Isla Mujeres, Mexico - HGG's trip review

This little gem of a quaint getaway was more than we ever expected. The flight from Houston was convenient, the taxi to the ferry was easy and the ferry ride to IM was quick.

A few quick things: cash is king. And I mean it. More and more places are "cash only" for obvious reasons, but that philosophy is becoming more prevalent at many restaurants and excursion outfits. So bring cash, lots of it.

A golf cart is a great way to ride around the island, taking only about 1 hour to make the round-trip. We took our time, spending an entire day stopping at roadside cafes, quiet beaches and any other thing/place that looked appealing.

Playe Norte is a great place to hangout during the day, although it seems the folks in Cancun are catching on to this beautiful place...there are often boats anchored just off the shore with house music blaring from the cabin. This was only an "issue" on Saturdays.

Anyway, here are some pics.


Ferry form Cancun over to IM





Ferry landing @ IM, of course lots of vendors and rentals. DO NOT RENT OR BUY HERE, you will pay 2x.





Entrance to Playa Norte (public beach)




Beach restaurant at Playa Norte








Hidalgo Street - the main drag closed to cars. Tons of sidewalk cafes and shops, a great place to people watch at nighttime.






We stayed at Na Balam hotel, it was the PERFECT location on the north end of the island. The water was like glass, was very shallow for 200+ yards out and full of fish. Would highly recommend staying here!













We got a "romance package" which included a sunset dinner, beachfront room with a plunge pool...which we used the first night and that's it. Not sure I'd pay extra for the room with a view, we were never in there but to sleep and to ****.










This is from the restaurant at Na Balam hotel on a Saturday, you can see the boats form Cancun.






Beachside dining at Na Balam Hotel....awesome.






Lots of awesome spots to eat, we did our best to only eat at places like these...nothing fancy, but the food was awesome and super cheap.
















Best breakfast we had was here - Cafe Mogagua



A close second for breakfast was Ruben's. It has free wifi for those who can't live without it.



This was locted in the very middle of the island, in the neighborhood area. They only cook 1 thing a day, and you eat what they cook. The food was as authentic Mayan as you will find anywhere.






We had lunch here and again, the food was amazing.








This is the north side of the island where the Mayan ruins are. Zip lines for the thrillseekers.










Graveyeard on the backside of the island, pretty interesting place.






Avoid this - they are habanero peppers that are blended with garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I took a spoonful to taste it and had to guzzle a glass of milk to put out the flames.



We went to the "marina" and negotiated a private 6-hour fishing and snorkeling trip for $200. We caught tons of barracuda, came back and had ceviche and grilled fish on the beach...all included.