Mahahual, Costa Maya Trip Report

[claudiadeplaya]

Originally Posted by Libby

This picture is for Claudiadeplaya.

Thank you Libby!

That is sweet, I just came back today myself, I was working there in a research programme from the King's College of London, on effects of Global warming and the ability of a community to adapt to climate change and catastrophes. (I feel so important ) I am only doing the transcript of the semminars and focus group discussions and translating them to English hi hi. But I took part of the group discussions in Playa.

I am so happy to be paid to go to a place that I grew to love and to see everyone doing better and better, and my friends that helped out so much from there running their restaurants, hotels or companies and slowly but surely seeing their life come back. I took lots of pictures and would like to post them here if you don't mind, It is a very different place now, and a part of my heart is there.

As for the bus schedule there are only 2 buses that go directly to Mahahual from Playa one leaves at midnight and the other one leaves at 8:20 am and the trip is aproximately 4 hours long by bus and 3 and a half by car and maybe only 3 if you are in a hurry .

It is such a peacefull place, I would not move there because of the school for Jan, but if I could, I would go there as often as possible just to enjoy the beautifull quiet beach, and eat some really good ceviche! And of course see Kevin and Justa and Yolanda and all my friends there!

[Libby]

That's so cool, Claudia! Thanks for posting the bus schedule. I received the following about the bus schedule from Balamku.

It leaves Playa at 8:20 am and arrives in Mahahual around 12:30
Drops in at Tulum and Felippe Carillo Puerto. No other stops.
When it's time to leave Mahahual, the bus leaves town at 8:30 heading north or 1 pm heading south to Bacalar and Chetumal.

Also, about the cruise ships, apparently the first cruise ships are set to arrive in October. They are not expecting many to begin with. But who knows what will happen in high season.

[SUNBABY]

Thank you so much for the bus and cruise info...I love the departure times..I can go back to sleep and wake up ready for the beach!

[Libby]

Claudia, I forgot to mention, please do post your pictures here! I'd love to see them. Were you there for the Hurricane Dean anniversary events?

[redhairgirl1]

Great report, and pictures Libby! I have only been to the area twice, and the furthest South i have been is Tulum. Your report definently convinced me to check out things further south! LOVE IT!!

[130taKen120]

Thanks for the report, Libby and the pics are great. A fellow that I work with has a piece of beachfront near Mahahual and was imploring me to visit when we were last down to Playa. Now I know why! Looks like an itinereary item for next trip!

[MsRubio]

Thanks for the great report Libby! I too am one that has only gone as far south as Tulum...note to self for next trip to drive further south!

Great pictures!

[HAWKEYE]

Great report Libby and John.
Have been researching this trip lately.
Very informative.
Thank's, Craig.

[Kami]

Awesome report and pictures Libby! We drove past on our way to PDC but was in too much of a hurry to stop. Now I certainly need to make the trip one day! Thanks so much for sharing!

[Libby]

I got an e-mail yesterday with some questions about Mahahual, and I thought I would post my response here in case someone else can benefit from the information.

Do we really need a car or would the bus be fine?

You can definitely do Mahahual without a car, but you won't have a lot of flexibility for where you stay and eat. Cabs are pricey and you have to call and wait for one if you're not in town.

What hotel do you recommend that you won't need a car?

Your options would be to either stay in town where there are a good number of restaurants. Or to stay south or north of town and eat at your hotel's restaurant and possibly a couple of nearby restaurants.

Downtown, the only hotel I think I can recommend is Pachamama. It's owned by Italians and looks super cute from the outside, but I haven't seen the rooms.
Mahahual | Costa Maya | Mexico - Posada Pachamama - Posada

South of town, you could try the Luna de Plata. They have an Italian restaurant and you could walk into town. It's across the street from the beach.
Luna de Plata, Ristorante, Bar Camere

There is a dive shop close by.
Welcome

There are a few other hotels/condos and possibly more restaurants in this area, but I don't have any info on them.

There's Balamku where we stayed. You definitely need a cab to get there and back to town. But it has great access to the reef. Balamku serves breakfast, and there are two restaurants, Maya Luna & Travel In, within walking distance that serve dinner. I think one of them has lunch as well. Balamku offers a simple lunch like a ham sandwich or grilled cheese.
Mahahual (Majahual) - Costa Maya - Hotel Mexico Vacation - Balamku Inn- Mayan Ecology Travel ecoturism vacations: Chinchorro Reef : Scuba Diving

Maya Luna, the restaurant near Balamku, also has rooms available.
Costa Maya- Hotel Restaurant Maya Luna Mahahual

Then, up north, there's Mayan Beach Garden. They're supposed to have a good restaurant. Not sure about the snorkeling though.
Costa Maya / Majahual / Mahahual Hotel - Villas - Vacation rental Mayan Beach Garden Inn - Bed & Breakfast

If we did drive...are there any ruins or "Need to see" places on the way there?

The only thing I know of on the way (sort of) to Mahahual is the ruins at Chacchoben. I hope to see them the next time we go down.
Chacchoben - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chacchoben: Mayan Ruins, Mexico

[SUNBABY]

Excellent questions and info.!

[DavidB]

Great report and pictures Libby. I think I see a vacation weekend from my vacation in my future.

[claudiadeplaya]

I just wanted to add a couple of more options to stay downtown where you don't need a car.

Matan Ka an is a very nice "la tortuga style" Italian hotel that just opened it has a beautiful pool and rooms and amenities look great, they have good water pressure which is hard to get in other places

Matan Ka' an

Here is Andrea who also operates 40 cañones and some pics of the new hotel






Another option is of course 40 cañones which has a beautiful beach and a good restaurant, the management of this hotels are excellent people and have very nice hotels







I am trying to put together pictures and menus of restaurants for the Costa Maya here, but so far I´m just starting and have this on my photobucket

[Libby]

My shy inquirer has asked some more questions about Mahahual.

I was wondering about just going without reservations, it being low season and all.. What do you think? There seems to be a few places to stay.

Mahahual is fairly remote so it can be a little risky to arrive without a reservtion. Balamku was fully booked the weekend in August we were there. I had thought about staying another night, but no rooms were available there. September and October are ususally the slowest months here in Playa, and I imagine the same is true in Mahahual, So it's probably the best time of year to do this.

Your biggest problem will be getting from hotel to hotel without a car. Downtown is very walkable, but again the only hotel there I can recommend is the Pachamama. The rest might be okay is you're cool with hostel type places. Outside of downtown, you'll need a cab.

Did you walk past the 40 canons hotel? If so, what did it look like to you.? And where is that damn lighthouse? I couldn't find it on the aerial view on locogringo.

Hurricane Dean changed Mahahual quite a bit. I just took a look at the locogringo map and it is no longer accurate. If you start at the main Mahahual page on the aerial map, and click to the right twice, you will see the road that leads into Mahahual. Click to the right again for a close-up. The lighthouse should be there. It must have been built after those images were taken. You can see the lighthouse on Google Maps. Just do a search for Mahahual, zoom in, and look for the road into Mahahual. You'll see the shadow of the lighthouse.

The spot where locogringo has the 40 Canons Hotel is not where it is now. Either they made a mistake or it was moved to the south end of town after the hurricane. Although, admittedly, it's difficult to tell since the town layout is so different after Dean. But in this area now, there is the malecon and really not much else. There is that big Club Tequila and a couple of small piers with boats. There's nothing west of the malecon except the new road through the mangroves.

[claudiadeplaya]

There are so many restaurants to choose from now, but what I really like is the fresh fish and ceviche they have in places like Nohoch Kai, and Mahahual Hotel Restaurant





I also love the hamburgers at Che Burger and I will make it to Travel Inn soon soon soon. I really have heard wonders from their food but Justa is a super nice girl and I am sure it is worth the ride just for the company.

[Libby]

Thanks for the information and pics, Claudia! It's very difficult to find info for Mahahual online!

Is the Matan Ka'an in the south end of town about a block from the beach? I remember seeing it, but I can't remember quite where it was located. I was wondering if it was open yet. It looks like a great place.

And 40 Canons looks good too. They are in the downtown area on the south end.

Che Burger is in the other downtown farther from the beach. Claudia, what do Mahahualians call the two areas? I never know which area to call downtown.