3 days in Isla Holbox

Things to know:

How to get there - We flew into Cancun and rented a car. They offer transfers to Isla Holbox, but we wanted to rent a car so we had more freedom and so we had some distance from others during COVID.

• Car rental information - Car rentals in Mexico are notoriously sketchy. The cars themselves are super cheap to rent, but you have to have insurance on the cars. Whenever I rent a car in the US, I never get insurance on it. But in Mexico, it is mandatory. So technically, our car was $0 to rent, but the insurance was $357. It makes sense once you start driving because the streets are insane. There are random speed bumps EVERYWHERE, giant potholes, dogs and humans running around. It’s insanity. Get the highest insurance.

• Chiquila to Isla Holbox - Isla Holbox is an island, so you have to get to Chiquila first (pronounced like “tequila”). It’s about 2 hours from Cancun with one toll along the way. Once you get to Chiquila, there are 2 ferry operators: 9 Hermanos and Holbox Express. 9 Hermanos leaves every 30 minutes, while Holbox Express leaves every hour. We used 9 Hermanos both times because they were closest to leaving both times we needed it. You can buy your ferry ticket there.

Money - Money exchange can be a difficult thing to navigate. What I’ve recently been doing is getting my money exchanged at my local bank prior to my trip. They have ATMs and exchange places around the cities, but their rates are usually not great. The best ATM rates are in supermarkets or their local banks.

Shops:

Espuma de Mar - this one-woman shop makes handmade purses, bathing suits, pieces of art, and jewelry. I bought 2 purses and a piece of art (an orange cat made to look like Frida Kahlo) and it was $50USD. Even Neal loved the purses!

Holbox Galleria - This beautiful little gallery has a ton of watercolor pieces. I was very tempted to get a whale shark piece, but I want to buy it when I actually see one. Instead, I bought a watercolor raccoon. “Why a raccoon, Jordan?” Great question! I was unaware of how many raccoons there were in Isla Holbox and had a few run ins with some! I even had a stand-off with one (where they stomped their little paw on the ground), and another one charged at me. So I figured a watercolor raccoon was a perfect piece to commemorate the event.

Random shops - we bought some ornaments and a dream catcher from these shops that are just littered around the town. They all sell basically the same things, so I try to go into stores where they aren’t harassing me.

Pharmacies - The pharmacies in Mexico are no joke. You can buy anything… I usually only stock up on anti-nausea since I hate throwing up and will avoid it at all costs (thanks mom for this complex!).

Stay:

Mystique Holbox -It’s on the Western end of the city and was away enough from the hubbub of the city center to have a beautiful beach but close enough to walk. The rooms are very decently priced, especially given the location, amenities, and service.

Las Nubes - We almost stayed here. It’s more expensive, and looks it, but we couldn’t figure out how to actually book a room. Their website wasn’t working very well and I couldn’t get ahold of anyone to book. They’re on the opposite end of Mystique, and much further from the action, but they look like an all-inclusive resort.

Food:

Edelyn - the original lobster pizza!

Fresco - restaurant at Mystique! Very good, very fresh, a bit more expensive because it’s a hotel restaurant.

Tierra Mia - the best breakfast bagels and smoothies!

Basico - Chefs Menu, cocktails, beautiful interior. Don’t miss it.

Experiences:

VIP Holbox - For literally any tour. Use them. He told me all about how they are hiring locals and helping them with their education while also investing in their immediate community instead of outsourcing. So many communities in Mexico invest in the major cities like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and only in the hospitality industry. Support those businesses who are investing in their own communities outside of pleasing tourists with all-inclusive resorts.

Story:

My boyfriend, Neal, and I had a trip to Tulum planned for months. We had the hotel booked, flight booked, excursions planned out, itinerary mocked up, car rental booked. Everything was booked. The Monday before we left, I said, “What if we switch it up and go to Isla Holbox for 3 days, then Tulum for 4?” He had never seen Isla Holbox, so I showed him photos and he was game.

The next morning, we sent each other different hotels in a mad dash to find something and book it. We also re-booked our Tulum hotel for fewer nights and ended up finding the best room available for a LOT cheaper than our original room (more on that in another post). We ended up booking at Mystique Holbox.

I had wanted to visit Isla Holbox when I visited my sister in Merida in 2019. We ended up not going because it is a bit of a trek, but it has been in my heart since then, and this seemed like the perfect time to go. Thankfully, Neal is very spontaneous and go-with-the-flow and we were able to switch up our thoughtfully planned out trip the week we were leaving.

Getting to Isla Holbox can be a bit of a hike. We flew into Cancun, and since this was in the time of COVID, we rented a car (and sanitized the interior!), and drove to Chiquila (pronounced like “Tequila”), which is about a 2 hour drive. There are some shuttles offered, but I preferred having our own car.

Car rentals in Mexico can be sketchy. We used EasyWay and they were great to work with. The main thing with renting cars in Mexico is that the cars are very cheap to rent, but you HAVE to get insurance. For example, our car was technically $0 to rent, but the insurance for a week was $357. I recommend getting the highest insurance just in case. The roads are wild in Mexico, from crazy drivers to potholes. There are also speed bumps EVERYWHERE. So get the best insurance they offer and just be safe.

Once in Chiquila, we paid to park our car for a few days which ended up costing us $15USD for 3 days to park it. The area is very safe and does not have a large population, so your car will be safe.

To get to Isla Holbox, you have to take the ferry. There are two ferry companies that leave either every hour or every 30 minutes, so you never have to wait very long. We took the 9 Hermanos and Holbox Express. We took 9 Hermanos just because it was about to leave both times. It ended up being $10pp for the ferry and is about a 15-20 minute ride across the harbor.

Once we got to Isla Holbox, they offer taxi rides on golf carts. They’re around $5 anywhere on the island and completely worth it. Especially if you have luggage with you. Neal and I made the mistake of deciding to walk. Neal said, “it’s only a kilometer or so… let’s just walk.” I’m sure him being cooped up in the plane and then the car was no fun, but the idea of walking with our luggage did not sound like a good idea… But I appeased him. So we walked.

I knew Isla Holbox didn’t have roads by traditional means and that there were no cars… But I did not realize how deep the holes on the “streets” were and how flooded the streets get… They were lagoons! Just imagine Neal and I carrying our luggage through the “streets” of this island around lagoons and ponds. I couldn’t even get mad, I was just laughing the whole time.

We finally got to the hotel and it was a dream. The check-in process was so smooth and we were given a delicious, and healthy, welcome drink! They took us up to our room and it is one of my favorite hotels I’ve ever stayed in. We got the Junior Deluxe Suite Loft Ocean View room and it was $600 for 3 nights, which I think is completely worth it. They also give you a huge book of coupons to use around the property. I want to give a huge shoutout with Victor and Darwin, who were our waiters the whole time. They were so attentive, kind, and made sure none of my “trigger foods” were in any of my meals or drinks.

Pro-tip: When you have exceptional service, email the establishment during and after your stay. I’ve done this with a few hotels and this has helped with promotions for these individuals. You should always tip your wait staff, especially if you are doing financially well and can afford to tip really well. But going an extra step to let their management know how helpful they were, goes a long way, too.

That night, we just ate at the hotel at their restaurant, Fresco. The food was very fresh and we went a little bougie with our meal. This was definitely our most expensive meal, but we got a bottle of wine, 2 margaritas, 2 beers, homemade shrimp pasta, steak and lobster tail, and a pistachio brownie and it was around $120, which the same meal in Memphis or even in a large city, it’d be at least twice the price.

The beautiful photo of me dying my sweet boyfriend took of me……………

The next day, we were lazy on the beach. I, unfortunately, get some pretty intense sinus migraines with swift change in the weather. I usually get one every Spring and Fall, but I had one the very first day of this trip and it was crippling. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t move, I was in hell. A man offered me some migraine medicine, which didn’t work. Then I took an Excedrin, which didn’t work. I ended up going up to the room to get away from the heat, light, and loud music. It was horrible. Finally, I took a Sudafed and it was gone within 15 minutes. Always bring a pharmacy of any kind of medication you think you might need. I came back down to the beach, ordered a quesadilla and a Sprite, and all was good with the world :)

Isla Holbox is famous for a few things, most notably the whale shark migration in the Spring and Summer, and lobster pizza. We unfortunately missed the whale shark migration, but we got some lobster pizza. We ate at Edelyn, which was the original location where lobster pizza was made. It was pretty incredible… We also heard that Roots has a great lobster pizza, but we went with the OG.

There is also a store right next to Edelyn where one woman makes homemade purses, bathing suits, pieces of art, and jewelry. I bought 2 purses and a piece of art and it was $50. The purses were beautiful and so well-made.

After Edelyn, we went back to the hotel to change for our kayak tour. This was the best part of our entire trip. I had booked a surprise Kayak Under the Stars experience for Neal and me. He’s been begging me to go kayaking with him, and I just haven’t yet. We booked with VIP Holbox. They offer a variety of tour options, and I will be back during whale shark season to go with them on a tour! They picked us up from our hotel at 7:15 and took us about 20 minutes towards the end of the hotel zone in Holbox to pick up the kayaks and kick off.

This was by far one of the best experiences of any of my travels. We kayaked in the calm, dark ocean for about 15 minutes to a sandbar past all of the hotels. We got out of the kayak and noticed the bioluminescence. Whenever we moved, it looked like a glow stick was underwater. It was honestly magical. When we looked up, we saw the Milky Way… I have never seen so many stars in my life. We saw about 20 shooting stars, Jupiter, Saturn, 2 other suns, and Willy, our guide, told us stories upon stories about each constellation we could point out. I honestly could not stop smiling because it was so beautiful. It was also a very small group, only 6 of us including the 2 guides. I HIGHLY recommend this tour, and would even recommend coming to Isla Holbox for this exclusively.

This tour lasted from 7:30-9:30, and they dropped us back off at our hotel. However, during the ride back, I was talking with the one of the guides and asked what kind of wildlife was on Isla Holbox. I thought he’d say alligators, flamingos, etc. He immediately said “Raccoons. We have so many raccoons.” I started laughing so hard. How do raccoons get onto an island?! And sure enough, we turned a corner and saw about 7 raccoons digging through some trash!

After we were dropped off, we were a little hungry. We decided to walk into the town and get a little snack. We walked through one hotel and when we got out onto the main street, I turned and was face-to-face with a raccoon… I stood still and this little guy stomped his paw on the ground like we were having a stand-off! I turned around to tell Neal and saw another raccoon! This one then charged at me! Neal came around and saw it running toward me and then it veered off and joined about 4 others across the street. It was the funniest thing, I could not stop laughing about these dang raccoons!

We stopped at a little corner stand to get some tacos and a quesadilla (which they called “gringos” lol). It was decent, but unmemorable, so I don’t remember the name. After this, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

The next morning, we went to Tierra Mia for some breakfast. It was so good! I got the very berry smoothie, and a plain bagel. Neal got a bagel with prosciutto, manchego, and granny smith apples,

The night before, our guide had mentioned there was an animal rescue near our hotel, and that they let you take a dog for a few hours to get it out of the shelter and get some fresh air and see the beach. I knew some places did this, but had never done it myself. When I woke up the next morning, I decided we were going to do that!

After breakfast, I walked to the Isla Holbox Animal Refuge and asked if I could take a dog to the beach for a few hours. They said, “Yes! Which dog would you like?” So I walked around and picked a dog. A large portion of the dogs had physical disabilities, and while I definitely wanted to take them to the beach, the terrain is a bit tough to navigate and I wasn’t sure how some of them felt being picked up. I ended up finding an all black dog just chilling by himself. So I picked up “Perrito,” my name I gave him lol. I bought some treats and made a donation and off we went!

Perrito was a happy boy who loved to hang out in the shade and lie in the sand. He didn’t love the ocean very much and wanted to explore the different beach chairs. He was so well-behaved and such a great pup. After a few hours, we took him back and he was greeted happily by his puppy pals.

While there are a ton of dogs on Isla Holbox, I found out that they are all taken care of. Every single one is neutered or spayed, gets annual check-ups, and is fed by the locals or the refuge. This is honestly such an ideal way to handle street dogs and other cities should follow suit.

I went back to the beach, and Neal and I walked around the island a bit. I didn’t bring shoes so I gave up rather quickly on our exploration. I went back to the hotel and got a massage and it was honestly the best massage of my life. I got a detox massage and she did some deep tissue on my shoulder given a workplace injury that had happened recently. Highly recommend a massage on the beach!

Neal made his way back and we went up to the room to get ready for our final night on the town. We went to Basico, which is probably the trendiest place on Isla Holbox. The interior is beautiful and all handmade by local artisans. Everything from the linens, the plates and silverware, to the decor. All local. We got the chef’s 6-course menu, 2 margaritas, a beer, and blue crab croquettes and it was $60!

After our wonderful meal at Basico, we went to Viva Zapata, a lively bar right outside of the “downtown” quarter. We sat along the bar on the street and met 2 other Americans who both work for the Department of Homeland Security. We talked about current events, our jobs, and even cheerleading lol.

The next morning, we sadly checked out of our hotel and departed toward Tulum. Isla Holbox is a hidden gem and will blow up in popularity in a few years. It’s already had a few spreads in Conde Nast Traveler, and the locals all know about it. I am worried about how their infrastructure can handle a mass influx of tourism and whether it will deplete the natural resources and communities like it has in Tulum and other parts of Riviera Maya. So I encourage you to invest in the community when you visit. Eat out and tip well, choose local tourism experiences and tip them well, and limit your footprint when visiting.