What is the best pay as you go resort in Costa Maya (Mahahual Beach)?

[WirelessRoute]

Looking to get updated advice on Costa Maya. Read through multiple posts here and watched a ton of YouTube videos just to be even more confused. We have been several times but not in at least 3 years. In the past we walked out the cruise port area and grabbed the trolley to Mahahual Beach. Looks like the trolley is gone and substituted with bunch of taxis? We been to Krazy Lobster a few times and thought it was fine. Leaning toward a revist toe KL. Looking for any updated recommendation of a pay as you go resorts while we are there in March. Mainly looking to relax, and not a huge party scene. What worries is is there are 3 ships in port including the RCL Harmony of Seas, Regal Princess and MSC Seashore which we are on. I am thinking some of these places will be packed. Any updated recommendations PAYG?  I see a lot of different places posted like Tropicante, Yaya, Nohoch Kay. Looks like Malecon21 and several others are now all inclusive. Appreciate any help in advance!

[c-leg5]

2 hours ago, WirelessRoute said:

Looking to get updated advice on Costa Maya. Read through multiple posts here and watched a ton of YouTube videos just to be even more confused. We have been several times but not in at least 3 years. In the past we walked out the cruise port area and grabbed the trolley to Mahahual Beach. Looks like the trolley is gone and substituted with bunch of taxis? We been to Krazy Lobster a few times and thought it was fine. Leaning toward a revist toe KL. Looking for any updated recommendation of a pay as you go resorts while we are there in March. Mainly looking to relax, and not a huge party scene. What worries is is there are 3 ships in port including the RCL Harmony of Seas, Regal Princess and MSC Seashore which we are on. I am thinking some of these places will be packed. Any updated recommendations PAYG?  I see a lot of different places posted like Tropicante, Yaya, Nohoch Kay. Looks like Malecon21 and several others are now all inclusive. Appreciate any help in advance!

It’s been a year since we were there but your assessment seems spot on. 
 

It appears the taxis may have moved back outside the port again although I am not sure on that. Dispatch had moved inside last time we were there and that was supposedly the reason for increased fare to $4 pp  to cover port access fee - interested to hear if price have gone down again? The taxis have always been there but used to be trolley or taxi out, taxi return for some reason.

 

We like PAYG too but Bars in Mahahual have become greedy and have moved mainly to AI rate, or at least a minimum cover for loungers. Disappointing if you want to bar hop, as we enjoyed, although you can usually do that still if you sit at tables across the malecon rather than beach side.

 

Krazy Lobster has taken over many locations and seems to be relatively legitimate with pricing. we have enjoyed short breaks there but not our favorite for the day. 

 

Malecon 21 used to be our go-to location pre-Covid. They have a minimum spend, credited to food and drink not strictly AI. Yaya lost our vote last time when they did a bait and switch,  changed their pricing to a ridiculous fee just for loungers - no food and drink credit so I would be very wary of booking there. I think Nohoch has always been AI but you may be able to do PAYG on the day if they have low numbers which is the case with other bars too.  
 

Krazy Lobster will be busy but probably have room due to size, Malecon21 I think you may need to pre-reserve, places at south end will probably have room  - Sulumar, Chunky Monkey, Hotel Luna de Plata, Machos but not the best beaches.

Edited January 29 by c-leg5

[WirelessRoute]

Thanks for the tips I will further research the additional places you listed and post back with where we end up going.

[jjjct]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:37 PM, WirelessRoute said:

Thanks for the tips I will further research the additional places you listed and post back with where we end up going.

We are trying to figure out where to go too. We have not been to Costa Maya and there are 3 additional ships with the Seashore being last in port. All arrive at 7AM and us at 8AM. Looking forward to your decision.

 

[bandtaxi]

With 4 ships in port it was PACKED the day we were there.  We navigated the shoulder to shoulder crowd thru the port area and walked outside the gate to get a taxi, $4 pp each way. There were taxis inside the gate, not sure how much those were.  
 

We ended up at Big Mamas with Gilberto helping us.  He got us a table and said we were welcome to stay all day. We had drinks and nachos.  

[BamaVol]

We will be there mid-June on Enchanted Princess and have the same questions. We arrive at 7 and depart at 4.  I’m not sure what that means in terms of getting off the ship.  I know we have to be back at least 30 minutes before the ship departs.  Is anyone familiar with Pitaya Beach Club?  Looks good on Yelp or TripAdvisor, but you never know. I’m not sure if it’s PAYG or AI.

 

We are a family of 6 and the kids will want to swim.  The adults will want shade, a drink and a snack, as will the kids.

 

I am apprehensive of taxis.  Will there be any van type taxis that will hold all 6 of us?  I do not care to separate.

 

Also, can anyone tell me if I am likely to have a discrepancy between local and ships time?

Edited February 18 by BamaVol

[crewsweeper]

22 hours ago, BamaVol said:

We will be there mid-June on Enchanted Princess and have the same questions. We arrive at 7 and depart at 4.  I’m not sure what that means in terms of getting off the ship.  I know we have to be back at least 30 minutes before the ship departs.  Is anyone familiar with Pitaya Beach Club?  Looks good on Yelp or TripAdvisor, but you never know. I’m not sure if it’s PAYG or AI.

 

They have a website. https://www.pitayabeach.com/ I think they have packages. It was closed during the pandemic but was open in January.  Not sure if same owners. Prior to the pandemic the plce got good reviews from many folks here.

 

We are a family of 6 and the kids will want to swim.  The adults will want shade, a drink and a snack, as will the kids.

 

I am apprehensive of taxis.  Will there be any van type taxis that will hold all 6 of us?  I do not care to separate.

 

You will have to walk out of the cruise port and up a block or two to catch a taxi.  The people there will assist you in getting a van taxi.

 

Also, can anyone tell me if I am likely to have a discrepancy between local and ships time?

 

If you are sailing out of Ft Lauderdale. the ship will be on Daylight Savings time. Costa Maya and Cozumel do not observe daylight savings time but stay on Eastern Standard Time all year long.  Thus ship time will typically be 1 Hour ahead of Costa Maya time.  DO NOT adjust your watches to local time unless the ship tells you to do so.  There will be announcements and you can see the clocks on the ship.  Your watch needs to match the clocks on the ship.

 

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, crewsweeper said:

 

Thanks.

 

I think I will have to keep my iPhone on airplane mode or hard set it to EDT to prevent a time change.  Maybe I’ll just buy a watch for one of the kids and put them in charge of time.

[WirelessRoute]

4 ships in Port 3 big ships, Royal Caribbean Harmony,  MSC Seashore and princess regal. Had a blast at Crazy Lobster was packed but plenty of room we went  there early around 1030 am. Cab ride was $4 a person each way. Food was good and prices reasonable. Bucket of small beer 5 for 7 or regular size beer 5 for $10. 

Edited March 21 by WirelessRoute

[mattyboy]

Wireless - how was access to the beach at Krazy Lobster?

[WirelessRoute]

On 3/23/2024 at 12:44 PM, mattyboy said:

Wireless - how was access to the beach at Krazy Lobster?

 

It was right on the other side of the tables and chair, not far at all. There was a a lot of sand bags up near the water to prevent errosion. The water was clean from sargasum as they had plastic fence up around the entire beach. Plenty of adults and kids in the water, they had free kayaks to use as well.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:07 PM, BamaVol said:

We will be there mid-June on Enchanted Princess and have the same questions. We arrive at 7 and depart at 4.

we'll be there right before you with 5 people (June 1 sailing). 

Been there before the pandemic, at Blue Kay beach club. We really liked it then...

I hope they didn't change much or start charging a ton of money pp, but we are willing to try them again. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

[c-leg5]

2 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we'll be there right before you with 5 people (June 1 sailing). 

Been there before the pandemic, at Blue Kay beach club. We really liked it then...

I hope they didn't change much or start charging a ton of money pp, but we are willing to try them again. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Pitaya or Blue Key? 
 

I would be interested in a review of Pitaya. We canceled our booking due to bait and switch. Disappointing as it looked interesting.

 

Blue Key has had very mixed reviews since restart. Opinions there would be interesting too but not as appealing. 

Edited April 23 by c-leg5

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

Pitaya or Blue Key? 

Blue Kay.

We are very low key and would simply like a few chaises in a shade for a price that is not exorbitant.

Before the pandemic they charged $12 pp and that included 2 drinks of your choice and a chaise. I can't find any info about present charges.

[dctravel]

We went to Pez Quadro at the 40 Cannons Hotel when we were in Costa Maya on the Carnival Jubilee. Saw van taxis, but with only 4 of us, didn't worry about that too much. Pez Quadro was AI for drinks, but for food was one free order per person off the lunch menu. Food was good, beach was clean (any hawkers went away with a polite "no thank you"). We had a good time.

[c-leg5]

On 4/23/2024 at 5:36 PM, c-leg5 said:

I would be interested in a review of Pitaya. We canceled our booking due to bait and switch. Disappointing as it looked interesting.

Apologies and correction - it was YaYa that changed the price on us NOT Pitaya. I have always got those two mixed up but I have never communicated with Pitaya. 
 

Packages for Pitaya are listed on their website. Yaya and Pitaya have similar packages listed.

 

On 2/18/2024 at 12:07 PM, BamaVol said:

We will be there mid-June on Enchanted Princess and have the same questions. We arrive at 7 and depart at 4.  I’m not sure what that means in terms of getting off the ship.  I know we have to be back at least 30 minutes before the ship departs.  Is anyone familiar with Pitaya Beach Club?  Looks good on Yelp or TripAdvisor, but you never know. I’m not sure if it’s PAYG or AI.

 

We are a family of 6 and the kids will want to swim.  The adults will want shade, a drink and a snack, as will the kids.

 

I am apprehensive of taxis.  Will there be any van type taxis that will hold all 6 of us?  I do not care to separate.

 

Also, can anyone tell me if I am likely to have a discrepancy between local and ships time?

 

[mica178]

I went to Nohoch Kay last July, and while they tried to sell me the AI, when I dithered, they let me do PAYG. We (family of 4) were supposed to do a fishing excursion that left from the Nohoch Kay beach, but then my daughter refused to go, so she and I stayed at Nohoch Kay. As we had already paid for the excursion that included lunch at the restaurant, I did not want to double pay for food. We paid for drinks and snacks while we waited for my husband and son to return. The guacamole was excellent, and the drinks were icy cold.

[umpisoccer]

How long was the taxi ride to these beach bars?

[c-leg5]

24 minutes ago, umpisoccer said:

How long was the taxi ride to these beach bars?

To the bars in Mahahual mentioned above, 5-10 mins. 
 

To out of town beach clubs, 20- 30 minutes

Edited May 19 by c-leg5

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:07 PM, BamaVol said:

We will be there mid-June on Enchanted Princess and have the same questions. We arrive at 7 and depart at 4.  I’m not sure what that means in terms of getting off the ship.  I know we have to be back at least 30 minutes before the ship departs.  Is anyone familiar with Pitaya Beach Club?  Looks good on Yelp or TripAdvisor, but you never know. I’m not sure if it’s PAYG or AI.

 

We are a family of 6 and the kids will want to swim.  The adults will want shade, a drink and a snack, as will the kids.

 

I am apprehensive of taxis.  Will there be any van type taxis that will hold all 6 of us?  I do not care to separate.

As promised, here is the report on Blue Kay from last week:

 

They no longer charge $12 pp as a cover fee, they just want you to buy food and/or drinks. It would have cost us $60 for 5 people in the past, but would have included 10 drinks. 

This time food and drinks were $46 and I added $5 grats. They give you an arm band for bathroom use. The bathroom is still questionable, but usable.

 

Chicken tacos and chicken burrito were below average to average, but edible. Mango daiquiri was awful (it had powder consistency, as if the flavored powder didn't dissolve).  Pineapple juice was bad (unsweetened and powdery). I'd stick with canned/bottled drinks (beer and sodas) if I were you - they were standard.

 

We got there before 10 am, so we had pretty much any available chaise to choose from.  Some more people showed up later, but it didn't get awfully busy. Several large parties have arrived throughout the entire time we were there, but I am not sure what happened to all those people. It didn't look like they stayed long. Maybe, they had a separate area for themselves.

 

There was natural shade and shade from wooden roofs. The place didn't change much, except for adding many more chaises, tightly packed together in rows.

 

The water was clear but had some of that prickly seaweed in it. Easily ignored. Water entrance was rough - lots of broken shells and rocks, so I'd recommend water shoes if you have sensitive feet. I do. There were some rocks in the water, but once you are a couple of yards into the water, the floor is sandy. We spent most of our time in the water and that's exactly what we like.

 

There were a lot of boat tours "parking" very close to us, which was at times stinky and unnerving, since they passed very close to us. All in all, not too troublesome.

 

There were many vendors walking by and offering stuff, but I am sure it's like that everywhere.

 

BEWARE of some of the "taxi" drivers at the port. One of them asked if we needed a taxi, we said - yes, to Blue Kay. He started telling us that BK now charges $90/pp (!!!) and was all inclusive and belonged to the cruise line. What? None of that made sense. He said he'd take us to a different beach club for only $20 pp, which had bathrooms and shade. We insisted on BK, so he lost interest immediately and sent us towards real taxis. Most of them are large vans and hold 6+ people. It's $4 pp to Mahahual beaches. On the way back the staff called a taxi for us (5 people) and some other folks.

 

The pier walk was super long and very very hot and tiring. There was no trolly service in the morning.  Once you enter the port, you can use the shortcut through the gelato store. Take a photo with flamingos, and after the flamingos you will see the gelato store. The taxis are outside of the port entrance. We were all sweaty and miserable by the time we got to the taxi stand...

 

There was a trolly in the afternoon, running the length of the pier back to the ship for a tip.

 

There were 3 ships in port: Enchanted Princess, Harmony of the Seas and NCL Breakaway, so all three - quite sizable.

 

Let me know if you have any questions. We have the same itinerary next year and wouldn't mind going to Blue Kay again, but we'll stick to ready made drinks. Pre-pandemic the drinks were great, but not anymore. New management...

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Let me know if you have any questions. We have the same itinerary next year and wouldn't mind going to Blue Kay again, but we'll stick to ready made drinks. Pre-pandemic the drinks were great, but not anymore. New management...

Thanks for update. I didn’t realize Blue Kay had changed management again.

 

Interesting they have gone back to their original model of total PAYG especially when most beach clubs in Mahahual are insisting on at least a cover charge if not complete package at some level or another. 
 

Pity food and drink have declined. I had heard the loungers were also in bad repair? How did they seem to you?

 

Were the outward taxis inside or outside the port gates now that the port facilities have been extended?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Pity food and drink have declined. I had heard the loungers were also in bad repair? How did they seem to you?

they looked about the same. Some had a matt on top, some didn't.

We picked the ones with matts and covered them with cruise beach towels, and all was good. I was surprised some people chose to sit directly on the wooden loungers...

 

12 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Were the outward taxis inside or outside the port gates now that the port facilities have been extended?

just outside. The taxis inside the port were for people who fell for the "I'll take you to a better beach club" trick.

 

@BamaVol

 

Blue Kay - good for swimming and lounging, but, perhaps, not for food or specialty drinks anymore.

 

right

 

 

 

 

 

 

middle

 

 

this is my kid swimming. It was shallow.

 

 

 

 

the man in the middle sleeping on the lounger is my dad. We had 5 of them in a row in a shady area.

 

 

our loungers are right behind these:

 

left:

 

 

 

 

the longest pier in our cruising history: you can see the trolly all the way back. It runs from that spot to the ships.

 

 

 

[c-leg5]

5 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

 

13 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Pity food and drink have declined. I had heard the loungers were also in bad repair? How did they seem to you?

they looked about the same. Some had a matt on top, some didn't.

We picked the ones with matts and covered them with cruise beach towels, and all was good. I was surprised some people chose to sit directly on the wooden loungers...

 

13 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Were the outward taxis inside or outside the port gates now that the port facilities have been extended?

just outside. The taxis inside the port were for people who fell for the "I'll take you to a better beach club" trick.

 

Thanks beach area doesn’t look too bad. I am surprised it was so busy I didn’t realize it was that popular as it doesn’t get many mentions these days. I have never been a big fan of wooden loungers and I know at one time they were charging extra for mats so that would be another change if they are available for free. 

 

I have mixed feelings about the taxis in Costa Maya. The increased fare to $4pp was supposed to cover fee to enter port when cruising resumed and trolley to town was no longer operational. It would appear that has remained even if you walk outside? I am not sure why those inside the port would limit their revenue by only going to one kick-back location.