Mahahual is a top destination in Quintana Roo Mexico.
Mahahual lies 400m away parallel to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (The second biggest barrier reef in the planet) it is one of the most beautiful and better-conserved reef ecosystems. Scuba diving here is great and u won’t be able to visit every dive site. If u are not certified either learn to scuba or just snorkel but do not miss the opportunity of doing it. There are several dive operators that will take u on this sports trip.
Rent a boat or use kayaks or snorkel at the reef front of Mahahual, plenty of activities to do this paradise is a low know place to go.
Visit Mahahual the water is amazing.
We had been meaning to go to Mahahual for a while, but kept thinking, oh, you know, a beach is a beach, right?
Before I set foot here, however, there was something that kept calling me…and I don’t know why. It was hard to leave Akumal on a rainy day for the trip. Yes, it rained and rained and rained the three hours down. and was pouring rain when I first set eyes on this little gem of a place.
A cruise ship was in port of Costa Maya, there were taxis just JAMMING this little area and the potholes were huge. I should be not liking this very much thank you. But I did. In fact, something clicked, right off the bat and I LOVED it. The more we drove, the two minutes through town….the two hours down the beach road towards Xcalak, the more I loved it.
Even when we almost plunged into the Rio Hutch (thanks to a burned down bridge) I loved it.
Mahahual’s visitors say:
– At the door of the Costa Maya complex, we are greeted by someone dressed as a Mayan warrior. That is where I begin having serious suspicion. Once inside, it is confirmed: we are in the ultimate tourist trap. The whole thing is modeled on a resort with shops (and luring vendors), restaurants, bars, a swimming pool, and a small artificial beach. It may be ok with tourists (and I am sure they will be satisfied with what they can find at Costa Maya) but not for us. I find it heartbreaking in fact and cannot wait to get out of there. So, we will walk to Majahual.
The road to Majahual is a whole lot of nothing but it’s also quite exciting. You feel like being an explorer. A narrow path of yellow dirt (sand) is waving between the vegetation and the sea. It is deserted, although men are not far away (and there is a road not far away), almost halfway there, we come across a Mexican Navy base, it seems almost abandoned. The coast is lovely but I would not say unspoiled since you can find plastic bags or a plastic bottle. It’s a shame, but the clean places are lovely and have a rugged charm that is so hard to find in most popular port-of-calls.
The locals are working very hard to keep the place clean so, be considerate and keep this piece of paradise beautiful.
– Mahahual it is not Cancun. It is a tiny fishermen village with one dirt main road, a couple of snack-bars-restaurant, the inevitable Beetle car… It is the real Mexico, poor but trying to get by. Some fellow cruisers sit on terraces and sip a Corona. Villagers are taking advantage of Costa Maya… even if it’s hard for most cruisers to walk all the way there. Vendors are selling jewelry and are not too pushy. They hopefully haven’t learned the way of their big cities counterparts. I wish we could sit and have a drink, I’d rather spend my money here than in Costa Maya but Justin feels uncomfortable. He will admit he doesn’t feel at ease around poverty. I can’t blame him. It’s always a bit uneasy the first time. But I am glad we made the walk all the way there.
– By the road to the south, we found the town of Xcalak to look a bit deserted when you hit the beach, the coast line is stunning and the people are friendly. This is an amazing place for beauty, scuba, access to the Chinchorro Reef by charter, and fantastic seclusion. It is the last place in Mexico before Belize.
– Snorkel: This was what my daughter wrote about the snorkeling: Hi. today we did the glass bottom boat and snorkel in Costa Maya. Hahaha to you Justin because the water was warm and my snorkel was fine so I had a great time.
-It can be a haul, so to break the trip up from your starting point, be it Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Akumal or Even Tulum, Filipe Carillo Puerto has a beautiful little town square in front of the Church of the Talking Cross, you pass through a little town called Limones too, where they make a lot of furniture. But if you want some beautiful water, keep driving to Mahahual!
The Costa Maya venue
There is a large cruise ship pier at Puerto Costa Maya replete with tourist shops at the end, but if you choose to take a taxi into town, you will find a sand road through the jungle along the coast with occasional establishments on either side. These are usually bars and restaurants, with an occasional resort hotel catering mainly to divers.
When driving down this road, it is interesting to note that most buildings have sticks of steel “rebar” sticking out of the roofs. Rebar are those steel rods used to reinforce concrete. I was told that people intentionally leave these sticking out of the tops of walls and roofs because as long as a building is incomplete, it is exempt from tax… so no building is ever complete, and if it really is, then a few sticks of rebar extending out of the upper story walls can be claimed to be the owner’s intent to “finish” the building.
Many people only speak Español here, but there are enough English speakers to get along (assuming that is your main language, but then you probably wouldn’t be reading this if you were not an English speaker).
