COSTA MAYA port

[cruise#14]

Anyone can give me feedback on the Costa Maya port stop ? I will be there alone on the Granduer of the Seas ? What is there to do ? And what kind of condition is the port after Rita ??

[Barefoot_Pirate]

The port is a cruise ship destination port. The Mexican government wants to develop further down the coast, and this is one way to do it.

 

The town is essentially one dirt road, well sand anyway. It is a couple of miles from the port. The port has a passanger area with bars, Mexican shops, etc. As with other ports, the ships offer their day trips and you can find some as you come off the ship. Just don't expect Cozumel or any other developed city to await you.

 

It's fun, just read up on it and know what to expect. I like it more than Cozy right now. The storms did no to little damage.

[tawcat]

as the above poster stated, the town of Mahaul(sp) is a few miles, go outside the gate and catch a cab, i think its like $6 per person. anyway, theres not much there so don't expect a huge metropolis. look for the white hotel, across from it next to the beach is a little beach bar called pez quadro. your dh can sit there on the bar swings and drink a beer or two while you relax and get a massage by the beach. very reasonable and very relaxing. enjoy! there are a few restaurants scattered about with offerings of fresh caught prawns and lobster!!!!

[Travelgrrl]

$3 per person for the cabs, $2 return to and from Majahual.

 

A charming little beachy town!

 

$20 for a 45 minute massage on the beach, $60 for lots of beers, cokes, and a big Mexican lunch for four, including tip, $1 for pretty hand crafts... this is an incredibly inexpensive and fun little beach stop. I'm sure eventually it will get developed but to me it is perfect as it is!

 

There is also a little beach area and shops at the port but I would go all the way to Majahual and stop in those shops later.

[logan1_2000]

we did the 4 hour chacchoben ruins excursion from costa maya, booked through RCI, and found it great--highly recommend. the size of our group, one bus load, was fine, our guide Leti was terrific. easy to check in, right at the end of the pier, and big clean modern comfortable bud ride and no issues.

[TEXASMUNK]

Another option (but you can only buy it through the ship) is Uvaro Beach.

Snorkeling,swimming, beautiful beach, beverages included.

[chorder]

This is my wife and I's favorite stop, very relaxing, great bar had a great band right at the pier .Another thing was that you are very handy to the ship it is no problem getting on or off throughout the day.

[Gabrielle R.]

My DH and I have been here 2X's We have had a nice time both times. Did Chacchobean the 1st time- really neat- did it throught the ship. It was wroth it for me to have a good guide. This last time (Dec. '05) we just went to the little beach and enjoyed the sandy beach and cold beer and Margaritas. Yup, $3 each for a bus ride to the Majahula (sp) and then $2 for a cab back. We gave $3 each back too, just because we thought the guy should get the same thing as an over crowded bus. It is really rather nice. Have a great time!

[heartofamerica]

Personally, I thought Costa Maya was an armpit. At least if I book another Western Caribbean cruise, I'll choose one that doesn't stop here.

[ozland]

We were there last July-wandered around the port for a while shopping--then rented a 4 person, street worthy golf cart for about $20 for 2 hours. Rode that down to the town mentioned above. It was fun. Just go to the outer side of the shops (to the street) and you should find them if interested. If you want to stay by the pier, there is a large pool there and chaise lounges and bars and at least one restaurant and lots of small, touristy shops. Gets pretty crowded, especially if the weather is good.

[RockyTopMom]

I did an excursion that I enjoyed greatly. It was a bicycle ride from the pier to the town. We stopped for cold drinks, then went across the street to a beautiful sandy beach, where we kayaked out to a reef. When we returned to the beach, we had more cold drinks and sat around for about an hour on the beach which had string hammocks and lounge chairs. We then rode the bicycles back to the pier, on a little different route than we rode out on, more of the back roads of the town, until we got to the main street. I found it very interesting and relaxing. We still had time to shop at the stores in the pier area. It was offered as a ship excursion.

[Sheffie]

We did the Mayan Ruins tour with a local independent operator http://www.chacchobenruins.com/ and it was wonderful! We had time afterwards to hang out at the beach at Majahual. In Majahual there is a pier where you can get independent snorkel and other water excursions. We really liked this port stop.

 

There is a lot of information over at the Costa Maya Ports of Call board. Check it out!

 

Here are some pictures of our day at that port stop: http://community.webshots.com/album/527685047YCNWgf

[cruise#14]

Thanks for all your suggestions, I'm so geeked to go !!

[hstrybuf]

Our next cruise is scheduled to stop at Costa Maya and we can't wait! This time we plan to check out Pez Quadro as so many other cruisers have recommended it. Last time, on the Grand Princess, we took a taxi to Mahahual and ended up at a little place on the beach with palapas, massages on the beach, cheap Dos XX's and good salsa. My guess is, they just dropped us off across from the nearest restaurant, so this time we're going to know exactly where we want to go.

 

We found the vendors in the village had the usual tourist junk, but there were a few that had some very nice things. My DH negotiated with one of them for some beautiful handmade plates. I collect them and was thrilled with the price and quality. In Costa Maya itself, the vendors were very overpriced, but then some of them were willing to negotiate to make a sale.