Visit Isla Mujeres: Ferry, 2026 Prices and the Best Beaches

If you want to visit Isla Mujeres, all you need is a short boat ride from Cancun. The narrow island lies just 13 kilometers off the coast, so it easily fits into a single day. Across only 4.2 square kilometers, you find turquoise bays, an underwater museum with hundreds of sculptures, and the remains of a Maya temple. Since 2015, the town has officially carried the title “Pueblo Mágico”. Because of that, it pays to look closely at the ferry, the prices, and the best spots before you go.

The Island of Women: Name and Maya History

Maya travelers used the island as early as 550 BC, though never as a permanent settlement. Instead, women from the mainland came here on pilgrimages to honor Ixchel. She was the Maya goddess of fertility, love, the moon, and medicine. In March 1517, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba reached the island. His men found numerous female clay figures of the goddess there. That is why the island is still called “Isla Mujeres”, the Island of Women, today. Tourism only picked up decades later, turning the former fishing village into today’s small town of around 12,600 residents. Since 1996, the entire west coast has also been protected as a national park, together with the reefs off Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc.

Punta Sur and the Ixchel Temple

At the southern tip of the island lie the ruins of the former Ixchel temple. Hurricane Gilbert destroyed most of the standing walls in 1988. Even so, you can still make out the floor plan and a few wall fragments today. Guidebooks often market Punta Sur as the “easternmost point of Mexico”. However, Cozumel claims that title too, and no official ruling settles the question either way. Record aside, anyone who visits Isla Mujeres should still walk the sculpture trail along the cliffs, especially at sunrise. For a comparison of other Maya sites, see our article on the Maya ruins of Yucatan.

How to Visit Isla Mujeres: Ferry and Catamaran

The Ultramar ferry company sails from three points in Cancun: Puerto Juárez, Playa Tortugas, and Playa Caracol. Depending on where you start, the crossing takes 20 to 45 minutes, and tickets stay valid for six months. If you would rather visit Isla Mujeres with a English-speaking guide, you can go by catamaran instead. The trip starts at a private harbor in Cancun and takes about half an hour. Most departures also include a snorkel stop in the island’s national park. For practical safety tips, our article Is Mexico Safe? is a useful read as well.

Playa Norte and the Best Beaches

At the island’s northern tip lies Playa Norte, a flat sandy beach with unusually calm, turquoise water. Most catamaran tours anchor here too, since visitors who visit Isla Mujeres for the beach mainly head this way. Worth knowing: sargassum seaweed does reach Isla Mujeres as well, though far less often than further south along the Riviera Maya, thanks to the sheltered northern position. Our sargassum article explains what is really behind it in 2026. Beyond Playa Norte, the east side is worth a look too: waves run higher there, yet the small coves usually feel far quieter than the busy north point.

MUSA: The Underwater Museum off Isla Mujeres

Between Isla Mujeres, Cancun, and Punta Nizuc lies the Museo Subacuático de Arte, or MUSA. British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, together with several Mexican artists, has created more than 480 life-size underwater sculptures since 2009. They sit across three galleries at depths of 4 to 8 meters. The explicit goal is to draw visitors away from the fragile natural reefs: real coral has since begun to grow on the artificial concrete reefs. Around 400,000 people visit the museum every year by boat, snorkel, or dive, generating an estimated 36 million US dollars a year for the local tourism economy.

Tortugranja: Sea Turtle Protection Program

On the southwest shore, the municipality of Isla Mujeres runs the Tortugranja, a sea turtle hatchery. In the most recently reported season, the program protected around 100 nests holding 121,431 eggs. From those, 98,122 hatchlings emerged, a success rate of roughly 81 percent. If you visit Isla Mujeres and want to see conservation work up close, you can view the tanks with growing turtles before they are released.

Visit Isla Mujeres with a Guide: What the Catamaran Tour Includes

If you would rather skip the ferry schedule and taxi search, a guided tour takes care of it. A shuttle picks you up directly at your hotel, so the transfer to the private harbor is already covered. Onboard the catamaran, a drink and the snorkel stop in the national park are already part of the plan. Snacks on the beach and a paddleboard round out the roughly two hours on land. That way, more time is left for Playa Norte and less for logistics.

FAQ: Visit Isla Mujeres

Conclusion: Should You Visit Isla Mujeres?

If you visit Isla Mujeres, you get Maya history, a one-of-a-kind underwater museum, and one of the calmest beaches in the region, all packed into a tiny space. A day trip to Tulum pairs well as a second day. The most relaxed way to reach the island itself is still the catamaran tour, complete with hotel pickup, a snorkel stop, and guaranteed time at Playa Norte.