How to get to Isla Mujeres
The best way to get to Isla Mujeres is by ferry. There are different harbors from where you can take a ferry in Cancun. The main ferry dock is called Puerto Juarez. The ferries leave every half an hour from 5 in the morning to 9:30pm in the evening and the ride takes about 20 minutes.
Getting around in Isla Mujeres
The easiest way to get around on Isla Mujeres is by walking, renting a scooter or golf cart. If you are traveling with a rental car I would recommend you to leave it in Cancun, because the island is so small. The most fun way to explore the island is definitely with a golf cart. The whole island is only 5 miles long, so it won’t take you a lot of time to get from the northern end to the southern end.
Where to stay
I would recommend you to stay on the northern end of the island, because that’s where you will find most restaurants, cafes and the most beautiful beach on the island. I can highly recommend you to stay at the Selina hostel. It’s the most beautiful hostel I have ever seen (and I’ve been to a lot of hostels).
Best time to travel
The best time to travel to Isla Mujeres is from October to November and from February to April. December and January are the busiest months in Mexico, so there will be a lot more tourists. May is still a good time to travel, but you will begin to see seaweed at the beaches. From June to September is the summer season, which means high humidity, heavy rainfalls and hot temperatures.
Isla Mujeres 2 Day Itinerary
Day 1: Golf Cart Tour, Secret Beach & sunset dinner
Welcome to Isla Mujeres! Once you took the ferry and you arrive on the island it’s time to find your hotel, hostel or AirBnB apartment. The perfect way to start your day is to rent a golf cart and cruise around the island. You can drive straight to Punta Sur, the southernmost point of the island. To get to the very end you will have to pay a small fee (10 MXN = 0.50 ct) but it’s really worth it. There are walkways around the cliffs from where you have an amazing view on the ocean and on Cancun. You will also see a statue of a giant iguana that is right in front of the ocean. They just put some new statues there that show the history of the island. At Punta Sur Maya women used to make offerings to the goddess Ixchel, the goddess of love, abundance and fertility. Maya women prayed to her for fertility when they wanted to start a family.
You will continue your golf cart tour by driving to our secret beach. When my friend asked the locals where the best beach is on Isla Mujeres, they recommended one that is right next to Playita La Joya. You just park next to the Hotel La Joya Isla Mujeres and then you walk down the little steps to Playita La Joya. From here you can walk on the sand to the right side, where you will find our secret beach. There are usually no people here and the water is crystal clear.
After your swim you can drive to Kin ha Isla Mujeres Restaurant, the perfect place to have dinner while watching the sunset. The food here is really good, they have great cocktails and you can go for another swim in the pool or in the ocean if you like. After dinner you can walk on the pier to watch the sunset. It’s a very peaceful and relaxing place to spend the evening.
Day 2: Catamaran tour, Italian restaurant & sunset on the beach
A really fun way to spend your second day is to book a Catamaran tour with snorkeling at the underwater museum, close to Isla Mujeres. The only downside to this is that the tours start in Cancun, so you will have to take the ferry to go on the Catamaran. On the other hand, taking the ferry here is really fun. The water is just incredible with its many shades of blue and there is always live music on the ferry.
Once you get on the Catamaran you can enjoy the cruise over to the spot where you can go snorkeling. If you keep your eyes open you can even see the underwater museum with lots of statues. After snorkeling you can enjoy a nice drink, because those are included in the tour. I would highly recommend you to put sunscreen on and maybe wear a hat, because you will spend many hours in the sun.
The Catamaran will stop at Playa Norte before heading back to Cancun. We decided to just get off the Catamaran here and not to go back to Cancun, but of course this is up to you. Playa Norte is the most beautiful beach on the island with turquoise blue water. You can go for a swim here, enjoy this little piece of paradise and have Mexican lunch at one of the restaurants that are right on the beach. From here you can also watch a fantastic sunset over the ocean.
The best way to end your last day on the island is to go to Mama Rosa. It’s an authentic Italian restaurant with incredible food. Burrata as a starter and pasta as the main dish is super tasty, but honestly everything we tried was very good. Even the wine is amazing! I could eat here every day.
Watch it on YouTube
Of course, there is a lot more to see on the island, but if your time is limited these are the best things you can do to make the most of your time. You can read my complete guide about Isla Mujeres here. I would love to hear in the comments about your experience on Isla Mujeres. If you have any questions let me know!
jaime
Thanks for this, it was super informative! Can’t wait to go to the secret beach. I’m also staying at Selina!
Also, your highlighter color is great (the blue that shows up when I click and drag to copy and paste).
Julia
Hi Jaime, thanks a lot! Selina is a great choice, I’m sure you will love it! Enjoy the secret beach! 😍
Jaime
Also, where is that swingset in the water?
Julia
The swingset is at Kin Ha Restaurant 😊