Isla Mujeres is a small beautiful island located a short ferry ride from Cancun. The island is seven kilometers [five miles] long and less than one kilometer wide however most visitors never leave the small town located at the west end of the island. It is much smaller than Cozumel and more upscale than Holbox. The small town has excellent shopping, great restaruants and fantastic beaches. Ferry boats run from the island and Puerto Juarez or Gran Puerto on the mainland. The island is popular with day trippers, but activity quiets down in the evening after the tour groups leave. There are numerous places to eat fresh seafood cooked with local and traditional delicious recipes, also many other types of food are available at restaurants on the island such as: black angus steaks, Mexican, Yucatecan, Italian, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Hebrew, French, Thai, Cuban & Maya.

Generaly summer is the low season and hotel rates are reduced competatively. In the winter, prices go up and availability goes down. Best to book months in advance for winter vacations if you have a specific date in mind. After Labor Day and before the Christmas is an good time to visit but September and November are traditional hurricane months. Crowds are down but the tempturature is still high. Rates are still lower than high-season. Rates go back down after Easter and low season begins. Availability at hotels is best during low season and room selection is best during this time.

Isla Mujeres has a rich history filled with pirates and marauding buccaneers. As the story goes in 1517 a Spanish butcher by the name of Francisco Hermandez de Cordoba happened upon the island searching for slaves for Cuban mines, the Spanish already in the process of decimated the indigenous population of that island. Unfortunately the slavers found nothing but old statues which they perceived to be statues of women, thus the name of the island, "Isle of Women". In recent times the island was populated by fishermen until the building of Cancun which opened up opportunity for growth however the island still remains quaint while most of the building takes place on the Mayan Riviera.

People take day trips to Isla Mujeres from as far away as Tulum. If you are staying in Playa del Carmen you have more than enough time to visit the island in a day, have a great time and return before nightfall. If you are staying in Cancun the ferry is a taxi drive away.

The island of Isla Mujeres is located close to one of many coral reefs such as the one located in Garrafon Park, which is an area popular for its snorkeling and scuba diving. The Cancun underwater museum, created by English sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, is located off the western coast of Isla Mujeres. Isla Mujeres is also home to a population of sea turtles. Because of the recent endangerment of sea turtles in the area, a facility was set up on the southern end of the island for the rehabilitation and breeding of them. This facility is open to the public.

Isla Mujeres is easy to get to and many people visit just for the day. If you are on the island you notice this as the island literally goes to sleep when the day visitors leave. Unlike the hustle and bustle of places like Cancun and Playa you actually see merchants closing their stores at 6:00 and going home. Beyond the beach, there's not a lot to do. You could wander the streets in town trying to negotiate an even lower price for a hammock..

The town is not big. You can walk every street in under two hours and probably one if you walk really fast. Like Holbox the islanders ride around on golf-carts but there are also lots of scooters/mo-peds, small bore motorcycles and some cars and trucks.