The biggest mistake I made during my first visit to Women’s Island was that I only stayed for a day. This was a long time ago, during my first trip to the Yucatan Peninsula when I spent a month on Carmen Beach. I instantly fell in love with this small island near the Cancun coast.
Can you understand why? Did I make another mistake? I waited many years before returning to Women’s Island, despite the glowing recommendations from everyone I asked for advice on traveling to the Yucatan Peninsula. Back then, I still couldn’t fathom why I didn’t plan a getaway to a small island at the time, but I suppose after living on remote Caribbean beaches for two months, I was no longer yearning for more beach time. When planning this year’s Yucatan Peninsula road trip, I made sure we had time to visit Women’s Island as well.
What’s there to do on Women’s Island?
This small island, measuring only 7 kilometers long (1.3 miles) and 650 meters wide (2,130 feet), doesn’t offer much in terms of activities. I recall that there weren’t even cars on the island back then, just golf carts. However, this time there were a few cars as well. Nevertheless, Women’s Island still boasts a significantly higher number of golf carts than cars, and most tourists opt to rent golf carts for the day rather than scooters. It wasn’t until later that I found out the exact count of vehicles on the island: about 130 taxis, 500 golf carts, and 1,500 scooters. While we considered renting a golf cart to explore the island, it wasn’t our top priority. Our primary mission was:
North Beach: The Crown Jewel of Women’s Island
North Beach, located at the northern tip of Women’s Island, is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever visited, comparable to my experiences on Thailand’s Koh Phi Phi and the paradise-like Boracay Island in the Philippines. It’s a beach where you can sit and gaze at the sea for hours without a care in the world, just like a favorite spot for many women on the island. The shades of blue in the island’s waters are an integral part of the Caribbean dream I’m painting for you. Have I convinced you to visit Women’s Island yet?
Women’s Island’s women boats
I could have spent the entire time at this beach, occasionally taking a dip in the shallow waters where you can walk about 160 feet (50 meters) out into the sea, and the water remains knee-deep. But our visit here wasn’t just about relaxation on the beach, although it was our primary reason for coming to Women’s Island. We also wanted to explore other parts of the island.
Women’s Island palm trees
We stayed at the northernmost part of Women’s Island, where the ferry from Cancun arrives. This area has the most restaurants and small inns – you won’t spot any massive concrete blocks as you’d see far away in Cancun. If you want to call it something, it’s a little village. This “village” doesn’t even have a name; it’s simply referred to as “El Centro.” Hidalgo Street is the main thoroughfare here, lined with plenty of restaurants, souvenir shops, and hotels. But from anywhere in “El Centro,” you can reach all the restaurants and cafes on the neighboring streets within five minutes. When you visit Women’s Island, don’t expect shopping malls or anything of the sort!
Women’s Island houses
The houses here are vibrant and colorful, just as you’d imagine Caribbean island houses to be, with some street art to spice things up. Most of the murals have deeper meanings – they were painted during the 2014 Murals For Oceans street art festival aimed at promoting respect and protection for the endangered whale sharks and manta rays that migrate to Women’s Island every year to feed on plankton.
Mexico Women’s Island street art
We hesitated at the expensive 24-hour golf cart rental price (40 dollars – I paid only 9 dollars a day for a rental in Cancun!), but we went for it because I wanted to explore the southern part of the island, which is the opposite of the north, featuring long stretches of sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. There, you’ll find cliffs towering above the ocean with deep blue waters below. It’s a spectacular sight that reminded me of the Irish coastline – lush green on top of the cliffs and roaring ocean below.
Women’s Island: The Island of Women
At the southern tip of the island, you can find clues to the origin of the island’s name: Isla Mujeres means “Island of Women.” During the time of the Maya civilization, this island was a sacred place dedicated to the Maya goddess of childbirth and medicine, Ix Chel. When the Spanish arrived here in the 16th century and saw all the images of Ix Chel, they named it “Women’s Island.” At the southern end of the island, you’ll discover a statue depicting Ix Chel.
There is also a small sculpture park, which was free to visit the first time we came to the island, but this time it had an entrance fee of 30 pesos per person, so we skipped it and continued our exploration in a golf cart. We stopped at a small pier where there was a hotel restaurant to grab some snacks.
Women’s Island Punta Sur
We decided to stop at a small pier along the way to have some snacks at a hotel restaurant by the sea. I had been hoping to find a beach club, which I stumbled upon during my first visit to Women’s Island, but unfortunately, I couldn’t remember its exact location.
Women’s Island women boats
After a full day of sightseeing, we made our way back to North Beach just in time to witness the spectacular sunset. There’s no better place on the island to watch the sunset! The sunset alone on the island is worth an overnight stay, but most people seem to visit Women’s Island as a day trip from Cancun, including a brief stop on the island and a few snorkeling spots.
However, I recommend staying at least one night here. If you’re looking for an affordable Caribbean experience with convenient transportation, Women’s Island is the ideal choice. I hope I won’t wait another six years to return to Women’s Island, my Mexican paradise…
How to Visit Women’s Island
Getting to Women’s Island from Cancun is very convenient. I recommend staying on the island for one or two nights (if not longer) rather than opting for a day trip from Cancun.
You can take a taxi directly from the airport. If you’d rather not wait in line, I recommend downloading the EasyTaxi app and ordering a taxi through it. Take the taxi to Gran Puerto Ferry Terminal.
If you’re on a budget, you can take an ADO bus from the airport to the Cancun Central Bus Station (66 Mexican pesos / $3.50), and then transfer to a colectivo (shared minivan) to Gran Puerto’s ferry terminal (two blocks from the old pier, Puerto Juarez). The colectivos stop right across from the ADO station in front of McDonald’s and cost 8 Mexican pesos ($0.45). The round-trip ticket for the Ultramar ferry departing from Gran Puerto costs 540 Mexican pesos ($31), and a one-way ticket is 270 Mexican pesos ($15.45).
The drive takes about 25 minutes. You can check the ferry schedule here; the ferries run about every hour from 5 am to 11:30 pm.
Note: When returning from the ferry terminal to the airport by taxi, be sure to negotiate the fare before boarding. The starting price for a taxi is around 700 Mexican pesos ($37), but I managed to negotiate the driver down to 300 Mexican pesos ($16).
Accommodations on Women’s Island
I recommend staying in El Centro because it has the best beach on the island (Playa Norte) and a variety of restaurants and bars to choose from. If you stay in other parts of the island, you’ll rely on taxis or renting a golf cart for transportation. Beautiful beaches are also not as plentiful on the island (only a few small public ones; most are part of private beach clubs), and the beaches are the island’s main attraction.
The number of hotels on Women’s Island is limited, but you can find a variety of apartment options on Airbnb. Check out Airbnb rentals on Women’s Island here.
Top-rated hotels on Women’s Island include:
- Nomads Hotel & Beach Bar: A stunning hotel with a beachfront pool bar, sunbeds, and hammocks. Dorm beds from $12, rooms with a balcony from $109.
- Casa Barco Boutique Hotel: A small boutique hotel with a rooftop pool and magnificent sea views. Rooms start at $65 per night.
- Casa Azul Maya: Spacious rooms with fully equipped kitchens (fridge, microwave, coffee maker), dining areas, and private bathrooms. All rooms come with air conditioning and flat-screen TVs. Rooms start at $100 per night.
- Hotel Secreto: An art-inspired hotel with stylish suites and an infinity pool overlooking the sea. Garden view rooms from $127; small suites from $138.
- Hotel La Joya Isla Mujeres: A gorgeous beachfront hotel with an outdoor pool and barbecue facilities. All rooms have a balcony/terrace. Rooms start at $140 per night.
- Izla Beach Front Hotel: A new beachfront hotel near Playa Paraiso with a large pool. Rooms start at $188 per night.
- Privilege Aluxes Only Resort: A stylish hotel located on Playa Norte with 2 outdoor pools (all-inclusive rate starts at $230 per couple per night).
Check out all Women’s Island hotels on Booking.com.
Villas and Apartments on Women’s Island include:
- Villas Najo’ Isla Mujeres: One-bedroom apartments with a courtyard offering pool views, a living room, flat-screen TV, and a kitchen with a microwave and fridge. Shared outdoor pool. Starts at $125 per night.
- Casa Santosha: A modern three-bedroom villa with an outdoor pool, a beautiful terrace, and a garden. The lounge features a flat-screen TV, a kitchen with a microwave and fridge, a washer, and four bathrooms with showers. Starts at around $420 per night.
- Aruma: A luxury villa with a private pool. This villa features 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, a flat-screen TV, a dining area, a fully equipped kitchen, and a sea-view balcony. Starts at around $700 per night.
