Isla Mujeres (the “Island of Women”) is a skinny 8-kilometre long island located 15 minutes by fast ferry from Cancún. No matter what the guidebook says, it’s a tourist island full of North American vacationers on one-week holidays, and day-trippers from Cancún. It’s not my scene and I felt lonely and out of place here, feelings I rarely have on a trip. Sure it has a nice white sand beach and turquoise water, but the windy and mostly overcast (even rainy) weather during my three-day stay didn’t make me feel like swimming much.
Tacky Hidalgo Street
First impressions of Isla Mujeres
I arrived around noon Thursday of last week to a cacophony of car engines and whistles, hardly the island vibe I had in mind. Many tourists moved around in golf carts, but there were also regular cars, taxis and motorcycles navigating the narrow streets.
That Isla Mujeres is crawling with a party crowd of North Americans, souvenirs shops, and overpriced restaurants shouldn’t have been a surprise given the proximity of the island to tourist mecca Cancún. Yet it was. I had imagined a laid back tropical island with swaying palm trees, and this was not it. Yes, I know, I am a picky beach person. In fact, part of my problem is that I’m not a beach person! But somehow, I keep forgetting this.
A lot of traffic for such a small island
Thursday afternoon I checked out Playa Norte, the island’s swimming beach. The wind created quite a bit of surf (not the “calm waters” that the guidebook described) and packs of lounging chairs crowded the beach. Families and couples tried to get a tan under a partially overcast sky. One dad and his kids were building a giant sand Sphinx. I walked down to the end of the beach, then went back to my hotel.
In case you’re wondering, my hotel was called D’Gomar and was located right across from the ferry docks, and about 10 minutes walk from the beach. It was the cheapest I could find and it still cost me about $55 CAD a night, which is way above my budget!
A busy stretch of Playa Norte
Why am I feeling so depressed on a tropical island?
Worse snorkelling trip ever
On Friday I went on a snorkelling trip with a fishermen cooperative and paid 280 pesos (about $23 CAD) for a 3-hour trip in a small boat. We didn’t go very far from town. The boat captain and his assistant were nice enough, but I found the snorkelling disappointing. It was overcast (again) and the water was a little murky. I did see some fish and some so-so coral. But of course since my Galapagos trip I’m now spoiled for life when it comes to snorkelling.
The afternoon after that snorkelling trip, I suddenly and unexpectedly felt so despondent that I decided to head out for a drink. It was after 4 PM and I was hoping to find some Happy Hour discounts on the beach. Unfortunately, due to the lousy weather, the few beach bars were mostly deserted. The offers of “May I help you?” (asked in English) and “2 for 1” signs just made me feel more lonely. In the end, I headed to the town centre and had a fruit juice. I figured my strange state of mind might be caused by dehydration or lack of vitamins. Alcohol would just make me feel more miserable. I did feel a little better after drinking a big glass of mango and papaya juice with crushed ice in colourful Caffe Italia.
Colourful Caffe Italia
The food … and crazy prices
The food I had been having until that point was expensive and not very healthy (tortillas, meat, and refried beans mostly). I tried the “sopa de lima” (a specialty of the region) at Mamacita, another colourful restaurant with more reasonably priced food. The sopa de lima has a clear broth with pieces of chicken and vegetables, and some slices of lime which flavour the broth and give the soup its name. They brought me the tortillas (to shred into the soup) seemingly as an afterthought. This soup cost $5! Many restaurants here have prices similar to Canada or the US, possibly for tourists who don’t know any better, or perhaps don’t care. I also had problems finding dishes with fruits and vegetables. (Onions don’t count).
Sopa de lima, a local specialty
One sign that a Mexican town is too touristy is when you speak Spanish and locals answer you in English. And they continue to speak to you in English even though you continue to speak to them in Spanish. It was slowly driving me bananas.
Finally taking a dip at Playa Norte
On my third day, I finally took a dip in the turquoise waters, even though it wasn’t exactly sunny. Tourists (probably hungover from the night before) take a long time to get going in the morning. You can have a stretch of beach to yourself if you get there by 9:00 or 9:30. The area where Playa Norte curves around is particularly peaceful and devoid of bathers.
My favourite spot on Playa Norte
I had planned to go to Playa del Carmen and Tulum (on the stretch of Caribbean coast called Riviera Maya) but they sounded ever more touristy than Isla Mujeres, and just as pricey. If you like Disneyworld, Universal Studios, and Las Vegas, I believe you’ll like the Riviera Maya. They’ve even turned natural cenotes (fresh underground water pools exposed by the collapse of limestone bedrock) into landscaped theme parks for which they charge stiff admission fees (Xcaret, Xplor, Xel-Ha). I decided to give that whole area a miss, and go in search of the more genuine Mexico. So on Sunday, I took the ferry back to Cancun, and then a bus going west toward the inland town of Valladolid.
View from the top floor of my hotel
at 10:09 PM
Hey mujer! Sorry to hear that Isla Mujeres was so disappointing. Merida should definitely feel more like Mexico. I have never been there and it is actually on our radar these days. Hope you’re enjoying it!
at 10:22 PM
Hey Georgina! I really liked Valladolid and will be writing about it soon. I’m just starting to visit Merida.
at 11:27 PM
Yes it’s frustrating when you want to speak the local language for practice and they reply in English. Just like in Montreal! 🙁
at 11:40 PM
And guess whom I was thinking about as this was happening? 🙂
Big Travel Nut recently posted…Isla Mujeres – not for this mujer
at 4:03 PM
Quand ça m’arrive, je dis Lo tiento, no entiendo Inglès…, même s’il faut alors endurer un regard d’intense condescendance… ayant l’air de dire genre O my God, pauvre dame, mais de quel milieu ringard venez-vous pour ne pas parler l’anglais !….
at 8:31 PM
Bonne idée! Je n’avais même pas pensé à ca.
at 8:07 PM
I was in the Yucatan in 2008. I did not go to Isla Mujeres but I went to Merida, Valladolid, and Tulum. I enjoyed them all. At Tulum the ruins are beautiful and you can swim in the Caribbean. I would highly recommend a tour to the Sian Ka’an Reserve. It is very ecological and you get taken to a laguna and an offbeat cenote. Also you get a delicious lunch which you have to completely finish. If you are in Merida on a Sunday they have a street fair every week. The only thing I did not like is that the locals get in your face to come to their shops. Keep us posted.
at 8:32 PM
Yes, I’ve read about that. I just happen to be in Merida and tomorrow is Sunday so I’ll check it out.
at 6:22 AM
Sounds awful; thanks for the heads-up. Not being a beach person either (having spent most of my life in Southern California), I had a similar experience in Nice and Monte Carlo. You may have better luck in places that were actual Mexican towns before they became tourist destinations, e.g., Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, Puerta Vallarta, Acapulco + Mexico City (and environs).
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at 12:04 PM
I was in Oaxaca in 2006 and really loved that city (best food too!) I haven`t visited the others yet but I’ve heard good things about Puerto Vallarta. I also liked Morelia but I hear that it’s not safe now.
at 12:40 AM
I considered Isla de Mujeres on my recent trip to the Yucatan and gave it a pass, Marie-France. There didn’t seem to be a lot to do, and being that close to Cancun, it figured to be just as crowded and Americanized. That seems to be the case across much of the Yucatan nowadays — I agree, they’ve even turned their natural wonders into expensive theme parks. I heard people say good things about the area around Tulum, though I didn’t manage to spend any time there.
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at 11:02 AM
Sadly, I have heard about the state of Isla that you describe – it was transformed into what you experienced after it was destroyed by Hurricane Wilma – and built up for tourists from the beautiful peaceful island that it previously was.
I am sorry you did not get to experience it prior to 2005 when it allowed only golf carts down streets (only 2 or 3 were ever used), and there were only a few “North American” hotels – literally 2, I believe. The remaining lodgings were small Mexican 1 or 2 level dwellings. Food was in the form of street vendors or in very small restaurants – one we were in left the restaurant to get the ingredients at the grocery store down the street prior to cooking it. And coconut ice cream made and sold in front of you on a quiet, isolated pier.
An altogether charming, quiet place for people looking for peace with maybe a dozen (tops) people on the “beach” at a time. No beach chairs.
Progress has destroyed the place from what I see on line and I will never return there as I wish to retain my memories. I only wanted to pass on to you that it once was a beautiful place that the residents could be proud of.
at 3:54 PM
This is so sad and unfortunate. Thanks for commenting.
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at 12:39 AM
So glad I read this! Spent time in Isla de Mujeres in 2001. It was so pristine, with hardly any Americans, or tourists. It was pretty much undiscovered, at that point. The snorkeling was amazing, because the water was so clean and clear. No one spoke English. No crowds or beach chairs, or even golf carts, at that point. No way to get there, but by boat, and we arrived to a relatively empty beach. One very long Tiki hut / beach bar with a few log bar stools and probably 15 or 20 hammocks. Very few people there, at all. Small, adorable, quaint, colorful, clean motels with small bouganvillea covered balconies, and signs of warmth and welcoming. Sandy roads, mostly unpaved, and chickens clucking. People laughing. Mostly only indigenous people. I’ve been craving to back ever since. Dreaming of how I would sway in the hammocks and just read and listen to waves. Doesn’t seem I should waste my time. This is heartbreaking, but thank you so much for saving me. I probably would have cried. And, I definitely need to stretch my resources, so this would have wasted money, and more importantly time. So glad I found your site. Best, Tiffany
at 8:58 PM
Oh, too bad you did not get away from downtown (Centro) and go deeper south of the island. The east side facing the Caribbean is majestic. The neighborhoods (Colonias) are special to get a feel of local living, not tourist visiting. Stop at a place that says Comida, and you’ll find yourself in a small eatery resembling someone’s house-turned-restaurant with 5 or 6 tables with Dad serving and Mom cooking.