Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres has the best beach in the Mexican Caribbean and sits twenty minutes by ferry from Cancún. It is a small island — eight kilometres long, barely half a kilometre wide — that you can drive end to end in a golf cart in an afternoon. Many people visit on a day trip; our recommendation is exactly the opposite.

Playa Norte

This is why you come. A strip of blindingly white sand at the island's northern tip, with water so shallow you can walk tens of metres out and still be waist-deep. No surf, no current, and a colour that is hard to believe in person. It appears on every list of best Caribbean beaches and, for once, the reputation is earned.

The trick: day-trip ferries arrive mid-morning and leave mid-afternoon. Sleep on the island and you get Playa Norte nearly empty at dawn and again at sunset.

What else is on the island

• Punta Sur — the opposite tip, with cliffs, a temple to Ixchel, a sculpture garden and the first place in Mexico to see the sunrise. The view is spectacular.
• Downtown — pedestrian streets with shops, seafood restaurants and small hotels. All walkable.
• The east coast — open to the sea, heavy surf and no crowds. Lovely to drive, not to swim.
• Playa Lancheros and Playa Tiburón — to the south, quieter, with restaurants serving tikinxic fish, the local specialty.
• MUSA — part of the underwater sculpture museum lies off the island and can be visited snorkelling.

Whale sharks

Between June and September, whale sharks gather in waters north of the island, and swimming trips depart from here and from Cancún. It is an enormous experience and it is regulated: a limited number of swimmers in the water, mandatory life vest, no touching. Choose an operator who respects those rules — the ones who do are also the ones who explain best what you are looking at.

When to come

December to April is the weather at its best. June to September is whale shark season, humid and hot, with hurricane risk from August. On sargassum: the island's east coast does receive seaweed, but Playa Norte is sheltered and usually stays clean even in the bad months, which is one of this destination's great advantages.

Getting there and around

Ferries run from Puerto Juárez and from Playa Tortugas in Cancún, frequently throughout the day; the crossing takes about twenty minutes. On the island, transport means a golf cart, rented by the hour or the day — it is the normal way to move. There are also taxis and buses, and downtown is fully walkable.

Where to stay

Downtown and Playa Norte hold nearly all the lodging and are where staying makes sense: you walk to the beach, to dinner and to the ferry. The southern zone has larger, more isolated hotels with private beach but total dependence on a cart or taxi.

One piece of advice

Sleep at least one night. Isla Mujeres transforms once the day ferries leave: downtown becomes a village, prices drop, you can have dinner without queueing, and Playa Norte at sunset, with that water, is one of the best things the Mexican Caribbean offers.