Day Trips to the Beach - 2 Adults, 3 YO and 8 MO

[AndyLovesCruises]

Looking for a upscale family friendly beach bar day, Ideally something with a pool / on the beech.  Not fussed about all Inv drinks but would be great to have good local tacos 😄

 

Nice Loungers, Beach and Ideally not to far from the port.  Not sure of the car seat situation in Mexico so that may limit us to Official excisions but again they will just be on my lap on a coach... any recommendations would be of great help. 🙂  

 

 

[PelicanBill]

So all the beach places are a couple miles away from the port and a very short taxi ride - no coaches.  It is a very short ride and not a lot of traffic so you would have to be okay with lap sitting.

 

There are many each places with chairs, food and open bar typically included in the price. Some have beach equipment like snorkel gear or kayaks.

 

You can look through this forum, your ship may offer an excursion, and there are shore excursion sites that sell the packages.  Just investigate reviews and what's included.

 

There are very few places with a pool - and it will be tiny and you may not want to use it.

The best pool is the one right at the port.

 

The port has that pool, and a tiny beach, and other things to see and do.

[c-leg5]

4 hours ago, AndyLovesCruises said:

Looking for a upscale family friendly beach bar day, Ideally something with a pool / on the beech.  Not fussed about all Inv drinks but would be great to have good local tacos 😄

 

Nice Loungers, Beach and Ideally not to far from the port.  Not sure of the car seat situation in Mexico so that may limit us to Official excisions but again they will just be on my lap on a coach... any recommendations would be of great help. 🙂  

 

 

I am afraid you are going to have to temper your expectations in Costa Maya and will certainly have to compromise on your list of requirements. You will need to prioritize what is most important for you and your family.

 

To summarize:

There is the port area with shopping, pools, loungers and tourist priced food and drink. A skywalk aviary which may entertain 3 year old, dolphins and aerial Papantla fliers.

 

The town of Mahahual short distance from port with elbow to elbow beach bars- some more upscale than others, but nothing outstanding and facilities fairly basic and rustic at all. As mentioned one or two have “dip” pools but no actual swimming pools. Maybe consider Nacionale beach club?  Be prepared to be bombarded by vendors all along the Malecon while sitting on the beach - harmless but annoying if you are trying to relax.

 

Out of  town beach clubs - Maya Chan, Almaplena, Hayhu, Maya Luna. Much quieter - no vendors but they are at a distance from port by taxi along a  bumpy road. Various levels of comfort and quality and some have small pools.  Maya Chan will provide beach toys for kids, private palapa area for your party but basic loungers, good local taco lunch.

 

Waterpark just outside the port. 
 

Biggest problem with location of Costa Maya is sargassum which is seasonal but season seems to be getting longer year by year. Mexican government has installed off shore baffles which has provided som protection for facilities along the Malecon.

 

 

 

 

[AndyLovesCruises]

5 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

I am afraid you are going to have to temper your expectations in Costa Maya and will certainly have to compromise on your list of requirements. You will need to prioritize what is most important for you and your family.

 

To summarize:

There is the port area with shopping, pools, loungers and tourist priced food and drink. A skywalk aviary which may entertain 3 year old, dolphins and aerial Papantla fliers.

 

The town of Mahahual short distance from port with elbow to elbow beach bars- some more upscale than others, but nothing outstanding and facilities fairly basic and rustic at all. As mentioned one or two have “dip” pools but no actual swimming pools. Maybe consider Nacionale beach club?  Be prepared to be bombarded by vendors all along the Malecon while sitting on the beach - harmless but annoying if you are trying to relax.

 

Out of  town beach clubs - Maya Chan, Almaplena, Hayhu, Maya Luna. Much quieter - no vendors but they are at a distance from port by taxi along a  bumpy road. Various levels of comfort and quality and some have small pools.  Maya Chan will provide beach toys for kids, private palapa area for your party but basic loungers, good local taco lunch.

 

Waterpark just outside the port. 
 

Biggest problem with location of Costa Maya is sargassum which is seasonal but season seems to be getting longer year by year. Mexican government has installed off shore baffles which has provided som protection for facilities along the Malecon.

 

 

 

 

Thank you, by upscale I should have said by Mexico Standards but didn't want to offend 🙂

 

I think if we have the sea, some sun beds and toys we will be content. Thank you for taking the time to come back to me 🙂 

[c-leg5]

2 hours ago, AndyLovesCruises said:

Thank you, by upscale I should have said by Mexico Standards but didn't want to offend 🙂

 

I think if we have the sea, some sun beds and toys we will be content. Thank you for taking the time to come back to me 🙂 

No offense taken but if you haven’t been to Costa Maya before you may still need to temper your expectations even by Mexican standards - depending on where you have been, and what you are comparing it to!

 

We are actually very disappointed in Costa maya since cruising has resumed and think it has become a very greedy locality, which is a shame since pre-Covid it had developed into quite a thriving town despite its struggles with sargassum. We have definite concerns about local politics and bureaucracy and hope it can overcome its difficulties. 

 

However if you want to stick to the town (because of short ride) Nacionale, Jaimie’s (which now has a quieter new overspill location) or Malecon21 may be places to consider. Bathroom facilities are not good generally on the Malecon - not bad at Malecon 21 (although we haven’t been since pre Covid) but food and drink good at these. If you want to be in the heart of the action Krazy Lobster is a popular (busy) PAYG location.
 

There are no developed beach club facilities like Cozumel and no resort hotels, only small private boutique type locations popular with European backpackers.

[AndyLovesCruises]

Malecon21 looks really nice from the reviews and images, I've hard good things to about YaYa beach ?    I have no idea about the Sargassum but since looked it up and can see its a big problem, we usually go to hotels where that's all cleaned up before breakfast but have also been to far nastier beaches. 

 

I look forward to an Authentic day!