Costa Maya, Mexico-what's good?

[turner224]

Has anybody ever been there? If so, what's good?

[bepsf]

The ship.


Seriously, it's a good day to relax on the beach, or take a spa day aboard the ship - but not much else...

the mayan ruin tour shows you one temple
the off-road "adventure" makes you drive slowly through poor villages
the "resort" has lousy and pricey food, expensive drinks & a saltwater pool.

There are a few shops there that have genuine handcrafts at reasonable prices - but the "Diamonds/Tanzanite/Gemstone-of-the-Week International" shops are worth skipping.
We were booked for kayaking, but the seas were rough and so had to be cancelled - I have the feeling that would have been fun...

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have not been there yet - will be in May.

But I asked this question on another board.

It is a newly developed port. The pier can hold 3 ships - and they are going to expand it in the future.

There is a tram to take passengers from the ship to the end of the pier and vice versa.

At the pier they have built shops and there is a beach area. We were looking forward to going to beach but we discovered that the day we are there are 3 ships there and the Zuiderdam will be the last to arrive - so all the good beach area will be gone.

Someone mentioned that there is a pool there as well but they also said that it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months.

We weren't able to find a tour that we liked since the ship arrives at 11 AM.

[OCruisers]

turner .... We've been there and had a WONDERFUL day! Here's what we did:

Review: MAJAHAUL (the little fishing village) "OnOurOwn" (Click Here) (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=50841)
(Posted on the Ports of Call Board under Costa Maya)

Hope this helps and you have as good a time as we did!

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[jaguarstyper]

I've been reading up on this port a little bit. I havent been there but there is a lot of good info in the ports of call board. I think the consensus on that board seems to be spending the day in the tiny town of Mahahaul, which is about a 3 minute cab ride away.

Check out the board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=169

I have been drawn to the bar/beach known as Pez Quadro. Thats where I'll be hanging out when we are in Costa Maya. Another popular place seems to be Tapa's Bar, also right on the beach.

Pez Quadro: http://costamayacruiseexcursions.com/CostaMayaBeach.htm

Looks to me to be well worth the $25 charge.

Tim, looking forward to Pez Quadro.

[bepsf]

Wish i'd known about that site last year!


The horseback riding looks great!

[cruzingqueen]

I was here in September and was happily surprised. We spent the day at the pool that is there close by the dock area. It was surrounded by sand, hammocks, lounge chairs and a swim up bar I believe. Shopping was built around the swimming/beach area and there was live entertainment at different times during the day. Later that afternoon, we took one of the tours that went to some pyramid type ruins that they are slowly uncovering. There was still a lot of work to be done here, but still interesting overall. There was alot of construction going on in September so there may be even more to do by now. I was disappointed initially as I had never heard of this place and we had been scheduled to go to Grand Cayman instead (itinerary changed due to Hurricane Jeanne). This was a very pleasant surprise...off the beaten path but plenty to do to have an enjoyable day.

[Nan-L]

I loved this port. We went the the villiage, not far from port. Ther are real bargins to be had. We bought 2 cotton hamocks for $30, same ones on San Jan run about $100 a piece.
The people are friendly, drinks are cheap, and there are penlty of beach chairs.