What to do in Isla Mujeres and how to plan your trip
Eight kilometres long and barely six hundred metres wide, with the calmest beach in the Mexican Caribbean at one end and a cliff at the other. You get there by ferry — and that changes how you plan the day you land.
- 2transport zones
- 6hotels
- 2tours & activities
- 8 kmend to end
- 20 minby ferry
- UTC−5no daylight saving
Everything you need to know about Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres lies fifteen kilometres off the coast of Cancun, eight kilometres long and never more than six hundred metres wide. At the north end, Playa Norte runs into water that stays waist-deep for a hundred metres and has almost no waves — the tourist board calls it one of the ten best beaches in the world, and it is the reason most people come. At the south end, Punta Sur is a cliff with the ruins of a Maya temple to Ixchel on it and the first place the sun touches Mexico each morning. In between there is one town, a road, and a great many golf buggies.
Getting to Isla Mujeres
- Cancun Airport (CUN)The only airport. The transfer takes you to the ferry pier — there is no bridge and no road to the island.
- Ultramar ferryFrom Puerto Juarez, roughly every thirty minutes, twenty minutes across. The Hotel Zone piers at Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol cost more and run less often.
- Car ferryA separate, slower service from Punta Sam for vehicles. Most visitors don’t need it: the island runs on golf buggies.
Beyond the beach
What is on the island besides the beach everyone photographs.
Good to know
- LanguageSpanish, with English throughout the town and the hotels.
- CurrencyMexican peso (MXN). Cash matters more here than on the mainland: the market and the small kitchens don’t take cards.
- Time zoneUTC−5 all year, the same as Cancun.
- Power127 V, 60 Hz, flat two-pin US-style plugs. Bring an adapter from the UK.
- WaterBottled water. The island has no fresh water of its own; it arrives by pipeline.
- Emergencies911 nationwide. The island has a health centre; anything serious goes back across to Cancun.
Transfers from the airport to every zone of Isla Mujeres are a fixed price per vehicle, with the driver waiting at the exit. See availability.
What to see and do in Isla Mujeres
The full list, not a top three: what the destination’s tourist board puts first.
The reason most people come: waist-deep water for a hundred metres, almost no waves, and a place on the tourist board’s list of the ten best beaches in the world.
The cliff at the south end, with a sculpture park along it, a small temple to Ixchel at the tip, and the first point in Mexico the sun touches.
Next to Punta Sur: snorkelling over the reef, zip lines out over the water and a saltwater pool, all in one gated day.
The Underwater Museum of Art, with more than five hundred sculptures sunk between here and Punta Nizuc for coral to colonise.
The two reefs the snorkelling boats actually use, both shallow and both inside the national marine park.
A protected bird sanctuary thirty kilometres north with a daily visitor cap and a permit system. Boats leave early and usually stop at Ixlache reef on the way back.
From May to September they gather north of the island. Boats leave at seven, group sizes are regulated, and the sea is genuinely rough.
The pedestrian spine of the town: painted houses, fish restaurants, a covered market and most of the island’s bars in a few streets.
Halfway down the west side, local and shaded, with fish grilled on the spot and sheltered swimming.
An hour to drive the whole island, and the only way to see the windward side, which has no beach but the best views.
The turtle farm on the west side, where hatchlings are raised before release. Small, cheap and better than it sounds.
Beaches of Isla Mujeres
Playa Norte is the famous one. These are the others, and what each is good for.
The reason people come: shallow, calm, white sand and no waves, at the north end and walkable from the town.
The town beach, right beside the ferry terminal. Handy and busy rather than beautiful.
Halfway down the west side. Local, shaded, with fish grilled on the spot and a sheltered swimming area.
Next door to Lancheros, calm and shallow, with beach clubs and easy parking for buggies.
Not a swimming beach — a cliff walk with the sculpture park and the temple. Go for the view and the sunrise.
Tours and activities in Isla Mujeres
Pick-up from your hotel, and each tour’s cancellation policy is shown before you pay.
When to visit Isla Mujeres
Four seasons for one destination. Choose yours by weather, crowds and price.
Dry and breezy, and the busiest months. Day-trippers arrive around eleven and leave by five, so the island belongs to its guests outside those hours.
Whale shark season opens in May off the north of the island. Hot and still on land; the west side, where the town and Playa Norte are, is sheltered and usually stays clear of sargassum.
Whale shark season peaks. Boats leave at seven; the trip is rough for anyone prone to seasickness.
The whale sharks leave in September. Quiet and cheap after that, some ferries run less often in bad weather, and September and October are storm-watch months.
Getting around Isla Mujeres
What each option costs and when it makes sense.
The island vehicle. A lap of the whole island takes about an hour, and there is nowhere it can’t go. Hire one for a full day and book ahead in high season.
The town, the ferry terminal and Playa Norte are all within a fifteen-minute walk of each other.
Cheap, plentiful and fixed-fare. The sensible option for getting to Punta Sur and back without paying for a buggy all day.
Ultramar from Puerto Juarez roughly every half hour, and from the Hotel Zone piers less often and for more. The last crossings are in the evening — check the board.
How we get you to Isla Mujeres
Two zones: the ferry pier on the mainland, and the island itself once the vehicle crosses.
Centro de Isla Mujeres
Ferry from Puerto Juarez · 22 km- Saloon $55
- SUV $115
- Group van $110
Isla Mujeres Ferry
Isla Mujeres · 22 km- Saloon $50
- SUV $130
- Group van $145
Hotels in Isla Mujeres we pick up from
Fixed price to every hotel in the zone. If yours isn’t here, type it in the search box.
Isla Mujeres
Cancun · 6 hotels- Free cancellation with Premium
- Flight monitoring
- Meet & greet
Tips from our local team in Isla Mujeres
What travellers ask us most, answered by the people who live here.
We drive you to the pier, not the island
There is no road. The transfer ends at Puerto Juarez, you buy the ferry ticket there and the crossing takes twenty minutes. With luggage, that is the whole plan.
Puerto Juarez is the cheap crossing
Ultramar from Puerto Juarez costs less and runs more often than the Hotel Zone piers at Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol.
The island empties at five
Most visitors are day-trippers from Cancun. From late afternoon Playa Norte and the town belong to whoever stayed.
Book the buggy before you arrive
In high season the hire shops run out by mid-morning, and a buggy is how the island works.
Playa Norte has no shade after midday
It is a flat, open strip. The beach clubs rent out sunloungers with parasols and that is effectively the only shade.
Take the last ferry seriously
Crossings stop in the evening. Missing the last one from the mainland means a hotel in Cancun for the night.
Isla Mujeres travel guides
Practical, written by the team that drives the area every day.
Getting around Isla Mujeres: the cart, the taxi and the last ferry
Isla Mujeres has one road that runs the length of it and one town at the northern end. You can walk the town and Playa Norte from the ferry, and for eve…
3 read
Isla Mujeres: eight kilometers, and one of them is the reason
The island is eight kilometers long and about six hundred meters wide at the fat end. At its northern tip is Playa Norte, which is shallow, flat, turquo…
3 readGetting to Isla Mujeres from the airport
Fixed price per vehicle to every zone, driver at the exit with a name board. Full details on the airport page.
Transfer prices per zone in Isla Mujeres
| Transport zone | Journey time | Passenger van8 8 | Airport taxi3 3 | Luxury SUV5 5 | Group van15 15 | See availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centro de Isla Mujeres | 35 min | $50 | $55 | $115 | $110 | See availability |
| Isla Mujeres Ferry | 35 min | $45 | $50 | $130 | $145 | See availability |
One way in USD per vehicle, taxes, tolls and luggage included. Return is the total for both legs. Journey times are estimates without traffic, worked out from distance and speed limits; those marked ≈ are approximate.
The prices shown are the Economy fare. Many services also have a Premium fare in the same private vehicle, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before and free changes up to 12 hours before; Economy includes one change with 24 hours’ notice. You choose between them when you see availability.