Beach to Visit in Costa Maya

[wavechaser]

We are taking our grands on a cruise in a few weeks, and need to find a place to go to the beach for a few hours in Costa Maya. We don't need an all inclusive, just want a place that is clean and safe with a good beach. Any suggestions?

[ssb]

 When you get off ship walk around mall . Take a yellow cab from behind mall for short ride 8 bucks to Old town Fishing village Majahual . There is beach obviously with many facilities to stop at . No fees to get on one long beach. Good food and service on all beach facilities, and most have good clean restrooms. We always go there and return later in day to mall to walk around . Bird walk in middle of mall is wonderful for adults and kids . 

Edited July 19, 2022 by ssb

[Dewaldcruiser]

I like the Crazy Lobster in Mahahual for their food, their cheap massages and their beach.  Can walk to it from cruise port, but I normally take a taxi so I'm not wilted by the Mexican sun before I arrive.

[renza]

Mahahual is very close but don’t expect a nice beach. It is great for a $40 hour massage but wouldn’t want to go in the water. It is nasty and very seaweedy. We grab a cab and get an hour massage and head back. They try very hard to keep beach clean but water is just gross. Not sure what other beaches are around. 

[ssb]

13 minutes ago, renza said:

Mahahual is very close but don’t expect a nice beach. It is great for a $40 hour massage but wouldn’t want to go in the water. It is nasty and very seaweedy. We grab a cab and get an hour massage and head back. They try very hard to keep beach clean but water is just gross. Not sure what other beaches are around. 

All the beaches and water will have seaweed if one does .  Mother Nature  has mind of her own . It’s hit and miss on any seaweed . It’s a natural phenomena and can be educational and entertaining to kids . Unless someone tells them it’s nasty . 

[time4u2go]

42 minutes ago, renza said:

Mahahual is very close but don’t expect a nice beach. It is great for a $40 hour massage but wouldn’t want to go in the water. It is nasty and very seaweedy. We grab a cab and get an hour massage and head back. They try very hard to keep beach clean but water is just gross. Not sure what other beaches are around. 

That's been my experience as well.  The beaches in that area are just not that great.

[Jeal]

We love the Crazy Lobster. They have nets in the water so the sea weed doesn’t enter the swimming area. 

[Jerseygirl1416]

2 hours ago, renza said:

Mahahual is very close but don’t expect a nice beach. It is great for a $40 hour massage but wouldn’t want to go in the water. It is nasty and very seaweedy. We grab a cab and get an hour massage and head back. They try very hard to keep beach clean but water is just gross. Not sure what other beaches are around. 

I agree. The beaches were not nice and the vendors along the “boardwalk” were very aggressive. I wouldn’t go back. 
 

If I had Grandkids with me at that port I would just bring them into the port area and have them use that pool and let them shop for a souvenir. 

[renza]

32 minutes ago, Jeal said:

We love the Crazy Lobster. They have nets in the water so the sea weed doesn’t enter the swimming area. 

Yep and still gross. It’s not the kind of beach I will swim in. 

[poocher]

37 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

I agree. The beaches were not nice and the vendors along the “boardwalk” were very aggressive. I wouldn’t go back. 
 

If I had Grandkids with me at that port I would just bring them into the port area and have them use that pool and let them shop for a souvenir. 

And my husband loves walking around there!  He interacts with all the vendors and most of them are actually very nice people!  Looking forward to returning & buying more pottery/bakeware!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we love going to the Blue Kay beach club. It's not all inclusive, but it does serve drinks and all that. 

This is what we got there in 2019:

 

"Since we were there as well, I'll tell you about our drinks: for $12 per adult we got 2 (any) drinks each.  DH opted for mojitos - very good (we also had mojitos there in December), I got a hand made frappuccino  (super-duper delicious, and exactly what I needed for my headache - sweet and caffeinated, with swirls of hot fudge chocolate in it). They said "made it special for you", and, boy, it certainly was special.  We bought a Fanta for DS $2.50 and then spent one of the drink allowances on a Coke for him, because DH didn't want more than 2 alcoholic drinks.

A gentleman next to us got a Miami Vice (strawberry, coconut and pineapple) and he liked it as well.

We didn't order any food (brought potato chips and doritos for DS from the ship), so the total for the day was:

$8 taxi each way

$24 for chaises and 4 drinks

$2.50 for a Fanta

$5 tip

 

Free Wifi at the Blue Kay bar was very good and strong. Ask your attendant for the passcode."

 

We were there a couple of times over the years and we were lucky not to have any seaweed (December and March). The beach itself was very nice.

 

You can find more info here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/102-costa-maya/

[davy jones]

Pre pandemic, we liked to visit Tropicante.  

[ssb]

4 minutes ago, davy jones said:

Pre pandemic, we liked to visit Tropicante.  

Tropicante was our favorite also . 

[Jeal]

3 hours ago, renza said:

Yep and still gross. It’s not the kind of beach I will swim in. 

You may have gone during a different time of year. We have never had the sea weed you are describing. Everyone has to do what is most comfortable for them. 

[babyblue78]

We enjoy Maya Chan beach… we were there when our kids were little.  Beach does have turtle grass, but they keep it clean.  We had fun taking out kayaks.  

[Ellaleah]

Is Tropicante close to the Crazy Lobster?  

[renza]

14 hours ago, Jeal said:

You may have gone during a different time of year. We have never had the sea weed you are describing. Everyone has to do what is most comfortable for them. 

Have been many different times. Was there in feb and May this year. Both were bad. 

[c-leg5]

 

First and foremost you omitted the ages of your grandkids and their expectations regarding activities. Since you didn’t request activities and want PAYG - I am assuming they are young?

 

Much of the information you have received is pre-shut down and not up to date. We have been several times this year and, as much as I disagree with it, the norm seems to be $4pp now in a taxi so for 4 people that is $16 each way for a 5 minute ride. 

 

The “beach” is one long beach, along a malecon, so the same “beach” with many beach bars all of which are frequently visited by vendors that are non-aggressive but annoying if you are trying to - relax, read, listen to music, hold a conversation. The  bars at the “ends” of the malecon  tend to be quieter in this respect than the middle.

 

Mahahual is certainly one of the port stops that is needing time to recover and re-establish after shut down. We used to really enjoy Malecon21 at the southern end but service is certainly not as it was, and regulars at Blue Kay ( northern end) report similar problems. Many of the old thriving beach bars have closed, or been “taken over” by other clubs. Many were trying to enforce an AI or minimum cover charge policy but since the reopening they seem more flexible on that score and are just trying to survive.
 

There was a waterpark just outside of the port, but it was expensive and I am not sure it has re-opened yet.

 

Sargassum is seasonal -  IF it is bad it will be bad at all the beaches in the area since it is predominantly an east coast. The government have erected baffles in the bay and some beach bars have their own additional defenses so the beaches at some bars will be better than others. Krazy Lobster often recommended is one such bar which does a decent job and has a shallow calm area for kids, but even it CAN get overwhelmed by sargassum when it is really bad. Krazy Lobster has good service and we have found them to be honest with charges (unlike some locations) but they are larger and busier than we prefer.

 

Maya Chan is a good beach club which is popular, away from the malecon and requires 20-25 minute ride. It is AI and will suffer the same overwhelming sargassum problems despite heroic efforts to keep it clear.

 

Personally if I was taking a young family these days I would probably just spend some time at the port where there is a pool (no personal experience of how clean it is, but has looked OK), man-made sandy areas, aviary, dolphins to watch, Mexican Papantla flyers. I would never have suggested this in the past due to overpriced  food and drink at the port but now I would buy a drink and maybe a snack and eat mainly on the ship before or after, due to excessive taxi fares and limited attractions for kids in town.  If there are three ships in port it can get very busy. 

 

As I said a lot would depend on the ages and requirements of the kids.

 

 

[c-leg5]

21 hours ago, Jeal said:

We love the Crazy Lobster. They have nets in the water so the sea weed doesn’t enter the swimming area. 

 

3 hours ago, renza said:

Have been many different times. Was there in feb and May this year. Both were bad. 

 

18 hours ago, Jeal said:

You may have gone during a different time of year. We have never had the sea weed you are describing. Everyone has to do what is most comfortable for them. 

As it has been stated sargassum is seasonal. In our experience November to February seem to have better chances of being clear in Mahahual. This year has been another bad year. That said we were at Krazy Lobster in February this year and despite seeing sargassum while cruising the baffles were doing a good job of keeping the swimming area clear.

 

Previous years we have been in February and March and had it clear in February and bad in March.
 

I agree when it is bad the smell can be overwhelming and the look unappealing but it is a fact of nature affecting predominantly east coasts of many islands and mainlands (Florida, Cancun, Playa, east coast of Cozumel to name a few). Some years are worse than others. I agree it is disappointing when it happens but I wouldn’t write off an area completely, as though it is always like that.

 

Now you may not like the seagrass in the water but that is another issue completely and really doesn’t affect the look and smell of the beach or make it dirty.

[c-leg5]

20 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

Is Tropicante close to the Crazy Lobster?  

Tropicante is less than 5 minutes walk to the south, immediately next to El Faro which you should definitely avoid.
 

Google maps is a good place to start to familiarize yourself with the names of different locations although it is definitely not up to date currently

[Ellaleah]

4 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Tropicante is less than 5 minutes walk to the south, immediately next to El Faro which you should definitely avoid.
 

Google maps is a good place to start to familiarize yourself with the names of different locations although it is definitely not up to date currently

Thank you very much for the info.

[CascaisCruiser]

We were at YaYa Beach 2 days ago.  They offer a couple of different packages (chair/umbrella only, chair/umbrella/drinks, or chair/umbrella/drinks/food).  We got the drink package and ordered food ala carte (the ceviche was fantastic!).  They  offer massages, which a lot of people were doing while we were there.    

They have a net that catches the sea grass so I didn't see any in the beach area.  The water area is very shallow.  There isn't a whole lot to do but it's a nice place with great service if you are looking to relax.

There were a lot of vendors that came by but not at all pushy.  

There were 2 ships in port the day we were there and it was full.  I would recommend making reservations in advance, although you don't pay until you get there.  They are also open a bit later than some of the other places, which is nice if you have later port times like we did.  

It was about a 10 minute cab ride and was $4/per person each way.

[mscloyd]

We also went to Yaya Beach in January 2020.  Loved it so much! There was just enough activity going on, but not so much that you couldn't fall asleep in your lounger. I can't remember what we paid but it included 2 loungers, thatched umbrella, and included food and drinks.  Seems like it was about $50. When we want to move from the shade to the sun, they even brought us some extra loungers so we could go back and forth.  I'm sure during busy times that wouldn't be the case.  The bonus for us was that the snorkeling tour that we had booked began right at Yaya. We left our things at Yaya while we went out on the boat (not valuables). There was a little bit of seaweed that I remember, but definitely not enough to keep us from enjoying it. And the massage was great too!

[ABQrobin]

We did Tropicante when we were there a few years ago.  LOVED it.  Fantastic service and food.  Not a pristine beach but not nasty like some people infer.  

 

 

[ssb]

On 7/19/2022 at 9:03 PM, Ellaleah said:

Is Tropicante close to the Crazy Lobster?  

Next door