Best Excursion on Costa Maya??

[im4golf]

We are in our 60-s and are pretty open to anything. Have never been here before and just wondering in everyone's opinion which is the best excursion through Carnival??:) Thanks for your reply.

[crewsweeper]

It's pretty easy to NOT do a ship excursion in Costa Maya (which BTW is NOT an island, it's on the mainland of Mexico, so the term is IN not ON).

 

For starters, it's $3 down/$2 back pp taxi ride to the malecon and beaches along the cost in the village/town of Mahahual. Once there you can walk around or take advantage of (before they take advantage of you:D) loungers offered at various "beach clubs". This board is chocked full of reviews of preferred places. Some needing reservations, others you just show up. Popular places are Tropicante, Pez Quadro, Nohoch Kay, Black Pearl. The hawker/barker lounger places include Tequila Beach, Coco Corona Beach, Senior Frogs, as well as others. Thyese latter are typically more crowded as they are closer to where the taxis and buses first stop.

 

If you wish to see Mayan ruins for this particular area of Mexico, you can't go wrong with using the private vendor Native Choice. Excellent immersion into Mayan culture as it was/is in this area. Info on contacting them is in threads on this board or you can google/bing them. The cost is typically a bit cheaper than the ruins excursions offered by cruise lines and the tours have smaller groups and better guides.

 

There are great diving/scuba operators here. Many divers come down to the area for longer vacations. Also deep sea fishing guides. I don't think these are offered on ship based excursions.

 

For ship excursions having to do with beach breaks or snorkeling, the best will go up to Uvero Beach, which is north of the port, versus Mahahual which is south. Good snorkeling and decent facilities there. Some ships also offer power snorkeling which goes to the same general area.

 

Ships also offer ATV tours that basically roll down the malecon and further south. You may venture off into some scrub terrain, but unless you're a 4 wheeler enthusiast, it may not be as exciting as the brochure makes it sound.

[im4golf]

It's pretty easy to NOT do a ship excursion in Costa Maya (which BTW is NOT an island, it's on the mainland of Mexico, so the term is IN not ON).

 

For starters, it's $3 down/$2 back pp taxi ride to the malecon and beaches along the cost in the village/town of Mahahual. Once there you can walk around or take advantage of (before they take advantage of you:D) loungers offered at various "beach clubs". This board is chocked full of reviews of preferred places. Some needing reservations, others you just show up. Popular places are Tropicante, Pez Quadro, Nohoch Kay, Black Pearl. The hawker/barker lounger places include Tequila Beach, Coco Corona Beach, Senior Frogs, as well as others. Thyese latter are typically more crowded as they are closer to where the taxis and buses first stop.

 

If you wish to see Mayan ruins for this particular area of Mexico, you can't go wrong with using the private vendor Native Choice. Excellent immersion into Mayan culture as it was/is in this area. Info on contacting them is in threads on this board or you can google/bing them. The cost is typically a bit cheaper than the ruins excursions offered by cruise lines and the tours have smaller groups and better guides.

 

There are great diving/scuba operators here. Many divers come down to the area for longer vacations. Also deep sea fishing guides. I don't think these are offered on ship based excursions.

 

For ship excursions having to do with beach breaks or snorkeling, the best will go up to Uvero Beach, which is north of the port, versus Mahahual which is south. Good snorkeling and decent facilities there. Some ships also offer power snorkeling which goes to the same general area.

 

Ships also offer ATV tours that basically roll down the malecon and further south. You may venture off into some scrub terrain, but unless you're a 4 wheeler enthusiast, it may not be as exciting as the brochure makes it sound.

 

Thanks so much for your reply. I lot to think about. I'll will try the private vendor native choice and see what they have to offer. Thanks again:)

[overthehillcruiser]

We did the Uvero ship excursion a few years ago and it was ok, but a very long , very unscenic bus ride, and a nice beach with a ton of sea grass in the water, so this time we are just going to Mahahual on our own and probably to the Tropicante...We do very few ship excursions anymore..

[B&J_Pgh]

you don't have to do anything. At the end of the Pier is a public beach. A swimming pool (saltwater) and swim up bars, hammocks, beach chairs and a dolphin pool at waters edge. So not the best beach if you really want a beach but it's very primitive and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We also did the Uvero Beach snorkeling tour offered by Royal Carribbean and highly recommend it as well

[OldAdGuy]

By far, the best excursion guide I've ever had is LUIS TELLEZ, who handles any of the Mayan Ruins from Costa Maya. He works with Aviomar Adventours, which books tours for the cruise lines. Make sure you request Luis, his knowledge, passion for the Mayan era, humor and involvement is the best we have experienced anywhere in the world.

His email is <luistellezt@yahoo.com>.

We went with him to Kohunlich on February, 2014. Long tour, but fascinating, and a surprisingly nice lunch on the shores of Bacalar Lagoon, which is lovely.