Quiet, secluded beach?

[shhhhh]

This is our first time in Costa Maya. Are there any nice, quiet & secluded beaches for us to enjoy?

[samnjoc]

I went on the Liberty 8 day cruise and visited this port on Monday, November 27th. We were in port from 8-5pm. Since this port is not very developed and I wasn't big on the ruins, there didn't seem to be a lot of high adventure things to do. I usually like high adventure, but if it is not available I like to "get away from it all" at a nice quaint hotel with a beach, maragaritas, food, and sun. There is not a lot of information on the different beach resorts available independently and since I am not big on ship excursions, I decided to dig further on the web.

 

Finally, after some research I came across Hotel Maya Luna - http://www.hotelmayaluna.com/. So, I communicated via email with the owner and to my surprise I got almost an immediate response (compared to other places who were slow and sometimes not responsive at all). I let the owner know that I had a small (10 persons or less) group interested in using her resort for the day for some drinks, lunch, sun, and some snorkeling. I asked her if she could accomodate us and she said she could. There was no deposit required except for the dive excursion or massage services (if we wanted we could book a separate dive excursion or massage from a CERTIFIED Therapist and pay them directly). We would only pay a la carte for the drinks and food ordered at the hotel. How wonderful it sounded! The resort was 5 km south of the Majahual town - a $5 per person taxi ride.

 

So, we got to the port on Monday - a great, sunny day - and followed the instructions posted on cruisecritic to find a yellow cab outside the ship terminal. Easy enough, there were cabs waiting right outside. They took us to the resort and before we knew it we were in paradise! The resort was everything we imagined - private, quiet, and beautiful! The owner met us right at the entrance, gave us a tour and let us set up under the shade. We had use of beach chairs, kayaks, and one of their cabanas for restrooms and showers. At lunchtime they approached us with the day's customized menu. The margaritas were UNREAL - the food was out of this world and the service immaculate!! They even had a small gift shop and book swap for our use. At 3:30pm we were sad to see our cabs come to pick us up.

 

All in all, probably the best beach day I've had at a port since Roatan. If you are a smaller low-key group looking for a place to spend the day in peace, sun, and comfort, THIS IS THE PLACE. I'd be happy to answer any other questions and send photos of my fantastic experience. I hope you enjoy Costa Maya as much as I did!

 

Oh, and for 7 of us with the free snorkel masks, fins, kayaks, plenty of margaritas, cervesas and food - the total bill was $120 (not including tip - your discretion) - what a deal!!!

[metronome]

I was excited to find your post about this resort. my wife and i, along with family, are going to costa maya this month. thus far, the only resort i had heard of what the maya palms resort, which had gottn a mixed bag of reviews. would you definately recommend the luna. we are looking for that one corona-esque like commercial spot to spend atleast one day, with no excursions, merely relaxing, drinking and perhaps swimming/snorleking.

thanks.

[ctbrehm]

Hi, we'll be arriving in Costa Maya April & was thrilled to see your post. I sent an email and received a response in hours! I have a couple of questions. Did you negotiate a round trip fare with the cab driver and pay at the end of the day? I heard if you don't do this, they won't come back. Also, we have our own snorkeling gear. Did you swim out to the reef. How far was it? Do you know anything about the rubber boat they have available? Is there a small engine or do you paddle. Thanks!

[samnjoc]

To metronome - YES, YES, YES - DEFINITE recommend - it is truly a quiet paradise spot. Check out my photos - http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QaNGbFu1bsKi

 

To ctbrehm - Did you negotiate a round trip fare with the cab driver and pay at the end of the day? Yes - we negotiated at the start and paid when they picked us up.

Did you swim out to the reef - how far? The reef was a good 20 minute swim or you could paddle in the kayak (these are the 'rubber boats' - they are kayaks). It was a really windy the day we went so the waves and current prevented us from paddling out there. You can see the reef from the shore but it is further with the wind (see the photo link above - it is where the waves are breaking on the shore)! The dive company can also take you snorkeling for a small fee so, if you really want to do some snorkeling I would recommend booking a trip with them to ensure you have a great full day of snorkeling!!!

[jodster]

samnjoc,

 

Great pictures....................it appears that the water looks "brown" in the pictures, I guess I was expecting it to be a beautiful caribbean blue.

 

jodi

[samnjoc]

The location of Costa Maya in relation to the sea and the nearby reef is so that almost all of the beaches near any snorkeling at all in Costa Maya have a section of sea grass right next to the beach area, but once you get a bit off the shore it's all blue water. It is truly beautiful and worth it. I was afraid it wouldn't be that good b/c of the sea grass, but it's still a wonderful place to relax! You'll find this true when you get to Costa Maya - I looked at the beaches in town and it is much of the same. The only beach I think that has less sea grass is Cha-Chi resort (the hole in the fence place) and the snorkeling is hit or miss there and the resort not quite the hidden away paradise that Hotel Maya Luna is.