Best places to stay:
This intimate Isla Mujeres boutique, with beautiful pools and views, cascades down a steep hill towards the ocean, perfectly positioned for sunset over the ocean – which you only get on the Mayan Riviera islands (mainland hotels face east). The view is dreamy – over the infinity pool which melds with the turquoise sea and sun as it drops gold over the water.
Rooms come in Greek Island-white with colourful Mexican textiles and balconies and are linked by corridors, stairs and patios – brightly-painted in Mexican blues and egg-yolk yellows. Alfresco lounge areas are dotted with designer furnishings.
And while there’s no beach – just a rocky shore with good snorkelling out from the long wooden jetty, guests have full use of the Kin Ha waterpark next door – with cascades of pools and slides, and complimentary access to the beach club on Playa Norte a few kilometres away.
Fringed with reefs at its southern end and tapering to a long, sandy beach at its northern, Isla Mujeres island is a popular day trip destination and a low-key, relaxed alternative Riviera Maya base to Cancun, 30 minutes across the water.
The island is tranquil and tiny – just five miles long and less than half a mile wide. There are no proper roads: streets are tiny and most transport is by golf cart or bike. There is good snorkelling in the glassy-clear tranquil sea – over reefs and submerged art in the MUSA Underwater Museum, and strings of boutiquey hotels.
The Kin Ha restaurant and club next door to Casa de los Suenos has gorgeous cascading swimming pools and water slides. El Garrafon Reef Park & Beach Club is only a kilometre away – with kayaking, zip lining and a temazcal.
Isla Mujeres is a boat ride away from the mainland – one on hand, that makes it a little more challenging for active sightseeing, but on the other, it keeps you removed from the crowds.
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Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico[5 miles]
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snorkel or dive with these harmless, 12-metre long, filter-feeding fish. Humbling and unforgettable.
Best for ages: 13+ | £40 | 4-5 hours
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
A stunning cenote with spectacular cave formations and glassy water, passing through caverns encrusted with stalactites. Mind-bogglingly beautiful for both snorkellers and PADI divers.
Best for ages: 8+ | £12
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
An adrenaline-pumping close encounter with this top of the food chain predator, in glassy-clear water.
Best for ages: 16+ | £150 | 6-8 hours
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Lily-covered, glassy-clear and filled with terrapins and tropical fish, this cenote near Tulum is easy to reach and fabulous to swim in. Big caverns make for spectacular cave diving.
Best for ages: 6+ | £7
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico[12.9 miles]
British artist Jason Decaires Taylor’s underwater art gallery feels like a latter-day Atlantis – with statues covered with wispy sea weeds and baby coral, fish swimming all around sitting on the sand in vodka-clear water off Isla Mujeres.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Designed by Greg Norman, the course weaves its way through dense jungle, beautiful stretches of white sand and mangrove forests, with cenotes – natural sink holes – providing natural hazards.
Best for ages: 13+ | £125
Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
A simple nature-based theme park with a safari-park zoo, a cenote for swimming, a spectacular cave and a rainforest canopy zip-line adventure.
Best for ages: 4+ | £30
Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Small, touristy and mediocre aquatic theme park offering swims with dolphins, sea lions and manatees. Fun for kids.
Best for ages: 4+ | £21
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
Mexico
Talc-white beaches, reefs teeming with life, ruined temples in misty rainforests – the Riviera Maya offers a family or romantic beach holiday with a dash of Indian Jones adventure.
![Cenote Dos Ojos [swimming, snorkelling & scuba diving]](https://familyhotelfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/Yucatan-Cancun-and-Tulum-Cenotes-Dos-Ojos3-SH.jpg)
