Costa Maya?? Tips/Recommendations?

[burlybear]

Hi All,

One week until we go on the Carnival Dream for our first cruise!! Yay! :D

Costa Maya is the only port we didn't book an excursion in (the long trip to ruins just didn't appeal) so I have been trying to do a bit of advance research into what to do at this port. I read that visiting Mahahual village is worth the trip and is like a 5 minute cab ride - I think I read somewhere about 3km. DH and I tend to be pretty active people- would it be worthwhile/reasonable to walk there?? :confused: (Is it safe??)

Any other must-see or do recommendations for this port?? We sort of want to have a laid back/little bit of exploration day. I get bored sitting on a beach for anymore than a couple of hours- short attention span. :p

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Essiesmom]

Welcome to CC. Have you checked in with your roll call yet? Folks there will be able to give you some pointers as to what to do in Costa Maya. Here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=941317

You might also look at the Ports of Call area for Mexico. I'm sure there will be good suggestions there, too. EM

[burlybear]

Yup checked in with the roll call already. :)

Thanks for pointing me to the right section of the forum - it was very helpful.

[luv2rom]

Hi All,

One week until we go on the Carnival Dream for our first cruise!! Yay! :D

Costa Maya is the only port we didn't book an excursion in (the long trip to ruins just didn't appeal) so I have been trying to do a bit of advance research into what to do at this port. I read that visiting Mahahual village is worth the trip and is like a 5 minute cab ride - I think I read somewhere about 3km. DH and I tend to be pretty active people- would it be worthwhile/reasonable to walk there?? :confused: (Is it safe??)

Any other must-see or do recommendations for this port?? We sort of want to have a laid back/little bit of exploration day. I get bored sitting on a beach for anymore than a couple of hours- short attention span. :p

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

As far as I'm concerned, Costa Maya has NOTHING to offer, not even for a beach person- if we ever take another cruise that has this port of call, that's the day that I will stay on the ship. JMHO

[hillbillycruisers]

We stopped a Costa Maya in 2006, and took the cab to Mahahual...there were 6 of us, and they put all of us in a van...we had planned a beach day, but it rained lightly all day...so we just goofed around at some of the beach bars and did some light shopping. We decided we werent gonna let the weather stop us from having fun, and we all had a blast. At least it was a warm rain.The locals we talked to were very pleasant. We didnt hang around much at the pier where the ship docked. Its probably not the greatest port, but we had a blast there in the rain, so imagine what you can do if the weather is nice. If we ever go back to Costa maya, we'd go back to Mahahual again.

[Aquahound]

If you don't have an excursion booked, take either a taxi or the bus to Mahahual. It is a beach front village. The beach is beautiful and the food is great. I believe it was $3 pp to get there by bus and $2 pp to get back by taxi.

 

This is a picture I took on the beach at Mahahual. Notice they let you put your entire table and chairs in the water if you wish:

 

 

And this is the view of the ships from there:

 

[WisconsinFan]

We did go to the ruins on our first trip to Costa Maya. Our oldest was in 5th grade and been studying the Maya culture in school. We enjoyed it and found it very informative, but it did take the whole day. This was in 2006 pre-hurricane. In 2009 we weren't excited to be going back as the pier area was constructed by the cruise companies. Disney normally doesn't stop there (they aren't part owners) but due to the hurricane that hit Cozumel we diverted to Costa Maya.

 

In 2009 we found the little town of Mahahal totally rebuilt. The government would not allow building on the beach. The little bars and shops are on one side of the road/walk and the bars have an area of the beach. We found a very friendly place with a waiter who took very good care of us. The beer was cheap ($6 per bucket), the nachos very good, the water warm and beautiful.

 

I can't wait to go back to Costa Maya this spring.

[burlybear]

Yeah after reading some other forums I think we will go explore Mahahual - decided to go check out Tropicante which everyone recommends. Very excited!

Thanks everyone for your help! - and thanks for the pictures - always love looking at pictures :p