Taxi to Majahual Beach

[mommaC82]

After reading this board, I'm thinking we should skip the Jungle Beach break we were planning to do thru Carnival and just take a taxi to this beach. My question is, my kids will be with us. My son will be 5 and my daughter will be 17 months when we cruise next month. Will we need to bring car seats with us to grab a taxi? I'm thinking yes, which makes it VERY inconvienent for us to do this (Don't really want to carry car seats around all day at the beach or while we shop). Any other ideas? We really wanted to do a beach excursion in Mexico as dh and I have been to the ruins in Chichen Itza, and while we LOVED them, I don't think my kids would be interested in seeing them yet. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[JulieMcCoy]

This is just a guess, but I would imagine that no one in this part of Mexico would stop you from boarding a taxi without car seats; I don't know if there are even laws about it there. It would be more a matter of what you're comfortable with. I can tell you that it's a five-minute ride, and you don't go fast. We've always ridden in van taxis, but I've heard there are bus taxis, and maybe that would be a safer situation.

[Kallel00]

never saw nobody buckle their seatbelts there either ;)

[hooked-on-travel]

We went to Majahual two years ago pre-baby and can vouch for the short taxi ride. We're going back next month with a 20 month old. Good or bad, we're planning on taking the taxi without a carseat. There are some good strings to read in the Family Cruising section about car seats and do you or don't you take it on a cruise. We are taking the car seat on our trip b/c we're hiring a car for a private tour in Roatan, but we figured all day was different from 5 minutes. And if we have the same car in Roatan all day, there's no hauling it around on the beach, like you would if you took different taxis to and from a destination. Anyway, I can't speak from experience, but that's the compromise we can live with.

[mommaC82]

Thanks! I guess common sense would have told me they probably wouldn't be required in Mexico, but one never knows. I think our kids would be fine in a 5 minute taxi ride to a beach w/out them. We will have our car seats with us b/c we are taking private transfers to the port of Miami from FLL and they require car seats (plus our dd will be using hers on the plane). Thanks again!

[Kerrid]

We were in Majahual this past Thursday. Our excursion was cancelled due to the ship coming into port late so we didn't know where to go and didn't want to spend the $39 each for the beach break w/the cruise ship.. BAD mistake... we asked one of the security at the port about getting to the "beach" thinking we'd get there cheaper on our own - they showed us to a window to buy a ticket for the taxi which dropped us off in Majahual. The people are extremely pushy and annoying and the beach isn't great at all. The street is lined w/ little restaurants and beach bars w/tables right up to the water. All the people do is come up asking if you want to get a drink a massage, buy something from them, etc. There was 1 restroom and shower facility we saw to use for a fee and it was scary at that. We did not feel safe in this area and ended up taking a taxi to Uvero beach and paid the fee to get in and I'd highly recommend that beach trip w/the cruise ship. The beach is huge, there is a play area for the kids, showers, restrooms, food included. Majahual is a pit from what we experienced.

[TeeBuccs]

Contrary to the last post, DH and I found Mahajual to be a great get away from the ship and crowds. This port is a quaint, small Playa Del Carmen (or the old Playa 10-15 years ago.) It is nice as it is NOT over developed. We walked the entire strip, did some charter fishing and enjoyed ourselves immensely. I guess it is all in what you are looking for.

 

If you like small, quaint restaurants or places to hang out - if you like to get away from large crowds - if you like good food and friendly folks - you might just enjoy this little town. We also spent time at Tequilla Beach which has better ammentities like restrooms than the little joints along the strip.

[mommabean]

You as adults might enjoy Majahual depending on what you think is nice. I took one look at it and knew that if my husband ever went there, he'd turn around and leave. Some call it quaint, some might call it rustic, but dh likes something slightly more upscale.

 

As for children, there is definitely nothing there for your kids. The beach is not a beautiful white sandy beach in the Caribbean that you might like for them. It's a very narrow bit of somewhat rocky area on the edge of the water. The beach is nothing special in spite of what I might think of anything else about the place. I would rather take my small children someplace that doesn't need the Mexican Army with big guns to guard the place due to having no police force of their own. But this might just be me.

 

If you didn't have small children, I might say you should just go and find out for yourselves if this is what you are looking for.

[98Charlie]

You as adults might enjoy Majahual depending on what you think is nice. I took one look at it and knew that if my husband ever went there, he'd turn around and leave. Some call it quaint, some might call it rustic, but dh likes something slightly more upscale.

 

As for children, there is definitely nothing there for your kids. The beach is not a beautiful white sandy beach in the Caribbean that you might like for them. It's a very narrow bit of somewhat rocky area on the edge of the water. The beach is nothing special in spite of what I might think of anything else about the place. I would rather take my small children someplace that doesn't need the Mexican Army with big guns to guard the place due to having no police force of their own. But this might just be me.

 

If you didn't have small children, I might say you should just go and find out for yourselves if this is what you are looking for.

 

 

Just got back from Majuhaul last week. Guess we were at a different part of the village than you. We've been to the village twice in the past 5 months and have found it to be very family friendly with beautiful beach areas for young children to enjoy with parents.

 

We don't have young children but witnessed many families with young children enjoing the water and beach areas in the village. None of them seemed to be afraid, depressed or upset that they were there instead of somewhere else.:D

 

Dianne

[mommabean]

Here is a photo from the bus window as we arrived in Majahual. It is the soldiers and the beach in the background. The beach behind the Cat's Meow where we spent most of our time is more walkable than the beach you see here but it doesn't come close the the beautiful beaches of the Bahama out islands. You can click the pic to make it slightly larger.

 

I would not expect to see anyone depressed, upset or afraid while there. But I did not see any small children there at all either. A 17 month old and a 5 year old are VERY young for this place.

[98Charlie]

Here is a photo from the bus window as we arrived in Majahual. It is the soldiers and the beach in the background. The beach behind the Cat's Meow where we spent most of our time is more walkable than the beach you see here but it doesn't come close the the beautiful beaches of the Bahama out islands. You can click the pic to make it slightly larger.

 

I would not expect to see anyone depressed, upset or afraid while there. But I did not see any small children there at all either. A 17 month old and a 5 year old are VERY young for this place.

 

 

Sorry you feel this way but DH & I have been to Costa Maya twice and to many other ports along the Yucatan Penn. and Mex. Riviera. We wouldn''t hesitate to take our young grandchildren to any of those ports as we would be right there beside them supervising their play just like we would do in any port in any country.

 

We saw many young children having a great time with their parents in Majahual and Costa Maya. None of them were in danger at any time unless their parents or other adult supervision wasn't watching them as they waded out into the beautiful blue waters off a great beach.

 

In two travels to the Costa Maya area we have never witnessed anything like the photo you show. Don't doubt the military was there with weapons but in Mexico the military is very close to our Homeland Security forces and for that I welcome their appearance in ports.

 

Dianne

[smalltowngrll]

I've been to many Mexican towns that are known for tourists and in most of them I've seen the Mexican Military presence. They aren't always obvious and sometimes there presence has been more known than others. At first, it was alarming until I understood that they were more there to keep the peace and order amongst the tourists. Typically during spring break times they are in higher numbers as that is when the partiers are known to cause problems.

[Donna - dsw]

This is not any different than our police being in every city in America. This is the Mexican version of police.

 

You should always be cautious wherever you go. However, if you aren't willing to be careful and go out and venture - then you should stay on the ship.

 

I have been there a number of times and never had a problem. That isn't to say I can't go in Sept. and have problems.