“Tell your enemies about Cancun, tell your friends about Tulum and tell no one about Isla Mujeres.” This phrase we heard from some regular holiday makers pretty much sums up the Yacatan Peninsula. And yes, we’re those people that are breaking the rules and spreading the word about the small, but beautiful island. Here’s our guide to Isla Mujeres.
All about it
At roughly 8km long, and only a couple of hundred metres wide, it’s a pretty cosy place. You’ll get to know the basics of the place pretty quickly once you arrive.
The tourist mecca is north of the ferry terminal and during the day when the day-trippers from Cancun turn up it can be pretty busy (not our fave). But in the morning and the late afternoon/evening the place is very chilled. We particularly loved 8am in the morning to about 11am and then from about 4pm onwards, when the crowds had dispersed.
There’s two main strips for shops and restaurants, the road parallel to the port and Miguel Hidalgo. We hit up the restaurants on Miguel Hidalgo and you’ll find our food finds here.
Playa Norte is the beach at the top of the island, which you’ll hear great things about. While it’s got the stunning turquoise seas, white sands and palm trees, I’m sorry to say I’ve seen nicer beaches (even as close as Tulum) and you can probably find a quieter beach, just as nice further down the island. A few too many sun loungers for us, but great for a nap in the sun.
While we didn’t make it down to the south end of the island (I know, lazy us), we heard good things about Punta Sur, the good food and the quieter life.
Just to prove we’re not total beach bums though who did nothing, we went on a $30US snorkelling trip run by the island co-operative and loved it. We snorkelled in three different spots including the MUSA, underwater museum which is pretty rad. My advice if you want to go snorkelling, book this trip and avoid the Cancun sailing trips – they look foul. Only downside of the trip was there’s no whale sharks or turtles around the island in January. The best time to visit is September they say. Too bad we missed the beautiful creatures.
Getting to Isla Mujeres
We’d been staying in Tulum and with our 23kg plus suitcases we didn’t much feel like jumping on a bus or doing it the hard way to Cancun. We found Ultramar though and they solved our transport dilemma (we were helped by Miguel, the guy who was looking after the desk when we booked).
They run the ferry between Cancun and Isla Mujeres, but they also do a shuttle services from Tulum as it turns out. For $62US, we got picked up from our hotel in Tulum, dropped at the ferry terminal in Cancun and from there we caught the ferry to the island. As we got the return ticket, they also picked us up off the return ferry and dropped us to the airport. There was a bit of discussion to get where we needed to go when we did, but they made it work and we’d recommend them should you need a transport in Yucatan.
Alternatively, if you’re coming from Cancun or Cancun Aiport, just get a taxi to one of the three ferry ports and catch the Ultramar from there. Tickets are cheap and the ferries are every 30mins or so, so you won’t be left hanging.
Getting around on Isla Mujeres
You have the choice of four modes of transport. Walking, taxi, golf cart or scooter. Since golf carts were 250MXN an hour, we used our feet and stayed local, relying on a taxi to get to and from our hotel only. You’ll find the taxis to the left of the terminal when you get off the ferry. Don’t be alarmed if your suitcases don’t quite fit in the boot. They’ll just make use of a bungy cord to keep the lid closed!
Where we stayed
We booked Paradise Suites through Air BnB and loved it. It was on the quieter side of the island, away from the port, but very close to Playa Norte. They had beautiful rooms, a great pool and cold cokes in the fridge when we arrived. Rolando was our host while we were there, and he kept us happy and we loved his hospitality. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay, I’d totally recommend you look them up.
That’s the rundown, now head over here to read about where we ate, and where you should eat too.