Cancun Quintana Roo Mexico, Riviera Maya
Frequently Asked Questions
At a deep-water pier, at the foot of a purpose-built port complex with saltwater pools, shops, restaurants and entertainment stages. The village of Mahahual is 3.5 kilometres away, a short taxi ride.
That is the real decision of the day, and it comes up at the gangway. The complex offers turnkey comfort without leaving the gates; Mahahual, 3.5 kilometres away, offers a pedestrian malecón, palapa restaurants and a reef within swimming distance. Both fit if the call is long.
Better not: 3.5 kilometres on a road with no shade. Taxis are quick and inexpensive, and drivers shuttle continuously throughout the call.
A pedestrian walkway along shallow turquoise water, restaurants whose tables nearly touch the sea, massage cabanas under the coconut palms and an old lighthouse watching over sandy back streets. No malls, no towers: a fishing village that learned to host without losing itself.
Yes, the Mesoamerican Reef begins just offshore: one of the largest coral systems on earth, running from here to Honduras. Trips leave from the beach or the village toward coral gardens with rays, angelfish and turtles, in visibility that often exceeds twenty metres.
Glass-bottom boat trips from the complex, or a land excursion. Chacchoben, about an hour's drive inland, raises its Maya temples under dense canopy that keeps the visit comfortable even in full heat.
A restored Maya site about an hour's drive from Costa Maya, occupied from the early centuries of our era. It is the most requested cultural excursion of the call and the easiest to combine with a stress-free return to the ship.
Yes, if you prefer calm fresh water to surf. A little over an hour away, its bands of blue and the old Spanish fort of San Felipe take up most of the day. It is an either-or choice: no beach and no reef that day.
The Mexican peso, though US dollars are accepted almost everywhere and the complex posts prices in dollars. Cards work at the port, far less in the Mahahual palapas.
Exactly what the package includes. Favour clubs that spell out chairs, food and drinks. Biodegradable sunscreen is also required for any outing on the reef.
