A Small Island With a Big Caribbean Smile
Isla Mujeres is a small island in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico, about eight kilometres long, known for its calm turquoise water, relaxed pace and golf-cart streets. The name means island of women, a reference to the female clay figures that Spanish explorers reportedly found here in the early sixteenth century. The Maya associated the island with Ixchel, the goddess of fertility and the moon, and the remains of a small temple still stand at Punta Sur at the southern tip.
Playa Norte is the island's best-known beach, a shallow, powdery crescent where the water stays calm and clear enough to walk out a long way. The town, with its low painted houses, seafront restaurants and small boutiques, is easy to explore on foot, by bicycle or by golf cart. Evenings are for fresh grilled fish, tikin xic, a Yucatecan marinated fish dish, and sunsets over the lagoon, in an atmosphere that feels genuinely local rather than staged.
Whale Sharks, Reefs and Underwater Art
The island's real gift is its water. From roughly June to September, whale sharks gather offshore, and boat tours from Isla Mujeres take small groups to see them in the open sea. Reefs close to the island, including the Manchones reef, offer snorkelling and diving, while the Museo Subacuatico de Arte, MUSA, places hundreds of sculptures on the seabed. Garrafon Natural Reef Park, at the southern end, adds a well-known snorkelling spot.
Nature extends beyond the sea. The nearby Isla Contoy National Park is a protected bird sanctuary reached by boat, and a turtle conservation programme on Isla Mujeres has long supported nesting sea turtles. The island sits next to Cancun and the quiet coastal strip of Costa Mujeres, so a day on Isla Mujeres makes an easy addition to a resort stay and an equally good base of its own.
Read the full Isla Mujeres guide on Visit Travel Group, or see VisitIslaMujeres.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.