Maya Chan Beach resort vs Tropicanta beach

[ETaylor1015]

For a family of 7 ( 3 kids 1,5,7)which is better to spend the day at ? Are the beaches similar with the sea grass situation ? Is Tropicante closer to allure of the seas cruise port?

[crewsweeper]

Tropicante is a little closer. And PAY-AS-YOU-GO. You can reserve loungers in advance via the website. You can also take the port tram to Tropicante.

Maya Chan is All Inclusive and a little further beyond the malecon. May or may not b worth the additional charges for the children. Also you'll have to take a taxi there, which means going beyond the parking area where you can pick up the tram.

 

Sea grass is an iffy subject. All the beach clubs attempt to remove it as best they can, but levels vary daily. Hasn't appeared to be as bad the last couple of weeks, but with Isaac coming, that could further push the stuff building up in South to the Central and Yucatan coast.

[ETaylor1015]

Ok thanks. Is the quality of the beach for swimming similar at both ? Is there more to walk around and do outside the beach at the tropicante, or is it also it’s own isolated resort?

[crewsweeper]

Personally the water and beach seem a little better at Maya Chan. Might just be because it's away from the other beach clubs. But the owners and staff go out of their way to make you comfortable. Not to say that Tropicante's staff ignores you (they don't) or that the beach is lousy (it isn't). But Tropicante is right in the middle of the malecon so you can wander up and down at leisure, and so can everyone else including hawkers of wares. There are a few kiosks of crafts but mostly just other beach clubs.

[c-leg5]

Ok thanks. Is the quality of the beach for swimming similar at both ? Is there more to walk around and do outside the beach at the tropicante, or is it also it’s own isolated resort?

 

Havent been specifically to Tropicante but bars along the malecon are literally one after another and loungers or tables/chairs are for the most part packed between the bar bounderies.

 

Maya Chan is considerably further away than Tropicante and takes 20/25 minutes mainly because the road is mostly unpaved and full of potholes (although sometimes it is filled in so better than others) and so the length of time is mainly due to slow speed. We took an 18 month old and no problem with transport (minivan taxi) because of slow speed. Sand toys are provided. Slightly more room to run around although in general people are there relaxing. (There are exceptions since last time we had a group there with a bluetooth speaker feeling the need to entertain us all.) The resort stands on its own so there is nowhere really to walk to. If you have a long enough day in port for AI to be worthwhile it is a good option although i seem to remember you have to pay for all ages which is unusual (usually free under 3 at many AI). There is always seagrass at Maya Chan but it has been reported they have constructed a barrier to minimize sargassum. When we were there in March they were raking it up continually.

 

At Tropicante you can walk the length of the malecon if you want to try somewhere else. Blue Kay might be a good option to consider for somewhere quieter, with more space and close to the ship.