Isla Mujeres Day Trips from Playa del Carmen

Isla Mujeres is one of the most popular destinations for tourists coming to the Riviera Maya, especially since Playa Norte was chosen as one of the top ten beaches in the world. Because of its easy access from almost anywhere along the coast of Quintana Roo that overlooks the Mexican Caribbean, Isla Mujeres is a destination not to be missed during your visit to Playa del Carmen.

In addition to its beaches, Isla Mujeres is also an ideal place to practice water sports, live the best snorkeling experiences, visit coral reefs and dive. Here are the best excursions you can choose from Playa del Carmen to Isla Mujeres.

This is one of the most common excursions from Playa del Carmen to Isla Mujeres. Normally, they will pick you up at your hotel to take you to the port.

From there you travel by catamaran to Isla Mujeres, passing first by a coral reef where you can snorkel and scuba dive.

Once on Isla Mujeres, you'll have time to tour the site at your own pace, shop in the center of the island, which has a tourist-ready mall, and then, depending on the tour service operator, you'll be taken to a private beach club or to see some of the island's most beautiful beaches, such as Playa Norte.

Some tours usually also include the entrance to the Isla Mujeres Sculpture Space, which is located on the southern tip of the island and has a viewpoint from which you can contemplate the immensity and crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean.

These tours include the permanent assistance of an expert local guide and also, as the case may be, lunch and open bar, both inside the catamaran and at the private beach club, as well as snorkeling and scuba diving equipment.

Details of interest

• Price of the excursion... Starts at 47 euros per person with hotel pick up and expert local guide. Some excursions may also include lunch and open bar. The price does not include the island's port fee, which is around 15 euros.
• Duration of the excursion... Approximately 10 hours.
• Advantages of this excursion... It is an excellent option from the relation between price and quality.

This is an ideal excursion to get to know Isla Mujeres and also Isla Contoy, which is located north of Mujeres and stands out for its Natural Reserve and the coral reefs that surround its coasts.

On a tour of this type you can explore the Caribbean Sea by catamaran and snorkel. These excursions usually include a shopping stop in downtown Isla Mujeres.

Some excursions include lunch, open bar, snorkeling and snorkeling equipment, as well as the assistance of an expert local guide who will show you the main spots along the Riviera Maya coastline and Cozumel Island.

In some cases these tours include hotel pick up, but please note that the price does not include the Isla Mujeres port tax, which costs approximately fifteen euros per person.

Details of interest

• Price of the excursion... Starts at 138 euros per person with hotel pick up, expert local guide, snorkeling and diving equipment and lunch with open bar. The price does not include the island's port fee which is around fifteen euros.
• Duration of the excursion... Approximately 8 hours.
• Advantages of this excursion... It is a good option to get to know Isla Contoy and all its natural flora and fauna.

On these tours you can visit Garrafon Park, one of the most renowned activity parks in the Riviera Maya and is located in the area of the cliffs of the southern tip of Isla Mujeres.

In this park you can do water sports, access natural pools, snorkel and eat at some of the restaurants on the property.

These tours usually include hotel pick up and transfer to the port, from where a ferry takes you to Isla Mujeres. These tours usually include lunch and an open bar.

For an extra cost, you can also have access to snorkeling and scuba diving equipment and kayaking. At Garrafon Park you can also go zip lining.

This is an ideal excursion for you if you feel like visiting a theme park but don't have time to visit Xcaret from Playa del Carmen or to take a trip to the cenotes and prefer to visit Garrafon and at the same time visit Isla Mujeres, one of the most beautiful islands in the Mexican Caribbean.

Details of interest

• Price of the excursion... It starts at 109 euros per person with hotel pick up, entrance to Garrafon Park and lunch with open bar. The price does not include the island's port fee which is around fifteen euros.
• Duration of the excursion... Approximately 10 hours.
• Advantages of this excursion... You will be able to visit one of the best parks in the Riviera Maya.
• Disadvantages of this excursion... You may have little time to explore the island on your own.

If you are traveling in a large group or with friends, this may be the ideal option for you, since you will be able to travel on a private boat exclusively for your group to Isla Mujeres.

The boat usually makes an intermediate stop to snorkel in the coral reefs, a very interesting experience where you can see parrot fish, lobsters, turtles and barracudas.

On Isla Mujeres you will have access to an exclusive beach club where you will have an open bar, restaurants for lunch and proximity to the center of the island in case you want to shop or visit the North Beach, one of the treasures of the Mexican Caribbean.

The duration of these excursions depends on the tour you hire, but they usually last half a day or a full day.

In all cases these excursions usually include the permanent assistance of the ship's crew and an expert local guide, snorkeling equipment to enjoy the coral reefs of the intermediate stop and the entrance to the private beach club.

On this tour you can see from the Caribbean Sea to Cancun Bay, as well as the coasts of Cozumel.

Details of interest

• Price of the excursion... It starts at 142 euros per person taking into account groups of four visitors, with entrance to the beach club, snorkeling equipment and local guide assistance included. The price does not include the island's port fee which is around fifteen euros.
• Duration of the excursion... Depending on the excursion, it can last between four and eight hours.
• Advantages of this excursion... You will be able to enjoy a pleasant experience in which you will not have to worry about the organization because everything will be in the hands of the ship's crew.
• Disadvantages of this excursion... It can be an expensive option if it is not a large group.

Reservations for an excursion to Isla Mujeres from Playa del Carmen can be made in advance online or at the local tour operators' agencies as soon as you are in town.

If you are traveling in high season, I advise you to have an itinerary organized in advance and reservations already made to avoid problems and being left out of the tours because they are sold out.

Also keep in mind that excursions usually last half a day or a full day. Plan how many hours you want to be in Isla Mujeres and based on that choose the ideal excursion for you.

If you do half day excursions, ideally you should do them in the morning so you can make the most of the afternoon with a buggy excursion in Playa del Carmen.

The answer depends on the excursion you choose, but they usually last between four and ten hours.

Half-day excursions are usually interesting if you have other plans in Playa del Carmen, but ideally you should do them in the morning to make the most of the afternoon.

Also keep in mind that half-day excursions usually include little free time to explore the island and that on visits to Mujeres discovering the site on your own can be one of the best activities.

On the other hand, day trips will give you more freedom to explore the island on your own and include more activities, although they can also take up a lot of your time if you plan to spend only a few days in Playa del Carmen.

In my opinion, it is not worth losing an excursion to Chichen Itza or a visit to the Tulum Ruins to spend too much time on Isla Mujeres. In that case you would be better off with a half-day tour.

On an excursion to Isla Mujeres you will get to know the island by visiting Playa Norte, which was chosen as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, Garrafon Park, a very interesting theme park located on the southern tip of the island and also its private beach clubs and the center of the island, which has a large shopping mall and is generally used by tourists to buy local gifts and presents.

Depending on the excursion, you can also visit Isla Contoy, which is located north of Isla Mujeres and is a pleasant surprise in the Mexican Caribbean, with a wide flora and fauna included in a protected area and coral reefs that act as a refuge for native species.

If you dare, snorkeling in the territorial waters of Contoy is one of the most spectacular experiences the island has to offer.

If you travel to the Riviera Maya during the high season, which extends during the months of July and August, I advise you to book excursions in advance to avoid delays and excessive prices by buying tours at the last minute.

You should follow the same advice if you visit Playa del Carmen during the months of April and May, which tend to be months of very hot weather and a large influx of tourists.

It is also ideal that you organize an itinerary to include all the activities you want to do in the Yucatan Peninsula and once you have the itinerary ready, include it in your visit to Isla Mujeres, since that will depend on whether you have time for a day trip or you should opt for a shorter half-day option.

If you take a four-hour excursion in the morning, you can make the most of your visit by using the afternoon to take a guided tour of the city or attend the Cirque du Soleil in Playa del Carmen

In this case the answer will depend on the duration of the excursion and also on the activities included. The most economical option, and the one with the best price/quality ratio, is the catamaran excursion to Isla Mujeres, which starts at 47 euros.

On the other hand, the most expensive option is the private tour to Isla Mujeres by exclusive boat, but the final price of this excursion will depend on the number of people in the group. Considering a group of four visitors, the tour costs 142 euros per person.

Please note that the price of the excursions does not include the port tax, which is paid upon arrival at the island and has an approximate cost of fifteen euros.

Isla Mujeres is one of the most picturesque places in the Mexican Caribbean and given its proximity to the coast of Quintana Roo is worth a visit.

You can also visit Playa Norte, which is considered one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. If you choose the tour that includes a visit to Garrafon Park, you will have access to one of the most complete theme parks in the Riviera Maya, without the need to travel to Xcaret.

The coral reefs of the Mexican Caribbean are some of the most complete in the world, with a large number of species that you can swim with and see while snorkeling and scuba diving.

It is also advisable to take an organized excursion to Isla Mujeres because it is very difficult to enter on your own, as the whole Caribbean Sea is a protected area.

Being a protected area, visiting Isla Mujeres on your own is practically impossible, so it will be necessary to hire an excursion and have a guided tour to visit it, regardless of which excursion you choose.

On the other hand, the area is home to some of the best coral reefs in the world and some of the most outstanding marine species, so the presence of an expert local guide will undoubtedly enrich your experience.

If you choose to take a private excursion, information about the trip, the natural areas and the best sites in Isla Mujeres will be provided by the ship's crew and, if available, also by the local expert guide.