Unveiling Isla Mujeres: Unmatched Adventures from Budget Stays to Beach Escapes
If you’re looking for the clearest water you have ever seen, add Isla Mujeres to your list! Playa Norte is ranked trip advisors top 10 beaches in the world and as someone who has been to a lot of beaches, it’s true this one was pretty great.
Isla Mujeres was a last minute edition and I am so happy we added it to our route. After two weeks traveling through Mexico I needed a little bit of my homeland and that I got much of. If you are wanting traditional Mexico experience you will not be getting that is Isla Mujeres, however if you are wanting to explore Mexico outside of the resorts of Cancun without going too crazy (whether you fear traveling through Mexico, etc) this is a great way to do so.
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Isla Mujeres was so much fun! We stayed at Selina Hostel which was right on a beach, but walking distance from THE beach (aka Playa Norte). You can find dorm rooms for as low as $25 at Selina. There was also a gym at this Selina which was amazing. For $100 MXN you could use the gym and they actually had a lot - squat rack, free weights, TRX bands, etc. There was also free morning yoga classes each morning as well as CrossFit classes fro $100 MXN. This Selina also had a pool, was located right on the beach, had beach volleyball, bikes to rent, and a full stocked bar + restaurant.
We only had a few days in Isla Mujeres and like any tourist island, there’s good & bad. So let’s get into it.
First off, if you are wanting to do boat tours around Cancun I beg of you — book these from Cancun. If you are staying a few days in Cancun as well there are far better tours from Cancun. We booked one through get your guide & to be honest I would not recommend. We were thrown on a small boat with about eight other people and hurried on and off this small boat in three different spots. We got maybe ten-twenty minutes per spot before we were rushed back on. Overall, money would’ve been spent better elsewhere. This is not to say that the snorkeling wasn't amazing, because it was! That’s something you should definitely do - just book from Cancun. Here’s a couple good options linked here.
If you are wanting to know the best place to spend your money get your booty over to Kin Ha. If anyone goes to Isla Mujeres without going here, you are absolutely crazy. This is a beach club that was SO MUCH FUN. I don’t care how old you are or even if you are married with kids, y’all go here. For 500 pesos you get access to kayaks, paddle boards, snorkeling, this awesome dock to swim & hangout at with a swing. The best part is that 400 of those pesos you can use towards food. I could’ve hung out here all day but we spent a good three hours kayaking, snorkeling etc until 5pm when the actives closed. After that we let those 400 pesos go far during happy hour and got a few drinks and a meal with those pesos.
Another great thing to do is to rent a golf cart. There will be tons of people trying to sell you them for an arm & a leg but I heard Rentadora Caribe was about $66 for the day — I did see this on tiktok from 2023 so it might be a little more expensive now but even so, it is far better than the $30 an hour I was seeing some people try to charge.
Punta Sur is another very popular place for tourists to check out. It’s pretty but honestly nothing too special. We maybe spent five minutes here, my best advice on the way up to Kin Ha have your taxi driver go to Punta Sur and then wait for you since Punta Sur is only about five more minutes up the road.
Isla Animals. I am so sad this is currently closed for volunteers or else I would’ve been there in a heartbeat. Essentially it is an animal rescue that lets volunteers walk + hangout with the dogs! Such a fun way to give back a little even while traveling + hopefully inspire you to get to serving while you’re back home too.
Next up, the food.
Antal Cafe tucked a little outside of town with a unique vibe of being a holistic cafe. Their coffee + matcha was pretty good, nothing too crazy but a good option for breakfast!
North Garden: LISTEN TO ME, GET A BAGEL HERE. I’ve been to New York and tried a bunch of bagels there, nothing will ever beat these bagels, nothing. I got a bagel sandwich our first morning and on the last morning two minutes before we left I ran to grab another bagel and brought it to the airport. Who am I kidding it didn’t make it to the airport it was downed in the back of a taxi. Their coffee was also fantastic and it was a short walk from Selina on the way to Playa Norte!
Isla Burger: I did not think I would have the best burger of my life in Mexico, but here we are. Grab one of these and watch the sunset on Playa Norte — walk a bit further north?? west?? (towards the sun setting lol) and you’ll get the best sunset view while eating a damn good burger!
