Isla Mujeres in April: Weather, Sea Temperature, Crowds and Prices

MEXICO · ISLA MUJERES · APRIL

Isla Mujeres sits a short ferry ride off Cancun. In April it is a beach island at full brightness: hot afternoons, warm water, and golf carts buzzing between Playa Norte and the lighthouse at the southern tip. Most visitors move around by golf cart, scooter or bicycle, and the island is small enough that the main town is walkable.

Two things shape an April trip: air that averages 91.6°F in the afternoon, and a sea at 82.3°F to answer it. Hurricane season has not started. For other places, browse our destinations index, and for other months, Where to Go by month.

On this page

• Isla Mujeres weather in AprilHighs, lows and rain days from the Cancun station
• Can you swim in Isla Mujeres in April?Sea surface at 82.3°F
• Isla Mujeres prices and crowds in AprilLodging tax at 5%, Visitax at 2.50 UMA, ferry ticket rules
• What to do in Isla Mujeres in AprilPlaya Norte, Punta Sur, Garrafon and Isla Contoy
• Isla Mujeres itinerary for AprilTwo days from a 6:26 a.m. sunrise to a 7:07 p.m. sunset
• Isla Mujeres in April vs March and MayTemperature, rain and sea side by side
• Is April a good time to visit Isla Mujeres?Who should go in April and who should pick March

Ferries from Cancun tie up at the Terminal Maritima APIQROO on Isla Mujeres. Ultramar sails to it from three Cancun departure points: Puerto Juarez, Playa Tortugas at kilometer 6.5 of Boulevard Kukulcan, and Playa Caracol at kilometer 9.5. Pick the one closest to your hotel.

Isla Mujeres weather in April

The air normals below come from Mexico’s national weather service (SMN, CONAGUA), 1991-2020, at station 23155 in Cancun, on the mainland about 8 miles across the channel. No station on the island has published normals, so these are the nearest official numbers, not a thermometer on the sand. April averages a high of 91.6°F, a low of 73.2°F and 1.67 inches of precipitation.

The SMN counts 4.2 days of measurable rain in an average April (its sheet does not publish the threshold). That is roughly one day in seven. Most April days run dry from breakfast to dinner, and the wet ones are worth a backup plan built around town and a long lunch.

The average high and low sit 18.4°F apart, from 91.6°F in the afternoon to 73.2°F overnight. Pack for heat: a hat, sunscreen and thin cotton. A light layer covers the coolest hours, and a compact rain shell handles the odd wet day.

On April 15 daylight runs about 12 hours 41 minutes. Sunrise comes at 6:26 a.m. and sunset at 7:07 p.m., Cancun time. By midmorning the sun is high and hard, so beach time belongs early and late.

Can you swim in Isla Mujeres in April? Sea temperature

The sea surface off Isla Mujeres averages 82.3°F in April, according to the Open-Meteo Marine API over 2015-2024. That number is the mean of daily maxima, so it runs a shade warmer than a 24-hour average would.

At 82.3°F the water suits long swims and unhurried snorkeling. Because the figure averages each day’s highest reading, the first swim after sunrise will feel a touch cooler than the number, and a mid-afternoon swim will match it.

We found no April wind or swell series, so we give no wave heights or wind speeds. The island’s shape helps: Playa Norte, its calmest beach, faces the north tip, where the current running along the east side breaks.

How busy is Isla Mujeres in April? Crowds and prices

We found no occupancy series and no monthly hotel-rate data, so we cannot place April on the year’s price curve. The calendar fact we can give: April falls outside the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks on September 10.

We also found no data on how many weeks ahead rooms fill. The rules we did read are the ferry’s. Ultramar tickets to Isla Mujeres are valid for six months from purchase and are non-refundable, and passengers are asked to arrive 30 minutes before departure. Buy once your dates are settled.

Quintana Roo’s lodging tax, the Impuesto Sobre Hospedaje, is 5% of the billed accommodation value, or 6% when a host or booking platform collects payment for a short-term rental (state lodging tax law, art. 8). Every foreign visitor entering Quintana Roo also owes Visitax, 2.50 UMA, about 293 pesos at the UMA’s 2026 daily value.

The rules we read set no seasonal variation for either charge, so neither moves with the month. With lows of 73.2°F and highs of 91.6°F, the upgrade that changes an April stay is a room with air conditioning you have confirmed in writing.

Things to do in Isla Mujeres in April

Boat days and reef days suit April: the sea sits at 82.3°F, storm season is still ahead, and April 15 offers 12 hours 41 minutes of daylight. That is room for a morning on the water and a sunset on land.

Playa Norte, at the north tip, is the island’s calmest beach. Punta Sur, at the southern tip, is a clifftop park with a sculpture garden and a lighthouse over open water. Garrafon, a private reef park on the south end, is sold as a snorkeling and activities day pass. Isla Contoy, a national park and bird sanctuary north of the island, is reached by boat trips sold from town. Garrafon’s site and CONANP’s page for Contoy did not load, so we state no admission prices, visitor limits or fees.

What April changes at these places is the air. The water follows a slow calendar (81.2°F in March, 82.3°F in April and 84.0°F in May, per the marine API), while highs climb 2.9°F from March to April. Punta Sur in April is a clifftop park in a 91.6°F average afternoon, so its visit belongs at the cool end of the day.

We found no admission data we could read for these places, so we call none of them free and none of them priced. Confirm with each operator before you build a budget around them.

Isla Mujeres itinerary for April

Day one: take an early ferry from Puerto Juarez, Playa Tortugas or Playa Caracol and be at the dock 30 minutes before departure. Sunrise is at 6:26 a.m., so the crossing happens in soft light. Drop your bags, rent a golf cart and spend the morning at Playa Norte while highs are still climbing toward 91.6°F. Take a long lunch in town through the midday heat, then drive south to Punta Sur for the lighthouse and the cliffs as the light falls toward a 7:07 p.m. sunset.

Day two goes to the water: a snorkeling day at Garrafon in 82.3°F water, or a boat trip to Isla Contoy (ask the operator about fees and limits, since we could not read the park’s page). Start early and finish by mid-afternoon. Rain arrives on 4.2 days in an average April, so if the sky turns, swap the plan: town, a long lunch and a golf-cart loop of the island, with the reef day moved to the next dry morning.

Isla Mujeres in April vs March and May

From March to April, highs rise 2.9°F, lows rise 2.7°F and the sea warms 1.1°F. Rain days fall from 5.4 to 4.2, although precipitation edges up from 1.52 to 1.67 inches. From April to May, highs rise another 2.0°F, lows 2.4°F and the sea 1.7°F. Precipitation roughly doubles to 3.43 inches across 7.8 rain days. Air figures come from the SMN’s Cancun station and sea figures from the marine API.

Moving four weeks earlier buys cooler air (88.7°F highs) and costs a slightly cooler sea and more rain days. Moving four weeks later buys 84.0°F water and costs heat, humidity-ready afternoons and nearly double the rain days. We have no price series for any of the three months, so we cannot say which is cheaper.

Is April a good time to visit Isla Mujeres?

Yes, if you want beach and boat days and can enjoy 91.6°F afternoons. The sea is 82.3°F, rain shows up on 4.2 days and hurricane season is still ahead. Shorten your daytime plans or skip April if heat is what you dread. The U.S. State Department rates Quintana Roo Level 2, ‘Exercise increased caution,’ in its Mexico Travel Advisory reissued May 29, 2026, so read it before you book.

If heat decides it, choose March: highs of 88.7°F, lows of 70.5°F and a sea at 81.2°F. If warm water decides it, May reaches 84.0°F but brings 7.8 rain days and 3.43 inches. Other months and other places are laid out in Where to Go by month.

Among March, April and May, April has the fewest rain days, 4.2 against 5.4 and 7.8. Its sea is already at 82.3°F and the hurricane season is still ahead on June 1.

The last word

April suits anyone who would rather be wet from the sea than from the sky. Book the room with air conditioning, then aim for Punta Sur before sunset near 7:07 p.m. Traveling with children? Those under 1.20 meters ride the Ultramar ferry at a reduced fare, and infants under 12 months travel free with a boarding pass.

Sources & data for Isla Mujeres in April

• Air normals (April and neighboring months) · Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), 1991-2020, station 23155 Cancun, the nearest official normals since no island station has published any · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Rain-day counts · SMN’s own count, threshold not published on its sheet · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Sea surface temperature · Open-Meteo Marine API, mean of daily maxima 2015-2024 · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Daylight, sunrise and sunset on April 15, converted to Cancun time · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Hurricane season dates · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Ferry terminals, ticket validity, arrival time and child fares · Ultramar, Ferry Isla Mujeres · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Lodging tax · Ley del Impuesto al Hospedaje del Estado de Quintana Roo, art. 8, Congreso del Estado de Quintana Roo · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Visitax · Ley de Derechos del Estado de Quintana Roo, art. 51-Octies · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Travel advisory · U.S. Department of State · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Editorial notes: CONANP’s page for Isla Contoy and Garrafon’s own site did not load, so we state no fees or visitor limits for them. We found no occupancy or hotel-rate series and no April wind or swell data. Descriptions of beaches and Punta Sur are general knowledge. Schedules and prices change, so check operators when you book.