Your guide to visiting Isla Mujeres

Practical info

Let’s start with some basics.

The official currency is the Mexican Peso. US dollars are also accepted in some places, but paying with USD you’ll get worse conversion rates, so I’d recommend always paying in pesos.

Debit and credit cards are widely accepted, but I’d recommend always carrying some cash in case cards aren’t accepted or in case the card machine simply isn’t working that day. There are a few ATM’s on the island, I’d recommend using them during the day rather than at night, for safety reasons.

For more safety tips, check out: 14 Tips For Staying Safe While Traveling

Tipping in Mexico is optional. In restaurants it’s customary to tip about 10-15% if the service is good. It’s also customary to leave a tip for tour guides and cleaning staff at hotels, but again, it’s optional. If you feel that the service wasn’t up to standards, you are not obligated to leave a tip.

Spanish is the official language, English isn’t really widely spoken. If you don’t speak any Spanish, try to pick up at least some words and phrases. Everything helps. Also download a translation app to your phone.

Wifi & Internet are not great. The data on my phone worked pretty well for the most part, but wifi throughout the island was neither fast or stable, as I mentioned in the beginning.

this photo is edited with the How to get to Isla Mujeres

Taking the Ultramar ferry from Cancún to Isla Mujeres is the most common way to reach Isla Mujeres. First, you’ll need to get to Puerto Juárez, which is around 10 minutes drive from downtown Cancún. The trip takes around 30 minutes and the cost is 450 pesos (22.5USD) for a round trip. The ferries depart about every 30 minutes throughout the day. I’ll list the different options you have, depending on where you’re leaving from.

How to get to Puerto Juárez ferry terminal from downtown Cancún

To get from downtown Cancún to Puerto Juárez, you have two options:

Take a taxi – will cost about 150 pesos (7.5USD). Always remember to negotiate the fare beforehand.
Take the R1 bus – before boarding, ask the driver “Puerto Juárez?” to make sure it goes there, as not all of them do. The ticket will cost less than 1USD.

How to get to Puerto Juárez from Cancún airport

To get to Puerto Juárez from Cancún airport, you have three options:

Take a taxi – can cost anywhere from 400 pesos (20 USD) to a 1000 pesos, depending on the time of day and your negotiation skills.
Prebook a private shuttle – this way there should be someone waiting for you at the airport with your name on it and will take you directly through the ferry port. I don’t recommend this as most of the companies providing this service seem to have a habit of being late, charging your card and then telling you later the service isn’t available, or simply not showing up. Just take a taxi and avoid the possible hassle.
Take an ADO bus and a colectivo – this is by far the cheapest option. The ADO bus costs 5USD and will take you to the ADO station (downtown Cancún). From there you’ll take a colectivo (small bus) to Puerto Juárez which will cost about 1USD.

Getting to Isla Mujeres from Cancún hotel zone

In case you are staying in the Cancún hotel zone, you have the option to take a ferry from either Playa Tortugas or Playa Caracol. These are also run by Ultamar ferries. Note that the ferries from the hotel zone are less frequent and cost a bit more. The ferry schedule can be found here.

Daily Budget in Isla Mujeres

Prices are definitely more elevated than in most of Mexico, I’d say they are pretty on par with what you’d expect in Europe. The minimum daily budget for Isla Mujeres would be around 50USD. That would mean staying in a hostel and eating at cheaper restaurants and not doing paid activities. A more realistic budget would be around 60-80USD, which would include eating at nicer restaurants, some activities and renting a bike or a golf cart.

When is the best time to visit Isla Mujeres

The best time to visit Isla Mujeres would be from January throughout April. During that period the island gets little to no rain and slightly lower and more pleasant temperatures than the rest of the year. From May through September is when the island gets the most rain and the highest humidity. The hurricane season is from June until November, with the most active hurricane season being the months of September and October.

Doing a day trip to Isla Mujeres

I just want to add in real quick: if, for whatever reason, you only have time to do a day trip to Isla Mujeres, that’s also a possibility! Check out these day trips that depart from either Playa del Carmen or Cancún

Where to stay on Isla Mujeres

Where you want to stay will depend on what type of vibe you’re looking for. The northern end of the island is packed with action (and tourists), while the rest of the island is more relaxed and less touristy.

North part/centro

On the north part of the island is where things are happening. This is where you’ll find the majority of the restaurants and hotels on the island, as well as the the famous Playa Norte. If you want to stay in the middle of the action, this is where you want to be. We decided to stay in this part as we wanted to be close to the beach and the cafés/restaurants – I always wanna stay close to the food :)))

the center of isla mujeres – this photo is edited with the Film preset pack, available here

If you are looking for a hostel in the center, Selinas will be your best option. Click here to check it out.

For hotels in the center – I’d recommend this one or this one. Both well located, have good reviews and are just a few minutes walk from the ferry terminal.

Mid Island

At the center of the island you can experience a more local way of living. If you’re looking to indulge yourself in the Mexican way of living rather than being surrounded by tourists, staying mid island would be ideal. In this part, there are a number of rental units, as well as hotels. An important thing to note is that there isn’t a beach on this part of the island, so you’ll need to head to the north part or the south if you want to visit one. There are some beautiful ocean views, though.

There are no hostels in this part of the island, so your options would be hotels or rentals.

South Part/Punta Sur

Here you won’t find lots of hotels, but instead, mostly fancy condos and villas. This part of the island feels more remote, with only a handful of restaurants and only a few small supermarkets. Punta Sur, the southernmost part of the island, is incredibly beautiful – with gorgeous views overlooking the turquoise blue sea.

Punta Sur! This photo is edited with the **Lifestyle preset pack, available here**

If you are looking for a hostel in the South part, you will want to stay at Nomads hotel & hostel! It’s a gorgeous hostel, hotel and beach club with a seaside pool-bar & hammocks.

For hotels and rentals – check out agoda.com, booking.com and airbnb.com

You might also like:

14 Tips For Staying Safe While Traveling

Where to eat in Isla Mujeres

I’m guessing you’re gonna want to eat while you’re in Isla Mujeres, so here are some places I’d recommend.

In the center:

Oh my brunch – this was my favourite breakfast/lunch place. They have all my fav foods – including avocado toast, smoothie bowls, juices, great coffee, croissants, sandwiches… But what sets it apart from other places on Isla Mujeres is the service, which I found to be much better and faster than in other restaurants I tried.

Aroma Isla – their food is great, but service is very lacking. I loved their food, they have some vegetarian options, and even have sweet potato fries! But service was sometimes incredibly slow. We once waited 20 minutes to order, and when we finally managed to flag down a waiter, he seemed annoyed and didn’t even take our order.

Aroma Isla! Edited with the Lifestyle preset pack, available here

Café Mogagua – their menu is very similar to the one of Aroma Isla – avocado toast, waffles, burgers, crepés, smoothies, guacamole and so on. Service was kind of a hit or miss, but overall I can recommend it.

Al Natural – very tasty Mexican food. Burritos, tacos, guacamole – that type of stuff. Relatively cheap compared to other places on Isla Mujeres.

Café Isla – a small coffee shop, take away only – good coffee, smoothies and some pastries.

Asia Caribe – sushi, seafood, noodles. I only tried the sushi, which I can recommend!

Geisha Valentina – this is a fancy place. They do this thing where they’ll cook stuff in front of you – I didn’t try that as I went for the pad thai, but it looked pretty cool!

Mid Island:

Oscars Grill – variety of food and drink options, located next to the harbour

Tomodachi Sushi – like the name suggests, they do sushi, really good sushi 🙂

Restaurant Green Verde – they have a bit of everything, many food & desert options

Polo’s Mango Café – mostly mexican food, but they also do eggs benedict as well as smoothies

You might also like:

How much you can expect to spend per day in Mexico

South Part/Punta Sur

As I mentioned before, there are very few restaurants in this part of the island, but I can recommend one!!

Rancho Capricho – our expectations were set very high when they told us that their tacos were the best in Mexico, but wow, they did deliver on that. I had the shrimp tacos (or well, actually I just had one shrimp taco as I wasn’t that hungry haha) but I decided that I had to try them, and wow! Probably the best tacos I’ve had. The owners were also super friendly and even gave us some carrots to feed their horse, that was hanging out just a few steps away from the restaurant haha. Yes this part of the island is kinda remote, people have horses in their backyard :)))

How to get around Isla Mujeres

Getting around Isla Mujeres is relatively easy. The island is really small – just 7km (4.3 miles) long. The North part of the island (the center) is very walkable and there is really no need for any sort of transport there. To get around the rest of the island, you can take a taxi, a bus or you can rent a golf cart or a bike.

biking around isla mujeres! edited with the Wanderlust preset pack, available here

Taxis are not too expensive (5-25USD), depending on how far you go.
The bus system works pretty well, the buses go around the island and you can get on and off anywhere, there are no established bus stops. This is very common in Latin America 🙂 The fare is 38 pesos (just under 2USD).
Bikes can be rented for about 150 pesos (7.5 USD) for the day, and 200-250 pesos (10-12.5USD) for 24 hours. The island is relatively flat so biking isn’t that challenging. I felt like it was a very fun way to explore the island, but the heat definitely made it a little difficult. I would still recommend it, just make sure to not go during the hottest part of the day and bring plenty of water. Preferably – in an insulated water bottle to make sure your water stays cold!
Golf carts can be rented for 800-1100 pesos (40-55USD) for 24 hours. This is a great option if you want to have the freedom to explore the island at your pace, but don’t feel like biking. Still make sure to bring plenty of water, preferably in an insulated water bottle – otherwise your water will quickly become boiling hot, and not so refreshing.

What to do in Isla Mujeres

Beach time

Yes this is pretty much like telling those planning a trip to Paris to visit the Eiffel Tower – but I still felt like it had to be said :))) You can either set up on your beach towel, or you can rent a sunbed for a day. The cost varies, but you can expect to pay somewhere between 7.5-10USD per day. Some places won’t charge for the sunbeds, but instead they’ll have a minimum consumption – meaning you’ll need to purchase foods/drinks for a certain amount throughout the day.

Playa Norte! Photos are edited with the Lifestyle preset pack, available here

Visit Punta Sur

The Southernmost part of the Island, Punta Sur, is an absolute must visit! It offers an incredible view of the Caribbean and the bay of Cancún. The entrance fee is 30 pesos (1.5USD) and can only be paid in cash. There is a restaurant at Punta Sur, I wouldn’t recommend the food but you can grab a drink and enjoy the view.

Edited with the Ocean Blues preset pack, available here

Have tacos at Rancho Capricho

Yes this is really a thing on it’s own, they are that good 🙂

Go around the island

There is a lot more to see on Isla Mujeres than just the North part. Either rent a bike or a golf cart to go around the island.

Watch the sunset

The sunsets on Isla Mujeres are beautiful! For the best view I’d recommend Playa Centro, which is in the North Part.

this photo is edited with the sunset preset pack, available here

Do a boat trip

I feel like this one is pretty self explanatory. A boat trip is always fun, especially in a beautiful place like Isla Mujeres. You can find all sorts of boat trips – half day tours or full day, some will offer snorkeling, all included ones, a private boat tour, sunset tour. I could go on but I think you get the point 🙂

Visit Parque de los Sueños

A beautiful place to spend the day. This park is located right next to the ocean and offers all sorts of activities – you can snorkel, test your kayak or a paddle board skills and zip-line into one of their pools. Or you can just soak up the sun in one of their lounge chairs.