Seeking beach recommendation in Costa Maya; NOT Jamies and Maya Chan

[HandC4Me]

Helping a friend plan her day in Costa Maya; unfortunately Jamies and Maya Chan both sold out for the day they will be there. Other recommendations for a good beach? They are a family of 5; kids range from 7 to 16. Just looking for a nice beach to relax and enjoy the sand/water. Some place that offers food too would be great. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[crewsweeper]

Try Blue Kay up at the north end.  Probably better for younger kids as it's less crowded and a bit isolated from the main malecon..

 

In the middle of the malecon is Krazy Lobster and Tropicante (still cash only, US$).  Both reasonable reps. Practically next door to each other.  Both walkins. But your friend can email Steve Uhl at Tropicante and reserve loungers. Pez Quadro, Pitaya and YaYas are also choices.  Pitaya may require reservations but I think they all have ala carte and AI packages once there.

 

If an AI is preferred, There's No Hoch Kay toward the south end (getting mixed reviews) and Almaplena further south away from the malecon and south of Maya Chan.  It also limits # of guests.

 

All these places have reviews on this board and websites. So your friend can Google (or use DuckDuckGo--better) to search. 

[Texasgingerbread]

My third choice would be yaya due to shade.  If you don't need shade then anything up north closer to Jaime's.  As far away from the boat as possible.

[RW_MI]

I was there a few weeks ago.  I went to Jaimie's and my son and his girlfriend went to Maya Chan.  Next time I'd do Blue Kay.  I walked down there and the beach was much nicer.

[Stacie.]

We enjoyed Tropicante. There were 26 of us so we basically filled a tram and since I reserved ahead of time there was a guy from Tropicante waiting for us at our stop. It was beautiful and not overcrowded, and the food and drinks were good and reasonably priced. 

[Gatordad815]

Blue Kay was a very nice beach with great service. Below is the Blue Kay review copied and pasted from our Spring Break Trip report (first week of April):

 

COSTA MAYA – BLUE KAY

 

As we were exiting the ship in Costa Maya, my kids were chanting “We love Mexico!” over and over again without prompting from us. For some reason, they really, really were excited to be back in Mexico.

 

I had read several reviews of Blue Kay with conflicting reports of the cost and set-up and I almost chose not to go there because I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am so glad we chose to go there as it was fantastic!

 

The cabs are $8 each to go to the beach and it was a quick ride.  Upon arrival, we paid $12 for each adult for entry and chairs (both kids were free) and that included 2 drinks for each of us – what a great deal! 

 

The beach was very pretty.  There was some seaweed, but they were keeping it very clean and it did not impact our day there at all.  You could see on the other side of Blue Kay how much seaweed piled up on in the areas that were not attended to, so it was apparent to me that they really do a nice job keeping it clean.

 

The service was GREAT!  Just so friendly and efficient.  The food and drinks were incredibly reasonably priced.  The vibe was soooooooo relaxed…. After spending the day at West Bay the day before being harassed by aggressive vendors all day, it was so nice to see friendly low-key vendors – it was no hassle at all when they approached us.

 

I would highly recommend Blue Kay if you are in Costa Maya – everything about it was great!

 

When it was time to leave, the kids were lollygagging as usual and I was eager to get them out of the sun so I was trying to hurry them along.  I finally give my 3 year old son an ultimatum:

 

Dad (kind of sternly): “Son – you need to get your shoes on so we can get back to the ship because we are running late and if we miss the ship you aren’t going to be able to go home and you are going to have to live in Mexico!”

 

Son (sincerely smiling): “Yay – I LOVE MEXICO!!!”

 

Sigh…I guess that one backfired on me….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[c-leg5]

2 hours ago, Gatordad815 said:

Blue Kay was a very nice beach with great service. Below is the Blue Kay review copied and pasted from our Spring Break Trip report (first week of April):

 

COSTA MAYA – BLUE KAY

 

As we were exiting the ship in Costa Maya, my kids were chanting “We love Mexico!” over and over again without prompting from us. For some reason, they really, really were excited to be back in Mexico.

 

I had read several reviews of Blue Kay with conflicting reports of the cost and set-up and I almost chose not to go there because I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am so glad we chose to go there as it was fantastic!

 

The cabs are $8 each to go to the beach and it was a quick ride.  Upon arrival, we paid $12 for each adult for entry and chairs (both kids were free) and that included 2 drinks for each of us – what a great deal! 

 

The beach was very pretty.  There was some seaweed, but they were keeping it very clean and it did not impact our day there at all.  You could see on the other side of Blue Kay how much seaweed piled up on in the areas that were not attended to, so it was apparent to me that they really do a nice job keeping it clean.

 

The service was GREAT!  Just so friendly and efficient.  The food and drinks were incredibly reasonably priced.  The vibe was soooooooo relaxed…. After spending the day at West Bay the day before being harassed by aggressive vendors all day, it was so nice to see friendly low-key vendors – it was no hassle at all when they approached us.

 

I would highly recommend Blue Kay if you are in Costa Maya – everything about it was great!

 

When it was time to leave, the kids were lollygagging as usual and I was eager to get them out of the sun so I was trying to hurry them along.  I finally give my 3 year old son an ultimatum:

 

Dad (kind of sternly): “Son – you need to get your shoes on so we can get back to the ship because we are running late and if we miss the ship you aren’t going to be able to go home and you are going to have to live in Mexico!”

 

Son (sincerely smiling): “Yay – I LOVE MEXICO!!!”

 

Sigh…I guess that one backfired on me….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your review. Did you get a mat for your loungers included in the $12?

[Gatordad815]

8 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Thanks for your review. Did you get a mat for your loungers included in the $12?

 

Yes I should have mentioned in the review that they let us select our lounger location (plenty of shady spots and sunny spots to choose from early in the day) and they brought a mat for all four loungers (even for the small kids they didn’t charge). The photos I took that show the wooden loungers were early in the day before people arrived, but yes everyone who was there that day got a mat for the lounger.

[c-leg5]

On ‎5‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 7:25 AM, Gatordad815 said:

 

Yes I should have mentioned in the review that they let us select our lounger location (plenty of shady spots and sunny spots to choose from early in the day) and they brought a mat for all four loungers (even for the small kids they didn’t charge). The photos I took that show the wooden loungers were early in the day before people arrived, but yes everyone who was there that day got a mat for the lounger.

 

thanks good to know!

 

Do you happen to have a photo of the menu - the last one I saw was several years old and I know there have been a lot of changes. Also do you get tickets for the drinks, or is it just the first two per person that you order, taken off the check? Seems two cocktails are much better value than two beers but I may not want to start with cocktails!

[Gatordad815]

7 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Do you happen to have a photo of the menu - the last one I saw was several years old and I know there have been a lot of changes. Also do you get tickets for the drinks, or is it just the first two per person that you order, taken off the check? Seems two cocktails are much better value than two beers but I may not want to start with cocktails!

 

Sorry I can’t help there. The menu was standard Mexican and prices were reasonable (prices were in pesos and after doing the conversion nothing seemed overpriced), but I don’t have a photo.

 

There were no tickets-the server kept track of everything and our check showed $0 charge for 2 of my drinks and 2 of my wife’s drinks. I’m not sure what they’d do if you switch up drinks, as I’m pretty sure we had 3-4 drinks each but mine were all beer and hers were all vodka and we got 2 of each at no charge.

 

At the end of the day I’m pretty sure our bill was between $40 and $50 for 2 lunches, 7-8 alcoholic drinks and 3-4 bottles of water. That plus the $12 each to enter felt well worth the cost for the day we had there! It was definitely our least expensive port day. 

[Teachwinemomma]

On 5/21/2019 at 9:23 PM, Gatordad815 said:

 

Sorry I can’t help there. The menu was standard Mexican and prices were reasonable (prices were in pesos and after doing the conversion nothing seemed overpriced), but I don’t have a photo.

 

There were no tickets-the server kept track of everything and our check showed $0 charge for 2 of my drinks and 2 of my wife’s drinks. I’m not sure what they’d do if you switch up drinks, as I’m pretty sure we had 3-4 drinks each but mine were all beer and hers were all vodka and we got 2 of each at no charge.

 

At the end of the day I’m pretty sure our bill was between $40 and $50 for 2 lunches, 7-8 alcoholic drinks and 3-4 bottles of water. That plus the $12 each to enter felt well worth the cost for the day we had there! It was definitely our least expensive port day. 

Did you have to make reservations? I have emailed them multiple times and have not had a response-even through the Facebook page. Thanks! 

[c-leg5]

2 hours ago, Teachwinemomma said:

Did you have to make reservations? I have emailed them multiple times and have not had a response-even through the Facebook page. Thanks! 

Last time I corresponded with Blue Kay my reply was from Ibiza Sunset, so obviously they have some connection, maybe they have the same owners or management?

 

Maybe try writing there?

[framboesa]

Last week I sent them one FB message asking for prices and they said that it would be 12 USD of minim consuption...once again they are giving diferent prices/conditions to diferent persons... 🙄

[c-leg5]

54 minutes ago, framboesa said:

Last week I sent them one FB message asking for prices and they said that it would be 12 USD of minim consuption...once again they are giving diferent prices/conditions to diferent persons... 🙄

If it was truly consumption, I wouldn't have a problem even at $20.
 

Last time I emailed for an update I was quoted $21 for - “two drinks and Nachos“. That’s expensive for two beers and I might not want Nachos. They aren’t doing themselves any favors quoting different prices. They need to get their act together - they have one of the best locations and could do so much better.

Edited December 30, 2019 by c-leg5

[Teachwinemomma]

I just booked Malecon 21 based off feedback from here. They have multiple packages to choose from and answered my 10 emails with all my questions very quickly! 

[c-leg5]

5 minutes ago, Teachwinemomma said:

I just booked Malecon 21 based off feedback from here. They have multiple packages to choose from and answered my 10 emails with all my questions very quickly! 

Hope you enjoy!
 

We didn’t pre-book and just went on spec after initial recommendation on CC but glad to hear they answered your emails promptly.

 

We enjoyed our day and will be back in February!

[framboesa]

16 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

they need to get their act together - they have one of the best locations and could do so much better.

Totally my thoughts! I have the Facebook messages, I guess they will honor it 😉

[mitsugirly]

Agree with others on Blue Kay. Absolutely beautiful beach and much larger than the others along the malecon. Since it's at the end of the strip, there's not a lot of traffic along the beach or vendors. Good shallow snorkeling as well.

 

Check out my pictures from both times we have been there. (In my signature line, just go to my website and to the port and you'll see Blue Kay reviews. There's TONS of pictures within the review you can scroll down to).

 

 

 

[Drock20J]

We chose the Almaplena Resort. It is a 30 minute drive, but we were rewarded with an empty beach with a beautiful view, great food, good drinks, and a GREAT TIME!

 

It was $55 for an all-inclusive day pass.

[c-leg5]

20 minutes ago, Drock20J said:

We chose the Almaplena Resort. It is a 30 minute drive, but we were rewarded with an empty beach with a beautiful view, great food, good drinks, and a GREAT TIME!

 

It was $55 for an all-inclusive day pass.

Does that price include transport and do they arrange it for you?

 

I know Almaplena is just beyond Maya Chan but I believe they take a different route?

Edited January 22, 2020 by c-leg5

[mitsugirly]

13 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Does that price include transport and do they arrange it for you?

 

I know Almaplena is just beyond Maya Chan but I believe they take a different route?

 

 

Yes, that includes transportation in the price.

 

Although things might have changed since I was there, we just had to walk outside the port and grab a taxi there and when the taxi arrived to drop you off at Almaplena, the staff there paid them. They also paid the driver when they picked us up. It was super easy.

[mitsugirly]

[BNBR]

On 1/22/2020 at 11:54 AM, mitsugirly said:

 

Maya Chan is a hike.  Almaplena is twice as far!  Goodness!

[mitsugirly]

5 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

Maya Chan is a hike.  Almaplena is twice as far!  Goodness!

 

 

I timed it. It was 20 minutes to Almaplena.

[c-leg5]

4 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

I timed it. It was 20 minutes to Almaplena.

As you know, since you have been to both, a different route is taken to Almaplena, perhaps BNBR isn’t aware of this?