Guide to Visiting La Isla De Mujeres – Obtaining your Tickets

The first step in your journey to Isla De Mujeres of course is to get your tickets. You can take the ferry or catamaran off the port from Playa Del Carmen. When I traveled, I used Xcaret Ferry since the transportation to and from the island was included with my stay. They had an option to use either the Ferry or Catamaran, and it was as simple as scanning your wristband at the port.

For those without Xcaret bands, the ferry is about $15 USD one-way or $30 USD round trip to and from the Cancun (Playa Del Carmen) port to Isla De Mujeres. I think for the value, it is well worth the cost.

The Ferry is a very relaxing boat ride in an air-conditioned Ferry, or you can choose the outdoor seating, but it can get very hot out there in the summertime. There will be a TV screen playing with some of the local attractions in the area.

The ferry ride is about a 45 minute ride from the port of Playa Del Carmen to La Isla De Mujeres, so plan on this travel time to and from the island.

Depending on the waters, the ride is mostly smooth with a few rougher waves in between so if you are the type to get sea sick make sure you bring motion sickness medication like Meclizine or Zofran if you get nauseous. There are bathrooms inside the Ferry, although if you choose the smaller Catamaran boats they might not be available.

First Impressions – Landing on Isla De Mujeres

Once you land on Isla de Mujeres, you will smell the hot, humid Caribbean air and be dropped off at the dock. There will be no guides pointing you to any specific direction, but there will often be lots of street vendors trying to sell their local goods, some local beverages food & drink. On the way out of the dock on the streets, there will likely be hoards of vendors asking or trying to convince you to join their excursions, or rent a golf cart or moped. If you’re not interested, just politely decline and say “No, Gracias” and move upon your day. They are not dangerous, but they can be quite persistent and at times feeling almost like haggling you.

Isla De Mujeres – An Open Market Setting

Most of Isla De Mujeres takes place on an open market setting in the main plaza and on several side streets. It will feel like an open-air flea market or a long stroll through a Sunday farmer’s market – the only difference being is that there are streets filled with different unique stores and vendors with local merchants selling Mexican goods.

It seems that whatever you are looking for, you will find here on this small tropical island market paradise. Whether you are looking for authentic hand-crafted Mexican goods, or even knockoffs of well-known American and European brands you will be amazed on the quality of merchandise sold at these shops.

Pesos is the Currency of Choice on Isla De Mujeres

Often, the Isla de Mujeres vendors will set their prices for their merchandise in Pesos but be willing to convert them to dollars (USD) if you didn’t exchange your currency beforehand. However, by doing so – you may lose a portion of it due to the exchange rate set by the Vendor which is often at the discretion of the vendor. For this reason, I suggest bringing Pesos with you on the island, and exchanging your local currency to Pesos prior to leaving for your trip, as you may lose a good portion of it due to the fees and the vendor’s own conversion rate which often doesn’t match up with the official conversion rate.

It is important to know the conversion rate from your local currency to Pesos so you can gauge the relative valuation of the item you are looking to purchase.

Is it Safe to Go to Isla De Mujeres?

It can be a bit intimidating for some to hop on a ferry to a tiny island port in a foreign country, but I can assure you that I felt perfectly safe walking the streets and the market in La Isla De Mujeres. I never felt in danger in any sort of way, and I found the locals were very friendly, non-judgmental and eager for my business and to make deals on many of the pieces of merchandise they sold.

Obviously, like in any foreign country or even local city – don’t do anything silly and flash your jewelry around or wear expensive watches like Rolexes or try to stroll a dark alley at night. If you stay within the city confines during the daytime, the risk of anything happening is low. I’ve heard about rare occasional incidents like pickpocketing but even those are pretty rare if you stick on the main streets and deal with the vendors in the stores and don’t cause trouble.

I found the streets to be very safe walking through in the daytime, with the Mexican Marinas and local police patrolling the streets and the beach.

There isn’t a lot of nightlife either on Isla De Mujeres as most of the area around the port is catered to tourists, which means that locals will try to sell you their merchandise. Occasionally, they may come across as a little “pushy” but often in a non-threatening manner.

Food and Restaurants on Isla De Mujeres

You won’t find many “big chains” around here, and there are many mom and pop stores and little restaurants all along the main strip and side streets serving mainly Mexican food. I find that this adds to the authenticity of the island, and allows you to fully embrace the Mexican culture and cuisine straight from the motherland.

I had chosen a small cutesy mom and pop restaurant for lunch, and they had a taco and drink special which included 3 small tacos of chicken and pork along with 2 beers which was called “Tecate.” The lunch was a basic Mexican lunch, and you can find many similar specials on the side streets, often with waiters and hostesses ushering you in to try their “specials” and various promotions. I also tried their Paloma drink special, which was delicious and gave me a nice buzz while perusing the marketplace after lunch.

There are a few bars around that sell both local crafted beers and well-known top label brands as well. I’ve seen them offer various mixed drinks, and also specialty drinks like Pina Coladas served straight out of the pineapple, and fresh coconuts and liquor. It seems like whatever you heart desired, you could get here.

One Tip for Exploring Isla De Mujeres – You Can Negotiate!

At every street corner on the main strip of Isla De Mujeres you will find different boutiques, stands and shops selling tourist items. Many of these items can be negotiated, you just have to ask! It can be helpful to carry Mexican Pesos with you when haggling – or you can lose quite a bit on the conversion between USD and Pesos and vice versa. Always know the conversion rate between USD and Pesos, because occasionally you may find a vendor that asks for a ridiculous amount of pesos for a simple souvenir like a necklace.

They will usually call out an enormously high number like “3000 pesos amigo” knowing that is too high and unlikely to make a sale, but they throw out that number in case you accept (perhaps some people have) but are often willing to go down by half or more of their stated price – since most items don’t have price tags to go along with the merchandise. They will often justify it by saying “this is real leather, hand-made, really good quality” or “this is quartz, really high quality made right here in Mexico, you can’t find this anywhere etc” to justify the valuation. I ignore most of it, and counter their prices anyway and often they are prepared and expecting to haggle a bit and negotiate.

Also, I think it helps to shop around different places, because often you can find the same or similar item at another stop a few stores down or even next door. Prices do vary quite a bit from store to store, and what one vendor might decline another might be willing to do business. Don’t be afraid to walk if the price seems too high, and often times – magically the vendor will then come down in price and ask you how much you’re willing to pay and meet you halfway.

Pharmacy, pharmacy and Pharmacies at Every Single Corner!

As a pharmacist by day in the US, one of the things that shocked me most about Isla De Mujeres, is the fact that you can find a pharmacy at almost every corner on Isla De Mujeres, and they are wide open to visiting tourists! In Mexico, many drugs do not require an official written prescription the way it is in the United States and perhaps Europe. Medications like Tramadol for pain, Meclizine for nausea, Viagra and Sildenafil for ED – you name it! They even sell antibiotics that you would commonly find in the USA like Azithromycin, Doxycycline, Cipro and much more for traveler’s diarrhea. This was shocking to me, because it seemed that anyone could open a pharmacy and just about anyone can buy any medication over the counter (OTC) without a prescription here. All you needed was a short “consultation” with the person behind the counter.

It can be convenient if you need a certain medication or suffering an ailment and don’t have the time or resources to see a doctor at the moment. But be careful to only buy at reputable pharmacies. Ensure the box and label is manufactured by an established factory and not a knockoff.

Also, be mindful of the customs and potential repercussions of buying unsolicited medications in the island as most USA customs require a valid prescription for entry or they could get confiscated. Any local goods or fruits may also be subjected to inspection if you don’t consume them prior to going home.

Visiting Playa Norte (North Beach) in Isla De Mujeres

Cutting past the street vendors, you will continue to walk along the pathway and eventually hit Playa Norte. Along the route, you may encounter people selling fresh coconuts, mangos or other fruits. They are safe to eat – however I prefer to only eat freshly peeled fruit. Things like raw coconuts, I watch the vendors cut it open – but they can be super delicious to eat and drink fresh. You’ll also see street vendors selling jewelry and other hand-made goods on the beach.

The Playa Norte Beach in Isla De Mujeres is a beautiful beach that rests right next to the main strip of boutiques.

Here, on this beach you will find locals enjoying the beach in addition to tourists. This is a developing island, so there was 2 brand new apartment and condo buildings being built right on the beach at the time of this writing. I was only wondering how amazing it would be to live in one of those high-rise buildings and live right next to the water with an ocean-front view.

The beach was also nice and calm, with few waves and minimal sargassum in the water which made the water crystal clear. Since we were on a time crunch, we were only able to spend a few hours here , because our Xcaret Xailing itinerary required us to be back at the port by 5:30pm, which gave us about 5-6 hours in the Isla De Mujeres.

This is a nice beach to relax, however we did get approached by a few vendors selling us fresh local ice cream and some more jewelry. I bought a few cute hand-crafted bracelets and necklaces from the merchant which were made by hand.

Catching the Ferry Back to the Island

Be mindful of the operating hours of the local ferry to and from the island, so you don’t get stuck in the island and needing to take a private boat back (unless that’s your plan!).

We went on the Xcaret Xailing excursion which was sponsored by the Hotel Xcaret I was staying at, so we had to be back at the port by a certain time around 5:30pm to be back at Playa Del Carmen by around 7pm.

You should plan on being on the island for the majority of the day, the better half the morning and early evening. This is typically considered a full-day excursion, but one that you won’t want to miss if you enjoy exploring a new island, or want to do some shopping to find some unique souvenirs to take home with you.

I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and I think La Isla De Mujeres holds a special place in my heart, and the image of me walking into the island for the first time is not one I’ll forget for a very long time.