Relaxing Day Suggestions

[toddnmargo]

Maya Chan is sold out/unavailable the day we will be in port in April.  This is our first time to CM and are traveling with friends new to cruising.  We are all 50+ and not looking for a party atmosphere. Where would you suggest for a quiet, relaxing beach day?  We are on the RC Voyager and will be in port from 12 to 7, so that timeframe makes things a little complicated too.  

We are considering staying in the port area since the other two ships in port that day will be departing before us.  Nacional Beach Club is another option we are considering.  Thoughts? Thanks for your help and advice! 

[AmandaKaye79]

Hayhu Beach Club. Amazing quiet day!

[dctravel]

We have the same issue for a cruise in March. After we struck at with Jamie's and Maya Chan, the folks at Maya Chan recommended Pez Quadro, which is part of/across the boardwalk area from the 50 Cannons hotel. I did some research on it, and it looks good, plus will make it easy with the kids to explore some of the shops, etc... on the walkway area. Not the same for sure, but I am hoping for the best!

 

dctravel

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, dctravel said:

We have the same issue for a cruise in March. After we struck at with Jamie's and Maya Chan, the folks at Maya Chan recommended Pez Quadro, which is part of/across the boardwalk area from the 50 Cannons hotel. I did some research on it, and it looks good, plus will make it easy with the kids to explore some of the shops, etc... on the walkway area. Not the same for sure, but I am hoping for the best!

 

dctravel

 

Pez Quadro can be busy and exoensive.  It attracts a lot of entertainment staff from the ships at a discount so be forewarned.

 

If you want somewhere quieter we prefer Malecon 21 which has different price packages. 
 

The beach clubs are all shoulder to shoulder along the Malecon. There is no difference in access to anything especially stalls and roaming vendors, third party operators for massage, bikes, snorkeling etc. North and south ends tend to be slightly quieter.

 

Unless it is your first time and you want the experience of out of town, I would stay at the port or the malecon with those hours, from past experience of those port hours.

 

 

Edited January 26 by c-leg5

[toddnmargo]

On 1/25/2024 at 6:58 PM, c-leg5 said:

 

Pez Quadro can be busy and exoensive.  It attracts a lot of entertainment staff from the ships at a discount so be forewarned.

 

If you want somewhere quieter we prefer Malecon 21 which has different price packages. 
 

The beach clubs are all shoulder to shoulder along the Malecon. There is no difference in access to anything especially stalls and roaming vendors, third party operators for massage, bikes, snorkeling etc. North and south ends tend to be slightly quieter.

 

Unless it is your first time and you want the experience of out of town, I would stay at the port or the malecon with those hours, from past experience of those port hours.

 

 

We are considering Malecon 21 and Hayhu Beach.  Are taxis the best option for getting there and back to the ship? Thanks for your help!

Edited January 27 by toddnmargo

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, toddnmargo said:

We are considering Malecon 21 and Hayhu Beach.  Are taxis the best option for getting there and back to the ship? Thanks for your help!

Yes for Malecon 21 you will take your own taxi. We haven’t been in the last year but I believe the taxi dispatch may have moved back outside the port gates but cannot confirm.

 

Hayhu seems to arrange taxi transport and confirms on WhatsApp, not sure where they meet you now but they  will confirm details.

 

Hayhu will be a 20-30 minute ride each way so make sure you have long enough port hours and ship time vs local time.

Edited January 27 by c-leg5

[dctravel]

On 1/25/2024 at 6:58 PM, c-leg5 said:

 

Pez Quadro can be busy and exoensive.  It attracts a lot of entertainment staff from the ships at a discount so be forewarned.

 

If you want somewhere quieter we prefer Malecon 21 which has different price packages. 
 

The beach clubs are all shoulder to shoulder along the Malecon. There is no difference in access to anything especially stalls and roaming vendors, third party operators for massage, bikes, snorkeling etc. North and south ends tend to be slightly quieter.

 

Unless it is your first time and you want the experience of out of town, I would stay at the port or the malecon with those hours, from past experience of those port hours.

 

 

Thanks c-leg5! We read a lot of reviews, and think this probably works best for us, even if it is a little busy and chaotic. Since we have the kids in tow, being in the middle of it all might make it better than a more relaxed atmosphere, at least that's what I hope!

[JMPJMP88]

My brain is overloaded with all the info I have read, so it's nice to find this community. We'll be porting in CM on 3/14 with RC Harmony. I think our port time is 8am to 4pm, not 100% sure but this is our BIG get off the ship & go to the beach day with 20 people (age range 2.5 to 75 years old). Family  cruise celebrating my parent's 50th, plus my brother & niece celebrating bdays! Big trip for the fam!

We were thinking HayHu but distance made me nervous, but liked the transportation. Then I was concerned about food & drink credits not being enough for our group, as we have people who like to drink.

Really leaning towards Malecon 21 since it is 13km from port & we want to be away from the port crowd. They have the drinking & non drinking package that all include lunch. Reviews on google & TA have been really good.

Getting transportation makes me nervous after all the reviews about the taxi scams. There is no defined price pp. Is it $4 or $8??

Any more advice would be helpful as I'm the designated "caring for the 70 year olds" person so they don't  get scammed. Thanks!

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, JMPJMP88 said:

My brain is overloaded with all the info I have read, so it's nice to find this community. We'll be porting in CM on 3/14 with RC Harmony. I think our port time is 8am to 4pm, not 100% sure but this is our BIG get off the ship & go to the beach day with 20 people (age range 2.5 to 75 years old). Family  cruise celebrating my parent's 50th, plus my brother & niece celebrating bdays! Big trip for the fam!

We were thinking HayHu but distance made me nervous, but liked the transportation. Then I was concerned about food & drink credits not being enough for our group, as we have people who like to drink.

Really leaning towards Malecon 21 since it is 13km from port & we want to be away from the port crowd. They have the drinking & non drinking package that all include lunch. Reviews on google & TA have been really good.

Getting transportation makes me nervous after all the reviews about the taxi scams. There is no defined price pp. Is it $4 or $8??

Any more advice would be helpful as I'm the designated "caring for the 70 year olds" person so they don't  get scammed. Thanks!

I can’t comment on Hayhu since I haven’t made it yet. I am not sure what provisions they have for a group that large. I see you were looking at Maya Chan so timewise distance isn’t much different. It is slightly further away but they take a different route.
 

Biggest factor to consider looking after 70+ year olds and toddlers will be distance to walk along the pier, through the port and out of the port to transport.

 

There is a defined charge for taxis of $4pp each way to the malecon. It may be different if it is a large taxi cab but as far as I know, Costa Maya still doesn’t have a board with posted charges so best to confirm with taxi dispatcher before you leave. 
 

Malecon21 is at the southern end of the malecon. All taxis stop on the road one block inland since Malecon is pedestrian-only. Ask to be dropped at nearest road, probably Calle Atún and when you get out you have to walk one block towards the ocean. Beware of vendors trying to misdirect you to their location. Take a copy of Google maps or map from their website and check for the Malecon21 sign when you arrive.

Malecon21 is not large (like most clubs in Costa Maya) and I think you would need to pre-book to see if they have room for that many people. 
 

Krazy Lobster is the only large beach club. I am not sure if they do reservations to get that size group together.

[JMPJMP88]

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

I can’t comment on Hayhu since I haven’t made it yet. I am not sure what provisions they have for a group that large. I see you were looking at Maya Chan so timewise distance isn’t much different. It is slightly further away but they take a different route.
 

Biggest factor to consider looking after 70+ year olds and toddlers will be distance to walk along the pier, through the port and out of the port to transport.

 

There is a defined charge for taxis of $4pp each way to the malecon. It may be different if it is a large taxi cab but as far as I know, Costa Maya still doesn’t have a board with posted charges so best to confirm with taxi dispatcher before you leave. 
 

Malecon21 is at the southern end of the malecon. All taxis stop on the road one block inland since Malecon is pedestrian-only. Ask to be dropped at nearest road, probably Calle Atún and when you get out you have to walk one block towards the ocean. Beware of vendors trying to misdirect you to their location. Take a copy of Google maps or map from their website and check for the Malecon21 sign when you arrive.

Malecon21 is not large (like most clubs in Costa Maya) and I think you would need to pre-book to see if they have room for that many people. 
 

Krazy Lobster is the only large beach club. I am not sure if they do reservations to get that size group together.

Thanks for the info on the taxi & walking a block to the ocean. Did not know that. It is Calle Atun.

I have been in contact with both HayHu & Malecon21 to pre-book.

The thing Hayhu is they give a certain amount of credit to go for consumption. For example VIP for 6 is $600 & $300 is credit for food & drinks.

Really Malecon will fit our needs so we'll stick with that.

On The taxis do we talk to a main guy at the booth or do we deal with the drivers? Do we pay the driver directly? Do we tip the driver? The crazy stories I've read are people that got scammed by paying both the guy at the stand then the driver charged them as well.

[bandtaxi]

Just back from Costa Maya. It is a long walk from the ship, down the pier, through the port to the taxis. We had 4 ships in port and the large port area was super crowded and a maze of people to get through. Be mindful of that with a large group with very young and older folks. 
 

At the taxis, we were waiting in a line (not much direction or info on what you should do) Gal in front of us said she was going to walk further (to outside the gate) so she didn’t have to pay someone to ‘get’ her a taxi.  I can’t say that would have happened because we just followed her a short walk through the gate and got a taxi $4 pp one way.  

Once we got to town, it was much less crowded. We walked a bit before we decided to stop at Big Mamas.  If you have a reservation, you should be fine. Just, (like a previous post said) don’t let someone talk you into a different place. Tell them you have a reservation. 
 

Enjoy your day and your celebration!

Edited February 17 by bandtaxi

[JMPJMP88]

Thank you for that information. I have read lots about the long walks from the ship to the port. Reservations are made with a deposit and the only way you get a full refund is if your ship doesn't dock. I'm crossing my fingers that all will work out.

Keep the advice comments coming!

P.S. Did you feel safe while porting in Mexico?

 

[c-leg5]

22 hours ago, JMPJMP88 said:

Thanks for the info on the taxi & walking a block to the ocean. Did not know that. It is Calle Atun.

I have been in contact with both HayHu & Malecon21 to pre-book.

The thing Hayhu is they give a certain amount of credit to go for consumption. For example VIP for 6 is $600 & $300 is credit for food & drinks.

Really Malecon will fit our needs so we'll stick with that.

On The taxis do we talk to a main guy at the booth or do we deal with the drivers? Do we pay the driver directly? Do we tip the driver? The crazy stories I've read are people that got scammed by paying both the guy at the stand then the driver charged them as well.

IF you can get the taxi to go down Calle Atún as far as the malecon, then Malecon21 will be right there. We find they generally drop you on the main, through road (Calle Sardina) and then it is behind their associated hotel, Noah.

 

I would check price with dispatcher and driver before leaving. Take a photo of the taxi # (in case you leave something, but also as a deterrent) and pay the driver. I have never paid the dispatcher. Small denomination, untorn bills since they won’t have change. It is not customary to tip taxis in Mexico but is expected in areas that cater to US tourists.  If they overcharge then we don’t tip.  

 

Unfortunately the taxis, and Costa Maya in general, have become very greedy and we have been very disappointed in the port since cruising resumed.

 

Hope you enjoy your day. If you go to Malecon21, I look forward to your updated report to let us know how things are going now.