Isla Mujeres Info
At a glance
On Isla Mujeres Mexico, the Island in front of the most the luxury Cancun, spend your days relaxing on a powder white beach, snorkeling in the crystal blue waters or just lounging in your hammock under your favorite palapa.
Isla Mujeres (in Spanish, the “Island of Women”), is a relaxing escape from Cancun, Mexico.
Booking a vacation in a Isla Mujeres Mexico hotel is something you will never forget. We suggest the romantic Isla Mujeres to coupples, for honeymoon vacations and for divers.
Isla Mujeres is an island of white, sandy beaches and blue-green waters. It is in harmony with a town filled with clapboard houses in Caribbean colors and pastoral, open-air restaurants.
Hotels in Isla Mujeres are immaculate and comfortable.
But visitors who seek a lot of action or luxury will be happier in Cancun. Isla Mujeres has added a few new places to their hotel list that provide more lavish accommodation.
Isla Mujeres still maintains a distinctly laid-back environment.
At high noon, tanned visitors to Mexico frequent open-air cafés and walk along streets popular with frenzied souvenir vendors. These sellers call attention to their bargain priced items during tour-boat traffic “rush hour”. This lends a carnival-like atmosphere.
Because Isla Mujeres is so small, most of the vehicles used are golf carts, motos (mopeds), and bicycles. Once the tour boats depart, however, Isla Mujeres changes back to its more traditional and tranquil way of life.
Days in "Isla" (so-called by the locals), can swing between adventure activities and complete relaxation. Some of the popular activities are:
- trips to the Isla Contoy bird sanctuary
- Excellent diving at Garaffon Marine Park
- Fishing
- Snorkeling
In 1998, Isla Mujeres's coral coast officially joined Mexico's Marine National Park.
The island and a few of its traditional hotels host regular gatherings of yoga practitioners. In the evening, most people consider the unhurried, informal pace one of Isla Mujeres's biggest enticements.
The cool night breeze goes hand-in-hand with the relaxed open-air dining and drinking in small restaurants on side streets. Many people call it a night as early as 9 or 10 pm. At this time, most of the businesses close. People who prefer a party will find action at the bars on Playa Norte that stay open till the wee hours.
Isla Mujeres History
Francisco Hernández de Córdoba named the island in 1517 after he saw statues of semi-clad females along the shore. People now believe that these statues were offerings to Ixchel. Ixchel is the Maya goddess of the moon and of fertility. The presence of these statues shows that Isla Mujeres was likely sacred to the Maya.
