Introduction

Just six miles from Cancun, Isla Mujeres offers excellent snorkeling and diving so much so that an island visit is included in most seafaring tours out of Cancun. Most of these day trips include Garrafon, a spectacular national park that features a shallow coral reef just offshore that’s ideal for swimming and snorkeling.

Varied theories explain the origin of the island’s provocative name, “Isle of Women.” The most popular claims that when the Spaniards arrived all they saw were women, because the men and boys were out fishing at sea. By the time they returned home with their catch, the name had already been logged in by the now disappointed captain and crew. A more credible theory holds that the Spaniards came across idols depicting the Mayan goddess of fertility.

The island’s best beach, an expansive stretch of sand at the northernmost lee side, is Playa Norte. The water is shallow, and as calm and clear as a swimming pool, and the soft porous limestone sand never gets hot.

Less than a mile off the southern tip of the island, Los Manchones (so called because from the surface there appear to be large dark stains or manchones) is a series of beautiful coral reefs only 30 to 50 feet deep. Scuba divers find this one of the area’s main attractions. Fascinating for experienced scuba divers is the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks, 60 feet deep in the open Caribbean northeast of the island. This bizarre phenomenon of immobile sharks (ordinarily, they must be in constant motion in order to breathe) was discovered by a local diver fisher man who chanced upon the cave.

Near the main ferry dock, the Isla Mujeres Fisherman’s Cooperative offers reasonably-priced snorkeling excursions led by local fishermen, gear included. For a little extra, they’ll also prepare you a grilled fish lunch on the beach. T. (998) 877 0283.

South of Macax Lagoon is a rather rustic marine biology station and turtle farm called Tortugranja, where about 40,000 baby turtles are set free annually. You can see them at different stages of development, as well as a small aquarium with some exotic fish.

For fine dining, Casa Rolandi is popular for its Italian specialties cooked in a traditional brick oven (Villa Rolandi Hotel offers free transportation to its property south of town; (998) 877 0500). In town, try Le Bistro Francais (Matamoros 29) or Rolandi’s Pizzeria, for casual Italian fare. At night, folks wander over to La Peña (on Av. Guerrero, opposite the church square) for a drink with a view of the sea.

Ferries shuttle between Isla Mujeres and Cancun’s Hotel Zone, departing from El Embarcadero Plaza. Car and passenger ferries make the trip from Puerto Juarez, just north of downtown Cancun.