Our Favorite Things to do in Isla Holbox & Other Travel Tips

Isla Holbox in Mexico’s Quintana Roo State is a beach-lover’s dream. This island just off the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula offers a package of relaxation and beach-bumness that we could all use after going through years of a global pandemic. White sand beaches? Got ‘em. Warm, swimmable water with a walkable sandbar? Check. Breathtaking fire-red sunsets? You know it. Blue fruity cocktails? Of course. No insane spring break party vibe of Tulum?! I’m in.

And if you love sand, boy are you in for a treat. The roads are not paved here, nor are they dirt or gravel. They are pretty much all sand. 

This post goes through our choice of this island, a few things to note while getting around, and our favorite things to do.

Why Isla Holbox?

We got married December 12, 2020 – 9 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. We decided we felt comfortable traveling for our honeymoon but wanted to pick somewhere warm, relaxing, and a place that offered things to do without being too close to other people. Mexico came to mind. After doing quite a bit of research, and relying on a recommendation from a friend, we chose to start our trip with a 5-day stay at Isla Holbox (pronounced hole-boshe).

It was an easy 3-hour flight from Newark to Cancun, plus a 2-hour car ride and a 20 minute ferry. Ok maybe not fast, but it really was easy.

The island did not disappoint. We stayed at a hotel called Villas Flamingos, located toward the eastern end of the activity on the island where the beach front “road” veers inland, allowing the hotel to sit on the waterfront. I use the word “road” loosely here.

There are lots of options for accommodations on the island, but we loved Villas Flamingos and would absolutely go back there next time we make it to the island. We did splurge a bit on this hotel since it was our honeymoon, but the island offers accommodations in all price ranges.

A unique feature of this island is that cars are prohibited with the exception of delivery trucks that come over via the ferry. Locals get around on dirt bikes or mopeds, and there are electric golf cart taxis that can take you anywhere in the island. 

While the island itself is about 26 miles long, all of the activity is focused on the western end of the island. The eastern portion of the island are protected areas. Isla Holbox is part of the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area, declared a Flora and Fauna Nature Reserve in 1994.

To sum up the following post – Is Isla Holbox worth it? Absolutely!

How to get to Isla Holbox

Flying

The Cancun International Airport is the closest international airport to Isla Holbox. If you’ve ever flown into the Cancun airport, you know it can be a bit overwhelming. The first thing after you get through customs is a bombardment of people trying to sell you trips, excursions, anything. Walk past them or you’ll never leave the airport. Even a simple question like “do you want a free map” can suck you into their sales pitch. Just keep going until you get outside.

The inside portion also has a series of rental car counters but those are only if you haven’t booked your car yet. If you have a car booked, you want to go straight outside to where the shuttles will pick you up and bring you to the car rental locations. 

Outside the terminal can also be a bit overwhelming. Now, you are bombarded with people trying to sell you taxi rides and more excursions. But don’t forget you have already booked a car (or bus ride) so when you come outside you’ll want to veer to the right. A short 30-foot walk or so brings you to where the buses and shuttles will pick people up.

Car Rental

Isla Holbox was the first of several stops part of a larger trip, so we needed to rent a car, even though it would be parked in a parking lot for our first 5 days. There are bus options for getting to Purerto Chiquila, the port where you will catch the ferry over to the island, but the car rental provided us with the flexibility we needed.

Drive to Chiquila and Ferry to Isla Holbox

It’s a 2 hour drive to Puerto de Chiquila from the Cancun Airport, taking Highway 180 to Highway 5, which will then take you straight into Chiquila. We parked at the Parking el Pescador, and wheeled our suitcase over the dirt roads to the dock.

There are small water taxis you can take but we chose to go with the Holbox Express ferry, which you can buy tickets for from a very clearly marked window at the corner before you enter the dock. The one-way tickets were about $225.00 pesos – roughly $11.30 US dollars. 

Tips for Traveling Around Isla Holbox 

Cash is King

The major hotels will take credit cards but everywhere else is cash only. Bring more than you think you’ll need. There are no banks. The ATMs will dispense dollars and charge you a huge service fee. Then you need to exchange those for pesos, and will get charged again for an exchange fee. 

Mosquitos

Bring your bug spray! Mosquitos are plentiful and hungry. John wasn’t as affected by them as I was. By the third day it looked like I had chicken pox. We headed over to the farmacia to get me some calamine lotion. The sweet woman laughed in sympathy. Clearly I wasn’t the first person that had been to visit her with legs covered in pink pock marks.

Water

The tap water on Isla Holbox is not safe to drink, due to the prevalence of minerals in the subsoil. Bottled water is everywhere, and we had no trouble getting purified water at any of the restaurants.

Language

You don’t need to be fluent in Spanish to visit Isla Holbox. It’s always appreciated when you can interact in the native language, but most locations that cater toward tourists, including Isla Holbox, are more than happy to speak to you in English. John happens to speak conversational Spanish (super jealous), which is really helpful when we go to Spanish-speaking countries. It would be helpful to have a little amount of Spanish in Isla Holbox as not everyone outside of the hotels and restaurants speak English – the woman who did my massage and the captain of our boat ride spoke very little English – but I would have still felt very comfortable getting around without John.

Golf Cart Taxis

As I mentioned, golf cart taxis will get you around the island.

When you get off the ferry they are all in a line waiting to take you to your hotel – but you can’t just hop in any available one. They want you to shuffle into a line that is only sort of marked. After this initial taxi ride, where they managed to get our huge suitcase in the holder at the front of the taxi, we really didn’t ride them much.

Most of the island is very walkable or accessible by bike, so if you are able I recommend getting around the island manually. Since we were never in a rush to get anywhere, we chose to walk most of the time. 

We were also there in December so the temperatures weren’t too bad. If you go in the summer it may be too unbearable to walk. 

We’ve heard there can be long waits for the golf cart taxis but we didn’t experience that. 

Watch the Weather

A huge rain storm blew through on Christmas Eve and the tide came all the way up to our hotel room. We ended up walking back from dinner in about 12 inches of water. It was only about a 20-foot walk so it wasn’t a big deal, in fact it was kind of fun, but this does happen from time to time. By the next morning the storm had blown through, the water receded to its normal position, and it was beautiful again. Although it meant the hotel staff was hard at work clearing the palm tree debris from the beaches. 

While the flooding had cleared from our hotel area, some of the roads remained muddy or flooded. When we biked to the northern part of the island a couple of days later there were still some big puddles we either avoided or just took our chances and plowed right through.

8 Amazing Experiences in Isla Holbox We Absolutely Loved

The following is a list of our favorite activities during our time on the island.

1. Relax and Enjoy the Beautiful Beaches.

This seems silly since this is the point of a beach vacation, but relaxing was something we needed to remind ourselves how to do. And the calm beaches of Isla Holbox were a big reason we chose the island. All we wanted was to lounge on the beach while reading a captivating get-so-lost-in-the-pages-you-can’t-put-it-down book and sipping refreshing, brightly colored cocktails. 

The sand here is soft and warm, and at times carpeted with beautiful shells of vibrant shapes and colors. Your view from the lounge chair is a calm, greenish-blue waterfront with a dark blue sky above. Neither of us have ever been as relaxed as we were sprawling out on those beach chairs.

Again, maybe it was because of all the craziness that came with 2020, but we embraced the “relax and do nothing” mentality more than we ever have on a trip. We did not buy an international cell phone plan, and not having service was incredibly freeing. 

2. Walk the Sandbar

I can now say the most picturesque way to get around an island is via sandbar. There is a sandbar that runs parallel to the coast of Isla Holbox, extending most if not all of the coast that follows the hotels and downtown. From the beach at our hotel, we waded through about 18 inches of water to reach the elevated sand platform. Once out there, you can walk for several miles along the island’s coast. 

Walking along the sandbar, with water on both sides of you, feels a little like walking on water. There is a nature preserve at the eastern end of the sandbar that you could once walk to, but in a recent effort to protect the wildlife, they now prohibit access to Punta Mosquito.

The sites are still stunning. There is wildlife everywhere, more so when you go during the spring and summer seasons.

Many people had packed a lunch to eat at the east end of the sandbar. Here, the sandbar expands and it is wide and dry.

We spent a couple hours walking out and back and ended our walk with, you guessed it, a giant cocktail.

3. Rent Bikes

There are several places on the island that you can rent bikes from (Bikes Holhox is one of them). Our hotel offered a free bike rental as part of our stay.

The bikes we rented were large, beach cruiser bikes, which were equipped with picturesque woven baskets on the front. If your hotel doesn’t have their own bicycle rental, there are various places in the downtown that you can rent bikes from.

We biked through town and out toward the western end of the island. Given that the entire island is sand with no pavement, this was more of an exercise than I was expecting. My legs were sore (I’m also super out of shape), but it was a great way to get to the other end of the island and see different neighborhoods.

We stopped on the beach and found a little hut that was selling cold beers – ahhh cold beer.

4. Take a Boat to see Isla Pajaros

This was our favorite part of our time on the island. We are not typically bird watchers, and really don’t know anything about birds. But this was absolutely worth checking out. We made reservations the day before through a kiosk on the beach near downtown. They offered private boat tours, which was just what we were looking for. 

An electric golf cart picked us up at the hotel around 6:15 in the morning and took us to the marina where we met our boat and captain at about 6:30. It was December and still dark outside. We raced across the water with the horizon beginning to lighten. Out of nowhere an island appeared, and a dock and bird blind popped into view.

The dock led up to the bird blind, which was elevated over the water and was higher than the vegetation on the small island in front of it. As the sun rose, so did the birds, hundreds of them, everywhere. We watched birds wake up and begin fishing.

I’ve never been so close to wild birds – Pelicans, Gray Herons, White Herons, Frigates, Osprey, and more. Watching them fly below us with those impressive wing spans gave real meaning to the word “awesome.” Trust me when I say this was a seriously cool and unique experience. 

5. Get a Massage on the Beach

There are huts all along the beach road that led from our hotel to the town, each offering an assortment of massages and facials.

On our first full day there, which happened to be Christmas, we decided to go for a walk to explore, and after the 15th massage hut we passed, I decided I needed to get one (that advertising really does work).

I chose a 70-minute full-body massage, equivalent to a deep tissue massage, and oh man was this perfection. The hut had three walls and a roof but was open to the front, facing toward the water. Throughout the massage I was serenaded by the waves, the general humming of human movement, and the occasional dog bark or motorbike driving away. I loved it. I’d choose this over a spa any day. 

6. Visit Yalahau Lagoon

A component of the boat trip we signed up for included a stop at the Yalahau Lagoon. This small cenote is only accessible by boat and is well worth the trip.

Walking down the boardwalk it felt like we had stepped into another world, with small trees and shrubs growing up on all sides and a faint smell of sulfur in the background. We grabbed our life vests and headed over to the water hole.

The crystal clear water allows you to see straight to the bottom where there are small caves that push the water through to create the pool. Schools of minnows reside in the water, inching closer to check you out, even nibbling on you a bit. Don’t worry – you can’t feel them at all.

We were there first thing in the morning, and with the exception of one other woman, we had the pool to ourselves. It can apparently get quite crowded so the earlier you can go the better.

7. Eat All The Good Food

While we will have another post on the fabulous food we ate over the course of our honeymoon, Isla Holbox’s food still deserves a spot on this list.

We love eating good food, and the island was full of mouth watering dishes that were as beautiful as they were tasty. The lobster pizza, octopus enchiladas, pork tacos, sushi – all were fabulous. Pretty much every restaurant is open air so no matter where you are, you are taking in that fresh, sea-side air.

Lobster pizza is a staple of the island, and let me tell you – it’s amazing. We got ours from Barba Negra and devoured it. But there are loads of other fantastic, local foods that you should branch out to as well. Including the fresh mangos sold on a cart. The man selling them put the mango on a stick, sliced it, then you got to pick the toppings, which included various spices and hot sauces. It was the juiciest mango I’ve ever had. Big fan.

Our Favorite Places to Eat/Drink in Isla Holbox

We had great experiences at all of the following:

• Mangle Restaurante – This was the restaurant in our hotel and was honestly fantastic. Fresh seafood and views of the ocean? Check!
• Barba Negra – This was on our way into town and is a similar to a coop, where there are several different vendors you can choose from with a bar and communal seating. We ate here more than once.
• Los Peleones – This restaurant, which is across from the central square, has a Mexican Wrestling theme, including a little comic on the placemats. Was a great place for lunch!
• The Hot Corner – We came here for a drink while waiting for our seats at Luuma. Fun cocktails at this sidewalk bar.
• Luuma – Intimate dining experience in an open air setting. Delicious small plates and cocktails.
• Tamashi Sky Bar – A Japanese rooftop bar on the waterfront. Fabulous, fresh sushi – some of the best we’ve had.
• Rosa Mexicano – In downtown, we stopped here for breakfast after our boat tour. Very rejuvenating and every bite better than the last.
• Various bars on the beach – There are bars all across the beaches, offering great views.

You’ll want to make reservations for the dinner spots, but if you aren’t pressed for time (and on an island like this who is?), you can put your name in and walk around town or find an effervescent drink to enjoy while you wait.

8. Watch the Sunset with a Drink in Hand 

While the westernmost point of the island at Punta Coco is *the* spot to watch the sunset, it was always a bit too far of a bike ride for us. Our hotel, however, had a perfect area where the pool decking met the ocean and looked west.

One night we ordered a bottle of wine, another night we had cocktails, and did nothing besides relax next to each other with our chosen drink while watching the incredibly colorful sun sink behind the horizon.

Wherever you are on the island at sunset, I recommend stopping what you’re doing, take a break and just watch the sky. Drink in hand a plus (sensing a theme here?!). 

3 Things We Did Not Do But Are Worth Checking Out

There were several other options of things to do on the island that we either didn’t have time for or were not in the right season. Below is a list of activities we heard about from other sources that are worth checking out.

1. Take Kiteboarding Lessons

The Holbox Kiteboarding School was not far from our hotel and the launch place was just a short walk down the sandbar from where we were staying. Every day we watched experienced and novice kiteboarders alike, gliding through the water, and at times lifting 20 feet in the air. The colored parachutes dotted the sky from early in the morning until the sun was setting.

The Holbox Kiteboarding School offers group or private lessons and for those really serious about learning, they offer a 9-hour three day course. Lifestyle Kiteboarding and KuKulKite are other options for kiteboarding. Since we didn’t do lessons we can’t recommend one over the other so we recommend doing additional research and determine which program is best for you.

2. Swim Alongside the Whale Sharks (Responsibly)

Between May and September you can take a tour to go out and see the whale sharks. During these summer months, you can find the largest gathering of whale sharks in the world, just off the coast of Isla Holbox. You can sign up for a tour to go see these majestic sea creatures and even swim alongside them. 

I’ll put a disclaimer on this one since the activity involves swimming alongside wildlife. Any wildlife tourism excursion you partake in, no matter where you are, should be done so in a responsible way that does not harm the wildlife. Because we weren’t there during the right time of year, we did not investigate the options for swimming with whale sharks, and the internet has proved to be rather vague when it comes to differentiating the various tour companies. 

Here is a link to another traveler who swam with the whale sharks in Isla Holbox and has some great advice.

3. Bioluminescent Plankton 

The whale sharks are attracted by the significant amount of plankton that reside along the island’s shore. While the plankton exists throughout the year, the best times to see them are during the same months as the whale sharks.

The bioluminescence is most easily seen at night when there is no moonlight and it is said the best place to view them is at the Puntas Cocos beach. From what we’ve heard, there is no need to sign up for a tour since you can just walk here by yourself.

Sum Up

Isla Holbox offered us exactly what we were looking for after a hectic year. A lot of relaxing, swimming, and eating. The people are friendly and the island is beautiful – a tropical destination that offers a unique experience different from other islands in the area. For us, it was absolutely worth the trip!

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