Family,  Travel

Costa Maya

May 19, 2020

An Unexpected Treasure

One of the things I love most about cruising is the mini day trips you take when docking at each port. Each port, country, and cruising destination has its unique history, adventures, and excursions you can embark upon while on your family vacation. The best part is knowing the different excursions you can choose from before going on your cruise. Royal Caribbean lets you plan your day vacations about a month or so before your cruise, giving you time to see what each port has to offer. In place of excursions, you can also spend a day at the different ports walking around, enjoying the local culture, and shops.

Due to a hurricane during our cruise, we had to change ports and excursions. This unexpected event turned into such an enjoyable experience with so many new memories. We disembarked in Costa Maya, Mexico. We decided on an excursion that took us on a guided tour around the outdoor shopping center and pool area. Included in the tour were three smaller tours of the local chocolate shop, the tequila factory, and a bird tree-house. We also enjoyed seeing the wandering flamingos who seemed used to people taking pictures near them.

As you can imagine, the chocolate factory tour was a big hit with the whole family. It was geared more toward children with people putting on a play in each decorated room. The actors gave an excellent history of how cocoa was harvested; chocolate was invented, used, and who could afford to indulge when it was first introduced to different countries. We tried samples of different flavored chocolates and tasted how hot cocoa was first served. The taste testing was the best part and a great way to know which chocolates we wanted to purchase.

After the chocolate factory tour, we explored a bird tree-house. This tour was honestly the hidden gem of our excursion. We did not know what to expect when we first started. The guys at the ticket counter gave us a quick overview of the different birds and how to feed the Macaw parrots. The guys also told us about two different types of bird seed: to feed to the various birds and how to maximize the interaction in the different houses.

We started by following the painted bird feet trail, which led us to our first stop, a beautiful blue Macaw. Next, we continued up the stairs to a new enclosure, which housed three different types of birds. We enjoyed finding them hiding behind different plants, walking on the trails in front of us, or sleeping in their nest. The next path took us throughout the tree-house, across rope bridges, and we enjoyed the views above the land. We could see dolphins, the sapphire blue water, and different monuments. The bird tree-house was one tour we took our time enjoying not because of the array of birds and unique living habitat; it was because of the joy on our kids’ faces.

We did not make it to the tequila factory tour. Exploring the chocolate factory tour, tasting chocolates, walking through birdhouses, and feeding the birds took up most of the day. And to be honest, none of the adults were disappointed. We enjoyed three hours of family time, taking in the sights, walking around the market, and experienced many firsts. When we signed up for this tour, we did not know what to expect, but we loved being able to explore a different area of the island on our own after a brief overview of everything available. The locals were amazing, the atmosphere was more than inviting, and it is a place we would visit again to see what other adventures Costa Maya has to offer.

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