Getting to Isla Mujeres was pretty simple.  A taxi from Le Meridian in the hotel zone  to the ferry port was about $22 USD and a round trip ferry ride ran about $20 USD and took only 15 minutes.   The ride was rather easy, although if the winds were up, I would advise dramamine for those who suffer from sea sickness.

I have to admit,  I was not expecting the island to be so… incredible.  Just a few miles from Cancun, I suppose I expected Isla Mujeres to be more Cancun-ish.  Instead, the grassy cliffs and dark tide pools reminded me of photos from the northeast coast of the states.  The beaches of Isla Mujeres were what set it apart- tranquil, crystal clear turquoise waters and white sand beaches.

Immediately after docking, there is a long strip of restaurants on the beach.  We were starving and tempted to stop, but that’ll teach us to leave the hotel so late.  We didn’t have much daylight left and decided to see as much of the islands as we could.  We tossed a coin and decided to rent a golf cart as our mode of transportation around the island.  Just over $60 USD for a few hours, we were off and racing.  Well, I may be using the word “racing” a little lightly- I’m pretty sure the max speed of our golf cart was around 5 mph and even slow walking grandmas were passing us on the sidewalk.  We laughed hysterically for 2 solid hours… drove to the ruins at one end of the island, past the yachts and the turtle farm, and to the other side where we crossed over a rickety bridge surrounded by locals swimming in a postcard setting.  When we finally, and regretfully, returned our golf cart, we took a taxi to Sunset restaurant to catch the sunset.  It was $200 pesos for the beachfront table, but I’m pretty sure the unobstructed view of a firey red sunset was worth it.

Recommendations for visiting Isla Mujeres:

Arrive earlier than we did. Surprisingly, there’s a lot to see and the golf cart and scooter rentals, are not fast enough to see the island in 2 hours!

Bring swimwear if you want to swim, but definitely bring sun protection; hats, sunblock, or a full fledged umbrella with fringes- whatever works for you.

Bring small change for tipping and shopping.  Souvenirs are for sale along the beach and in shops around the island but change is not always easy to come by.

Come hungry.  The food is fantastic and the service is friendly.  I would definitely recommend the Sunset restaurant we went to, but food options are in abundance on the island.