What to do in Mahahual and how to plan your trip
Mahahual is a fishing village on the Costa Maya, about 340 kilometres from Cancun Airport. It has a 1.7-kilometre boardwalk along the sea, the Costa Maya cruise port about three kilometres away and Banco Chinchorro 40 kilometres offshore.
- 1transportation zone
- 2hotels
- 340 kmfrom the airport
- 1.7 kmof boardwalk
- 40 kmby sea to Banco Chinchorro
Everything you need to know about Mahahual
Mahahual is on the Costa Maya, the southern coastline of Quintana Roo, about 55 kilometres east of Highway 307. It has around 2,000 residents and two lives. In 2001 the Costa Maya cruise port opened next to the village; it can take four ships at once and more than a million passengers a year. In 2007 Hurricane Dean, a Category 5 storm, destroyed 80% of its buildings, and the village rebuilt itself with a 1,700-metre pedestrian boardwalk facing the sea. Offshore runs the Mesoamerican Reef and, 40 kilometres out by sea, lies Banco Chinchorro, a biosphere reserve since 1996 and the reason so many divers make the trip.
Getting to Mahahual
- Cancun Airport (CUN)About 340 kilometres: south on Highway 307 to the Limones area, then about 55 kilometres to the coast. The transfer drops you at your hotel.
- Chetumal Airport (CTM)Mahahual is about 140 kilometres from Chetumal. Fewer flights, nearly all domestic.
- By cruise shipShips dock at the Costa Maya pier, about three kilometres from the village. Take a taxi or the port shuttle: the road has no sidewalk.
Good to know
- LanguageSpanish, with English along the boardwalk, at beach clubs and at dive shops.
- CurrencyMexican peso (MXN). The Banco Chinchorro fee and boat trips are paid separately.
- Time zoneUTC−5 all year, the same as Cancun.
- Power127 V, 60 Hz, the same flat plugs as in Canada.
- WaterDrink bottled water.
- Emergencies911 nationwide.
Transfers from the airport to every zone of Mahahual are a fixed price per vehicle, with the driver waiting at the exit. See availability.
Things to see and do in Mahahual
The reef right offshore, the atoll farther out and a couple of reasons to head inland.
1,700 metres of pedestrian walkway along the sea, with restaurants, beach clubs and more than a kilometre of public beach. It is the whole village in one walk.
The largest atoll in Mexico, 40 kilometres out by sea and a biosphere reserve since 1996. It has three cays and dozens of shipwrecks; CONANP charges a per-person daily fee and recommends visiting from February to May.
Mahahual faces the Mesoamerican Reef, the coral barrier that runs all the way to Honduras. Snorkel and dive trips leave from the village itself.
The cruise pier, opened in 2001 and able to berth four ships at once, with its own shopping village and pools for passengers.
About 60 kilometres south along the coast, the village of the Arrecifes de Xcalak National Park, near the border with Belize. Even more remote than Mahahual.
An INAH archaeological site inland, past Limones, and one of the classic cruise excursions. Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Beaches of Mahahual
The boardwalk beach and the coast running south, emptier the farther you go.
More than a kilometre of public sand in front of the village, with beach clubs and the boardwalk behind.
The coast continues toward Xcalak with small hotels, cabins and campgrounds, and stretches that are nearly empty.
At the end of the road, next to the reef national park. More for snorkelling and diving than for lying on the sand.
When to visit Mahahual
Four seasons for one destination. Pick yours by weather, crowds and price.
Dry and breezy, and the Caribbean’s high cruise season: on days with ships at the pier, the boardwalk is far busier.
Hot with calm seas. February to May are the months CONANP recommends for Banco Chinchorro. On this open coast, sargassum season begins.
Warm sea and short afternoon storms. Sargassum changes from week to week.
The quietest time of year and the middle of hurricane season. The village has already been through two Category 5 storms: Janet in 1955 and Dean in 2007.
Getting around Mahahual
What each option costs and when it makes sense.
From Cancun there is a bus with a change in Limones, and departures toward Chetumal. It is long and on fixed schedules.
The village is the boardwalk and a few streets behind it: you can walk all of it.
Boats to the reef and to Banco Chinchorro leave from the village. For Chinchorro, only with a licensed operator.
From Cancun Airport to your hotel, at a fixed price per vehicle, with no bus changes on the way.
How we get you to Mahahual
From Cancun Airport to your hotel door in Mahahual, at a fixed price per vehicle.
Hotels in Mahahual we pick up from
Fixed price to every hotel in the zone. If yours is not here, type it in the search box.
Tips from our local team in Mahahual
What travellers ask us most, answered by the people who live here.
It is far, and you will feel it
It is about 340 kilometres from the airport. If you land late, split the drive with a night in Tulum or on the Riviera Maya.
Check the cruise calendar
On days with ships at the pier, the boardwalk and beach clubs fill with passengers. On days without, the village is a different place.
Chinchorro has a fee
CONANP charges a per-person daily fee to enter the reserve, on top of the boat trip.
The transfer goes direct
No changing buses in Limones: your driver meets you at the airport exit and drops you at your hotel.
Coming by cruise ship? Plan the return
From the pier to the village is about three kilometres with no sidewalk. Take a taxi or the port shuttle, and leave margin to get back to the ship.
At Chinchorro, only Cayo Centro
It is a biosphere reserve: Cayo Centro is the only cay visitors may land on.
How to get to Mahahual from the airport
A fixed price per vehicle and your driver waiting at the exit with your name, on one of the longest drives we do.
Transportation prices per zone in Mahahual
| Transportation zone | Drive time | Passenger van8 8 | Airport taxi3 3 | Luxury SUV5 5 | Group van15 15 | See availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahahual | 5 h 32 min | US$500 | — | US$800 | US$1,077.03 | See availability |
One way in USD per vehicle, taxes, tolls and luggage included. Round trip is the total for both legs. Drive times are estimates without traffic, calculated from distance and speed limits; those marked ≈ are approximate.
The prices shown are the Economy fare. Many services also have a Premium fare in the same private vehicle, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before and free changes up to 12 hours before; Economy includes one change with 24 hours’ notice. You choose between them when you see availability.