Is the beach village of Mahahual on your Mexico itinerary for its snow-white beach with palm trees? For snorkeling in the beautiful coral reef? Relaxing and doing nothing for a few days? Then Mahahual might disappoint you. In another blog we already explained why we wouldn’t recommend Mahahual, but we discovered the perfect alternative on Airbnb and Booking.com: Cabanas Ecoturisticas Costa Maya. These beach cabins on a tropical beach are the perfect place to unwind in Mexico!
Tip: you can book the Costa Maya Cabanas via Airbnb and pay the high Airbnb fees, but they’re also available on more regular platforms like Booking.com and Expedia. We prefer them over Airbnb and booked our stay with Booking.
Picture perfect Airbnb cabanas at Mahahual
We have to admit that we booked this Airbnb by accident. We were looking for a unique place to stay in Mahahual and found the perfect place on the edge of town. But it just wasn’t on the edge. We hadn’t noticed it actually took a 35-minute drive from Mahahual to get to these Airbnb eco cabanas. But we soon found out it was worth every minute in the car.
The location of the small-scale beach hotel Cabanas Ecoturisticas Costa Maya couldn’t have been better. Each guest had its own cabana right on the beach, which is privately owned by the Airbnb host. White sand, palm trees, cabanas and just the sound of the rushing waves. Quite a different sight from all the beach clubs in Mahahual filled with lounge chairs. There are comfortable chairs in the shade of the palm trees for all guests to use. Just like the kayaks and the snorkel sets, which we used to kayak out on the ocean and snorkel between rays, colorful fish and corals right in front of our beach cabin.
The atmosphere also made this one of our favorite places to stay in Mexico. We arrived at the end of the year and experienced one of the most memorable New Year’s Eve’s ever. Every evening is special, when the host serves a delicious community-style dinner is served with the fish of the day (250 pesos per person). But New Year’s Eve was even more special with a guitar and songs by a campfire, talking and laughter, counting down into the new year with all guests. We started 2020 with a fantastic group of people around a campfire among the palm trees on a bounty beach. Is there a better way to start a new year?
Don’t expect a luxury resort though. It’s more like a small-scale off the grid beach hotel. The cottages are very basic and they don’t have electrical outlets or a hot shower. The bed was a bit small, especially for Sebastiaan. That might have been a bit disappointing, but it actually felt like part of the amazing off the grid beach experience we had.
We paid a price of 131 euros for two nights during the high season. You can book this property with Airbnb, but we’d prefer to book it with Booking.com. You can check the current prices and availability on Booking.com here. The amazing breakfast (there were pancakes!) was included in the price, just like the kayaks and snorkel sets.
