Vacation in Isla Mujeres Situated about 13 kilometers away from Cancun in the Caribbean Sea, Isla Mujeres is a small, charming island with beautiful waters. Read on to see how I planned my vacation and what I saw, experienced, and ate! The Plan Reality Flight Arrival/Immigration Process Airport Transfer Ultramar Ferry from Puerto Juarez to Isla Mujeres Transportation in Isla Mujeres Lodging Things to Do Food Weather
The Plan: My husband and I wanted to go on a short trip before the year ended, and having returned from the cold mountain area of Washington not too long ago, we longed for a tropical destination. Initially, we planned to go to Cancun, but scrapped that idea and settled on Isla Mujeres after doing a lot of research. Isla Mujeres seemed to tick off all the things on our wish list: not too far, no visa requirement for a…
Reality: As it is usually the case, things didn’t pan out the way we had planned 100% of the time. It’s important to keep in mind that there are many things that are out of our control (i.e. weather, flight cancellations, etc.), and to try to make the best out of the situation. The weather was less than amicable on one of the days, but that was one of the most memorable and fun moments of our trip. Click on…
Flight: Oh boy, what a rough start we had! There was a problem with online check-in, which resulted in group B boarding (for those who are unfamiliar with Southwest: seating is not assigned during reservation, but you are given a boarding position according to when you check-in for your flight. In other words, the sooner you check in, the better/earlier your boarding position). Not ideal, but we could live with it. Perhaps it was due to the trip being international, but…
Arrival/Immigration Process: Visa was not required for our short vacation in Isla Mujeres, Mexico (visa not required for stays shorter than 180 days for US citizens, please refer to the US Passports and International Travel website for more info). We flew into Cancun International Airport and went through immigration and customs process there, as there is no airport on the island. We had to fill out 2 forms: one form is per individual, which is the document needed to enter Mexico,…
Transportation: We followed the instructions given by Happy Shuttle Cancun and found them in front of the cafe near the terminal exit. Even though we had booked for a private transfer, we ended up sharing a van with another couple who was headed to Puerto Juarez (who had also booked for a private transfer), as we all wanted to get to the port as soon as possible. Happy Shuttle made money off of both the couples that way, but we…
Ultramar Ferry at Puerto Juarez: After the airport transfer shuttle dropped us off at Puerto Juarez, we were told to go into the ticket office on the right hand side (if you’re facing the port/ocean) to buy tickets. The round trip ticket for the Ultramar Ferry from Puerto Juarez in Cancun to Isla Mujeres cost 146 Mexican pesos in December 2016. Since we didn’t have pesos with us yet, we had to buy the tickets in USD. It should have…
Lodging: We stayed at the Privilege Aluxes, which gets great reviews on many sites. It is on the western part of Playa Norte with minimalistic and modern décor. Reception: The reception was not unfriendly, but not as warm and welcoming as other hotels we’ve been to. There was only one staff member at reception who was helping another person check-in. When we arrived, no one acknowledged us or told us that he or she will be with us shortly. Also,…
Food: One of the many perks of living in Southern California is having easy access to great, authentic Mexican food. Even though the reviews raved about restaurants on the island, I wasn’t sure what to expect since the bar has been set pretty high for good Mexican food. Without exaggerating, however, almost all of the restaurants we tried in Isla Mujeres exceeded our expectations (there certainly were exceptions, unfortunately). The dishes showcased fresh ingredients and flavor profiles that were well-balanced…
Transportation in Isla Mujeres: There are four options for getting to your hotel or vacation rental from the ferry terminal: cab, bicycle cab, lodging shuttle (if provided by your lodging), and walking. We used the good old-fashioned method and walked from the ferry terminal to our hotel, which took about 10 minutes. We only had one carry-on and a backpack each and are in fairly decent shape, so the walk was not difficult for us at all. The sidewalks are…