Chau L.
Yelp
So my friend booked the Congo Tour bus for all of us as a group to have a memorable night together for the after-party for his wedding (probably around 20-30 people total), complete with VIP tickets. At first, I was a little hesitant to go, especially when we weren't going to leave until like 3am or so, especially after a long day with the wedding and everything! But I ended up deciding to go... I've looked online beforehand to see what it was like, and it really did not look like a nightclub that you'd see here in the U.S.! So I was pretty intrigue.
That night, we boarded the bus to get to Playa del Carmen from our resort near Akumal. Took awhile to get there, but when we did. Wow, there were so many tour buses there and so many people!! So we followed our guide to the front and then they did bag-check and anything that we couldn't bring in, they'd put masking tape on it and make us write our name and then get it when we leave... I didn't know what wasn't allowed, so my keychain flashlight was taken from me and I had to get it back at the end. Which was kind of inconvenient. Wished we knew about it beforehand so that I wouldn't bring it in and just leave it on the bus. After that, we stood in line... FOREVER... I don't know what the hold up was. Maybe they couldn't let people in for some reason, or our area wasn't cleared or something? I'm not sure... But when we finally got in, wow, balloons and confetti EVERYWHERE! And SO many people too!! We held hands with each other so that we'd stick together and go to our designated VIP area.
Once we got to our VIP area, on the 3rd floor, we stood and watched the shows going on. Now, this is the part that is COMPLETELY different from U.S. nightclubs. I really don't even consider Coco Bongo as a nightclub, other than the fact that it's opened at night and they serve alcohol and play some dance music. But the environment is COMPLETELY different! It's just a bunch of mini shows the entire night. From reenactments of music videos from known artists such as Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars, to Cirque du Soleil type shows, to super heroes fighting each other! It was insane!! My significant other's friend didn't want to stay the entire night because he had an early flight to catch the next day, and at first, my significant other didn't want to stay the entire night either, but in the end, we did, and I'm SO glad that we did! It was unlike any other experience we've ever experienced here in the U.S.! AND the bride ended up getting on stage too! As well as at least 1 other person in our party! (Yes, you can actually go up on stage and dance for a few minutes.) Pretty crazy!
I think the main reason why I really enjoyed Coco Bongo was because we were on the top floor, so it wasn't as crazy and crowded as the main floor. And you were able to watch all the shows and everything clearly! So that was definitely a plus!
If I were to come back again for a party, I'd definitely get VIP. So worth the price. Coco Bongo is something you'd have to experience at least once in your life! BUT get VIP tickets!!! Much better experience than down on the main floor!! Just don't expect it to be like a Vegas nightclub where you can dance and drink all night (heard the drinks weren't so great either, but I didn't partake in any drinking that night to have first-hand experiences with it), and you'll enjoy it more! :)