Isla Contoy & Isla Mujeres Tours
Cancun Snorkeling & Whale Shark Snorkel Tours
Isla Mujeres
Reasons to Visit Isla Mujeres
The Beaches
Isla Mujeres is home to one of the top rated beaches in the world, Playa Norte (North Beach). Calm and clear blue water that is shallow for almost 100 meters. Then, it becomes deep enough to swim! A pristine beach, but is not isolated. The island has the perfect amount of charming beach bars and restaurants visited by international visitors.
Laid Back Vibe
Hammocks everywhere! These hammocks are so inviting and are a perfect compliment for this island’s chill atmosphere. It is not uncommon to come to here for a day trip and changing your plans to stay longer.
Romantic
The unspoiled beaches are beautiful for long walks and the adult only hotels are ideal for relaxing lovers. The beachfront dining options are the perfect venues to view a starry sky. All inclusive adults only resorts, where each guests room often have in-room whirlpool tubs, a private black car and yacht service direct from the Cancun airport.
Water Activities
From swimming with whale sharks to snorkeling in the crystal clear waters, Isla Mujeres is the perfect place for underwater activities of all kinds. Home to a lighthouse reef, MUSA (underwater museum of art), and an ocean filled with brightly colored fish!
Sacred
Isla Mujeres was named for the abundant statues of Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of love, fertility, and medicine. These were found by Spanish conquistador Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba in 1517. There is a sculpture garden and incredible views of the waves crashing into the cliffs at Punta Sur (South Point). Although not much remains of the ruins of Ixchel’s temple, you can still feel the presence this Mayan mythological goddess.
Sunrise + Sunsets
Isla Mujeres has astonishing sunrises and sunsets. Go to the southern part of the island (most eastern point of Mexico) for the opportunity to be the first in Mexico to see the sun rise above the horizon. The best place to view the sunset is the west part of Playa Norte.
Uncrowded and Less Expensive
Isla Mujeres is more or less inexpensive because it doesn’t have glitz and glamour like the bigger and more popular destinations in Mexico. It has grown in popularity, but is still not overly populated with tourists. The charm of Isla Mujeres is that the local people are welcoming and friendly, especially if you ask them about local experiences!
Easy to Navigate and Unique Finds
The center of town is only four by six blocks, which can easily be walked. The rest of the Island of Isla Mujeres is only four miles long, so there is no need for cars. The best (and most fun) way to travel around on the island is by renting a golf cart and discovering all the island has to offer. Enjoy the open-air carts and have fun driving. Local vendors and craftspeople sell beautiful merchandise. You can shop for goods on the beach and in vendor kiosks near Playa Norte and in town. Some examples of the best items are blankets, ceramics, hammocks, and beaded jewelry.
Isla Mujeres All-Inclusive Snorkeling Tour
Caribbean Connection – Cancun Snorkel Tours
Isla Mujeres Tour Photo Gallery
History
The first vestiges from the Island takes us back 1500 years when it was part of Ekab, one of the ancient mayan provinces. Isla Mujeres was considered back then a sanctuary for Goddess Ixchel, mayan goddess of the moon, medicine, happiness and fertility, ancient mayans constructed a temple located in the south point of the island.
New vestiges have been found with evidence that the real Ixchel temple may have been located in what later became Hacienda Mundaca and the south point vestiges would have just been a lighthouse.
In 1517 the island was discovered by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba, this expedition found only a few inhabitants including the Priestess of Ixchel’s temple and her court of women, this is where the island has it name, “Island of women” Isla Mujeres.
They also discovered ruins on Isla’s mainland now known as “El Meco” which wasn’t it’s real name, el meco was a local resident without one leg and the site was named after him for some odd reason. The site seems to have been inhabited back in 300 AD and then abandoned to be resettled in the 10th century, it was a major commercial port but also a religious center, it was abandoned after the spanish arrived.
Keywords: Isla Mujeres, Ixchel temple, Hacienda Mundaca, El Meco ruins
Location
Isla Mujeres is located in the Caribbean, very close to the Yucatan Peninsula, southeast of Mexico. The island along with some continental land constitutes one of the 11 municipalities in which the state of Quintana Roo is divided and it is located exactly 13 kms or 8.1 miles away from Cancun, the most important tourist destination in Mexico. The island itself is some 7 kms or 4.3 miles long and 650 meters wide, to the east is the Caribbean sea with its strong surf and rocky coast, and to the west Cancun’s skyline across crystal clear turquoise waters.
The island is divided in three parts, North point, the town and South point. North point is where we can find what is considered to be one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world, Playa Norte beach, a pool like beach with crystal clear low depth waters, Isla Mujeres downtown is also located north, the town itself is considered to be a “Pueblo Magico” spanish for magic town because of its cultural richness, natural beauty, folklore, traditions and great hospitality. IN the town we will find Makax Lagoon which is an area for boat shelter and marinas and also this is the part where most of the people live, and then we have the South Point, the most elevated point of the island and where we can find hotels, houses and the Ixchel temple.
Keywords: Isla Mujeres, North Point, Playa Norte, Magic Town, South point.
Location
Isla Mujeres is located in the Caribbean, very close to the Yucatan Peninsula, southeast of Mexico. The island along with some continental land constitutes one of the 11 municipalities in which the state of Quintana Roo is divided and it is located exactly 13 kms or 8.1 miles away from Cancun, the most important tourist destination in Mexico. The island itself is some 7 kms or 4.3 miles long and 650 meters wide, to the east is the Caribbean sea with its strong surf and rocky coast, and to the west Cancun’s skyline across crystal clear turquoise waters.
The island is divided in three parts, North point, the town and South point. North point is where we can find what is considered to be one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world, Playa Norte beach, a pool like beach with crystal clear low depth waters, Isla Mujeres downtown is also located north, the town itself is considered to be a “Pueblo Magico” spanish for magic town because of its cultural richness, natural beauty, folklore, traditions and great hospitality. IN the town we will find Makax Lagoon which is an area for boat shelter and marinas and also this is the part where most of the people live, and then we have the South Point, the most elevated point of the island and where we can find hotels, houses and the Ixchel temple.
Keywords: Isla Mujeres, North Point, Playa Norte, Magic Town, South point.
Recent History
Isla Mujeres most recent history
In 1821 after Mexico got its Independence, people started to settle in the island, in the part that today is downtown Isla Mujeres, it became shelter for mayans fleeing from the “guerra de castas” (war of castes) that took place between 1847 and 1900, this people named the small village “Pueblo de Dolores” (Town of Dolores).
The island started to transform into a tourist destination in the 1950’s, everything was roustic and there was no ferry service from inland so tourists would flash their car lights so that small boats that belonged to some fishermen would come to pick them up.
1969 marked an important year for the Island, Carlos Garcia Castilla locally known as “válvula”, a local fisherman, was diving for lobsters, he started realizing that there was this cave where sharks constantly came in but didn’t came out, one day and dragged by curiosity, he entered the cave by freediving about 65 feet to where it was and discovered that the sharks were “sleeping”, before his discovery it was thought that sharks didn’t sleep.
When he came back to Isla Mujeres, he went looking for the most notorious resident that lived there at the time, Ramon Bravo, he was a well known mexican diver that have worked with Jacques Cousteau, he was also an echologist and cinematographer and most of all he was an important figure in the preservation and study of the sharks worldwide, they did some tours to the cave together before calling National Geographic that started investigating.
It didn’t take long for Jacques Cousteau arrived aboard his famous Calypso and now Isla Mujeres was in the spotlight between marine biologists and divers around the world! It has never been determined if they are in fact sleeping or not, people that have entered the cave usually comment that the eyes of the sharks are open and follows them when they move, the cave was named “Cave of the sleeping sharks” short after studies ended.
In 1970 Cancun started developing and tourists from all over the world started coming visiting the island for a day, littles hotels started appearing in downtown Isla Mujeres, the sand streets were paved and phone service was established, the island open itself to the world and tourism flourished until today, we can now find from that rustic old downtown hostel to luxurious all inclusive resorts and 5 star hotels.
The island has survived 2 major hurricanes, Gilbert in 1988 and Wilma in 2005 both considered among the most powerful and destructive hurricanes ever recorded, but the people of Isla Mujeres have raised again, with faith and determination they have never stopped receiving people from all over the world.
Keywords: Isla Mujeres, Cancun, Ramon Bravo, Cave of the sleeping sharks, National Geographic
Pirates in Isla Mujeres
Pirates in Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres was considered a pirate’s shelter during the 1700’s and 1800’s, having an strategic location plus an inside lagoon perfect for hiding it was the perfect refugee for buccaneers and pirates. The Yucatan península’s ports use to have lots of traffic taking gold and other values to Europe so pirates took advantage of their position to attack them. They use to leave their women on the island, another reason for its name. Famous and Infamous pirates use to walk around the island such as Mundaca, Jean Laffite and Henry Morgan.
Mundaca the pirate was in particular an important piece of the island’s history, he arrived in 1858 with wealth that came from selling slaves and piracy, when he arrived he immediately ordered the construction of an Hacienda he later named “Vista Alegre” which lands covered almost 40% of the island, including livestock , vegetable gardens and exotic plants.
The legend says that Mundaca fell in love with Martiniana Gomez Pantoja, “La trigueña” one of five sisters and the most beautiful woman in Isla Mujeres, he tried to win her by naming the arches above the Hacienda’s gate “The entrance of the Trigueña” and “The pass of the Trigueña” in hopes this could impress her to win her over, this never happened and she ended up marrying another man closer to her age and Mundaca slowly went insane to die in Merida far from his loved one.
Keywords: Isla Mujeres, Pirates, Mundaca, Merida
Things to Know
Things to know about ISLA MUJERES
Isla Mujeres or “Island of women” is a mexican island located in the MEXICAN CARIBBEAN. It is a small island approximately 8 miles away from CANCUN and roughly 6 miles long and ½ mile wide at its widest point. Isla Mujeres is a well known destination because of its crystal clear beaches perfect for snorkeling. Besides snorkeling it also has a lot of different attractions for all kind of visitors.
It’s location is also privileged right in the middle of the mexican caribbean’s cristal turquoise waters and 30 minutes away from Cancun by boat, makes it a most in your next visit to Cancun, Playa del Carmen or the Mayan Riviera.
The island itself was originally formed by marine currents depositing sediment in a small area, this is why Isla Mujeres is mostly flat and with a lot of sand.
Isla Mujeres has no comercial airport but you can easily arrive to the island landing in Cancun International Airport and taking a van to the ferry terminal in Puerto Juarez to cross to the island, Passenger ferries leave every 30 minutes from 6 am until 11 pm everyday.
Taxis are available in Isla Mujeres but the most traditional way to move around are golf carts and mopeds, golf carts are the most popular and it is common to see caravans of this filled with tourist driving around the island.
A lot of ancient mayan vestiges have been found all over the island been the most representative the Ixchel temple, located in the island’s southern tip or “south point” as it’s known by the locals, Ixhel was, among other things, the goddess of the moon, fertility, water, love and medicine, all vestiges indicates that Isla Mujeres was not an inhabited village but a sanctuary dedicated to this mayan goddess.
Sea turtles are natural inhabitants of the island and its surroundings, each summer they lay their eggs on Isla Mujeres beaches, there is also a turtle farm that breeds turtles and help collect turtle eggs to protect them until they hatch. It is open to the public and one of Isla Mujeres attractions.
Each summer, the world’s biggest fish, the whale shark arrive to the warm waters near Isla Mujeres to fed, during this months is when the whale shark season is open and tours are available to snorkel beside this gentle giants.
Keywords: Isla Mujeres, Caribbean, Whale Sharks, Cancun, Turtles, Playa Norte, South point