If you’re headed to Costa Maya its most likely via cruise ship. Whether its via cruise or a road trip around Mexico you are surely looking for things to do in or near Costa Maya. Here are a few of the amazing fun things we found to do in Costa Maya.

These are all things we considered doing on our one day stop in Costa Maya on our Royal Caribbean cruise. We aren’t the type to book things via the cruise ship. With a little planning you can plan the perfect day for yourself whether thats going to see the ancient ruins or sitting on the beach listening to the waves.

History of Costa Maya

Puerto Costa Maya and sleepy neighboring Mahahual use to be rural fishing villages. That was until 2002 when this region became a popular cruise destination.

It was the first fabricated cruise port in the Caribbean, but it didn’t last long. After a year of reconstruction following the devastating impact of Hurricane Dean in 2007, the Costa Maya cruise port reopened and it has continued to grow ever since.

Swimming & Beach time

If all you want to do is enjoy the beach in Costa Maya with a cold drink in hand – there are several options for that as well. The beaches of Costa Maya are fantastic. Although we didn’t go, I read very good reviews for a local beach club called 40 Canons Hotel or in Spanish, Cuarenta Canones.  It’s only a 10-15 minute until you reach the last stop at the end of the road.  The town you’re in is actually called Mahahual – the local fishing village. There is even an all you can eat & drink all inclusive option at the beach club called Pez Quadro in that same area. If you have your own snorkel gear, you could just throw it on at the beach club and go out on your own (with a buddy of course!) and check out the reefs on your own.

If you are looking at maximizing your time and want to do multiple activities in Costa Maya you could even look at a combined snorkel & beach day since most cruise ships stop with enough time to do both!

Snorkel & Scuba in Costa Maya

If you don’t already have a snorkel or scuba dive tour set up – consider going on one in Costa Maya. Snorkeling is a very popular thing to do in Costa Maya. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System encompasses over 1,000 kilometers and provides snorkelers & divers alike an experience of a lifetime. The famous diving spots of Belize are part of these waters too so scuba diving is also a very popular thing to do in Costa Maya. Check out this tour if you’re already certified. If you’re looking to learn how to scuba – they actually offer a 3 hour introductory course to scuba in Costa Maya too!

Mayan Ruins near Costa Maya

Ultimately we chose to go to the Chacchoben ruins. There were many options but we chose this tour that took us to both the Chacchoben Ruins & Bacalar Lagoon & we absolutely loved it. The ruins of Chacchoben is a fairly new project – it was discovered in the 20th century but it wasn’t restored until 1994 and then wasn’t fully open to the public until 2002 when cruises started coming to Costa Maya.

We took a guided tour of the ruins and the guides they hire are very knowledgeable of the area. The office is just a short walk from the cruise port as long as you don’t walk the maze of shops like we did. You arrive via air conditioned bus and they stop multiple times to share history of the area and give you time for photos.

After visiting the ruins you’re off to Bacalar Lagoon for a nice afternoon of relaxation, swimming. & sun. We brought snorkel gear but it was a bit too windy to enjoy snorkeling since visibility was low on our day. They even had kayaks you could take out if you wanted!

They also feed you lunch once you’re at the Lagoon – the tacos are amazing and the margaritas were really refreshing. Don’t skip trying the Himaca or Hibuscus Tea if they have it! It was a full day but we were back with time to spare & could even go shopping in port if we wanted to.

When you take this tour be sure to ask to stop at Pineapple town on the way back to enjoy some of the best Pineapple of your life!

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