Excursion or not in Costa Maya? Are beaches a bust?

[exeter_acres]

Heading to Costa Maya in late November (MSC) and been researching and originally Maya Chan looked like a great way to spend a day..  but...  seems the whole area of beaches is a bit of a bust with the sargassum.   So  looking at the Chacchoben ruins tour...

Ok..  be honest..  How crowded does it get there?  Looks like three ships scheduled that day.....  I love history and photography, etc..  but is it really worth it?

 

Honestly for that stop we are just leaning towards wandering around the port.. and then hanging out on the ship

 

Any thoughts on excursions that are really worth it?

 

Thanks!!!

[c-leg5]

20 minutes ago, exeter_acres said:

Heading to Costa Maya in late November (MSC) and been researching and originally Maya Chan looked like a great way to spend a day..  but...  seems the whole area of beaches is a bit of a bust with the sargassum.   So  looking at the Chacchoben ruins tour...

Ok..  be honest..  How crowded does it get there?  Looks like three ships scheduled that day.....  I love history and photography, etc..  but is it really worth it?

 

Honestly for that stop we are just leaning towards wandering around the port.. and then hanging out on the ship

 

Any thoughts on excursions that are really worth it?

 

Thanks!!!

No way to tell what sargassum will be like by November at this point.We have been many times end of November/beginningDecember and it has been fine. You will get a better idea a week or two before. Maya Chan always used to send photos even allowing you to cancel at pick up on the day if sargassum is bad - not sure if that is still the case. You could always go to one of the beach bars on the malecón if it looks clear on the day when you arrive. 

 

 

The port can take four ships so more important is the size of ships and volume of passengers. The port area will be busy but I would get off and walk around if you haven’t been before and probably enjoy a drink. Food and drink are expensive within the port so we would return to the ship to eat.

 

 No idea how busy the ruins would be but if you go through the ship you will be with a much bigger group than the independent tours.

 

[exeter_acres]

Thanks for the info... re the ruins.. MSC does offer a small group (max 12) tour..  but just curious folks personal experiences on how crowded it can get...

and for the beach clubs in town...  for us..  they just look a little too crowded in with chairs for a small beach...  just not our thing..   thanks!!

 

[c-leg5]

28 minutes ago, exeter_acres said:

Thanks for the info... re the ruins.. MSC does offer a small group (max 12) tour..  but just curious folks personal experiences on how crowded it can get...

and for the beach clubs in town...  for us..  they just look a little too crowded in with chairs for a small beach...  just not our thing..   thanks!!

 

OK good to know i have never been on MSC or to the ruins.

 

The malecon is one long beach with multiple beach bars of different sizes and qualities. We also prefer quieter and have done town and Maya Chan depending on port hours. There are other individual out-of-town clubs in addition to Maya Chan but if there is sargassum at one most likely it will be at all since they all face the same way. The town beach has been equipped with an offshore baffle system which seems to have helped some this year. I am not sure how far it goes or which clubs benefit most -we haven’t been this year.

 

My biggest gripe with Costa Maya, since cruising restarted, is taxi prices and concerns about monopolies. We have also said we will spend some days within the port, something we would never have considered in the past.

[clydecruiser]

On 8/6/2023 at 2:34 PM, exeter_acres said:

Thanks for the info... re the ruins.. MSC does offer a small group (max 12) tour..  but just curious folks personal experiences on how crowded it can get...

and for the beach clubs in town...  for us..  they just look a little too crowded in with chairs for a small beach...  just not our thing..   thanks!!

 

  @exeter_acres We are on same cruise. Booked a 4h tour today with https://www.thenativechoice.com after reading reviews here. 

Edited August 8, 2023 by clydecruiser

[KatNiss Houston]

I did Chacchoben and Bacalar Lagoon with Native Choice in September. I recommend it. Bacalar was clean, calm, pretty water. In the off season, they don't get a lot of visitors. Our tour of 15 or so was the only group there that day - so that was great. Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards - all free to use. Plenty of chairs. Clean facilities.

 

Chacchoben had more tour groups there, but everyone broke up into smaller groups of 10-15 it seemed and it never seemed particularly crowded. 

 

The port area is also very nice. With the combined tour, we didn't have time to explore the port and there's plenty to see just there. We could easily have spent the day there, and next time we might. I'm never one to stay at port or on ship, but now that I've seen the sights in the area, I'd love to have time to see the port too.