14

Jan
2021

Coastal town of Costa Maya Mahahual Quintana Roo

Posted By : martinflores/ 1404 0

I have been living in this community for approximately 2 years and the most accurate description for this wonderful paradise is “magical town”, with less than 5000 inhabitants and thousands of hectares of beaches and virgin jungle is a mandatory stop if you are looking for tranquility, rest and adventure.

How to get to Mahahual?

If goods from Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Cancun

The cheapest option: in several groups. Bacalar-Limones bus ($ 48-50, 1h) + Limones-Felipe Carrillo bus ($ 50, 1h) + Carrillo terminal taxi (free) + Carrillo Tulum bus ($ 65, 1h). In total $ 163 and about 3-4h (there are buses at all times).

Hopefully a Mayab bus passes through Limones that leaves you at the same price and direct the ticket to Tulum.

BACALAR-MAHAHUAL:

Micro / Collective: $ 78/80, 1h30. With Caribe-ADO (every 2 hours approximately) and Taxi-Tours (every hour).

They do the Chetumal route to Mahahual passing through Bacalar and Limones (for connections to the north, Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun).

ADO bus: there are only 3 buses / day (7:30, 10:30 and 17:00) and they are expensive (no discounts apply). $ 278, about 3h.

In Mahahual, the ADO-Caribe office is on the back street of the malecón, just north of the court (central part of town).

Next to the court is the small bus terminal Taxi Tours.

There are many taxis around Mahahual. They have the established rates. Calculate minimum $ 20, $ 100 from the cruise ship dock to downtown and $ 500 to Xcalak (up to 4 people).

Costa Maya Mahahual public transport

How to get around the town of Mahahual?

Bicycle rental in Mahahual : several businesses on the boardwalk with prices from $ 50 MNX the hour up to $ 200 MXN all day.

Rent of ATVs or scooters : varies from $ 500 MXN for 2 hours / half the rent for walk around and discover for yourself, this option is scarce, or you can also find guided quad bike tours.

Golf cart rental: The price can vary between $ 1000 MXN for the whole day or by the hour.

Bicycle rental in Costa Maya Mahahual, travel the boardwalk by bicycle

Cruises in the Costa Maya port

There is a private port 3 kilometers from the lighthouse, where 1 to 4 cruises with international tourism arrive daily or every third day, within the port there are several attractions (too expensive for Mexicans) and at high prices in USD for foreigners, from guided tours to Chacchoben, Bacalar, ATV tours, activities with dolphins, etc.

As a personal opinion, based on several books and opinions of locals, I agree that the Costa Maya port is a monopoly of services and products, leaving the town only with the crumbs of the little tourism that leaves its facilities, of this we will deepen in others articles

Mahahual cruise dock

Hotels, Hostels and Camping areas, cheap accommodation in Mahahual

Being a coastal town there is still no great variety of accommodations like the Riviera Maya, but we can find really fantastic places with very affordable prices.

Cheap camping in Mahahual:

Prices from $ 50 MXN per person to $ 150 MXN with shared bathrooms, fresh water, beach areas and varied amenities.

“It is a different and very beautiful experience, waking up with the waves of the sea, making friends with other travelers in the common areas, saving 70% of the accommodation and spending it on other activities or food, staying up late at night on the beach drinking a couple of beer and see the completely starry sky … ”

Some of the things to keep in mind regarding camping:

  • Bathrooms are shared

  • Security in the facilities / cameras / nightstands / lockers

  • Repellent for mosquitoes and other insects

  • Adequate tents with mats, sheets and / or pillows

  • Sometimes it rains and / or it is very windy, the tents have to be protected indoors

  • Shared kitchens or fire pit areas

Camping on the beach of Costa Maya, safe and clean camping

Cheap rooms in Mahahual:

From $ 400 MNX in the doctor’s cabins, to shared rooms from $ 100 MXN in hostels in the town.

Food in Mahahual

The boardwalk is full of Beach Clubs with restaurants, but the prices are expensive. In the back street, next to the ADO office and the side of the court, there are taquerías, pizzerias, cheap kitchens, marqueistas and other “cheap” foods.

However, you cannot visit Mahahual without having tried the exquisite dishes with lobster, fish, octopus and snail. We will talk more about these dishes in future articles. So while I leave you a video of the specialty of some restaurants “Butter lobster” cooked at Lunas Bar Mahahual

If you are looking for another more daring option to eat, it is an open secret that many tourists “stealthily” take fish, lobster, snail and other seafood for consumption, but you have to be careful with the Navy as it can sanction you. The best option is to attend the fishermen’s cooperative and legally buy fresh seafood, you will only need an area to light a fire, some partitions, fresh wood and a frying pan with oil to delight yourself.

Services in Mahahual

There are no banks, you can find 2 ATMs in the “Costa Maya” hotel and another 2 in the town, next to the Maha Suites hotel and during the week from Monday to Friday you will find TELECOM open. Regarding electricity, they cut the supply from 1 to 3 days a month to do “maintenance” and the internet service is terrible. I work online and believe me that some days it can be a headache to do Home Office.

hotel costa Maya inn Mahahual

What to do in Mahahual? a video says more than a thousand words

Visit the reef

It is right next to the coast, you come swimming from the shore and there are still corals (mainly purple tree-like corals) and fish (a lot of variety and we also saw several manta rays!). < / span>

Snorkel in Mahahual

Swimming straight from shore! It is between the 2 piers (Naval Base and Koox, Blue Kay area, the northernmost beach).

Corals are mostly concentrated in front of the Koox jetty (you will see groups snorkeling here).

You can also hire a snorkel tour to the nearby reef (area south of the fishermen’s dock) for about $ 250 MXN with one hour of travel.

There are 2 beach areas: the northernmost next to the Blue Kay and the longest to the south to the fishing pier. There are still some areas without beach clubs. With some palm trees. They are about 2 km of beach.

Fishing in Mahahua l

Ask for Ojitos tours, it is a very professional service

fishing in Costa Maya Mahahual

Torus or rental of an ATV

Rent an ATV with helmets, cooler and travel the coast of Mahahual Xcalak 60 km or Mahahual Rio Indio 30 km.

Resultados de traducción
Chinchorro Bank

Tours are expensive as it is quite far away (30 km).

Calculate about US $ 100 / pp (snorkeling) and US $ 150 / pp (diving).

Costa Maya dolphinarium and park (currently closed due to COVID)

These attractions are inside the Private Dock, next to the cruise port.

mahahual costa maya dolphinarium

Kayaks and paddle boards rental

Prices vary from $ 100 MXN per hour to $ 150 MXN, even restaurants and beach club lend you the kayaks for free only for the minimum consumption.

Kayak rental in Costa Maya, Mahahual beaches, kayak trip in Lunas Bar Mahahual

If you are looking to get active and keep moving, break your limits!

How personal opinion Mahahual is mostly composed of new people from other states and countries who come for work and in search of new opportunities, unfortunately Mahahual can be heaven or hell and perdition, what do I mean? For being an isolated town and having only 2 patrols, drug addiction and vices have taken over many weak souls.

Coastal town of Costa Maya Mahahual Quintana Roo

Nearby places

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