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Comparing Nachi Cocom with Maya Chan


DunkelBierJay

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After having been to Nachi Cocom in Cozumel twice and Maya Chan in Costa Maya once, I wanted to list the differences and similarities based on my experiences at both. These are only my impressions from my visits and are not definitive at all  

 
Entry and Getting There
 
Entry Fees
  • Nachi Cocom — $55
  • Maya Chan — $59
 
Transportation 
  • Nachi Cocom — from the International Pier, the cost is $17 each way for a taxi trip. Once the shops are navigated to the taxi stand, the trip takes about 20 minutes. Let them know when you want to return to the ship, and a taxi will be waiting. 
  • Costa Maya — once you exit the controlled shops and terminal area, the meeting spot is about two blocks away. The trip cost is included in the price and organized by the staff and takes 25-30 minutes on rough dirt roads south from Mahahual paralleling the coast. Return trips to the ship came in thirty minute increments starting at 1:30 for a 4:30 all on board time. The last taxi was scheduled at 3:30 and drops you off inside the controlled port area, which I liked better than the original pick up area. 
Clear Edge to Maya Chan when combining entry and transportation for the right number of people. It doesn’t favor Nachi Cocom cost-wise unless you have a large number of people and a bus. 
 
Total Cost for Two Adults
  • Nachi Cocom — $144
  • Maya Chan — $118
Clear Edge to Maya Chan
 
Greeting and Orientation
  • Nachi Cocom — upon arrival, you are greeted by a staff member who takes pictures of you with a sombrero and then directs you to the cashier who takes your payment receipt. After a brief wait, you are introduced to your waiter who takes you to your palapa 
  • Maya Chan — when arriving at the meet up point outside of the port area which is fairly easy to find on the right next to a small convenience store, you are advised of the conditions and given the opportunity to cancel if there is a lot of seaweed in the beach. They have your name and number in your party on a list, check you off and match you with other guests for the trip which is usually in a 12 passenger van. A rep, for us, it was one of the American ex-pat owners gives a brief orientation. 
Edge to Maya Chan
 
What’s Included (The Basics)
  • Nachi Cocom — all food and beverages as well as access to all facilities. Your waiter brings anything you like to your palapa, or you can use the swim up bar in the pool or the restaurant area. Food is ordered off a fairly extensive menu. Beach toys are extra. 
  • Maya Chan — an attendant will bring an introductory rum punch and any other beverages you like. Other than chips, guac and salsa, food is buffet style in the small All beach toys are included. They range from water shoes, snorkeling gear, floating chairs and stand up paddle boards. 
Edge to Nachi Cocom (I don’t mind paying a little extra for a kayak or floating mat)
 
The Facilities
  • Nachi Cocom — there are two sets of bathrooms, a large outdoor seating area in the restaurant/bar, palapas that run two deep the full width of the property, which I am guessing is about 250 feet of water frontage. Each palapa has two chairs and a small table. There is a nice second bar on the beach. There is a small dock. The pool is great, and has a swim up bar which I love. There is also a hot tub. The beach is wide and clean. It’s easy to wade in with your floating device and a cold beverage. The restaurant is very nice and under shade, so even on the hottest days, is a great place to be. There are about 20 tables in the space. 
  • Maya Chan — palapas include 1-5 chairs and a beach bed which provided one of the best naps I’ve ever had. They are larger than what is available at Nachi Cocom. There was an unattended second bar behind the line of palapas. I am guessing there is about 150 feet of  water frontage. There is no pool. The day I was there was not ideal, sadly, because a storm washed an unbelievable amount of seaweed ashore. It was quite staggering, actually. Three dedicated staff members were putting in huge efforts to clear paths to the water. Even then, when wading out, the seaweed was so thick, it wrapped around your legs for 10-15 feet until you reached clearer water. The bottom was rocky, though not as rocky as Adrenalin Beach at Labadee. Water shoes are a good idea. The restaurant/bar area is somewhat small and pleasant with about 8 tables. The cooking occurs right there, so you can enjoy the skilled cooking. 
Edge to Nachi Cocom
 
Staff
  • Nachi Cocom — absolutely fantastic. I had the same waiter both times, he remembered me. The bar tenders are quick and generous with the mixed drinks and the beers are cold. 
  • Maya Chan — absolutely fantastic. They are extra attentive to your needs yet they don’t pester you. I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Dan, one of the owners. 
Slight Edge to Maya Chan — Nachi is wonderful however
 
Food and Beverage
  • Nachi Cocom — I like the option to be served at a table or at your palapa. All tropical drinks I had were very good, and the beer was cold. The menu has numerous Mexican and some American selections. 
  • Maya Chan — The tropical drinks were very tasty and the beer was cold. Food was served buffet style and limited to assembling tacos using shredded skirt steak, chicken, sea bass (dripping in garlic butter — omg), and pork. All had Mexican seasoning and were fresh, plentiful and wonderful with all the fixings including really, really good guacamole. 
Edge to Nachi Cocom because of the style of servïce and variety. Quality at both were good. 
 
Edges to
  • Nachi Cocom — 3
  • Maya Chan — 4
 
Conclusion
 
Because I am happy with a cold beer on the beach to keep me happy, and the lower overall cost, I would give an edge to Maya Chan especially on a good beach day when the seaweed is gone. If I’m in the mood for a pool day and a swim up bar, I’ll pick Nachi Cocom and conclude the total extra cost is worth it knowing that I could have stayed at the port at Costa Maya and had swim up bar action all day if I wanted. 
 
Despite how the edges came out above, I think Nachi Cocom would win over in my book because of more variety. My daughter picks Nachi Cocom because she remembers that the drink portions are larger and the large menu. So I would say that for us, the more developed facilities and the food variety are weighed more heavily than some of the other categories. 
 
I would be curious to know what others who have been to both think. 

 

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Maya Chan — hammock in the back of our palapa

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Maya Chan — raised observation tower  great place to charge your phone 

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Maya Chan — our palapa

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Maya Chan — our palapa

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Maya Chan — view from our palapa

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Maya Chan — buffet area in the left foreground, and the bar in the back  this was taken upon entering for the first time

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Maya Chan — this is an example of an area of seaweed that was cleared the most. The thicker areas were unreal  I waded through it several times, and it’s not bad if your mind is focused on the goal of getting to the other side. If you dwell on it, I will tell no lie, it’s pretty gross. If you don’t intend to go in the water on days when this happens, it won’t be an issue. 

 

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Maya Chan — bar/restaurant from the beach

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Maya Chan — beach toys — note the mounds of seaweed

 

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Nachi Cocom — very nice beach

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Nachi Cocom — palapas on the beach

 

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A672E7FA-322E-4EC7-B499-F0DBE6C579D8.thumb.jpeg.7b8e045e85b28a495b0269c7c2faa373.jpegNachi Cocom Menu

 

DA435F21-B974-4B71-88D6-A196A590DD14.thumb.jpeg.bbc79280fcf3bafee1384d3451ae33a9.jpegNachi Cocom Bathroom

1AA64AEA-0F50-4F49-A6BA-52D647CBB3F6.thumb.jpeg.c72b164d2251ebc5c9d875a376b4b701.jpegNachi Cocom pool and hot tub

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Nachi Cocom massage palapa

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Nachi Cocom secondary bathrooms and shower

 

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Nachi Cocom — secondary beach bar

 

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Nachi Cocom — pool with restaurant bar on the other side

 

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Nachi Cocom — swim up bar on the other side fro. The restaurant side bar. 

 

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Nachi Cocom resultant seating

 

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Excellent write up/comparison!

 

We went to Nachi in January (thankfully, they didn't make us take a picture upon arrival) and enjoyed it.

It was relatively cool and a bit overcast, but there was hardly anyone there!  It wasn't nearly as crowded 

as it is in your pics; I'm assuming this seldom happens.  

If we go back to Coz, I'm not sure if we'll do Nachi or just explore town.  If we do another inclusive, I'll

absolutely do Nachi again.

 

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My vote is Nachi, I've been to both on the same trip, but I'm biased, when we went to Maya last year the road was washed out and almost impassable, I never get car sick and almost did on this ride. My understanding is that the road has been fixed so it is supposed to be much better.

Nachi is the main highway the whole way, much better paved roads.

Food would go to Maya though, Nachi is very good, but Maya was excellent.

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16 hours ago, tiny260 said:

My vote is Nachi, I've been to both on the same trip, but I'm biased, when we went to Maya last year the road was washed out and almost impassable, I never get car sick and almost did on this ride. My understanding is that the road has been fixed so it is supposed to be much better.

Nachi is the main highway the whole way, much better paved roads.

Food would go to Maya though, Nachi is very good, but Maya was excellent.

They said the road had been improved to Maya Chan, however there were lots of ruts which slowed us down quite a bit. 

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Great review. I think I agreed with everything you said.

I'd boil it down to Maya Chan's service is unparalleled. Nachi has a pool and their food is served a la carte, so it may or may not provide more options.

The x-factor is the seaweed problem at Maya Chan.  @DunkelBierJay When was your visit?  We had the same seaweed problem when we visited in March.  Really hoping it is a temporary issue and not something that happens all the time.  

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5 hours ago, Matt said:

The x-factor is the seaweed problem at Maya Chan.  @DunkelBierJay When was your visit?  We had the same seaweed problem when we visited in March.  Really hoping it is a temporary issue and not something that happens all the time.  

We were there on Friday, June 22. I can't describe sufficiently how much of it there was, and it wasn't as bad as further north along the coast where the smell was really tough to bear. It was nowhere near as bad at Maya Chan itself though. The three men clearing it were really working hard in an almost impossible job. Dan, the owner seemed frustrated by it and was lamenting another storm that he said was on the way. Very cool guy, though. I think he needs a backhoe or some sort of tractor to clear it more quickly. Pitchforks and elbow grease weren't enough for a rapid clearing.

I will say that the food is as fresh as it can be at Maya Chan...there's no good way to know at Nachi since it's prepared in the back kitchen.

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22 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said:

We were there on Friday, June 22.

Hmmm, I'm concerned honestly that the seaweed are no longer anomalies but the norm.  I'm even more concerned since for the Symphony GC we are scheduled to go there.

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On 6/25/2018 at 4:32 PM, rjac said:

Nachi Cocum is not an RC excursion. Here is a link to their homepage: http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/. 

 If you book with them tell them if you want a "palapa" by the water, or pool or in the back area. They are very accommodating. :27_sunglasses:

For what it's worth,  i asked about reserving a palapa at Nachi last week for my April cruise and I was told "Unfortuantely we cannot guarantee a  palapa this service is subject to availiability upon arrival, first come first serve. "      I'm hoping this is similar to so many of the "policies" that RCI has.    even though Nachi is unaffiliated,   I'm going to keep reaching out to hopefully get the answer I want  lol

 

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34 minutes ago, Pooch said:

So if there are no palapas left when we arrive probably 10-11ish, what might he available for shade on the beach?

There are plenty of palapas at Nachi on the beach and around the pool. When I booked on line I specifically asked for one by the ocean shore line and reiterated that when we checked in at their"front desk". Of course, we got there about 10-ish and it was not a problem. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/3/2018 at 4:27 PM, rjac said:

There are plenty of palapas at Nachi on the beach and around the pool. When I booked on line I specifically asked for one by the ocean shore line and reiterated that when we checked in at their"front desk". Of course, we got there about 10-ish and it was not a problem. 

I recall a Periscope where Michael Poole got there early - 9ish as they were setting up - and had free reign of the place.  So if you heart is set on a palapa, be the first in line. ?

 

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That is a very excellent and detailed write-up that gives a lot of information to contemplate when arriving at Cozumel. I will be in Cozumel on 31 October 18 on another Cruise line, which dare not speak its name, but starts with a C and it's a party baby. I booked before I really knew about RC ? My only issue is we are the last ship in at 1200; I think there are two or three other ships there at the same time that come in earlier. So I just chose to go snorkeling instead.

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8 hours ago, Pooch said:

Thats the day we will be in Cozumel!

Opps I was wrong the on the number of ships...actually 5

31 October, 2018
Wednesday
Royal Caribbean Cruises cruise lineMajesty Of The Seas 07:00 18:00
31 October, 2018
Wednesday
Holland America Cruises cruise linems Veendam 08:00 17:00
31 October, 2018
Wednesday
Disney Cruise Line Cruises cruise lineDisney Wonder 09:00 16:00
31 October, 2018
Wednesday
Carnival Cruise Line Cruises cruise lineCarnival Valor 09:00 18:00
31 October, 2018
Wednesday
Carnival Cruise Line Cruises cruise lineCarnival Victory 12:00 22:00
       
       
       
       
       

 

 

 
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51 minutes ago, Michael Vitale said:

Great review, but for me, Nachi was NOT all that. I much prefer Mr. Sancho’s, and will be there on the 14th. Actually had reservations at Maya Chan on the 13th and cancelled after seeing all these seaweed issues. Still not sure what we’ll do in Costa Maya. 

I hear a lot of people really like Krazy Lobster! 

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On 8/31/2018 at 6:57 AM, Michael Vitale said:

Great review, but for me, Nachi was NOT all that. I much prefer Mr. Sancho’s, and will be there on the 14th. Actually had reservations at Maya Chan on the 13th and cancelled after seeing all these seaweed issues. Still not sure what we’ll do in Costa Maya. 

I may try Mr Sanchos on my next visit!

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On 9/3/2018 at 7:20 AM, Pooch said:

Where is Krazy Lobster?  We are planning on just wandering around in Costa Maya.  Easy to find?

The Krazy Lobster is in Mahaual which is the very small town just outside the port.  You can catch the shuttle over but must take a taxi back. I have no idea why the shuttle only runs one direction.  The KL has chairs, loungers and hammocks right on the beach, has great food and has Coronas for $1.  There are massage stations right on the beach that offer a 1 hour massage for $20. If you want to do a massage do NOT allow anyone to arrange that massage for you.  They will double the price. 

The only downside of going to the beach at Mahaual is that there are many wandering peddlers selling their trinkets.  They are easy to dismiss by respectfully saying “no thank you” but it does get annoying when they continue to wander around all day long.  

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/3/2018 at 4:27 PM, rjac said:

There are plenty of palapas at Nachi on the beach and around the pool. When I booked on line I specifically asked for one by the ocean shore line and reiterated that when we checked in at their"front desk". Of course, we got there about 10-ish and it was not a problem. 

We just booked Nachi for the first time for our Dec cruise.  It is just DH and I are are looking for a relaxing quiet day.  We also like the fact that they limit the number of people.  Very excited.

Are there lots of palapas by the beach (first line)?  We didn't know that you could request it and this is ideal.  Not sure we can request it after we did the booking.

Excellent review and comparison by OP.

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