Planning an Isla Mujeres vacation? We’re here to help!

The Yucatan Peninsula, jutting out into the blue with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other, is well known for its white-sand beaches, balmy temperatures, and mouth-watering Mexican cuisine. Cancun, at its tip, has a reputation as a party hotspot, popular with Spring Breakers looking for a week of fun, sun, late nights and lazy mornings, but a 20-minute ferry ride away is Isla Mujeres, where the pace slows, and life’s quieter pleasures take center stage. Many vacationers visit on a day trip from the mainland, but this Mayan Riviera gem is worth a more lingering stay.

At just over 4 miles long and only around 2,000 feet wide, it’s a tiny Mexican outpost with a Caribbean flavor and a special place in Mayan history. Isla Mujeres means ‘the island of women’, and the island was sacred to the Mayan goddess of childbirth and medicine, Ixchel. When Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century they gave it its current name because of the many goddess images they discovered all over the island. It has its fair share of beautiful beaches of course – Playa Norte is a deservedly popular choice – and its diminutive size means the beach is easy to visit as many as you like, particularly if you rent a handy golf cart, the most popular form of transport and in plentiful supply. And if you do want a little nightlife action, you’re not entirely out of luck – you’ll find bars and even a few clubs in Isla Mujeres’ easily walkable downtown area near the zocalo, or town square, where the margaritas are guaranteed to get the party started.

The perfect place to soak up this island’s dreamy atmosphere is right down in the south of the island at Punta Sur. At 65 feet above sea level, these windswept cliffs are the highest elevation on the Yucatan peninsula, and this easternmost point of Isla Mujeres is also the eastern edge of Mexico, where the sun first greets the country each day. A fitting spot, then, for an ancient Mayan temple honouring the goddess Ixchel, the remains of which can still be seen. Taking its cue from the temple, the Punta Sur Sculpture Garden was created in 2001, and artworks by both Mexican and international artists, created to reflect the great civilization of the past, are scattered across the bluff, making for majestic Insta-worthy views.

Not far from the centre of town, on the western coast of the island, you’ll find an Isla Mujeres attraction that’ll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Do you love sea turtles? Of course you do! Who doesn’t? And at the turtle sanctuary, La Tortugranja, they have been protecting these marvellous marine critters for the past 15 years. There are six different species of turtle that nest on the island, and to protect a population threatened by fishermen who found egg-laying mothers easy pray, the eco warriors at the sanctuary surround turtle nests with wire cages and use their conservation facility to rear and release thousands of hatchlings each year. You can take a one-hour guided tour of the facility to learn more about its work, and there’s a small aquarium on site too, with seahorses, lobsters, crabs and plenty of colourful tropical fish to gawp at.

If you want to jump right in with the local sea life, as well as a few less likely citizens of the deep, Isla Mujeres offers an experience that’s an inspired mingling of culture and nature. The Museo Subacuatico de Arte (MUSA) is one of the largest underwater art attractions in the world, and a scuba/snorkel experience unlike any you’ve encountered before. MUSA was conceived and founded in 2009, and is today made up of over 500 permanent sculptures including people, cars and underwater angels, spread across more than 4,500 square feet of the seabed. Built to demonstrate the interaction between art and environmental science, these sculptures now form part of a complex reef structure for marine life to colonize and inhabit, and are slowly being claimed by coral, seaweed and fish. At 8-10 feet deep, this is a perfect dive for beginners, and within reach of those with a snorkel and a large lung capacity. Alternatively, you can take a glass-bottomed boat tour to drink in the eerie beauty of the underwater scenes.

Luxury Retreats – an expert in Isla Mujeres rentals

So you want a cool, calm pool, a terrace with a view of the ocean waves and ravishing rooms designed with taste and style? Then step right up to one of our Isla Mujeres beach rentals . Whichever fabulous Luxury Retreats rental you choose on this tiny paradise isle, you’ll be shaded by swaying palms and soothed to sleep by the splash, splash, splash of the nearby waves. For the ultimate eco-hideaway with no compromise in quality, choose a villa created to be as energy-efficient as possible and as utterly gorgeous as you could wish for. Lounge on your wooden deck at the water’s edge, or with a book on the sheltered porch, and when the heat of the midday sun sends you inside seeking shade, there’s a ping-pong table ready and waiting for a friendly match.

For island romance on an Isla Mujeres honeymoon , relax in his ’n’ hers hammocks as you gaze at the turquoise sea, in a gorgeous architect-designed property peppered with sculptures set against stunning walls of bold, bright color. After a lazy day by the pool, mix up a couple of cocktails at the bar and head up to the rooftop terrace to watch the sunset and the stars appear in the wide-open night sky above.