Maya Chan in Costa Maya, Mexico...anyone been there?

[wittygal]

Oasis of the Seas stops in Costa Maya, Mexico. I hear it is very commercial, but there is a resort Maya Chan that is all inclusive and is a great way to spend the day. Anyone been there?

[BrianAlt]

I'm most likely going. Check the Costa Maya board in the Caribbean section. There's a lengthy discussion there.

[bajathree]

Oasis of the Seas stops in Costa Maya, Mexico. I hear it is very commercial, but there is a resort Maya Chan that is all inclusive and is a great way to spend the day. Anyone been there?

 

Yep....Mark the owner is a great guy and his son and staff do a great job running the place....book it! You can find my full review both under Trip Advisor and here in the ports forum for Cost Maya.

[smann]

Highly recommended. My family and I had a great afternoon there recently. It is not fancy, but has all you need for a relaxing and enjoyable excursion. I do suggest signing up as soon as you can because they only take a limited number of people each day.

[patseacruiser]

I went there in April. The drinks were great. They don't put the actual lunch out until quite late. They come around with salsa and chips about 11:30 ish but I needed food and so I had to leave about 1 and go back to the ship to eat. There is no snorkeling right at the beach - you have to take a kayak out to snorkel because as far as I could walk it wasn't any higher than about my knees. Get there early to get a chair under an umbrella or palapa otherwise you'll cook in the sun. The people who run it are great and go out of their way to try to accommodate you.

[kk99]

Hi we were there 2 weeks ago. Mark is great, plenty of food and drinks. we stayed from around 9:30 a.m. until 3 :00 p.m. You can for a few extra dollars rent a private palapa for 4 people or less, lots of shade and plenty of beach chairs. never more than 100 people allowed at his place. There is sea grass and very shallow water for at least 150 yards before you can snorkel. It does not interfere with using the floats or kayaks, just nothing to see until you get closer to the reef which is about a mile from shore. They do provide free kayaks, snorkels, float chairs, to us. They also have massages on the beach for 25 dollars a half hour. Any kind of drinks, alcoholic and nonalcoholic are provided. The food is guacamole, hot sauce and chips, fajitas, beans, slaw. Very relaxing way to spend the day.

[RichardE954]

Don't waste your money. Right at the pier in Costa Maya is a nice facility with beach (for sunning, not swimming), pools, swim up bar, restaurants and shops. We had a very nice day there and could walk back to the ship whenever we wanted to.

[tsleam]

IMO, if you're going just adults its a nice area (once you get there). my kids (7 and 11) werent impressed. kayaking and bicycle tours were for adults. i thought the food and drinks were good.

 

one turn off for me was one of the guys' abusive attempts to keep dogs away, kicking and throwing rocks at them. what do you expect animals to do when there's food around? they obviously need a better way to secure the area. lets just say i wouldnt go back.

 

the taxi ride back was a ride from hell. i kept waiting for people with machine guns to jump out and take us hostage.

 

here are a couple of pics. the turtle grass was all over when we were there. the kids were kind of grossed out by it. so, i'd say it's a toss up as to whether to go or not. wasn't impressed w/ costa maya in general, maybe would opt for a tour of the ruins next time or stay on the ship.

 

 

[catlady27]

Hi we were there 2 weeks ago. Mark is great, plenty of food and drinks. we stayed from around 9:30 a.m. until 3 :00 p.m. You can for a few extra dollars rent a private palapa for 4 people or less, lots of shade and plenty of beach chairs. never more than 100 people allowed at his place. There is sea grass and very shallow water for at least 150 yards before you can snorkel. It does not interfere with using the floats or kayaks, just nothing to see until you get closer to the reef which is about a mile from shore. They do provide free kayaks, snorkels, float chairs, to us. They also have massages on the beach for 25 dollars a half hour. Any kind of drinks, alcoholic and nonalcoholic are provided. The food is guacamole, hot sauce and chips, fajitas, beans, slaw. Very relaxing way to spend the day.

 

Kelcie,

 

How many cruises to you get to take a year, you lucky dog you? :D

 

Edna

[catlady27]

one turn off for me was one of the guys' abusive attempts to keep dogs away, kicking and throwing rocks at them. what do you expect animals to do when there's food around? they obviously need a better way to secure the area. lets just say i wouldnt go back.

 

 

That's all I need to know to know that I will NEVER go there. Can't tolerate people being mean to animals and I have seen how they deal with the animal "overpopulation" in Mexico :( not pretty

[Band1Mom]

one turn off for me was one of the guys' abusive attempts to keep dogs away, kicking and throwing rocks at them. what do you expect animals to do when there's food around? they obviously need a better way to secure the area. lets just say i wouldnt go back.

 

That's all I need to know to know that I will NEVER go there. Can't tolerate people being mean to animals and I have seen how they deal with the animal "overpopulation" in Mexico :( not pretty

 

Ditto Ditto Ditto! That sealed it's fate for me. Can't stand someone abusing animals, dogs in particular. So, it'll be the ship or whatever is available near the ship for us.

[kk99]

You are right that there is a big pool and restaurants by the shops at the pier. It was built specifically for the cruise ships. If you actually want to see any of Costa Maya, then you need to go outside the gates on a tour of some kind. Costa Maya is a poor area when compared to other parts of Mexico.

 

I witnessed the employees feeding 3 local and probably stray dogs while I was there, as I certainly would not tolerate any type of animal abuse, as I own and train certified therapy dogs. It is very sad that it was witnessed by a previous poster. We had an airconditioned bus to take us back to port, and no problems with the ride or driver.

 

If you choose to go to the ruins, please be aware that all of the roads need improving and can be a little bumpy.

 

If you like to dive, there are good dive spots around.

Have a great vacation.

[bajathree]

Don't waste your money. Right at the pier in Costa Maya is a nice facility with beach (for sunning, not swimming), pools, swim up bar, restaurants and shops. We had a very nice day there and could walk back to the ship whenever we wanted to.

 

You obviously haven't been to Maya Chan.

[bajathree]

IMO, if you're going just adults its a nice area (once you get there). my kids (7 and 11) werent impressed. kayaking and bicycle tours were for adults. i thought the food and drinks were good.

 

one turn off for me was one of the guys' abusive attempts to keep dogs away, kicking and throwing rocks at them. what do you expect animals to do when there's food around? they obviously need a better way to secure the area. lets just say i wouldnt go back.

 

the taxi ride back was a ride from hell. i kept waiting for people with machine guns to jump out and take us hostage.

 

here are a couple of pics. the turtle grass was all over when we were there. the kids were kind of grossed out by it. so, i'd say it's a toss up as to whether to go or not. wasn't impressed w/ costa maya in general, maybe would opt for a tour of the ruins next time or stay on the ship.

 

 

Thats to bad. Not even close to our experience this past April. Our entire roll call booked out Maya Chan. Every staff member treated us and everyone/everything there with the utmost courtesy. We had at least a dozen kids with us and all had a wonderful time and they still talk about it now on Facebook. I guess it does always depend on the company....as that can always vary like anywhere else.

I also saw a post saying they limit to no more than 100 people....that is not quite correct...the number is more like 50 people max...we actually had a waiting list going and people who didn't get in as Mark is serious about keeping this just right. I can tell you that there wasn't a person from our roll call that wouldn't agree that Maya Chan was the best excursion/port stop of our Liberty Of The Seas sailing. Can't wait to return again in Jan...and they have now added a special VIP area with hot tubs for returning guests:D

As far as roads...all of Cost Maya and the roads are still preety run down....but expecting people with machine guns to pop out and take you hostage:rolleyes:I believe your problem may have been more with Costa Maya itself than Maya Chan.

 

Here are some pix:

 

 

 

[bajathree]

A couple more pix:

 

 

[mafig]

I've been considering this for our cruise in October.

 

However, since I've never been to Costa Maya I think we'll just take a cab into town to see it. Maybe save Maya Chan for another time. I'm not happy with the dog story either.:(

 

Surprised that there's extra charges at Maya Chan now. I this something new?

[bajathree]

I've been considering this for our cruise in October.

 

However, since I've never been to Costa Maya I think we'll just take a cab into town to see it. Maybe save Maya Chan for another time. I'm not happy with the dog story either.:(

 

Surprised that there's extra charges at Maya Chan now. I this something new?

 

There are no extra charges.

[smann]

Only if you want the massage on the beach, it's $25 for a half hour

[mafig]

There are no extra charges.

 

 

I must have misunderstood KK99's post or he's mistaken. He wrote that for a few extra dollars you could rent a private palapa.

[bajathree]

I must have misunderstood KK99's post or he's mistaken. He wrote that for a few extra dollars you could rent a private palapa.

 

Spots are reserved on a first deposit basis....couples generally will not get a private palapa since they are for parties of 4 or more....so what KK99 must be speaking of, is that they wanted a private palapa and agreed to pay more as if they had more people in their party.

[mafig]

OK, got it!;):)

[RichardE954]

You obviously haven't been to Maya Chan.

 

Isn't it great how we all get to express our own opinions! Then whoever is looking for information can take all the reviews and make their own informed decision.

[kk99]

Steve is right, we paid a little extra to have a private palapa for extra space and lots of shade for the hammock and day bed. There is lots of shade under the beach chairs and umbrellas, we just wanted to doze off some. The only cost above the initial rental, is if you wanted a massage on the beach, very reasonable and well worth it. We had a very relaxing day there, and our experience was a very positive one. They also have a policy that if you get there, and in the first 10 minutes you don't like it, they refund your money other than the cab cost to take your back to the pier. The day we went, they had about 60 people there, but they had put up extra chairs and loungers, and never felt crowded. It is not the most beautiful beach or clearest part of the ocean for Mexico, but the 3 owners were very warm and welcoming.

[BrianAlt]

This was in the email I got back from Mark at Maya Chan after my initial email to them:

 

Hola, Brian Oasis 7/14. Party of 2. Private Palapa rate: $ 64.00 per person.

 

Mark also said I was the first to sign up from my cruise, so it could be a very slow day and being the first to sign up, maybe I got dibs? I also encouraged others on the Roll Call and this is what he said on my last email:

 

I have already received another request. I expect to rate to come down and I will issue refunds at the resort for the difference.

Thank you for posting on CC.

 

I know who that other request is from. I hope others from the July 10th cruise come. That would be fun.

[moviestar600]

Yep....Mark the owner is a great guy and his son and staff do a great job running the place....book it! You can find my full review both under Trip Advisor and here in the ports forum for Cost Maya.

 

Steve, I wanted to ask you a question about the transportation from the ship....

 

I reserved a private palapa for my husband and I. Thought the small cost would be worth the peace of mind knowing we would have a private area to ourselves. Mark definitely gave me the impression in our communication that great service for his guests is very important to him!

 

I read that it takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to get to the beach. Is that accurate and if so did the ride seem long and hot? I can already anticipate my husband not enjoying that portion of the excursion :)!

 

I want to be prepared on the best time to leave the island so we aren't stressed about getting back to our ship on time!