, not a resort
A school, a supermarket and full time residents inside the gates mean year round demand from families and long stay tenants, not just winter tourism.
The Zona Diamante around it
Corasol, Mayakoba, Grand Coral and the Xcalacoco hotels are all minutes away. The infrastructure that serves them serves Selvamar too, and it keeps being built.
Is Selvamar beachfront?
No. It is about 1.5 km inland, with beach club access and public beaches a few minutes away by car. That is why the space per dollar is what it is.
How many communities are inside?
Around 38 complexes in total, roughly 29 residential and 9 commercial, each with its own fee, rules and in most cases its own gate.
Can I rent short term?
It depends on the community you buy in, not on Selvamar as a whole. We read the regime before you make an offer.
Can a foreigner own here?
Yes, through a fideicomiso. Selvamar is inside the restricted coastal zone even though it is not on the sand.
More questions before you buy? Read our buyer FAQ.
Comparing communities? On the coast with golf and a beach club: Corasol. Resort and golf: Mayakoba.
Looking at Selvamar?
We will tell you which community inside the gates suits you, what its fee really covers, whether it allows the rental you have in mind, and what the beach club actually includes this year.
