Mahahual, also spelled Majahual is a sleepy town on Mexico's Costa Maya shores noted to be from Tulum south to the Belize border. We visited it after stopping in Costa Maya a port-of-call for the Royal Caribbean, Grandeur of the Seas, cruise ship.

Costa Maya, the Port

In the year 2000 a group of investors purchased and cleared a piece of the Mexican Costa Mayan shore and constructed what they note as a replica of a Mayan community. This acreage serves as a port with a pier that can serve up to four large class cruise ships. Carnival Cruises, Norwegian Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises and other cruise lines too.

The enclosed and protected village on the beautiful blue water shore is a grouping of vendors shops, restaurants, entertainment stages, a very large pool, and stocked with hundreds of lounge chairs and hammocks that are there for cruise passengers use.

Costa Maya is also a staging area for all kinds of adventure and pleasure excursions to private beaches, ancient ruins, snorkeling outings and much much more.

Two Miles South to Mahahual

Just a couple of miles south of this man made complex is the centuries old village of Mahahual, Mexico. (also spelled Majahaul) As some investors believe, it could be the Playa del Carmen or possibly even the Cancun of the future. More than one web site notes it is now what Cancun was thirty years ago and Play del Carmen ten years back. I happen to like it just the way it is right now.

To get there one must purchase a three dollar ticket for transport from the Costa Mayan ticket agent. They do NOT allow cabs to line up in the complex for pick up. Once you are out of the Costa Maya complex taxis are free to take you back. The fee is just two dollars return so it seems the Costa Maya investors are making their extra dollars at the tourist expense and keeping out the competition.

Town isn't much more than a half mile stretch of hard packed sand that runs parallel to the beach front. Its a wide avenue and traffic is prohibited. This allows for easy wandering and walking through the town checking out the wares of local shop owners. Even on the days when many cruise ships were in there was a lazy feel about the place. I did notice a couple of the outside leisure bars with some small crowds. It must almost be a ghost town when the ships are out to sea as there are just 150 inhabitants. Some of those who sell wares come in from other Mexican coast towns when cruise ships are in.

A handful of very small hotels and cottage-like places are available to those who want to spend a few days or a week. It's now known more as a divers town, low key, that is, with the fisherman now taking out diving groups to the nearby reefs.

Our Experience

We were dropped off from a ten passenger mini-bus by the Costa Maya transport people. Some cruise ship employees asked to be taken to the far end of town, a little quieter and there was an outdoor bar they wanted to get to. We were dropped mid-village. It was delightful to meander through the large avenue without a car in sight. Few people were in the street. Most were at the few outdoor bars or on the beaches.

The beaches are all public but it seems that locals have all claimed small sections of it by placing like tables and chairs, some with umbrellas and most under palm trees from the beaches water line to the avenue.

We walked a bit until my wife stopped at a shaded spot with a couple of massage tables. She decided to have a massage on the beach. She didn't even bother to haggle the price, which is custom, for the ten dollar forty-five minute session. While she enjoyed, I parked myself at a nearby table and a fellow came up and offered a number of beer selections. I sat in the comfortable air under a palm tree looking at the sites with a cold beer in hand while my wife enjoyed her massage. Life doesn't get better than that.

The water in front of the beach was a bit odd in that it was very shallow for a while out. Some young children played safely in these waters. About fifty or so feet out it got deeper but still walkable. This is a right of way for small local boats coming in and out of shore. The water then gets shallow again. I spoke with a family that was just hanging out at a nearby table. They had snorkel gear. They said they had a good time seeing many fish out in those waters right off the beach. We didn't have our gear with us otherwise we would have tried.

When my wife was finished with her message she joined me relaxing in a nearby lounge chair, also set up by the locals to encourage a stop and a purchase of a beer or two.

As she sunned drinking a Corona, a middle-aged, good looking Mexican gentleman dressed in clean fresh whites, carrying a guitar, asked me if he could sing her a song. I agreed. He was with his young son, perhaps eight years old. The gentleman pulled up a nearby chair started playing the guitar and sang a few songs. Once again, this was a slice of life that just can't be beat. We tipped the gent some and he thanked us with a huge smile and walked his way up the beach.

After a bit more relaxing my wife and I started walking the avenue. A few vendors would call out but this wasn't a place like others where the hawking is unbearable. It wasn't at all. I did have to laugh at one sales guy though. When my wife and I go to new destinations we collect some kind of memento that we hang under our pergola in our back yard. A Mayan carving caught my eye. My wife was quick to question if it was a simple cast, it wasn't. It was carved. The tale though, was that the piece was the salesperson's long gone father who carved it and it was hard for him to let it go. Of course there were a couple of others much like it toward the back of his stall. We started at $50 and walked away with the piece for $10. We were happy, he was happy. I hope his father wasn't turning in his grave. : )

We leisurely walked a bit more taking some photos. Taxis are available every block or so on side streets. English speaking guys are there to get you in the right direction. There is no problem getting a taxi back to the Costa Maya port. Though I don't recommend it to the first time tourist I would say the more savvy traveler could work out some good side trips to nearby Mayan ruins with the cab drivers. In planning our trip I found the village taxi drivers had their own web site and were organized to take couples and groups on custom tours. We never did so but grabbed a taxi for the short ride back.

The ride takes but a few minutes on paved roads. Our taxi driver showed us his home and that of relatives as we drove from town back to the Costa Maya port. The homes, from a slight distance and a quick glance, didn't seem much more than huts with just a few rooms. The driver was friendly and spoke English well.

I wonder if I will ever get back to Mahahual and if I do, I wonder if it will have the quaint, laid back feel it has now. Ah! Just remembering the moment sitting in the warm sun on a lovely beach with a cold beer in hand as a musician serenaded my wife is like touching a bit of heaven.

Mahahual, I will remember you well.



Costa Maya
Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas
Ten Reasons to Go To Mexico

Recommended: Yes

Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime