Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast of Cancun and north of Cozumel. The island itself is five miles long and at its widest point one mile wide. Isla has over the last five years become a serious vacation destination. The island runs mostly north and south with the southern portion of the island rotated slightly to the east. This slight rotation makes the southern tip of the island the first part of Mexico to see sunrise in the morning. The main areas on the island include Playa Norte, el Centro, mid-island, and Punta Sur.

Playa Norte (North Beach)

The northern end of the island is where you'll find a beautiful sandy beach. There are other beaches on the island but none as good as Playa Norte. Playa Norte has several hotels along the beach, some all inclusive and some not. It's a great place to stay and not as noisy as el centro.

Scattered along the back of the beach are all sorts of bars and restaurants. After all, you can't spend all day laying around on the beach without refreshments.

Want something a little more active, how about some volleyball?

el Centro

Just south of Playa Norte is el Centro. El centro has numerous hotels some built recently with American standards in mind and some older without as many amenities. Here's a photo of el centro from the ferry as we were reaching Isla Mujeres.

Jax bar is a popular transition from Playa Norte to el centro. To get to Jax simply walk along north beach to the west side of the island and cross the street.

After a day at the beach or for a day away from the beach, el Centro is the main tourist area for shopping, dining, and partying. El Centro is full of shops, restaurants and bars but the main street is calle Hildago.

In most of the resturants in el centro the menus are in both spanish and english. Other parts of the island it's a mixed bag with many being in spanish only.

The bars and restaurants along Hildago are open pretty late. After a night of partying in the warm Caribbean air maybe a late night snack is in order. How about a couple of tacos?

This is a rack of boneless pork chops skewered and cooked on a vertical grill. When tacos are ordered the meat is cut from the outside of the rack, and I have to tell you they are absolutely delicious.

Mid Island

Mid island is quieter than el centro if your looking for a more relaxing time. Most of the locals live mid island so the prices on items have less of the tourist impact. Many of the local restaurants target the local community rather than the tourist community so in some cases the taste of the food is much more authentic.

There are very few hotels so if you want to stay mid island you will probably be renting a house. The hotels mid island are typically smaller boutique hotels here's a picture of the ocean side pool and deck of one (we were staying in the house next door).

The houses mid island may be beach side, many with a private pool. Some houses have the downstairs and upstairs set up as separate living spaces so your pool may be shared.

One of the attractions mid island is Hacienda Mundaca. Mundaca was a pirate and slave trader in the 1800's who fell in love with a local island girl much younger than himself. To win her love he started building a mansion including gardens for her, during the building process however she married a local islander. Here are some photos of Hacienda Mundaca.

Punta Sur

The southern point of the island (Punta Sur) is a rocky area that has been turned into an art exhibit. At the entrance to this area is a collection of shops and restaurants for tourists to enjoy.

At the end of the walkways is a small Mayan ruin. Here's a closer look

Nearby is Grafon National Reef Park. No trip to Isla Mujeres is complete without a day at Garafon. Once your inside the stay is all inclusive if you buy the right ticket. A day at Garafon can include snorkeling, kayaks, zip lines, swimming pool, lunch, drinks, and a nap in a hammock.

Here's a view of the bar and hammock garden

The infinity pool with kayaks and zip lines in the background

Zip lining over the water

There's even a walkway that takes you down to Punta Sur at water level.

Isla Mujeres is quickly becoming an extremely popular tourist destination. Because of this, things are changing. These pictures were taken on different trips over approximately the last ten years. Several of our favorite restaurants in el centro have closed only to be opened by different owners catering more and more to tourists. Some of the hotels we like to stay in now require reservations a year in advance, and these are not the all inclusives on Playa Norte. Although it's not Cancun, it's growing quickly. If you want to visit before it becomes another Cancun, you better make your trip in the next few years.