20 fun things To do in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

For such a small, sleepy place, there’s a large variety of things to do in Isla Mujeres — an island located off the coast of Cancun in Mexico. translated from Spanish, Isla Mujeres indicates the “Island of Women”, named after the Mayan Goddess Ixchel, the Goddess of fertility and happiness.

There are many extraordinary places to check out in Mexico, but make sure you add Isla Mujeres to the list!

A quick, 20-minute ferry ride from Cancun will whisk you away to an island paradise of warm turquoise waters, swaying palm trees and white silky sand beaches.

Isla Mujeres is best for a day trip but we recommend staying longer, especially if you want to escape the party scene and all of the crazy things to do in Cancun. This is the place to come to take pleasure in a kicking back island break.

Note: This post has been updated March, 2022 to reflect current rates, attractions and things to do (and not do) in Isla Mujeres. Enjoy!

Table of Contents
Getting To & From Isla Mujeres
1. Laze On The Pristine Playa Norte Beach
2.  check Out Punta Sur
3.  rent A Golf Cart (one of the best things to do in Isla Mujeres!)
4.  join a yoga Class
5. Walk around Centro & admire The Sea wall Murals
6.  Day trip to Isla Contoy
7.  MUSA (Underwater museum of Art in Isla Mujeres)
8.  Go Fishing
9. Swim With Whale Sharks
10. check out La Tortuga Granja (Turtle Farm)
11. get Underwater While scuba Diving
12. Joysxee Floating bottle Island
13. Snorkelling in Isla Mujeres
14. Volunteer walking Dogs
15. Mercado Municipal
16.  Experience The Zocalo
17. go on a shopping Spree
18. Sunset cruise on a Catamaran
19. eat Tasty Food
20. Taco and Margarita Tour
Ready to take pleasure in all of the things to do in Isla Mujeres?

In this post, I’ll list the 20 best things to do in Isla Mujeres you don’t want to miss, but first…

Getting To & From Isla Mujeres

You have different options to get to Isla Mujeres from the Cancun airport — either by bus, taxis at the airport, or private transportation booked prior to your arrival. 

Many people opt to take private transportation to Isla Mujeres booked with Cancun airport Transportation. The automobile supplied is a van, and the ride is private — if you book it, you get the automobile to yourself.

You can also share with a group of people to minimize the cost. The vans include a bilingual driver, air conditioning, and insurance.

To get from the Cancun airport to Isla Mujeres, the cost of the whole van would be $45 one-way, or $75 round trip. Click here to learn more. 

1. Laze On The Pristine Playa Norte Beach

A 10-minute walk from the Ferry Pier is the popular beach of Playa Norte or North Beach. This is the main beach on Isla Mujeres and has been named one of the best beaches in the Caribbean!

The water here is calm, and shallow, making it a terrific spot for families or for just a chilled out day of floating around.

2.  check Out Punta Sur

Punta Sur is located on the southern idea of Isla Mujeres. here you can check out the Pre-Colombian Mayan Ruins of Ixchel, or simply admire the sensational rocky views. This is a stunning place to simply come and take pleasure in the scenery.

If you’re trying to find a terrific place to relax, snorkel and have a drink in Punta Sur, check out Garaffon de Castilla — which is located next to the Garrafon Reef Park (which we list below, and don’t recommend).

For 100 pesos ($5), you have access to the lounge chairs, showers, change rooms and snorkel gear as well. This is a nice, mellow spot to kick back during the afternoon.

Garrafon Reef Park is located next door and is home to the Sculpture Garden, ziplining, and other “resort” type things. In 2001 the Sebastian foundation and 23 popular artists from Mexico and around the world created sculptures to represent the Mayan civilisation. 

Note: While we recommend checking out the southern part of Isla Mujeres, Goats On The road does not support Garrafon Park due to the fact that captive dolphins are kept here. Be a responsible traveller and consider where you want your tourism dollars to go. 

☞ See Also: things To do in Playa del Carmen – a list of the top 21 fun things you don’t want to miss!

3.  rent A Golf Cart (one of the best things to do in Isla Mujeres!)

To be able to experience all the things to do in Isla Mujeres we recommend that you rent a golf cart for the day. This is completely normal and is a popular thing to do.

There are lots of golf automobile rental agencies available around the ferry port and you can expect to pay $45 – 55USD per day for a 2 seater.

If you wish to hire a golfbuggy for a week you can expect to pay anywhere between $270 -375. The longer the rental, the more affordable the rate will be. You will need a valid driver’s licence in buy to rent a golf cart.

And, if you’re into golfing, and not just riding golf carts, make sure to head to the town of San Pancho on the west coast. Golfing is one of the top things to do in San Pancho, the course there is well kept and very nice! Or, there are some terrific golfing opportunities in Cancun as well.

4.  join a yoga Class

The Treehouse overlooks Playa Norte and it is a paradise for yoga lovers. take pleasure in an early morning sunrise yoga class or an evening sunset class.

If you’re seeking to get some exercise during your trip, practicing yoga is one of the top things to do in Isla Mujeres. prices start at $20 for 90 minutes and there are classes to suit all levels. For the current timings, and classes check out their Facebook page.

⇒ See Also: 21 things To do in Mazatlan

5. Walk around Centro & admire The Sea wall Murals

As responsible travellers, we’re all for the preservation of our world’s ocean and we were thrilled to see the ‘Sea wall Murals’ of Isla Mujeres.

These murals were created by various top street artists from around the world to raise awareness of marine species threatened by extinction in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

☞ See Also: things To do in Puerto Vallarta – a list of the top 20 things you don’t want to miss!

6.  Day trip to Isla Contoy

Isla Contoy is located 30 km north of Isla Mujeres. This natural wildlife reserve and bird sanctuary is 9 km long and 20 metres large and was declared a national Park in 1998.

Isla Contoy is one of the most crucial areas in Mexico for nesting sea birds and sea turtles. There is a maximum of 200 tourists allowed to check out on a daily basis. A day excursion starts from $75 per person click here for a lot more information.

7.  MUSA (Underwater museum of Art in Isla Mujeres)

One of the most popular activities in Isla Mujeres is to check out MUSA, (Museo Subacuático de Arte). You can excursion the underwater museum by glass-bottom boat and take pleasure in over 500 sculptures by the designer Jason deCaires Taylor.

For a better experience, and to get closer to the sculptures, head on a snorkelling excursion or go scuba diving. MUSA was created to encourage visitors to check out an alternative area around Isla Mujeres taking the pressure off the nearby reef.

Underwater sculpture parks are created as vacationer attractions, but they are also used as man-made reefs to help promote the growth of coral and the return of a lot more marine life. A check out to underwater sculptures (by the same artist) is also one of the top things to do in Grenada, and the Bahamas.

The site in Isla Mujeres is divided into two galleries with 3 salons:

Salon Nizuc – at a depth of 4 metres and suitable for snorkelling, the Jungle excursion and the Glass bottom boat Tour

Salon Punta Sam – suitable for snorkelling

Salone Machones – at a depth of 8 metres and suitable for both snorkellers and scuba divers

For a lot more information on booking click here.

8.  Go Fishing

The turquoise blue waters of Isla Mujeres are best for deep-sea fishing, inshore fishing, and spearfishing. the best months for sailfish and marlin are from mid-December through to July. If you like tuna fishing the best months are between April and August.

Depending on what type of fishing you take pleasure in the most, there are lots of charter operators that will deal with your needs, ranging from charter boats to private yacht tours.

⇒ See Also: Puerto Escondido – The utmost travel Guide

9. Swim With Whale Sharks

Another popular water activity in Isla Mujeres is to swim with Whale Sharks (it’s also one of the top things to do in Cabo San Lucas). the best time to go to Mexico if you want to see these stunning creatures is during the summer months of June to September.

Whale Sharks can reach a length of 14 metres and they are really just gentle giants weighing in at around 15 tonnes.

Official regulating bodies have put a cap on excursions at around $125 per person. The excursion includes swimming with the whale sharks, breakfast, lunch, soft drinks, snorkel equipment and normally some time to snorkel the reefs.

It is illegal to touch the sharks and you need to keep a distance of 2 metres. It’s crucial that you do your research and opt for a reputable, eco-conscious excursion company that regulates and respects the rules.

☞ See Also: things To do in La Paz – Mexico’schilled Out Town

10. check out La Tortuga Granja (Turtle Farm)

Located on Sac Bajo is La Tortuga Granja, the hatching ground for the sea turtles on Isla Mujeres.

From may to September these grand creatures lay their eggs in the soft sand where volunteers assist in gathering the eggs and placing them in pens to keep them safe from predators.

From August to October, you can experience the local children and tourists releasing the turtles into the ocean. as with the whale sharks, don’t touch the sea turtles. entrance fee is $3.00 per person.

11. get Underwater While scuba Diving

Isla Mujeres has some of the best scuba diving in the Caribbean. here you can take pleasure in some extraordinary caves, and an abundance of sea life — eels, groupers, snappers, turtles, parrotfish and many corals.

A special experience is diving at the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks where a large group of reef, bull, and nurse sharks can be seen sleeping on the bottom of the ocean. At a depth of 20-30 meters, this dive site is recommended for advanced divers.

Other popular sites include the Machones Reef (800m in length), Tavos Reef, Media Luna, Punta Sur and the site of the Navy boat Shipwreck (at a depth of 21m). check out Squalo Adventures for scuba diving trips.

12. Joysxee Floating bottle Island

An island made from plastic bottles! What a terrific way to utilize some of the excessive amounts of plastic on the island. If you plan to visit, make sure the designer Richard Sowa is in residence. He will come and collect you by small boat and charges 50 pesos ($2.50) per person to take you back to his island made from over 150,000 bottles.

Richard describes how he gathers plastic bottles from Isla Mujeres and creates a platform from them by placing them into bags. On top of the bags, he places wooden pallets, adding plywood, carpet, sand and dirt, rocks and then plants mangroves that assists in binding it all together. A check out here is one of the most special things to do in Isla Mujeres. Update December 2019, sadly, due to a horrible storm, this island isn’t here anymore and is permanently closed. 

13. Snorkelling in Isla Mujeres

If you are a beginner and haven’t done much snorkelling in the past, the best place to snorkel is El Farito. El Farito, to the north of the island, is shallow and best for beginners to see schools of colourful fish.

Los Machones is a lot more suited to development snorkellers with a depth of 35 – 40 feet. other remarkable snorkel sites include MUSA, Garrafon natural Reef Park and Isla Contoy. For a lot more snorkelling and diving, don’t miss Mexico’s a lot of popular island and all of the extraordinary things to do in Cozumel!

14. Volunteer walking Dogs

If you love dogs, you’ll want to make sure to drop in at Isla Animals.

The team here is always trying to find volunteers who are able to help out with walking dogs, giving puppy cuddles, and if you’re interested, bathing, grooming, and assisting at the spay/neutering clinic.

Isla animals accepts volunteers each day from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, no appointment necessary. feel complimentary to drop in and say hi and help out. Volunteering genuinely is one of the most memorable and meaningful things you can do in Isla Mujeres. 

15. Mercado Municipal

A check out to Mercado Municipal in Centro is a need to on your list of things to do in Isla Mujeres. Not only can you soak up the local atmosphere, but the authentic food is low-cost and delicious.

For as little as a few dollars, you can take pleasure in the best fish tacos and empanadas on the island. It does close early afternoon so make sure you arrive around lunchtime. 

16.  Experience The Zocalo

Every