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What to do in Costa Maya?

snowbun3

By snowbun3,
in Royal Caribbean International

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hstrybuf

hstrybuf

Posted
Posted
We took a cab to mahajual and had lunch, guacamole, swam, shopped with the street vendors and just relaxed. We had a wonderful time.

 

Ditto to what carbon said. We were two couples and had a blast just relaxing, eating, swimming (I forgot my bathing suit!) and shopping. The men sat relaxing while we girls had a massage on the beach. Some of the vendors had very nice things that were much less expensive than the vendors in Costa Maya itself. We also did some shopping at the shops when we returned to Costa Maya and had a couple of drinks at one of the restaurants there. The taxi ride was $5/pp roundtrip.

 

Here are some pics from that cruise of both Costa Maya and Mahahual.

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/93847874LCZtKG

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Sheffie

Sheffie

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We booked an excursion to the ruins with David and Ivan at http://www.chacchobenruins.com/. We were a small group and David gave us wonderful insight in the Mayan culture. When we returned, we spent the rest of the time at Majahual. We had a great time!

 

Here are some of our pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/93847874LCZtKG

 

Have a great cruise!

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TidePrideGA

TidePrideGA

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I highly recommend Majuhual as well. However, don't stop at the first place you come to... go on through the little town area (pedestrians only) and ask people to direct you to Pez Cuadro. Before lunch, Sol is $1.50. All beer is $2.00 all the time. DH, DS (20) and I thoroughly enjoyed our day at Pez Cuadro - in fact, it was our favorite day!

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hstrybuf

hstrybuf

Posted
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We booked an excursion to the ruins with David and Ivan at http://www.chacchobenruins.com/. We were a small group and David gave us wonderful insight in the Mayan culture. When we returned, we spent the rest of the time at Majahual. We had a great time!

 

Here are some of our pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/93847874LCZtKG

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Sheffie, I'd like to see YOUR pictures. The second link you gave goes to MY pictures! :D

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love2vacation

love2vacation

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We did Chochoben (sp) ruins in the Am and then had lunch on the ship, then shopped and relaxed in the sun PM.

 

It is a great stop and we would go there again. The ruins are awesome. We had been to Tulum the year before but Chochoben is so very different- just out in th middle of nowhere!

 

You will have a great time no matter what you do!

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carbon

carbon

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We took a cab to mahajual and had lunch, guacamole, swam, shopped with the street vendors and just relaxed. We had a wonderful time.

 

I also had a massage on the beach for $20, she was great! Picture a massage under a tree, warm balmy breeze with the ocean as a backdrop. Whats not to like?

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sueb

sueb

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Just back from the Jewel of the Seas 12/17. Just a note on getting to Mahajual. On the day we were there Taxi service was not available to Mahajual. You were forced to buy shuttle tickets via bus to the town. The tickets were to be purchased in a booth by the taxi pickup and then forced to stand in a long line to wait for a shuttle. The taxi's refused (tried 3 different ones) to take us there. We have been there before and refused to do this (Racket formed by the owner of the costa maya stop: this info comes from folks in Majuhaul) and waited about 40 minutes for a golf cart rental. Had a great day in Majuhaul. Spent our time and money there and had a great time. Just wanted to give you all a "heads up" as this was a big surprise to us. (A quick note... there was one other ship there that day)

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LDinCT

LDinCT

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It rained all day, so we stayed at the Port. The line for the bus was tremendous. Port was disappointing as it was basically a strip mall. Had fun anyway- there is a massage on the beach (get there early an put your name on the list, it fills up fast) and the Mex restaurant had good food and Margaritas. Sort of wished we had gone somewhere even in the rain, as it was our only Mexican port. Plus we only had one other stop in Grand Cayman. But it really was the weather that stopped us.

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Educators2

Educators2

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We were in Costa Maya about two weeks ago on Legend of the Seas. At 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. there is a folklore show in the amphitheater at the pier. We thought it was excellent- the dancers were superb, the singer very charming, and the show gave some insight into the Yucatan culture. It was free but more important, it was delightful to watch and shaded from the sun.

Susan

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imatarb

imatarb

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We just hung out at the pier area, but we should have cabbed it to other beaches. I didn't much care for the area right off the ship. We traveled with our 7-yr. old, though, and he was perfectly content to hang there, so we compromised...next time, we'll be hitting Tequila Beach and heading to Majahual.

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Tempdragon

Tempdragon

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My family were at Costa Maya in September of 2005. We did the beach party thing, where it was all you can drink. There was a snack bar, where you can purchase hamburgers, hot dogs and tacos. The food was snack bar quality, nevertheless it filled up our stomach. The drinks were plentiful, however no bottled beer. It was on tap and the liquor were of generic brands. There is a older gentlemen that will sell you a fresh coconut for $3.00 You can mix in the fresh coconut juice with the pina colada and chill at the beach, which is very relaxing. There are areas at the beach where you can snorkel and there are free kayaks and pedal boats for your use. In addition you can pay cash to rent one of the wave runners or the two seat "jetboats". Just remember the jetboat is not really at jet, it is a tiny two seat, side by side prop boat, that it about 8 feet in length. While I was there, several of them broken down and had to be towed back to the pier. In September there were nets set up at the end of the pier. A worker stated they were buidling a dolphin discovery center, where you could swim with the dolphins. The worker stated they were hoping to have it set up within a year or two. The beach is not the best for swimming as there are a lot of sea grass near the shore. The water however was clear and the weather was great. My wife and my 4 year old son had a relaxing time and after a while, we took the bus back into town and walked around the pier for a little bit before getting back on the ship for dinner. I'd rate this excursion a "B-."

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alys

alys

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We were on the Jewel in November.

We took a cab - $3.00 per person - over to Mahahual......it is a site to see!

Walk down the 'sandy' main street....past the vendors and or walk the beach....head down a bit......

You can get a chair on the beach....no charge if you get a $1.00 beer. On the way back or before....stop to see Barbara and Brian at their restaurant the Cat's Meow. It is the first set of tables on the beach with the kitchen, bakery on the right. Barb is Canadian.....is building a hotel nearby.....and the food is safe.

The guitarist or the child selling necklaces might show up for a few more dollars. Also, the massage table is nearby and a lot better price than on the ship.

We had a great day.....you will recognize only a few other ship passengers by their towels.

Go there rather than stay right in the commercial area.

Whatever you do.....have fun!

Barb

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cruisin from florida

cruisin from florida

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We just got back from the Explorer a week ago (small sob). The weather in Costa Maya on Dec. 21st was fairly bad - rainy, windy, and not warm. Everyone we knew who had booked or planned a beach day was disappointed. Based on recommendations from this board, we had booked with David and Ivan

http://www.chacchobenruins.com.

 

We were so pleased. It was the highlight of the trip. We ended up with Ivan, and he made the Mayan history come alive for us. Also, due to a minor scheduling problem, when it was time to go back to the ship, there wasn't enough room in the van for my older sons and myself. Which led to a private car ride back with Ivan. Very cool, as he told us about himself, and how he went from a VERY small village with no electricity at all to living in Mexico City and then back to Chacchoben.... a long and VERY interesting story. Since meeting people from different cultures is one of the things I love best about travelling, and one area where cruising usually doesn't do a good job, this was a tremendous bonus/surprise for us. I know that my boys (14, 16, 18) all considered it the highlight of the cruise.

 

Best to you whatever you choose...

 

Mheeren

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