Welcome to Costa Maya Land of history, culture and adventure.
COSTA MAYA, THE NEWEST TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN QUINTANA ROO
Probably when you heard about Costa Maya Mexico for the first time you immediately thought of it as Mexican city or state. If you learned that your cruise ship included Costa Maya in its itinerary you may have thought of it as an island. The fact is that Costa Maya is non of that.
Costa Maya (or Grand Costa Maya!) is the commercial brand of a tourism development in the south of the state of Quintana Roo. It covers an extension of approximately 45 Kilometers of coast line, stretching from Punta Pulticub passing through Mahahual Village and ending in Xcalak Village. Along the coast line there are only two villages, Mahahual and Xcalak. Both of them are mainly fishermen’s villages.
Costa Maya has been blessed with white sand beaches and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. It also offers easy access to the Mayan Ruins of Chacchoben, Kohunlich and Dzibanche, the Bacalar Lagoon (also known as the Seven Color Lagoon) and Chetumal, the capital city of the state. At the same time Costa Maya is the closest access point to the second largest barrier reef in the world with its spectacular Chinchorro Bank and its ship wreck sanctuary. As one can imagine Costa Maya has an endless array of possibilities for the ones looking for culture and adventure in an unspoiled environment.
COSTA MAYA, PLANNED AS A TOURISM DESTINATION WITH EMPHASIS IN ECOTOURISM AND LOW IMPACT TOURISM DEVELOPMENTS.
According to the Costa Maya development plan, Costa Maya covers and area of 19,400 hectares, of which 25% will be used for housing and urban services, 15% will be used for tourism projects and the remaining 60% will be destined to preservation and natural reserves.
COSTA MAYA... A REALITY
Costa Maya became a reality when the construction of the Costa Maya port was completed and cruise lines started including it in their itineraries.
In the past few years Costa Maya has observed many changes because of the increasing number of tourists arriving every year via cruise ships and also for the interest of many people looking for investment or job opportunities created by the increasing tourism activity.
MAHAHUAL VILLAGE, THE HEART OF COSTA MAYA
Mahahual (or Majahual) Village, which not long ago used to be a small fishermen's village is the place that has seen the most dramatic changes. Simply because of its privileged location and proximity to the Costa Maya port. It has been interesting to see how, in recent years the few fishermen families living in Mahahual Village started transforming their homes into restaurants and bars. Later, fishing boats started being adapted to offer snorkeling tours to the many tourists looking for activities in the turquoise waters of Mahahual.
Today Mahahual, has become the heart of Costa Maya, and with all of these recent changes, progress is also reaching the area. Almost five years ago electricity finally arrived to Mahahual and today most of the homes have access to this service. Running water is also available a few hours every day, just long enough so families refill their water containers or cisterns. Phone lines are coming slowly but the service is becoming available to more homes and with it the possibility of an internet connection. The latest novell in Costa Maya were the cell phones although the signal reaches only a few kilometers around the village, it offers more possibilities of communication.
In the upcoming years, as part of Costa Maya's development, new resorts will populate the coast line and all the services and facilities needed to attract tourists will be available. When it happens it is likely that Mahahual village will be a totally different place. But for the moment visitors can still enjoy this charming little village, which is transformed into the favorite spot for the ones looking for a nice beach or an authentic Mexican dish every time there is a cruise ship in port.
Both pictures presented here were taken before hurricane Dean hit Costa Maya in August 2007. We will be updating these images soon.