Exploring Isla Mujeres, Mexico By Golf Cart
Our anniversary vacation started off in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, which is a small island off the coast of Cancun. For a $10ish and a 30-minute boat ride, you can spend a day, or a few, on a 5-mile island soaking up the sun. We have friends that visit Isla fairly often, as in several times a year, and they can’t stop talking about how amazing it is. Of course this meant that we needed to see if for ourselves and I started planning.
Isla Mujeres is small, but not walk the whole island small, because why would you do that when you can rent a golf cart and really go exploring? This was one of the top things on our list to do, and we almost did it as soon as we arrived. When you dock in Isla there are a few ways to get to your resort, you can hire a pedicab that will load your luggage up and then walk you to the resort while telling you tales of the island, you can hire a taxi, or even walk, if you aren’t too far. We preferred the taxi option because after our morning, we needed a drink!
As we drove through the town, I couldn’t wait to explore more. We ended up taking the first two days to really relax, but then we were all ready to do some adventuring. Our resort, Mia Reef, offered golf cart delivery services. You could rent through the front desk and they would bring a golf cart to you. It was about $50 for a 24 hour rental, which was perfect for us. Our resort was at one end of the island, so it made sense to go around the loop.
There are two sides to the island, the one along the water, and the other along the houses and through the town, we started through the town. You will see massage stands, craft huts, restaurants, bars, and lots of other golf carts and scooters. We made two stops on our way to the other end, the first was at the giant Whale Shark to snap some photos, and the second was at the adventure center. The views were incredible and even my grandparents were thinking about zip-lining. If this wasn’t the day after Dave’s health scare (which is a story I may eventually tell) we probably would have spent the rest of the day there because it looked absolutely beautiful.
We continued our ride to the end of the island where there is a sculpture garden and ruins. The ruins and the garden were ticketed, so we couldn’t wander, but it was definitely worth the stop because the cliffs looked so pretty against the blue water. Iguanas were sunbathing everywhere, which is likely the reason behind the giant iguana statue.
On the way back we drove along the water side of the island and were amazed by some of the houses that were built right on the side of the road. It was amazing to see how big and beautiful these homes were, some of them reminded me of the houses in Greece. We made a pit stop to search for souvenirs in town, and then made our way back to the resort to go for a swim. If you are headed to Mexico or Isla Mujeres in the future, I highly recommend taking time to explore the island on your own time and by golf cart.
