Tropicante

[bowen9475]

We were on the Carnival Freedom and in Costa Maya from 1-8. We had emailed ahead to reserve loungers for our family of 5. We took a taxi from outside the port. (One thing we didn't like about this was that they squeezed our family of 5 into a regular taxi which was very tight. Luckily it wasn't too far of a ride. No fault of the Tropicante though) When we got to Tropicante there was a staff member outside holding a sign with our name on it. We were met at the taxi and walked right over to their location. We got to pick where the loungers we wanted were located. We were taken very good care of all afternoon by Ivan, Charlie and Mikey. Ivan seems to take great pride in his job and was very helpful and attentive to us. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. We ordered nachos, chicken quesadilla, a beef burrito and tacos as well as a few drinks. They even changed out a drink for my daughter that she had ordered but just didn't like. I had read about the seaweed problem ahead of time but the Tropicante staff had done a great job keeping their section of beach clear. The water was so warm. The only other thing we didn't like was the amount of times vendors approached us while we were on the beach. We were able to just say "no, thank you" and they would move along but just couldn't believe the sheer number of them. Would definitely recommend visiting here when in Costa Maya.

[gatour]

Thanks for the review.  Tried to book one of the AI's but even the wait list was closed.

 

Tropicante was recommended, so contacted them and have a couple of loungers reserved.  My one concern was making sure I found the correct place, as I have read reports here that one of their neighboring bars try to steal customers.  Them having signs of the customer's names makes me feel even better.

 

Worse case for us about the seaweed, if we get there and it is untenable, we can have a few drinks and some munchies and then head back to the port and/or ship.

[c-leg5]

9 hours ago, gatour said:

Thanks for the review.  Tried to book one of the AI's but even the wait list was closed.

 

Tropicante was recommended, so contacted them and have a couple of loungers reserved.  My one concern was making sure I found the correct place, as I have read reports here that one of their neighboring bars try to steal customers.  Them having signs of the customer's names makes me feel even better.

 

Worse case for us about the seaweed, if we get there and it is untenable, we can have a few drinks and some munchies and then head back to the port and/or ship.

 

Not sure if you saw my previous reply to you on another thread. 

 

The people who who meet you at the taxi drop-off may/ may not be from Tropicante.  Be sure when you walk to the beach bars there is a guy with your name on a board.

 

[gatour]

9 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

Not sure if you saw my previous reply to you on another thread. 

 

The people who who meet you at the taxi drop-off may/ may not be from Tropicante.  Be sure when you walk to the beach bars there is a guy with your name on a board.

 

Yep that was my concern about "hawker" misleading us to a different beach bar and grill.  Knowing to look for signs helps out.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, gatour said:

Yep that was my concern about "hawker" misleading us to a different beach bar and grill.  Knowing to look for signs helps out.

 

Personally I would take a google map print out and say you know where you are going. It is not that difficult or far from the drop off. 

 

The first time we were met by someone from El Faro but I just said we were OK. He did walk with us but he did let us go to Tropicante.

[shellunderwater]

To get to the El Tropicante, get out of the port (hard part), get a taxi, tell them El Tropicante.  When you get out of the taxi, a man will be standing there with the El Tropicante shirt and will have your name on his chalkboard (if you have a reservation).  He will walk you to the bar, or have someone walk you there, so you don't get misdirected to the wrong place.

 

I understand your concern because how things go in places in Mexico, but that is why the guy in the shirt is standing there with your name on his board.  He's the real deal.

 

Take a yellow taxi with the number on the side.  They are legit.

 

FYI, we were just there on August 30.

Edited September 8, 2019 by shellunderwater

[gatour]

We visited Tropicante last Sunday, 15 Sept 2019

 

Getting out of the port area is definitely the hard part. But thanks to the above and a few other posts, we were able to get out. We ended up taking the tram, but once I saw where the taxis were, next time we would take a taxi instead of the tram. The tram is slow. We did take the taxi back to the port (driver even offered to stop by the lighthouse for pictures, and one of the tequila tasting bars.

 

Anyway our experience with Tropicante was great. I had contacted them beforehand to reserve a couple of loungers which wasn’t really needed as our ship was the only ship in port and was one of RCCL smallest When we got into town and the tram. A few guys came up to the tram. One started to talk, but was hard to understand, I am guessing he was promoting his beach fron bar/restaurant. I just said I wanted to go to Tropicante, Jevan spoke up. He checked us off and led us to Tropicante

 

Since we were first we had the choice of loungers. Except for the row of loungers closest to the water, the rest were in the shade. Under trees and tarps hanging from the trees. We chose a couple, while Jevan pointed out where the restaurant with bathrooms is located. He also said whenever we wanted he would put in a couple of adirondack chairs in the water.

 

I was worried about the seaweed situation, figuring worse case we would have a few drinks and be on our way. While there was some seaweed, not enough to have any concerns.

 

We settled in and enjoyed margaritas and beers during the day that Jevon would bring to us. Periodically getting in the water. While we didn’t order any food, a couple that arrived later had the nachos and seemed to enjoy them. The portion was huge. Looked to be a good cost/value choice. shrimp and enjoy.

 

One lady showed up and Jevon gave her the run-down, while she was checking out the beach area. She said this beach was much better than whatever other part of the beach she had seen. She left to round up her friends and returned.

 

When you pick your loungers, they assign you a number. They just keep a running tab, and when you are ready to leave, you pay the tab.

 

As we were leaving I commented to my wife, I think I actually liked it better than Coco Caye. It had attentive service, didn’t have to hunt down shade, and the $3 beers and $5 sure beats the prices on Coco Caye.

 

I did do some wondering around and had found the taxi stand. If you are on the beach facing the restaurant it is about a block to the right. There were plenty of taxi’s so that should be a concern.

 

Originally, I was thinking of doing one of the AI, in retrospect this was a better option, as my wife is not a drinker. Even if we had ordered food we would still would have come ahead.

 

I can highly recommend Tropicante.

[c-leg5]

3 hours ago, gatour said:

We visited Tropicante last Sunday, 15 Sept 2019

 

Getting out of the port area is definitely the hard part. But thanks to the above and a few other posts, we were able to get out. We ended up taking the tram, but once I saw where the taxis were, next time we would take a taxi instead of the tram. The tram is slow. We did take the taxi back to the port (driver even offered to stop by the lighthouse for pictures, and one of the tequila tasting bars.

 

Anyway our experience with Tropicante was great. I had contacted them beforehand to reserve a couple of loungers which wasn’t really needed as our ship was the only ship in port and was one of RCCL smallest When we got into town and the tram. A few guys came up to the tram. One started to talk, but was hard to understand, I am guessing he was promoting his beach fron bar/restaurant. I just said I wanted to go to Tropicante, Jevan spoke up. He checked us off and led us to Tropicante

 

Since we were first we had the choice of loungers. Except for the row of loungers closest to the water, the rest were in the shade. Under trees and tarps hanging from the trees. We chose a couple, while Jevan pointed out where the restaurant with bathrooms is located. He also said whenever we wanted he would put in a couple of adirondack chairs in the water.

 

I was worried about the seaweed situation, figuring worse case we would have a few drinks and be on our way. While there was some seaweed, not enough to have any concerns.

 

We settled in and enjoyed margaritas and beers during the day that Jevon would bring to us. Periodically getting in the water. While we didn’t order any food, a couple that arrived later had the nachos and seemed to enjoy them. The portion was huge. Looked to be a good cost/value choice. shrimp and enjoy.

 

One lady showed up and Jevon gave her the run-down, while she was checking out the beach area. She said this beach was much better than whatever other part of the beach she had seen. She left to round up her friends and returned.

 

When you pick your loungers, they assign you a number. They just keep a running tab, and when you are ready to leave, you pay the tab.

 

As we were leaving I commented to my wife, I think I actually liked it better than Coco Caye. It had attentive service, didn’t have to hunt down shade, and the $3 beers and $5 sure beats the prices on Coco Caye.

 

I did do some wondering around and had found the taxi stand. If you are on the beach facing the restaurant it is about a block to the right. There were plenty of taxi’s so that should be a concern.

 

Originally, I was thinking of doing one of the AI, in retrospect this was a better option, as my wife is not a drinker. Even if we had ordered food we would still would have come ahead.

 

I can highly recommend Tropicante.

 

Glad you found your way and enjoyed. Getting where you want to go from the tram can sometimes be tricky so glad it worked out. Hopefully now you know where everything is it will be easier next time!

[Nashna]

Thank you for all the great information.  We are just looking for a relaxing day people watching on the water.  Tropicante sounds like a good option for us.  Did you need to pay in advance to use the loungers?  

[c-leg5]

44 minutes ago, Nashna said:

Thank you for all the great information.  We are just looking for a relaxing day people watching on the water.  Tropicante sounds like a good option for us.  Did you need to pay in advance to use the loungers?  

No, you can just run a tab and pay at the end.

[Nashna]

It sounds like a great way to spend the day.  I just sent them an e-mail to reserve a spot.  Thank you for the info. 

[Nashna]

Within 12 hours of sending my e-mail.  I received a nice response from The Tropicana saying that they were holding two Adirondack chairs for us in a shady section, with a small table that when we had lunch, could be changed to a larger one.  We are very happy with these arrangements.  Thanks to all who recommended the Tropicana.  Looking forward to those $5.00 margaritas.

 

[gatour]

For other people reading this thread.  Just to be clear there is no charge to use the loungers.  The only thing you pay for is whatever food and drink you consume.

[crewsweeper]

Gator, just for the record,  I believe  your waiter was Ivan. He pronounces it "ee-van". Long time employee,  knows how to treat guests.  Glad you hooked up with him.

[nimiq]

Is there an entrance fee to the Tropicante ? How much was the cab ?

 

Thank you

Sea ya

Eric

[c-leg5]

14 minutes ago, nimiq said:

Is there an entrance fee to the Tropicante ? How much was the cab ?

 

Thank you

Sea ya

Eric

No entrance fee - PAYG.

 

$8 per cab each way for 4 people.

[Houndfish]

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 9:08 AM, gatour said:

For other people reading this thread.  Just to be clear there is no charge to use the loungers.  The only thing you pay for is whatever food and drink you consume.

Can you reserve loungers without paying the AI charge?

[c-leg5]

8 minutes ago, Houndfish said:

Can you reserve loungers without paying the AI charge?

 

On 10/24/2019 at 10:45 AM, c-leg5 said:

No entrance fee - PAYG.

 

$8 per cab each way for 4 people.

There is no AI at Tropicante - it is PAYG and yes you can reserve loungers.

Edited October 25, 2019 by c-leg5

[Nashna]

It is expected that you will have food and drinks while you are there.  It's always a good idea to tip the person who arranges your chair and takes care of you.  

[Ren1216]

Sorry if I missed it..... How to contact?

[c-leg5]

29 minutes ago, Ren1216 said:

Sorry if I missed it..... How to contact?

Tropicante?

http://www.sandalsandskis.com/tropicante.html

[Ren1216]

4 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Tropicante?

http://www.sandalsandskis.com/tropicante.html

Thanks!

[Fun2snorkel]

Does anyone have a copy of the menu at Tropicante?  Thanks

[Nashna]

it is online.  Just left there a few hours ago...very little seaweed. Margarita was 5.00.  Loaded nacho was $11.00.  They really took care of us.  Beach was very calm.  The only issue was vendors, but they were polite and appreciated a simple no thanks.  Follow the instructions to the taxis and watch the native flying show if you get a chance.  There was a calm  breeze and we were put in the shade as requested.  This is not the Ritz.  This is a funky, friendly, fun safe place.  We will be back.  We made reservations with Steve the owner and our name was on the board.  Do make reservations as they were running it of space when we left. They do honor those reservations and made sure we got a proper taxi back.

[Fun2snorkel]

Thanks. We made our reservation for March.