PuertoDISE: Isla Mujeres (The Island of Women)

Monday, May 1, 2017

Isla Mujeres (The Island of Women) – a day trip

Isla Mujeres is a quaint little beach town that has the vibe of a bustling vacation resort, yet still feels like a small community. Its relaxed environment, beautiful beaches, and boardwalk along the Caribbean Sea, makes this a must-see place on your things to do list.

Despite its small size, there are plenty of things to see and do. Water activities for all age groups, renting a bike or golf cart to explore the island, purchasing a day pass and enjoying one of the resorts, or bringing your own beach chair and umbrella, and having a day of fun in the sun! You can do it all on Isla Mujeres.

We really enjoy going to Isla Mujeres and always look forward to

our day trips. We leave our home in Puerto Aventuras and catch a colectivo on Carretera (Highway) 307 into Playa del Carmen a little before 8:00 a.m. Then, we head over to our favorite bakery, Café Antoinette, and pick up breakfast to eat on the bus ride into Cancun. Although we have taken the Cancun colectivo, we prefer to take the Playa Express; the buses seem to be cleaner and nicer than the regular colectivos. In addition, the prices are the same. We’ll give a detailed price list for the day at the end of this post.

After disembarking the Playa Express in Cancun, at the ADO bus station, we take a quick (about 5-10 minutes) taxi ride to the ferry. Please keep in mind that there are several ferry docks in Cancun that will take you to Isla Mujeres. Depending on where you are in Cancun, you would go to a different ferry dock. Since we take the bus into Cancun from Playa del Carmen, the ferry dock we use is Puerto Juarez. This ferry is less expensive and a shorter ride than the ones from the hotel zone. The ferry leaves every 30 minutes, and is a short 15-minute ride to Isla Mujeres.

Once you purchase your round-trip ferry tickets, you line up and wait your turn for the ferry. The ticket counter is inside their souvenir shop, just in case you want to shop before you get to Isla Mujeres (smart marketing). The entire one-way trip from Puerto Aventuras takes about 2.5 hours. So keep that in mind when planning your day trip. Our goal was to make that 10:00 a.m. ferry, which put us on Isla Mujeres at 10:30 a.m. Once there, we walk all around and just enjoy a relaxing day. We walk along the boardwalk on the east side of the island, which is a work in progress. The boardwalk is about one-half mile from the ferry pier. The north part of the boardwalk nearer the resorts is lined with solar lights and is nicely paved. The rest of the boardwalk is being developed with resorts, condos, and homes. But the basic structure is there, allowing you to walk up and down and see the development in action. Although there is no beach along the boardwalk, the cool breezes and the sound of crashing waves, makes for a very tranquil experience.

After walking up and down the boardwalk, we stroll into the

downtown area to window shop, take photos and select our lunch spot. There is shopping on the main street near the ferry pier called Avenida Rueda Medina, but keep in mind that the prices there are much higher than the vendors that are in the middle of town. There is a very nice pedestrian street (Avenida Miguel Hidalgo) two blocks into town that is lined with shops and restaurants. Of course, good negotiating skills are always helpful regardless of where you decide to spend your pesos.

For lunch, we usually dine at Beach Club Privilege Aluxes. The food and customer service is always exemplary, and you just can’t beat the relaxed beach front while you eat with your feet in the sand. Their menu has something for everyone, so no problem if one of you is a picky eater (I’m not mentioning any names here, but they know who they are – smile).

After our late lunch, we slowly stroll back to the ferry for our return trip to Puerto Aventuras.

We really enjoy Isles Mujeres and encourage you to take a day trip to see for yourself. I think you will agree that it’s a trip worth taking.

COST FOR THE DAY:

Expense	Cost
Colectivo to Playa del Carmen	30 pesos per person for visitors 20 pesos for residents
Breakfast from Café Antionette	136 pesos
Playa Express to Cancun	40 pesos per person 20 pesos for senior citizens (INAPAM card needed)
Taxi ride to Juarez Ferry pier	100 pesos
Round-trip ferry tickets	200 pesos per person for visitors 52 pesos per person for senior citizens (INAPAM card needed) 146 pesos per person for Quintana Roo residents (driver’s license or INE card needed)
Lunch at Beach Club Privilege	650 pesos
Taxi ride back to ADO station	100 pesos
Playa Express to Playa del Carmen	40 pesos per person 20 pesos for senior citizens (INAPAM card needed)
Colectivo to Puerto Aventuras	30 pesos per person for visitors 20 pesos for residents
Total Cost for the day for two adults	1558 pesos $82 USD ($1 USD = $18 pesos)