As you know, my family and I went to Mexico for 5 days at the beginning of the year. While we were there, we took a couple of tours through our hotel, one of them being to Isla Mujeres via a catamaran.
We started the day by getting picked up by the tour company from our hotel and dropped off at the boat dock. We checked in, signed the waiver forms, and got our tickets to board the catamaran. We opted to upgrade to the 'Privilege Experience', which just meant that instead of 100 people on board, there would only be 25 and we would get an all-inclusive drink package.
Shortly after we checked in and got our boarding passes, we boarded our catamaran, the Paradise, and got our welcome mimosas from the staff on the boat. Our boat guide's name was Diego and he was great! We went over the safety information and took off from the Marina.
While on board, you aren't able to wear shoes, so barefoot it was! My family and I stayed on the back side of the boat as there were less people back there (we were the only ones) and relaxed while we took off into the Caribbean Sea. We sat with our feet hanging off the edge of the boat as the water from the Caribbean lapped against our legs. It was amazing to see the water change color as we got further and further away from the marina. The Paradise had a photographer on board, Alex, that came back and joined us for a bit and took some fun family pictures of us on the boat. Luckily, the day was beautiful and there were hardly any clouds in the sky, so the pictures turned out really well and it captured the fun we had (and the sunburn I got) perfectly!
After about an hour of boating and a couple of margaritas, we arrived where we were going to drop into the sea for snorkeling.
We strapped on our life jackets, slipped on our flippers, put on our snorkels, and jumped into the water. Diego led the group of us along the reef where we got to see a ton of ocean life including coral, fish, and a sting ray. Near the end of our snorkeling adventure, we got to see a section of the Cancun Underwater Art Museum which included a ring of giant hand statues. The total snorkeling distance was approximately 0.25 miles and took around 30 minutes. The experience was amazing and I would do it again in a heartbeat! I made sure I was the last one out of the water so I could watch the ocean life for as long as possible before boarding the catamaran again.
Back on the catamaran, we had a couple more drinks before stopping at Playa Norte for a bit to swim. I stayed on the boat to lay in the sun while the boys hopped into the sea to swim around before we docked at the port.
When we finally docked into Isla Mujeres, we had lunch at IXI Beach Club, which was included on our catamaran tour price. The food there was probably the best I had the entire time in Mexico. They had a smorgasbord of options to choose from and was all-you-can-eat, which made it even better.
After lunch, we all parted ways to explore the island on our own. I strayed away from the more touristy area of the island and headed to go find an EarthCache on the north-east side of the island.
While I was on my way there, I found a walking pathway that went along the rocky beaches of Isla Mujeres which was a complete 180 from the sandy beaches on the west side of the island where we docked the catamaran. I was the only person on the walking pathway from the time I stumbled upon it to when I returned to the touristy area after the walkway ended. As I walked along the pathway, it became more and more overgrown with local flora peeking through the cracks in the cement and the paint on the cement became worn and was peeling. This time, walking along the abandoned pathway was one of my favorite parts of Isla Mujeres and I would argue that the rocky beaches here were even more beautiful than the sandy beaches on the other side of the island.
As I returned to the tourist area of Isla Mujeres, I ran into an iguana, which I had never seen outside of a lizard tank, on the roof of someone's house. It made me giggle as I meandered back into the shopping area.
Michael and Javen found me walking into the shopping area and picked me up on their golf-cart that they had rented to zoom around the island. I hopped on and we took off to the other side of Isla Mujeres to explore. We didn't do a full lap of the island due to timing, but we did get to see a lot of the island before we had to return the go-cart and return to our catamaran. If you are a nervous driver, I would not recommend driving on Isla Mujeres as most people are on golf-carts and just go. Luckily, I wasn't the one who was driving, or I wouldn't have gotten anywhere between the other drivers on golf-carts, tourists crossing the streets, and locals driving their own vehicles.
I would recommend Isla Mujeres to anyone who has the chance to make their way over there! It was a beautiful place with great beaches, food, and kind people.
TLDR Recommendations:
Food and Drink: IXI Beach Club
Activities: Snorkeling along the Coral Reef, Catamaran Tour, Rent a Golf Cart, Playa Norte, Rocky Beaches on the north-east side of the island
Shop: Miscellaneous souvenir shops, Señor Frog's Store
Travel on!
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