Mahahual pre book or just show up???

[kimaj3]

Is it worth paying island marketing for the beach break in Mahahual,? For our family it would be 100.00 plus our taxi there. Or can you just show up and pay a fee when you get there for AI drinks and lunch...or is it a better option to forget about the AI options and just pay seperate somewhere for food and drinks?

Thanks in advance

[iuac1]

We were just in Costa Maya on the NCL Pearl. Took the taxi - $3 per person - into the town and then walked to Tropicante. Taxi will drop you off somewhere along the street - easy walk up and down to find a bar/restaurant where you would like to sit for the day on the beach. Steve at Tropicante is a great guy - good food and inexpensive drinks - clean bathrooms. We had reserved two chairs - no cost. They were waiting for us down by the water. Good service all day. Many cabs ready to take you back to ship - $2 per person.

[chilimixx]

You don't need to reserve a beach break, but if you want to ensure a place for your family (it depends of how many ships dock in a day) better paying in advance.

[SeaPA1]

I can't imagine it being worth booking something in advance. The places there are essentially lined up, 1 right after another, with no discernible difference in them.

 

I'm not generally a fan of "all-inclusives." I can only see them being worthwhile if you fit one of two categories:

 

*you (and everyone in your group) drink very, very large quantities of booze

*you (and everyone in your group) are very big eaters.

 

We were there a couple of weeks ago - wife, 2 young sons, 7 & 5 y/o, and me. We took a cab to town for $9 (the kids were half price). We did the following:

 

*went to 100% Agave, one of the restaurants off the beach; had a couple of drinks there; left tab open because we were coming back for lunch

*went over to the beach for awhile, randomly picked a spot, sat at a table & swam some; had a couple of beers & sodas, spent about $15

*back to 100% Agave for lunch - 2 adult meals, 2 kids meals, a couple more drinks. Including the cost of the earlier drinks, iirc it was around $25.

*Cab back to the ship, $5 (I gave him a couple extra bucks for a tip

 

So not including the souvenirs we bought, I spent roughly $50. Fed the four of us & had plenty of alcohol (several beers, several shots of tequila, maybe something else that I don't remember)

 

Things are pretty cheap there. At the prices for drinks, I'd get alcohol poisoning before I drank enough to make it cost-effective to do an AI

[jacks79]

my husband, me and our 6 kids ranging from 6 to 17 yo are going to be in costa maya on the Norwegian spirit feb.15. I also was wondering if it is worth to book something in advance or just show up to Mahahual. As there are many of us, doing excursions gets very costly. I thought this might be a good place to just go hang out by the beach...any suggestions?

[Suntanz]

I would not book anything advance. We went 7 of us, (wife, inlaws, kids ages 10,10 & 8) & had a blast. It was $3 taxi or bus to get there, $2 return. People will be asking you to sit in their loungs chairs on the beach. We sat 1st row on the water, with table & umbrella behind us to eat as well. A bucket of beer (Sol is highly recommended) cost $10 for 6 beers. Food was cheap as well. My wife & I had massages on the beach for $15 each. We took the kids on a banana boat as well. Everything is cheap there, just remember to negotiate. We had a great time. No need for reservations.

[jdvmd]

I think it depends on how many ships are in port and if they are the big ones, i.e. Epic, Oasis, Dream etc. A lot of the beach clubs do limit how many people are there are a given day. For example, No Hoch Cay (which we booked through Island Marketing), limits to 25 people. We were happy that we booked ahead of time. When we arrived, they knew exactly who we were and greeted us by name. That said, I saw some officers from our ship come and have lunch and then left.

[Sandoo]

I would not book anything advance. We went 7 of us, (wife, inlaws, kids ages 10,10 & 8) & had a blast. It was $3 taxi or bus to get there, $2 return. People will be asking you to sit in their loungs chairs on the beach. We sat 1st row on the water, with table & umbrella behind us to eat as well. A bucket of beer (Sol is highly recommended) cost $10 for 6 beers. Food was cheap as well. My wife & I had massages on the beach for $15 each. We took the kids on a banana boat as well. Everything is cheap there, just remember to negotiate. We had a great time. No need for reservations.

 

You mentioned negotiating. What price did they start at and what price did you end up at?

[jtdlmc]

If you are just going to one of the beach clubs on the "strip" in Majahual I would not reserve anything - except at Tropicante if you want a lounge chair. Definitely much cheaper than an AI - the beer is 6 for $10. We started out at Pez Quadro since our tour left from there and it was very nice, plenty of chairs and lots of waiter attention but they didn't have the bucket of beer special. We had initially wanted to go to Tropicante but they had no loungers available so we didn't book ahead of time, but we wandered down there after our tour returned. Steve is such a great guy, he came to our table and chatted for quite a while. We had 8 or 9 beers, a couple frozen drinks, chips and salsa and the end bill was $20! Costa Maya is not somewhere I will ever intentionally return to (our Belize port was cancelled) but if I ever end up there again, Tropicante is definitely where I would go.

[Barbiegator]

Tapas is a good place to lounge , drink and eat. We were very pleased with their service.

[runner15km]

Tapas is a good place to lounge , drink and eat. We were very pleased with their service.

 

We just got back from Tapas Beach Bar the last week on February. A total of two ships were in port, taxi dropped us off at the beginning of town and it was crowded.

We walked down the street until the crowds thinned out and found Tapas. They wanted $5 ea for lounge chairs but we settled for four chairs, table and shade as long as you drink and eat. Spouse and I shared a bucket of beer, granddaughter and SIL had soda and bottled water. We also ordered salsa, guacamole and chips, total came to around $40.00. SIL got a 1 hour message for $30.00. Tapas was great, clean beach, beautiful water and a great view of our ship. :)

[melodystrother]

I think we may just forgo reservations and see what we can find. We are a party of 3 and not big drinkers and I just hate spending money for something I cant use.

[Familygoboston]

Wrong thread