Isla Mujeres
Destino TuríStico / Isla Del Caribe · Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo
A narrow limestone island eight kilometres long and well under a kilometre wide, about thirteen kilometres off Cancun, and the answer when Cancun feels like too much. The Spanish named it the island of women in 1517 after finding clay figures of the Maya moon goddess Ixchel in a shrine. Playa Norte, at the town end, is shallow, calm and waist-deep a long way out, often named among the best beaches in the Caribbean, and it faces west for sunsets. The far southern tip ends in low cliffs, a sculpture park and the small ruin of the Ixchel temple. From about June to September whale sharks gather offshore. Add a golf cart loop, snorkelling at the reef parks, the MUSA underwater sculptures and an empty windward coast, and you have a relaxed place for two or three nights. It is overrun by day boats between about eleven and four, so stay overnight, and treat the rocky east side as a view, not a swim.
Playa Norte, Centro, Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, 77400, Mexico
The island is open access and beaches are free - all Mexican beaches are public by law. ⚠ FERRIES RUN FREQUENTLY THROUGH THE DAY, about 20 minutes; the Puerto Juárez service is substantially cheaper than the Cancún hotel-zone boats. Punta Sur and Garrafón keep daytime hours with paid admission. ⚠ WHALE SHARK TOURS RUN ROUGHLY JUNE TO SEPTEMBER under a permit system - snorkel only, no scuba, no touching, limited swimmers in the water at a time, and about three hours in open sea. ⚠ ISLA CONTOY IS STRICTLY PERMIT-LIMITED to a small daily number through licensed operators - book well ahead. ⚠ DO NOT SWIM ON THE EAST COAST: rocky, with surf, undertow and no lifeguards. ⚠ REEF-SAFE SUNSCREEN ONLY, AND NONE AT ALL ON WHALE SHARK TRIPS. ⚠ HURRICANE SEASON JUNE TO NOVEMBER. ⚠ HOURS AND PRICES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.