ISLA MUJERES GUIDE: WHAT TO DO, HOW TO GET THERE AND HOW TO MOVE

Women Island It is an island just 13 km off the coast of Cancun. It has beautiful beaches and cliffs, perfect places for snorkeling for free, offers a lot of nightlife and also historical points and Mayan ruins. All this makes it a perfect day trip from Cancun, although if you have some more time, we recommend staying at least one or two nights and exploring the island more thoroughly. So you can organize your visit for free, we bring you this Isla Mujeres guide, with useful information from what to see and do and the best points of interest, how to get for free and on tour, where to eat Y how to move around the island

Before but, a little history (little, huh) ...

Long before the first arrival of the Spaniards in 1517, the island was already consecrated by Mayan peoples to the goddess of the moon and fertility Ixchel. It was a place of pilgrimage for women, who visited the island in their symbolic passage from girl to woman. Offerings were also deposited with feminine forms to the goddess, a fact that gave her the name of Isla Mujeres. Do not miss all its attractions because, as we anticipate, they are a few!

1. Like every island worth its salt, Isla Mujeres offers a few great beaches to enjoy a day of swimming and sunbathing. These are the best beaches of Isla Mujeres:

- North Beach: It is considered one of the best beaches in this area of ​​Mexico. We were a bit disappointed, it is true that the postcard of crystalline waters, white sand and coconut palms meets it perfectly, but the amount of people and the resorts a few meters from the coast take away a bit of charm. Even so, it is worth approaching, especially at sunset. Access is free.

- Lancheros Beach: It is a fairly large beach, where you will find several clubs with restaurants and bars. There are also usually a lot of people, so we recommend you to come for a drink, or to eat. We did it at the Playa Lancheros restaurant / The Tikinxik house, ceviches for 180 pesos (huge), and the Tikinxikla fish specialty of the house for 290 pesos for two people (it takes about 40 minutes to serve). Access to the beach is free.

- Garrafón Beach: Next to the national park with that name (where they have ridden zip lines and other adventure activities) is the Garrafón de Castilla beach club. To use its facilities, including sunbed, the price is 100 pesos per person. The beach is quite small and the sand is not of those fine, but when you enter the water you will freak out. It is a super cool snorkeling spot, with hundreds of fish right next to the sand! If you don't have your glasses, here they rent them for 50 pesos.

Garrafón de Castilla beach club

2. On the other side of the island, in its furthest part of the town, is the South Point. Here you can admire beautiful views of the cliffs, there is also a statue of an iguana and a lighthouse. If the ideal is to see sunset from North Beach, here the ideal is to come at dawn.

3. But the most interesting thing about this place is the park with 23 sculptures, and the ruins of Mayan temple to Ixchel, the goddess of the moon and fertility, to which the island is consecrated. To access both the park and the ruins you have to pay an entrance fee of 30 pesos.

4. If you have rented your own transport, you can not miss the tour of the east coast road. For us the most beautiful panoramic road of Isla Mujeres. It also has a bike path where you can walk quietly a few meters from the cliff.

5. You can't leave the island without taking a picture with the famous colored letters from ISLA MUJERES. This time it comes with a prize, since on the wall right in front of it there is a very cool and huge mural.

Sculpture Park in Punta Sur

6. But it is not the only mural, scattered around the streets of the island you will see samples of street art, some better and some worse, but free outdoor art after all!

7. At night the atmosphere is concentrated in the Hidalgo Street. It is pedestrian and there is full of bars and restaurants where choosing is almost impossible! We sat at the Taco Lolo's because it had an offer of 3 tacos (to choose from) and 2 beers for 110 pesos (the shrimp tacos very good).

8. Although if you want something a little more local, in the central square of the town, just in front of the AKI put a few stalls with street food. There is one to make your own tacos and several churros, marquesitas and other fritangas. Oh, and a lady with homemade cakes for licking her fingers (a huge piece for 25 pesos).

9. In this square stands the Immaculate Conception Parish, the main church (and maybe the only one in town). At night they leave the door open while Mass is celebrated, and even if you are not a believer and that roll does not go, it is always good to know a little about the local culture. Also at night very close there they are mounted basketball tournaments on the outdoor court. If you dare, why not show your sports skills?

10. If you go on divingIn Isla Mujeres there are several areas where you can enjoy underwater. Some are the coral reef of Garrafón Park, the Cave of sleeping sharks, the Underwater Museum of Art (MUSA), the Manchones Reef or the Bay Cross.

In addition you can also swim next to whale sharks. Look here if you want to hire the experience.

Street art in Isla Mujeres

There is two ferry companies Women arriving in Isla from the ports of Cancun: Marinsa Y Overseas. The first only leaves from Puerto Juarez and the price is 300 pesos (round trip). Overseas is the most important and has departures from four ports along the coast of Cancun and in the hotel zone: Playa Caracol, Playa Tortugas, El Embarcadero and Puerto Juarez. The round trip ticket costs 300 pesos. We reserve the transfer from the tripadvisor website, although in any of the ports you can purchase them at the moment. The return is open.

→ Overseas Web
→ Marinsa website

The ferry takes about 20 minutes, the frequency is very high, every 30 minutes, practically nothing moves, and leaves you in the main port of Isla Mujeres, in the heart of the town. From there to Playa Norte, for example, it is 10 minutes on foot.

If you prefer to visit Isla Mujeres on an organized day trip from Cancun, the options are several: we recommend a catamaran excursion with food and snorkeling, or take an excursion to Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy.

Although the center of the town is small and you can move perfectly on foot, we highly recommend renting your own means of transport to discover other places with more charm.

The most typical way is rent a golf cart. Yes, as you hear it. Here almost everyone moves in a cart, including the premises! There are many businesses to rent and almost all with the same prices. The normal prices are 800-900 pesos for the rental from 9 am until 17 pm. They also rent for hours (uninteresting if you stay time on the island) and for 24 hours (about 1000 pesos). In high season these prices tend to rise a bit. We bargained with a man who was in front of the port and we took from 9 to 19 for 700 pesos. They ask you for your country's driver's license (you don't have to leave a license) and it is very important that they give you a contract, with the phone number in case something happens. Gasoline should not be paid. Cars are usually limited, so you will see that the speed is not to shake, but they do it for safety. Another interesting fact is that it has lights, in case you want to go to see sunrise to Punta Sur. Oh, and watch the highlights!

Another option is rent a motorcycle. The price for a whole day from 9 to 17 is about 350 pesos. They ask for the motorcycle license, at least in the places we ask.

The third alternative is the cab, are fixed rates depending on the distance, but we do not know the prices. In the past there was a bus which was going around the island, unfortunately they have already removed it and the only one that circulates now is one for local workers.

We stop at the following sites:

- Q'Bravo: Pretty local breakfast site with affordable prices (combos for about 50-60 pesos). There are 4 or 5 tables and the treatment is very good.

- Lalo's Taqueria: We stopped by the offer of 3 tacos and 2 beers for 110 pesos. The tacos were good, the shrimp especially.

- Lancheros Beach / The Tikinxik House: It is in front of the beach, so the atmosphere is very cool. The very rich huge ceviches, of fish for 180 pesos and prawns for 190 pesos. The specialty of the house is Tikinxikla fish, the minimum order is 1 kg for 290 pesos for two people. By the way, here you may be invited to some delicious margaritas! Question!

There's a Supermarket quite large next to the main town square, the AKÍ. The prices are much better than for example the OXXO minimarket.

If you are wondering if there is ATMs On the island, be calm because there are enough. Within AKÍ itself there is one from HSBC, but there are also from other banks.

Hopefully you are not afraid of iguanas, because the island is full of them! Quiet, they are harmless and all they will want is to sunbathe and spy on you: S

Up to here our Isla Mujeres guide, with useful information on what to see and do, the best points of interest, how to get there for free and on a tour, where to eat and how to get around the island. We hope it helps you to plan your trip! And you, do you know Isla Mujeres?

* Photocredit: Shutterstock