Riviera Maya, Mexico
January 15-28, 2020
As part of our winter escape this year, our travels took us along the coast of the Riviera Maya in Mexico. We had approximately two weeks to spare before we departed inland for a housesitting assignment in San Miguel de Allende so we decided to explore the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.
Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel is an island 20 km's off mainland Mexico's yucatan peninsula and is easily accessed by ferry from Playa del Carmen. Its frequented by daytrippers from Playa del Carmen and is a popular cruise ship port which can make the central area of cozumel dense with tourists and touts. But if you hang on until the people are gone and the cruise ships have departed, you'll have Cozumel mostly to yourself. We rented bicycles and explored the eastern side of the island which we highly recommend. You can also rent a golf cart or scooter for a faster way to see the sights.
Rentals are abundant in central Cozumel.
Accommodations
Staying in central Cozumel makes it easy to explore the restaurants and shops by foot but can get quite noisy with traffic and night life. Staying farther away gets you more peacefulness but will require transportation daily to get to and from town where most of the services are located. We opted to stay centrally so we could have easy access to food and services. We found a great airbnb apartment complete with a small kitchen to make some of our own meals. Even though it was located just off the main square, we found it exceptionaly quiet making this a great find!
Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is an island located a few miles off mainland Mexico's yucatan peninsula and is easily accessed by ferry from Cancun. Its long and skinny (four miles in length and only 600 meters in width) and is a former laid back fishing village but not so much these days. It is also frequented by daytrippers from Cancun and is a popular cruise ship port which can make the central area of Isla dense with tourists and touts. But like Cozumel, if you hang on until the people are gone, it becomes a quiet place to wander. We rented bicycles to explore the whole island which we highly recommend. Without stopping, you could complete the loop within about an hour.Golf cart and scooter rentals are also very popular and rentals are abundant in central Isla.
Accommodations
Staying in central Isla Mujeres makes it easy to explore the restaurants, shops and its main beach (play norte) by foot but can get quite noisy with traffic and night life. Staying farther away gets you more peacefulness but will require transportation daily to get to and from town where most of the services are located. We opted to stay approximately mid way of the island and found a great airbnb room that was located 20 minute walk into town.
Video compilation of our time in the Riviera Maya