Which to skip: Costa Maya or Belize?

[karen11g]

We'll be on the Miralce and plan to skip going to shore once because we don't want to that busy. We're a family of five with three kids from 11 to 18. Which would you recommend skipping between Belize and Costa Maya? I've read that getting to shore in Belize takes longer? Any comments would be appreciated!

[phlydude]

I'd skip Belize but that's just me.

[kellyccz]

Have to agree - Belize

[ginak1112]

The highlight of Belize is doing the cave tubing which your kids would love. If you are not going to book an excursion, do not bother going to Belize because there is nothing to do otherwise. Not that Costa Maya is so great but you could just walk around if you want. Belize is not safe to just walk around and there is nothing near the port to do.

[SuzieQK]

I would definitely do a snorkeling excursion in Belize. Its rated the second best reef for snorkeling in the world, #1 is Australia's great barrier reef.

[brn2crz]

Definitly agree.

 

Unless you are doing the cave.Or another really good excursion..(the snorkling is rough in Belize)...There is much more for a family to do in Costa Maya,and much safer..And the no-tendering is a big plus.

[GoinCruisin]

I love Costa Maya, so I would definitely say Belize... I stay on the ship in Belize, nothing there of interest to me...

[Cheeky]

(the snorkling is rough in Belize)

 

Could you elaborate please?

 

Do you mean rough as in the water is choppy?

 

I read somewhere that the guides keep you in a tight bunch when you're doing this, and you can't just wander off a bit.

 

Or do you mean rough as in ... when I was at the Blue Lagoon in Bahamas, until I swam out much further, I was getting scraped by the rocky bottom ... that kinda rough?

 

Or some other kinda rough I'm not thinking of?

 

Thanks,

Cheeky

[NoNoNanette]

I adore BOTH of those ports! I'd have a difficult time choosing one over the other.:confused:

 

In Costa Maya, you have the funky little fishing/beach village of Majuahal. Pretty water, fun shopping, cold beer.... Tapas was a great place!

 

In Belize, you can go cave tubing with Reggie, or if you have the time, go over to Caye Caulker for the day. Wonderful place! No cars, pastel colored buildings, snorkeling galore, or my favorite stop is hanging out at "The Split" for swimming and snorkeling. (The Lazy Lizard bar is fun, and right there).

 

Right next to the Tourist Village is a fun little place called the "Wet Lizard". Owned by a lovely gal from Atlanta. Cheap beer and good food! (Laura)

 

You'll have a delightful time at EITHER stop!;)

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

We were on the Miracle in March. These were my 2 favorite ports! If I had to choose, I would have skipped Coz or GC. A little too tourist-y for my taste, although the stingrays were AWESOME!

 

In Costa Maya, we went to Majuhaul. It was SO beautiful there. Not a whole lot of activity though, just a wonderful relaxing beach day in paradise. The surf breaks way out on the reef, so there is no surf at the shore. It is like swimming in a clear lake, lol. It is just a beach day, but a place so rustic and charming and just plain beautiful. NOT so commercial, which I absolutely loved. The port area there has a HUGE pool that your kids would like with shops all around it.

 

In Belize we went snorkeling at Goff's caye thru the ship. It was just as beautiful there, again like paradise/gilligans island. DH and I felt like kids playing in the water and looking at all the fish. I do agree with the others about Belize. It is probably THE most beautiful place on this itinerary, but NOT impressive unless you book an excursion and get away from the port. In both of these ports I would have been greatly disappointed if I just stayed in the port area.

 

I can understand you not wanting to be that busy. It was a little tiring, 4 days in a row in the ports, but I wouldn't want to have to miss ANY of it. Have you seen any of these places before? I would say you shouldn't miss ANY of them, lol. If I were you I would find a way to see all these places, but just do something relaxing when you get there. Don't rule any of them out. Even if you just get off the ship for a couple of hours!! Otherwise, you will regret it when you hear everyone else saying how wonderful their day was. Good luck with your decision, I am obviously no help, lol. I could never make this decision. They were all beautiful places.

:)

[LaurenKP]

I would just go into Costa Maya for a little while just to see the beach and maybe the shops in the port where you get off the ship. Although we went in because it was so hot in July, the pool was kind of disgusting. We loved our tour of Belize and heard only good things about the other excursions. Richard, our taxi driver, was terrific. He stopped on the way to the Mayan Ruins and showed us all sorts of things and told us all about Belize. It was our favorite port! The tender boat ride was an excursion unto itself! We enjoyed it! Don't skip Belize, but do have someone take you around if you don't do a formal excursion

 

Costa Flavia 8/73?

Inspiration 7/04

Pride 3/05

[JrMafia90]

If you are doing a shore excursion in Belize you will love it. But if you just take the tender into town then you won't like it at all. So, it depends on if you are going to take a shore excursion. Why stay on? Why not get off at least for 30 min. This way you can see what other countries look like. It will be very educating for your kids.

[disneylynn]

You will really be missing something great if you miss Costa Maya.

Mahahaul was a great spot to just chill and relax and the local people we so nice. My kids still talk about Costa Maya. When we were in Belize I took my family on the Rio Wallace river tour, It was wonderful, we saw so many animals along the river This was also a very relaxing tour. My children loved it.

But if you really have to miss a port I would miss Belize over Costa Maya.

[BrendaB1]

I loved both ports. Shopping in Belize was nice & different than other ports. The tender to & from the ship was not bad at all.

 

Costa Maya is always fun. Huge pool in the center of the shopping area. Live music & natives doing dances.

[OCruisers]

It would be a shame for your children to miss Costa Maya! It's an easy and fun day! Here's what we did:

 

Review: Majahaul (the little fishing village) ~OnOurOwn~ (Click Here)

 

Even if you don't go to Majahaul and just stay at the cruise pier in Costa Maya, there's a beach and a pool(with activities) and it's ALL free there ... except what you buy to eat or drink. The children would love it!!! :D

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Grandeur]

SKIP Belize! Costa Maya is tons better (IMO of course)

[Ms Belvedere]

If you sit at the back of the tender on the way in and have one of the boats with the 3, 200 HP engines on the back, your kids would LOVE the ride into Belize! It was so fun.

 

IMHO, make Costa Maya a full day in port, and at least ride the tenders into Belize just for the experience.

[Knights on the Beach]

I can't imagine anyone wanting to skip Belize! I loved it! We did the shark ray alley snorkel excursion (through Carnival), and it was great! We were picked up right at the ship, which was actually the main reason we booked the tour through Carnival. Not sure I understand the comment about rough snorkeling, unless they had bad weather. We've snorkeled in the Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Haiti, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, etc., and I'd have to say that Belize was the best place so far. The water was a beautiful blue with amazing reefs and tons of fish, and our guides were great. Belize is a place I definitely want to visit again.

 

We also enjoyed our day in Costa Maya, but it was a more laid back type of day for us. If you click on the link below for my Glory pictures, you can see pictures of both Belize and Costa Maya.

[NewOrleansGuy]

I would definitely do a snorkeling excursion in Belize. Its rated the second best reef for snorkeling in the world, #1 is Australia's great barrier reef.

 

I've been diving for 24 years, and never heard that Belize is the 2nd best reef for snorkeling.........gotta stop getting your polls from inside Mad Magazine. LOL. I'd skip Belize, too....nothing against it, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Costa Maya.

[Pumbaamd]

You might never go back again. Suck it up! Do both! In Belize we did the jungle river cruise and Altun Ha ruins. You and the kids will love it. Go ashore in both ports, you won't regret it.

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

I've been diving for 24 years, and never heard that Belize is the 2nd best reef for snorkeling.........gotta stop getting your polls from inside Mad Magazine. LOL. I'd skip Belize, too....nothing against it, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Costa Maya.

 

Actually what that poster probably meant was that it is the second LARGEST reef in the world, second to Austrailia, which IS a fact:)

 

 

 

"Belize Barrier Reef

The Belize Barrier Reef is the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world. This reef lies parallel to the coast of Belize, and stretches about 180 miles in a north to south direction. The Belize Barrier Reef is widely regarded as one of the world's best diving and snorkeling sites. The water on this reef is calm and clear with water visibility usually reaching about 100 feet. The water temperature remains at around 80 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the year.

 

The reef is home to about 375 species of fish and about 60 types of coral. Just beyond the main reef are three "atolls" - very large oval shaped formations of coral. In close proximity to the reef can be found a number of marine reserves, including Laughing Bird Caye National Park and Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve. These reserves are well worth a visit for those interested in marine ecology. In addition to diving and snorkeling, the reef is also a great location for water skiing, wind surfing, fishing or just plain swimming. "

 

From Raymond Resendes,

Your Guide to Mexico / Central America for Visitors.

 

NOT from Mad magazine, lol:D

[rdytocruz]

We did tours in both Costa Maya and Belize and I wouldn't have missed either one. When you go to a place you should take every opportunity to see the area and experience the culture. You may not be back that way again so don't miss a single opportunity. You and the kids are all building memories and you will never regret the experiences you share.

[brn2crz]

Most of the snorkeling offered through the cruise lines,or at the landing pier are to the outer cayes.While they are beautiful,they are in areas where the current is very strong,and can make for difficult snorkeling.And the trip out to Goffs Caye is about 30 min.Just not something I would do again with children.We had many come back from the reef very cut up.

[rcsort]

We'll be on the Miralce and plan to skip going to shore once because we don't want to that busy. We're a family of five with three kids from 11 to 18. Which would you recommend skipping between Belize and Costa Maya? I've read that getting to shore in Belize takes longer? Any comments would be appreciated!

 

 

This depends on what you wan't to do. Personally I love Costa Maya and don't care for Belize. A few things to consider:

 

If you wan't to snorkel - Belize for sure

 

I have kids this age and although I haven't done it, if I ever sailed with them, I would try the cave tubing in Belize

 

If you want to get off in Belize you have to get up early and yes, it takes awhile to tender in. In Costa Maya the ship arrives much later and you can sleep in a little.

[karen11g]

Wow! Thanks for all the feedback! For the people who said we should do them all, I'm sure we'd love whatever we did, but we've actually done a lot of traveling all over the world and we always go with the assumption that we'll be back. Otherwise I think you can just drive yourself crazy trying to see everything. But as is clear from the variety of opinions on this topic, different strokes...:)

 

It looks like skipping Belize is the majority opinion, but I'll absorb everything, and we'll have a family pow wow and decide. I love the idea of just getting off in Costa Maya and wandering into Majahual, but I'll see what everybody else wants to do. Thanks again!