Question on seaweed

[eposadas]

We will be in Costa Maya in Mid October, we contacted Maya Chan and they had a pretty big disclaimer on their email about the seaweed.

 

Is it really bad this year?  Does Maya Chan have a pool we can use to cool off and enjoy some water if the seaweed is really bad this year.  Is their other beach clubs that are similair that do have a pool if Maya Chan does not.

 

Just trying to figure out whether its worth it to go to a beach club if we are limited in water activities.

 

Thanks in advance.

[crewsweeper]

It has been very bad this year all along that section of the coast.  There is a large "current" of sargassum extending from at least the mid Atlantic, and certainly along the north east coast of Brazil, to the Gulf of Mexico.    That section of the Mexican coast gets the end current flows.  The resort/beach owners have spent tons of $ and work hours daily trying to keep it clean.   It should not terribly impact your enjoyment of the beaches, but will be present.

 

Adding, this is the 4th or 5th year in a row this has been a major problem.  Appears no end in sight, unless someone comes up with a way to make profitable use of the stuff, say as bio energy or food. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by crewsweeper

[eposadas]

thank you for the response

[ransrider]

8 hours ago, eposadas said:

thank you for the response

If your need is to spend most of your day in the water, you might be disappointed. They do have a small pool for cooling off. Maya Chan is much more than just water play, though. The food and drinks are fabulous. Other games such as jenga, are available. We've been to Maya Chan 3 times now and only once bothered by sargassum. We still went and had a fun time. 

[cyntil8ing]

We are going on Monday and I will report back afterward. Today, we went to a beach in Fort Lauderdale and found this! So it is not exclusive to Costa Maya.

[crewsweeper]

And on one of the news  casts last night, they showed Miami Beach.

Looked worse than anything I've seen or pictures of  in Costa  Maya. 

[nydney1]

On 8/9/2019 at 9:45 PM, ransrider said:

If your need is to spend most of your day in the water, you might be disappointed. They do have a small pool for cooling off. Maya Chan is much more than just water play, though. The food and drinks are fabulous. Other games such as jenga, are available. We've been to Maya Chan 3 times now and only once bothered by sargassum. We still went and had a fun time. 

We just were at Maya Chan last week. The place is nice and the service is great. However the sargassum was so bad we could/chose not to even get in the water. 

 

I thought it it was a wasted day.

 

To Maya Chan’s defense, the gave us the option to cancel up to the time we boarded the van. They had photos of the beach from that morning. They also had 3-4 people on working on cleaning up the area. 

 

The sargassum did not look that bad as we came into port. I though it would be ok, but I was wrong. Again, the service was great.

[c-leg5]

On 8/10/2019 at 3:45 AM, ransrider said:

If your need is to spend most of your day in the water, you might be disappointed. They do have a small pool for cooling off. Maya Chan is much more than just water play, though. The food and drinks are fabulous. Other games such as jenga, are available. We've been to Maya Chan 3 times now and only once bothered by sargassum. We still went and had a fun time. 

 

One thing to keep in mind regarding the pool is that it is supposed to be adult only (maybe over 12?). I don’t know how strictly they are enforcing that rule.

 

I think it it would be very difficult going with children if the sargassum is bad and telling them they can’t use the pool.

[nydney1]

I don’t remember seeing a pool at Maya Chan.

[c-leg5]

50 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

I don’t remember seeing a pool at Maya Chan.

It is a small pool to the side of the restaurant. I am surprised it wasn’t shown you during the orientation at the beginning, especially since there was seaweed.

Edited August 11, 2019 by c-leg5

[nydney1]

I am as well. I checked with the wife and she did not see one as well. 

No mention of it or pictures on the website.

 

My wife did say that after her Massage she didn't know there was any seaweed on the beach. She didn't even know who I was. I guess that was a good massage.

[BNBR]

On 8/9/2019 at 11:35 PM, cyntil8ing said:

We are going on Monday and I will report back afterward. Today, we went to a beach in Fort Lauderdale and found this! So it is not exclusive to Costa Maya.

 

This is a very unfair characterization of Fort Lauderdale.  You obviously are taking a picture of a section of the beach that is off the beaten path and not maintained. That is John LLoyd park, right in the corner where the seaweed gathers.  It's also a State park and not maintained the same as the public beaches.  And again, right in the spot where all the seaweed gathers, see my sat pictures below.  Very misleading photo.

 

The beaches were absolutely STUNNING this weekend.  We went today, here's a picture of the beach TODAY in Fort Lauderdale (Dania) (and it was similar yesterday).  Not a spec of sargassum anywhere.  Spotless.  Water was flat, perfect temperature, crystal clear, with blue skies.  See the pier far off in your picture... we were just next to that.

 

 

 

And here is a sat of where you took your picture.  For anyone that would like some context.

 

 

 

And now you know how the news works.....

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by BNBR

[BNBR]

On 8/10/2019 at 11:32 AM, crewsweeper said:

And on one of the news  casts last night, they showed Miami Beach.

Looked worse than anything I've seen or pictures of  in Costa  Maya. 

 

And yet the beaches in South Florida were pretty much stunning yesterday... see my picture above.  That doesn't sell news stories though, apparently.  The seaweed is regularly picked up and even on a "bad" day we are still easily able to get in and enjoy the water.  We are locals, we go to the beach pretty often.  The seaweed stories are nonsense.  Yes, it's there, yes it's pretty bad somedays, but in general, it's overblown.

[BNBR]

Maya Chan will give you the option to cancel, as others have said, up until you get in the van.  In fact, if you arrive and complain, they would probably get you transportation back and still refund you.  They are the pinnacle of a top notch operation.  And the place is everything you dreamed about when you think Mexican beach escape.  If getting in the water is the most important thing to you, then skip it.  But if you can appreciate a relaxing beach day with your own private palapa, hammock, a beach massage, drinks and some of the best Mexican food you have ever had, then don't hesitate to go anyways.  Just temper your expectations as far as the water goes.  It's hit or miss.  But really, for $59... hanging out on a beach with drinks, food, and top notch service is a bargain.  And yes, they do have a small splash pool to cool off if you would like.

 

We are HUGE fans of Maya Chan, it's our favorite destination, bar none.  If the water is nice that day, it's a bonus.  But we are fine either way.

[nydney1]

No argument from me on any of your comments. Just wish I had saw that #$!! pool. 

 

I am am a big beach fan and was looking forward to the water. We were given every option to cancel. 

 

If if you are looking for an excursion in Costa Maya I recommend them. I just wanted folks to be aware that the seaweed may be worse than expected. Again I am not implying we were deceived at all.

 

As you said the price paid is a bargain even without ocean access. 

[sunsetme]

need an update please

[BNBR]

12 hours ago, nydney1 said:

No argument from me on any of your comments. Just wish I had saw that #$!! pool. 

 

I am am a big beach fan and was looking forward to the water. We were given every option to cancel. 

 

If if you are looking for an excursion in Costa Maya I recommend them. I just wanted folks to be aware that the seaweed may be worse than expected. Again I am not implying we were deceived at all.

 

As you said the price paid is a bargain even without ocean access. 

 

When did you go? They put in the pool late 2018.

[c-leg5]

14 hours ago, jdechter said:

need an update please

 

Nydney1 ‘s review is from last week. What do you need an update on? You can watch live cam for seaweed conditions.

[nydney1]

I was there last Wednesday. I still can’t believe I missed the pool. 

[BNBR]

50 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

I was there last Wednesday. I still can’t believe I missed the pool. 

 

Funny. Yeah you would walk on to the beach from the bar, then make a left.  The pool has bathrooms and a pretty good sized deck around it. Plus an extra small bar. 

[nydney1]

That explains it. 

 

Our sitting area area was over on the right. There was a wedding going on over on the left side. I am not sure if it was at our resort or not but I tried to stay away and not intrude.

 

Last thing I would want at my wedding was a guy walking around in swim trunks with no shirt.

[BNBR]

10 hours ago, nydney1 said:

That explains it. 

 

Our sitting area area was over on the right. There was a wedding going on over on the left side. I am not sure if it was at our resort or not but I tried to stay away and not intrude.

 

Last thing I would want at my wedding was a guy walking around in swim trunks with no shirt.

 

The wedding was probably right in front of the pool deck.  Makes sense! They have a big palapa there. 

[kalliyan1]

So is this seaweed "seasonal" or a year round problem?  We too are tying to decide on a beach club (Maya Chan if full :() for the day we will be in Costa Maya and not sure what to do.  We will be there the end of Nov.

Also, do you know if Cozumel experiences the same problems?  We are going to only do one beach day between the two stops and perhaps Cozumel would be better?

Edited August 18, 2019 by kalliyan1

[cyntil8ing]

I am coming back to post my opinion of Maya Chan next week, despite being called out as "fake news", but I won't post any photos to not be "misleading".  

 

Maya Chan was experiencing seaweed issues last Monday, 8/12/19. They were raking it up as we arrived and continued as the day went on. We left around noon as my daughter wasn't feeling well, but before that, I did get in the water.

 

There was definitely a smell. We first noticed it on the drive out from the port. We got used to it after a while and by the time we arrived at Maya Chan, it really wasn't an issue. It was not nearly as bad as we experienced at the state park. 

 

Once entering the water, the seaweed continued out for about six feet. It was not just floating on top of, but under the water. My feet sunk past my ankles into seaweed. Once out into the deeper water, free-floating seaweed was pretty plentiful and would float up against me often.

 

That said, if you enjoy swimming in lakes or rivers, the seaweed experience wasn't much different. But if you're only expecting baby powder beach sand on bare feet, this is probably not the resort for you. 

 

We were in Cozumel the following day. Because we were on the protected side of the island, seaweed was not an issue. That's not to say we didn't see any, but that it was rare. We were on the beach at the Westin and did not experience any seaweed issues.

[Jersey42]

We were at Maya Chan on August 12.  The sargassum was as bad as we have ever experienced in five visits, but we will continue to go back to Maya Chan anytime we get the opportunity.  Maya Chan did their best to clear the sargassum from sections of the beach.  We ventured into the water for a shorter period of time than in the past and we also took advantage of the "new", small pool. When we were in the water, they  brought us drinks from the bar via kayak.  The service, food and drinks were still top notch.  

 

@kalliyan1:  My understanding is the seaweed is a year round problem, but some weeks are much better than others.  There is no way to tell in advance.  One of the owners told me that the previous week was the best they had seen in a while, but our week returned to what they had seen most of the summer.  The problem also affects beaches in Florida.  Our local newspaper ran an article a few weeks ago on the problem and posted a lot of pictures from the past year.  Here is a link, but it might be behind a paywall:

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190802/will-our-beaches-lose-their-national-rankings-because-of-sargassum-seaweed

 

Just in case, here is one of the pictures from the post above of Palm Beach, home of the rich and famous.  This one was not taken in an off the beaten path location.

 

Most of the places in Cozumel such as Mr. Sanchos and Nachi Cocom are on west side of the island, so the island of Cozumel acts as a barrier for the sargassum. If the beach is critical for you, the water will normally be nicer than anywhere in Costa Maya.  We still will choose Maya Chan for the overall experience.