MEXICO · QUINTANA ROO · THE ISLAND GUIDE
Isla Mujeres sits a short ferry ride off Cancun and Puerto Juarez. Ultramar ferries reach the island at the Terminal Maritima APIQROO, sailing from three Cancun departure points: Puerto Juarez, Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol. On the far side the island is small and its main town is walkable, and Playa Norte faces the north tip, where the current running along the east side breaks.
Most visitors here get around by golf cart, scooter or bicycle rather than by car, so the rental you might have booked in Cancun becomes a cart you pick up on the island. Every hotel bill carries Quintana Roo’s lodging tax, and every foreign visitor entering the state owes the Visitax fee.
THE ISLAND AT A GLANCE · ISLA MUJERES
Isla Mujeres is a ferry ride from one of three Cancun departure points, best explored by golf cart, with Playa Norte for calm water and Punta Sur for the clifftop.
FERRY FROM CANCUN · GOLF CARTS AND SCOOTERS · HURRICANE SEASON JUNE 1 TO NOV 30
Go for: a small walkable island town, calm water at Playa Norte, a clifftop sculpture garden and lighthouse at Punta Sur, and boat trips to Isla Contoy sold from the island.
Think twice if: you need ferry fares, Garrafon prices and Isla Contoy limits confirmed before you commit. None of the three is verified here, and the State Department rates Quintana Roo Level 2.
Ferry: Ultramar · Taxes: Quintana Roo Congress · Advisory: U.S. State Department · Hurricanes: NOAA · checked Sep 29, 2026
On this page
- Things to do on Isla MujeresPlaya Norte, Punta Sur, Garrafon and Isla Contoy
- Ferry from Cancun to Isla MujeresThree Ultramar departure points and the ticket rules
- Golf cart or car on Isla MujeresGolf carts, scooters and bicycles
- Isla Mujeres hotel costs and taxesThe 5% and 6% lodging tax and the Visitax fee
- Best time to visit Isla MujeresHurricane season from June 1 to November 30 and the Level 2 advisory
Pick the Cancun pier before you pay for the ferry: Ultramar tickets are non-refundable, and all three departure points land at the same Terminal Maritima APIQROO. Then look at how the room is booked. The state lodging tax rate goes up by a full percentage point when a host or booking platform collects payment for a short-term rental.
What is there to do on Isla Mujeres?
Playa Norte faces the island’s north tip, where the current running along the east side breaks. At the southern tip, Punta Sur is a clifftop park with a sculpture garden and a lighthouse overlooking open water. Garrafon, a private reef park on the south end, is commonly sold as a snorkeling and activities day pass, and its own site didn’t load when we checked, so no admission price is quoted. Boat trips to Isla Contoy, a national park and bird sanctuary north of the island, are commonly sold from Isla Mujeres. CONANP’s park page didn’t load either, so visitor limits and fees are unstated. Ask the operator for both.
How do you get to Isla Mujeres from Cancun?
| Cancun departure point | Marker | Lands at |
|---|---|---|
| Puerto Juarez | Town of Puerto Juarez | Terminal Maritima APIQROO |
| Playa Tortugas | Kilometer 6.5, Boulevard Kukulcan | Terminal Maritima APIQROO |
| Playa Caracol | Kilometer 9.5, Boulevard Kukulcan | Terminal Maritima APIQROO |
An Ultramar ticket stays valid for six months from purchase and is non-refundable. The company asks passengers to arrive 30 minutes before departure. Children under 1.20 meters ride at a reduced fare, and infants under 12 months travel free with a boarding pass.
Choosing a pier comes down to where you are sleeping in Cancun, since all three sail to the same landing on the island. We haven’t verified sailing times or fares, so take both from Ultramar’s ferry page when you book. The leg from Cancun’s airport to the piers is another one we haven’t checked yet.
Do you need a car on Isla Mujeres?
Most visitors get around Isla Mujeres by golf cart, scooter or bicycle rather than by car. The island is small and its main town is walkable, so the choice among the three small vehicles mostly depends on how much of the island you plan to cover.
Playa Norte sits at the north tip, while Punta Sur and Garrafon are at the southern end. A day that includes the beach and the lighthouse therefore crosses the island end to end. Your feet or a bicycle cover the town in the middle, and a cart or scooter suits the full length.
Rental rates and the rules for carts and scooters aren’t in our checked facts. Ask the shop about the deposit, the insurance and the time the vehicle has to be back before you sign anything.
What does a hotel night cost on Isla Mujeres?
Quintana Roo’s lodging tax, the Impuesto Sobre Hospedaje, is set at 5% of the billed accommodation value under article 8 of the state’s lodging tax law. Budget it as a percentage attached to the room rate you are quoted, and ask at booking whether the total on screen already includes it.
The rate is 6% when a host or booking platform collects payment for a short-term rental. An apartment or house booked through a platform therefore carries a point more tax than the base rate.
Every foreign visitor entering Quintana Roo also owes a state fee, Visitax, of 2.50 UMA. That is about 293 pesos at the UMA’s 2026 daily value, and we quote it in pesos because we haven’t fixed a dollar conversion.
No nightly rates appear here, and no month is named the cheapest, because no verified price series backs one. Ferry fares, Garrafon’s day pass and the Isla Contoy trips are also unpriced, since we couldn’t confirm them from the operators. Get each current price from the operator before you build the budget.
When is the best time to visit Isla Mujeres?
Sources & data for this guide
- Ferry departure points and ticket rules · Ultramar, ferry page (ultramarsales.ultramarferry.com) · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Lodging tax, 5% and 6% · Ley del Impuesto al Hospedaje del Estado de Quintana Roo, art. 8, congresoqroo.gob.mx · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Visitax, 2.50 UMA · Ley de Derechos del Estado de Quintana Roo, art. 51-Octies, congresoqroo.gob.mx · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Level 2 advisory for Quintana Roo, reissued May 29, 2026 · U.S. Department of State, travel.state.gov · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Hurricane season dates · NOAA National Hurricane Center, nhc.noaa.gov · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Garrafon’s own site and CONANP’s Isla Contoy page did not load on Sep 29, 2026, so admission prices and visitor limits are not stated. Island descriptions are editorial and operator details change · check before you book.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which governs Isla Mujeres, runs from June 1 to November 30 (NOAA). That covers six of the twelve months, June through November.
December through May fall outside the season. Those dates are a calendar boundary and not a forecast, so they say nothing about temperature or rain in a given week. The closest measured reference we have is Cancun’s, a short ferry ride away, in our Cancun best-time guide. Every figure here is a date or a rate, never a thermometer reading.
For a trip between June and November, book rooms that can be canceled wherever the property allows it. The ferry ticket won’t come back, but it stays valid for six months. Ask Ultramar whether a missed date can be moved before you count on that.
The U.S. State Department rates Quintana Roo Level 2, ‘Exercise increased caution,’ in its Mexico Travel Advisory reissued May 29, 2026. The rating covers the state, and we haven’t read it as a verdict on the island alone. Read the current advisory text at travel.state.gov the week you book.
In any month, start on Playa Norte, where the current running along the east side breaks and the water calms with it. A wider Mexico trip has other stops in our destinations index. At the southern tip, Punta Sur’s lighthouse looks out over open water and keeps the last afternoon.