With a short two hour flight from Mexico City, you can reach the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean in Cancun. Upon arrival at the airport, you will be swarmed by tour operators offering to take you to your hotel. It is also possible to schedule transportation beforehand online and you simply look for the operator outside. There is no Uber1 in Cancun and Taxis are quite expensive compared to shared transportation. Since Cancun is a popular tourist destination, anyone working in tourism speaks at least English. The airport is about a 20-30 minute ride to the hotel zone and downtown.
Boat Tour And Snorkeling
I’m not much of a beach person so naturally, my first instinct was to look for activities. There are a range of options and the one that interested me the most was the boat tour to Isla Mujeres with a snorkeling session to see the ‘underwater museum’. The tour operator picks you up from your hotel or in my case, from a nearby hotel and drops you off at the pier. The 220 MXN2 Marina fee was not included in the tour price and is paid for at the pier. They hand out the snorkeling gear here as well and give you a colored wristband for when they call out groups by color. The boats are very big with capacity for about 50 people. There are benches with storage space underneath them for personal belongings and a net at the front of the boat to sit on. The boat ride is very relaxing as you feel a cool breeze whilst sipping on unlimited rum punch and taking in the amazing views of the crystalline water. It takes about 30 minutes to arrive at the snorkeling zone. There are several other boats in the area so it’s important to remember the name of the boat and stick with the guide. If you’ve never been snorkeling, then this 30-minute experience will make for a nice first time and you’ll see a couple of ruins and a car but not much sea life. There are other snorkeling destinations that are much better.
Once back on the boat, it’s a 45-minute ride to a restaurant at the southern point of Isla Mujeres. The restaurant has a private beach to relax and take in the view. After lunch, the boat takes you to Playa Norte which is the main beach at Isla Mujeres. There’s a tequila tasting session and then you have an hour to roam around. The island is long but narrow and you can cross to the west side in a 5-minute walk. The Isla Mujeres Sign is on this side and there aren’t many people here since they stay on the main beach. It’s also possible to rent quad bikes if you want to see the whole island. The beaches are beautiful but the island is quite expensive.
