I've visited Mexico City twice and loved it so am interested in seeing more of Mexico and leaning towards Isla Mujeres this winter. Just wondering if there are a decent number of cheaper local/authentic restaurants, street food etc? Or mainly nicer restaurants where you'll spend >$20 usd a meal?
Gracias!
We are ending our 8 days on Isla (7/5/26). Here are my reviews on the places we visited.
Rusticco’s - This is a small place with air conditioning which is super nice in July. Had Baja fish tacos that were excellent. The Mrs. had a Caesar salad which was also good. The owner/host was a little too eager to make sure everything was okay, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
Jax - This is a sports bar in the Playa Norte area. It was a good place to watch the World Cup. The charcuterie board was THE best we’ve had not only on the island, but back in the States too!
Soggy Peso - Spent a couple of afternoons at this old favorite. Totally laid back with great margaritas. Friday’s food special was Crispy Beef Tacos - oh yeah. By the way, watch out when you wash your hands outside the bathrooms. 😎
Hotel Izla - this is an excellent hotel on the Punta Sur area of the island. We stayed in a VRBO right next door and decided to spend the day at their pool for 900 pesos each with a credit of 900 pesos against food and drink. We ate and drank all day (their guacamole was fabulous) and left without owing more money!
Coffee Bus - Again down on the Punta Sur area, this a cute little jungle coffee joint (think The Joint but for coffee). Coffee was good in ceramic cups.
North Garden - if you have one day for breakfast, go to North Garden. My daughter (26) looks forward to their banana smoothies. I go for the Salmon Benedict - oh yeah.
Women’s Bead Cooperative - This is a little bitty spot where local women sell their beaded creations (necklaces, ear rings, bracelets). It’s the real deal so don’t expect to speak English and don’t expect to pay with a card (pesos or dollars). 80% of the price paid goes to the women who made the creation and I believe it. The lady who checked us out entered the sale in a written ledger.
The Joint - You have to go here - I’ve read the other comments about the place becoming too touristy but - meh - whatever. It’s the coolest bar in the jungle you’ll ever be in. Their specialty is a frozen mojito (I’m no fan) but the other drinks are good and the taquitos will curl your toes.
Nilu Coffee (“The Good Coffee place”). This is another shoebox size of place with excellent coffee and home-backed pastries (the apple strudel was a repeater). The owner / cashier guy has a little Soup Nazi in him, but he loosens up pretty quick. This is in the Playa Norte area.
I hope you enjoy Isla. It’s a special place but not for everyone. It’s a favorite place for lots of us and honestly, we won’t miss you if you don’t like it. 😎.
Hello -
Planning a trip to Playa Mujeres with my family. The most important thing we need is access to Hobie cats (my husband is a sailor). Luxury, water park, lazy river and good food - all a plus. But Hobie Cat is a must. Having a hard time confirming this from home, I've called Majestic Mirage, Dreams, Palladium and I keep getting mixed answers and getting bounced around to different people who aren't sure what Hobie cats even are. Help!
Edit: must also allow kids. We have a 10 year old. Also open to other areas (especially Isla Mujeres) I was just hoping to avoid the heavy sargassum.
Recently visited the island as part of the resort tour from Cancun.
The island and people are beautiful. Was able to drive from the North to South end of the island.
However the golf cart we rented was a lemon, that ended up failing on us, and then the replacement was a tier above. Any kind of bump or uphill variation would cause the cart to creep until level or going downhill. This led to a close to 2hr endeavour.
Once we arrived back (for 2nd time) we were meet with a final bill. This was surprising because we payed an initial $50. They played it we were late to being the cart back. This was only due to the inconvenience of the cart failing 15mins away from the dropoff.
Coco Cart rentals was the rental company suggested to us by our guide as they were the first ones to greet us at the eatery with the same prices that the guide mentioned.
So Coco Cart charged a initial $50 fee with driver id deposit as well and upon arrival charged an additional $60.
I would recommend getting a cart from somewhere south of the pier/marina shop. Especially if you want to see the island in a day.
Hi. This is 100% a long shot, but I was on the Isla Mujeres and lost the engagement part of my wedding ring. I am devastated and we searched for as long as we could. Strangers, vendors and the workers helped as well. If anyone sees this ring near the area i circled and would love to mail it back it to me, I would be eternally grateful. And yes I did lose my wedding ring on my honeymoon😭 I live in the US and we fly home tomorrow. I will pay for the total cost of mailing it back to me as well. Praying someone has a metal detector
I keep seeing content about great deals and best food for the dollar, etc.... i'm staying at Excellence but will be at Isla for ~3 hours tomorrow with a golf cart during mid-day... what are the absolute must visit restaurants? Not interested in getting a good deal or saving money... I want to cruise around and try some great things!
To make this interesting and because I know this is an annoying question... include your Venmo and if your suggesting checks out there's $50 in it for you =].
Last year we stopped at this random little shop heading back towards the marina and got the best beef tacos ever but cannot for the life of us recall what it's called lol... apprecaite the help yall
My husband and I are staying 5 days over Christmas and are between booking ixchel and secreto. We are 30s, no kids. Any recs on either one? Or a hotel we should go for instead? We like to drink, relax, eat, explore. Nothing crazy and nothing all inclusive.
Any other tips or suggestions for spending Christmas there are greatly appreciated!