How to Visit Isla Mujeres from Cancun: Alternative to Cancun
Discover how to visit Isla Mujeres, Mexico, the beautiful, serene island located just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.
Cancun, Mexico is an easy flight away from the United States, often making it both a quick and inexpensive trip to take for US tourists. However, Cancun is not always the tropical destination people are seeking. Depending where they are staying, Cancun can come off as a cement city with a strip of tourists hotels surrounded by beautiful beaches and turquoise water.
While you can easily spend your time in Cancun on the beach, you may find traveling to Isla Mujeres from Cancun is a better alternative to Cancun. Here you’ll be greeting with a more laid back island vibe and a bit less commercialism. So how do you get from Cancun to Isla Mujeres? Let’s take a look.
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About Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Isla Mujeres is a stunning tropical island located in the Caribbean Sea just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. At just 7km long and less than 1 km wide, Isla Mujeres makes a great side trip from Cancun – whether for a day or a few days.
The name Isla Mujeres translates to the “Island of Women”, which is derived from the Mayan goddess Ixchel – the godess of the moon, fertility, and medicine. Local legend says the island used to only be visited by Mayan women who came to worship her.
Today, Isla Mujeres is a great alternative to Cancun. It offers similar beautiful beaches, sparkling water, and laid-back island vibes. People visit here for water sports, shopping, relaxing on the beach, admiring the Mayan temple ruins at Punta Sur, and the many restaurants and shops on the island.
How to Get to Isla Mujeres from Cancun
Getting to Isla Mujeres from Cancun is pretty simple. You can either do the journey on your own via the ferry or you can book a day trip to Isla Mujeres from Cancun. Either way, visiting Isla Mujeres is right at your fingertips, and a must-visit from Cancun.
How far is Isla Mujeres from Cancun?
The distance from the center of Cancun to Isla Mujeres is less than 13 miles, but will take close to an hour to make the journey. This is because you’ll need to take a boat or ferry to cross the 4 miles of water to Isla Mujeres from Cancun. Fortunately, there are many options to travel to Isla Mujeres, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
Take the Ferry to Isla Mujeres from Cancun
Visiting Isla Mujeres on your own from Cancun is quite easy. Just head to one of the ferry ports and make the quick 30 minute crossing. It’s so fast and easy that it makes taking a day trip to Isla Mujeres from Cancun a no brainer.
The ferry running to Isla Mujeres is Ultramar, and they have a number of different routes running from Cancun to Isla Mujeres, multiple times per day. Ultimately, which ferry route you take will depend on where you are staying.
From Puerto Juarez, Cancun to Isla Mujeres
If you are staying in the city, the closest terminal is at Puerto Juarez – a short 40 peso taxi ride away. It is the cheapest way to cross from Cancun to Isla Mujeres because it doesn’t depart from the tourist zone. You’ll find a lot of locals also take this route.
The ticket costs 540 Mexican pesos (MXN) roundtrip and the ferries run regularly, at least every hour, sometimes every half hour. You can book your ticket online or at the ferry terminal.
Once you arrive at the ferry terminal, proceed to buy your ticket (if you haven’t already) and get in line. Lines can be long but the ferries hold a large number of people so you likely will make the next departing ferry, even if you didn’t pre-book your ticket. The ride is under 30 minutes and then you arrive to beautiful island life!
While you wait, you’ll find the ferry terminal offers some facilities, like bathrooms, a convenience store (Oxxo), a tourist shop offering key beach items like sunglasses and hats, and of course some refreshments. They also sell a few snacks and drinks on the ferry.
Find the current costs and timetables for the Ultramar Ferries here.
From Cancun’s Hotel Zone to Isla Mujeres
If you are staying in the hotel zone of Cancun, there are two ferry terminals located there to choose from Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol. These ferry routes run less frequently with just <10 daily services each direction, but you can’t beat the convenience if you’re staying there.
Find the current costs and timetables for the Ultramar Ferries here.
Day Trips to Isla Mujeres from Cancun
If you’d rather not worry about the logistics or want to enjoy some time out on the water in between Cancun and Isla Mujeres, sign up for a day trip or tour. There are a lot on offer so you can choose from booze cruises to snorkeling adventures.
Here are my top recommended tours to Isla Mujeres.
Things to Do on Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is about 5 miles long and boasts one of the top beaches in the world – Playa Norte.ย Besides the beach, which let’s be honest, is the main appeal, it is definitely a tourist island.ย
The streets are lines with restaurants, bars, and shops along with hoards of golf carts and mopeds – the main forms of transportation on the island. Occasionally you’ll spot a taxi, which you can flag down to get to the other end of the island to explore Punta Sur.
Relax on Playa Norte
If you are looking to find a chair or bed to lay on and enjoy the sun and maybe a fruity cocktail, let’s just say you’ve come to the right place! The water is very calm as it sits between the main land and the island, and the sand is a beautiful white color.
The beach is lined with little bars catering to the sunbathers and as sunset comes around, live music fills the air. In case this doesn’t sell you on visiting Playa Norte, unlike the Cancun mainland, you can see the sunset over the water from here. Bonus: It’s just a short walk from where the ferry drops you off!
Visit Punta Sur for Amazing Views
Punta Sur is the southern-most point of the island (as you may have guessed from the name). Unlike the calm waters of Playa Norte, Punta Sur gets huge waves crashing against it from the Gulf of Mexico. These waves have carved out stunning cliffs, and the island has capitalized on this by adding a “Sculpture Garden” on top of the cliffs.
Simply jump in a taxi in the town center and take a short ride to Punta Sur for 100 pesos. From here, you can get into the “Sculpture Garden” for 30 pesos. The reason I put Sculpture Garden in quotes is because the sculptures look vaguely like chunks of metal from a scrap yard, however, there’s another reason to go in…. the views!
That’s right, the views from Punta Sur make the taxi and nominal admission fee worth while. The cliffs and the waves crashing against them are visible from outside the admission zone, but by going in you can walk out to the old temple ruins on the point and follow stairs down to a path along the water.
The path winds around the edge of the cliffs with occasional splashes from the incoming waves. It’s a beautiful walk and perfectly picturesque. If you’re on Isla Mujeres, it would be a real shame to miss this!
Pro Tip: Coincide your trip to Playa Norte with sunset. It’s the best place to watch the sunset in Isla Mujeres!
Other Activities on Isla Mujeres
There are all kinds of tours on the island which include the Underwater Museum, holding sharks, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, scuba diving, and more.
There are also a number of bars and restaurants to check out and all of the tourist items you could ever want to carry home with you (or not). But ultimately, the beach and the beach atmosphere are the main draws and make the journey worthwhile.
To sum it all up… Isla Mujeres is the perfect getaway or alternative to Cancun, whether for a day or a week. However, if you’re looking for “authentic Mexico” – this is not it. This is tourist Mexico. But, Isla Mujeres is a great place to enjoy island life with views you won’t soon forget.
Things to Know about Isla Mujeres Before You Go
Taking a day trip to Isla Mujeres from Cancun is a great way to spend your time in this sunshine paradise. It’s a short and cheap side trip, but it also offers new experiences and sights.
Before you jump on the ferry from Cancun to Isla Mujeres or sign up for a tour to Isla Mujeres, here are some things that might help you plan your trip.
- There are hotels and hostels available on the island if you want to make it a few day get away from Cancun. Check them out on Booking.com.
- Wifi is common on Isla Mujeres, but it is not as fast as on the mainland. Unfortunately, I do not think Isla Mujeres would be a great digital nomad location due to this.
- When you arrive back at the Puerto Juarez ferry terminal, the taxis waiting will try to charge you 100 pesos for the same journey that originally cost 40 pesos! If you walk out to the main road you can flag down a taxi to get a better price.
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