Isla Mujeres

Cancun Is a Long, Expensive Mistake and Isla Mujeres Is the Ferry Ride You Take to Fix It

Twenty minutes on the Ultramar or Magana ferry from Puerto Juarez and you are somewhere completely different. Isla Mujeres is a 7-kilometre island in the Caribbean, 13km northeast of Cancun, where the streets are narrow enough that golf carts are the primary vehicle, the town has an actual fishing community, and Playa Norte is as good as Caribbean beach gets without the price tag associated with it. Where Cancun runs on all-inclusives and convention hotels, and Tulum has become expensive and overrun by people posting it, Isla Mujeres has managed to stay roughly sane.

Ferries run from Puerto Juarez roughly every 30 minutes and cost around 200 to 250 pesos return. Day-trippers from Cancun arrive in significant numbers on weekends. What most of them miss is that the island quiets down substantially once the last ferries leave in the evening – staying overnight changes the experience completely.

Playa Norte

The beach at the northern tip of the island is the main draw: shallow, calm, extraordinarily clear water in genuinely turquoise tones, fine white sand, and beach bars renting chairs. None of this is controversial. What is worth knowing is that Playa Norte on a Saturday in high season (December through April) hosts thousands of day visitors and can feel considerably less peaceful than it looks in photographs.

Come on a weekday morning or stay overnight and walk there at 07:00. In either case, swim toward the northwestern corner where the current brings cleaner water and the crowds are thinnest. The beach is genuinely one of the best in Mexico – that statement is defensible – but only when you are there before 10am or after 5pm.

Whale Sharks

Between May and September, the waters around the northern Yucatan coast host whale shark feeding aggregations that constitute one of the more extraordinary wildlife experiences available anywhere in Mexico. Several operators on Isla Mujeres run snorkelling excursions. A typical day trip costs 2,500 to 3,500 pesos per person including boat, gear, and guides. Swimming in open water alongside an 8 to 10-metre whale shark – the largest fish species on earth, feeding on plankton and completely uninterested in you – is as memorable as the price suggests. The season peaks in July and August; earlier in the season (May to June) tends to have smaller crowds and better water visibility.

Punta Sur

The southern tip of the island has a small lighthouse, the ruins of a Mayan temple dedicated to Ixchel (the moon goddess for whom the island may be named), and a rocky coastline with rough surf. Sunset views from the cliffs are among the best on the island. Worth the 15-minute golf cart trip from town, though the temple ruins are modest.

Snorkelling

Manchones Reef, accessible by boat from the town dock, is still worth visiting despite some degradation from boat traffic over the years. Two-tank dives run approximately 1,200 to 1,500 pesos through waterfront dive operators. MUSA (Museo Subacuatico de Arte), an underwater museum of deliberately submerged sculptures, is accessible from both Cancun and Isla Mujeres and appeals to snorkellers as well as divers.

Food and Practicalities

El Patio on Hidalgo serves cochinita pibil, sopa de lima, and poc chuc at prices that reflect the actual local economy rather than the tourist markup. Any cafe near the town market open by 07:30 will have pan dulce, fresh fruit, and decent coffee for 50 to 80 pesos – skip the hotel breakfast. Use ATMs in town at HSBC or Banamex rather than the dock machine, which charges steep fees.

Accommodation runs from guesthouses near the ferry for 600 to 900 pesos to boutique hotels near Playa Norte for 2,000 to 4,000 pesos. Book a month ahead for December through February. Last-minute rooms in high season are genuinely hard to find.