It’s not that I don’t mean it, it’s that I know by writing it down I will come across like some sort of a travel snob. I understand that the only constant in life is change. I know that change can be good, and that it is not fair to expect local people to simply be stuck in life because of some misguided desire "for the good old days" on my part.
And truth be told, Isla Mujeres is still a great place to go hang out for a few weeks in the cold of winter.
But it has changed considerably in the past eight years.
So, is Isla a lost paradise, or a great vacay destination? It depends on your perspective.
Read on and you decide.
I’m going to divide this blog post in four:
Part One, all the good stuff about Isla, why we are here, and why I think it is a lost paradise.
Part Two, what we did this trip.
Part Three, quick note about food.
Part Four, the details of how we did this trip, so you can come here yourself.
Part One: Return to Isla Mujeres
I am sitting on the beach.
The waves wash in, continuous lines rolling up on the sand. I have been here since sunrise.
The sun slowly moves from my face to my shoulders to the back of my head.
Times passes, seven to sunrise to noon to sunset to darkness and back to seven, the waves continue to mark the passing hours.
We left the noise and non-stop decision making at home, along with the cold rains and wind. Sitting here I listen to the waves, the gentle murmur of people walking by, and my only decision is beer or margarita? It is warm enough that I wear shorts or my swimsuit all the time, day and night.
Because Isla Mujeres is an island it is not as crowded as Cancun; not as built up as places like Cabo or Puerto Vallarta. You can walk quiet streets in the morning, swim alone in the warm Caribbean as the sun rises. We never need a dinner reservation, even on Christmas night, and the locals are friendly and easy to meet.
A quiet island.
But we are hardly alone.
In fact, there are many indications that this is now a "discovered" place, not so quiet and secret as it once was. Though in all fairness, I suppose that people who had been here in the 1980s thought the same thing when we made our first visit in 2004, and again in 2010.
You can read about those trips here.
I guess it has to do with expectations, perspective, and what you like to do.
When we travel, we look for the quiet, out of the way places. Places small enough to be overlooked by many, places with more locals than tourist services yet large enough to have good food. Proximity to sights, yet a place to relax right there if we just feel like chilling.
Isla Mujeres was like that for us, in the past, and so we expected it to be the same.
And this unrealistic expectation caught us off guard.
We noticed the traffic right as we walked off the ferry. Where is the friendly Policía with the whistle, stopping the golf carts and red taxis so we can cross the main street?
Most people use golf carts or mopeds to get around the island, though if you stay anywhere around Salina Grande (main town, center of island) north I don't know why you'd need transportation at all. The island is so small you can literally walk anywhere. That said, the traffic was really heavy, with actual traffic jams. And not just golf carts; there are many more cars and trucks, and the red taxis are everywhere. It is not as quiet as it was, and you can't just walk down the middle of the street.
As a corollary, the streets are all paved now. That's a plus!
And, I was able to enjoy quiet walks at sunrise, before the loads of tourists from Cancun came over.
The empty lots in town are filled or filling now. More restaurants and stores, and a Jewish Chabad House (along with a small Jewish community). Ironically, the biggest growing business seems to be moped and golf cart rentals!
Some of the restaurants are good, some of the old ones we liked before were disappointing, and if you can find the local tortilla maker (in the alley off Hidalgo) you will not be disappointed.
There is a craft beer brewery now, Isla Brewing Company, but like Hawaiian wineries, the beer is best enjoyed on the island.
We noticed the empty parcels and local half-built lots on the south island have been bought up, and once-a-year mini-mansions and empty condos are now lining the shore.
So there is good and bad in the development.
We used to stay on Playa Norte at Na Balam Hotel (and I would not recommend it now - see part 4) because we could walk right out of our room, onto the beach. This trip we were sad to see the beach is totally cut off, as in you can't see the water from the hotel, by a strip of bars and restaurants built between the existing places and the water. Further along as you hook over to the western beach, a significant slice of that has been given over to a huge building project.
As opposed to the general growth of the island, I see nothing good in all of this beach front development. I mean, these are some of the finest beaches in Mexico, and to eat up the beach space for a few more pesos is a shame.
And all the bars attract the crowds.
We used to spend time in relative peace on the North Beach, but now it is wall to wall people, music blaring, a huge party scene. And this is not what we were anticipating. We visited Playa Norte, but did not spend our days there, as we had in the past.
That said, our little north-east beach, Playa Media Luna, was still quiet enough. But even at our little place we saw the unfortunate signs of growth: an entitled American couple who walked down to the beach beds early in the morning, placing their towels on two prime locations. All morning the two beds were empty as the others filled up, until finally people had no place to relax... Around 2:00 in the afternoon they showed up, spent an hour drinking, and left.
I remedied this the following morning, simply by turning their towels in to the concierge after they dropped them. The people who actually used the beds for the day appreciated it, I'm sure.
Ugly Americans.
There is a lot of new mural/graffiti art around the island now. That is a nice touch, I think.
The malecon (ocean-front walkway) has changed some, but for the better, with a cute photo-op "Isla" sign, and great views on the windward (cooler) side of the island.
The most shocking incident happened about a week into our stay, when a drug dealer was gunned down in the main shopping area one afternoon. You know, I almost expect that here at home, and would not be shocked if it happened in Cancun or Playa del Carmen. But here, on Isla?
Truth be told, I still feel very safe and pretty isolated from "life" here. But still. A drug shooting/murder in broad daylight?
So, it is a mixed bag for us now. On the one hand, we had a great, relaxing time. It is still warm, the people friendly, the food good and the water just right.
On the other hand, it has grown a lot, and some of the growth is not so great.
Isla Mujeres is the kind of place you can do as much or as little as you want.
Long lazy days reading and drinking in the sun, getting up only for a refill, a dip in the warm water, or a slow walk into town for a meal.
Or, you can sign up for one day tours to the Mayan temples, go swim with the dolphins, or catch the ferry to busy Cancun for shopping. There is sport fishing, scuba, and a boat trip to visit the wildlife sanctuary on Isla Contoy.
We spent most of our days on the beach, right outside our hotel. In fact that is why we chose to stay here: the pool and beach.
I'd be out by the pool, just above the sand, by 7:00 to see the sunrise, and we would stay late into the afternoon.
We had fresh ceviche delivered, and we could get drinks at the bar or out of the refrigerator in our room, which we kept well stocked.
So what do you "do" on the beach all day?
Sleep, read, listen to music. Talk, drink, eat and talk some more. Enjoy the quiet, and search for shells.
I read eight books in 14 days, and drank more than I care to tell.
However one day we got motivated and went to see the Mayan Ruins at Ek Balam and Coba. That was a great day trip, and you can read about it here.
Another day we walked the entire island.
We like Isla’s small size, about half mile wide by six miles long. So we spent a great day simply walking around the entire island, north to south, weaving through the streets of the town by the lakes.
You can read about that day here.
It's funny, how much we seemed to just sit and relax, but just walking to see the sunrise and get a coffee, and the sunset and a drink; going out for a drink at the bar or wandering through town after dinner, and the little errands we did, we put in an average of five miles walking every day.
There is a pretty good variety of food on the island, but like anywhere it can be hit and miss. I don’t want to bore you with the bad places, so here are some of the places we liked:
The best place was Abuelos, tucked back on Ave. Guerrero, near the beach. The fresh fish is to die for, the guac and chips excellent, the margaritas strong and generous. It is a small, family run place, and we returned many times to eat, or for drinks and a snack. This was our "Go-To" place for the trip, and we spent many hours upstairs in the deck looking down at the street.
Rooster, on Hidalgo, still has great breakfasts. Mexican style, done different.
Lola Valentina had cool drinks, and Asia Caribe was an interesting fusion place, with beautiful food presentation.
Qubano still has the best pork, period.
One Italian place we like was a disappointment, another bar we used to sit at got rid of the great seating. A cute breakfast place served me the wrong food, and it tasted crappy, thus the cuteness disappeared.
Mango Cafe in the center of the island is still good, but really crowded.
We enjoyed drinks at Terraza Isla Mujeres, a little bar hidden upstairs, where you can sit and spy on the foot traffic below.
Pita Amore is still good and they serve beer now (so you don't have to bring your own).
And, I found an excellent little coffee shop for that early morning buzz, at Me Late Chocolate, here on Guerrero.
And, how can you beat a cup of (bad hotel) coffee, with some fruit loops, or a crisp-sweet roll and a banana, on the beach at sunrise? Our hotel delivered fresh ceviche from somewhere close, and their drinks were pretty good, so we had a lot of "snack-lunch" on the beach.
See the photos below for pictures of the food.
Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast of Mexico, near Cancun. It is easy to get to, and the balmy, humid days of 79-86 degree days are perfect for a winter getaway.
It's affordable: Two weeks and a day, high season (Christmas-New Years) in a beach-front hotel cost two of us under $4200 total.
We flew non-stop on InterJet from San Francisco to Cancun. I found them through Kayak, but don't bother looking there. Go direct to their website for prices. The prices are great but there is one hitch: they fly down on like Tu-Th-Sat and back on M-W-F so you have to plan for that. But I could not beat the price, and they served food and drinks.
You land at the new terminal three, and it is easy out. There is a counter for the red ADO bus that goes direct to the downtown Cancun bus station. It costs about $5 for two people, and the bus is easy to find and ride. There were just three of us on the bus the day we landed.
At the central bus station, walk away (in any direction) about a block and hail a taxi. For 250 peso (about $10) he will take you to Puerto Juarez and the UltraMar Ferry. Just FYI, a taxi from the airport to the ferry is like $50 US.
The ferry to Isla is 300 peso round trip, per person. It takes about 30 minutes. We walked to our hotel from the dock.
If this isn't clear, or you want more details, read here.
But seriously, this is one of the easiest get-aways possible.
Going home from Isla to the airport you can just reverse it, or do what I did: take the ferry and catch a direct taxi. Again, you have to walk away from the ferry building (the taxis and shuttles want 1100 pesos - $60 USD).
Literally just across the street I got a taxi. He wanted 500, I offered and got him for 300, but tipped him to make it 400 pesos ($20).
We stayed at Playa la Media Luna. It was an excellent, quiet location, with a nice room and refrigerator, right on the beach. They have a bar and food service, and offer free beach towels and pool-side or beach beds. This hotel is on the windy side of the island, so perfect if you are going to visit in the ultra-balmy summer months. The one downside is that there is no WiFi in the room, lobby only. The king-size, direct beach front ocean view room was a good price, especially compared to where we used to stay (at the Na Balam, which is now cut off from the beach by the bars). We would stay here again.
So, it is up to you.
Isla Mujeres is a nice, quieter island, with warm winter weather, good food and nice beaches. It is easy to get to, and a cheap winter trip overall.
Paradise? Maybe.
It is a lot better than most places.
But is it that "undiscovered" place? No.
That, my friends, is what I am looking for right now...