We have been wanting to take a day trip,with golf cart,s to the island for years now, any advice or must-dos that we should know? Thanks for the help!
it's always fun with another couple or 3, especially with someone who has gone before. it's also fun just to explore on your own at your own pace. although some of info is dated, you can get a good idea of things to do, see, and eat here: Isla Mujeres travel guide - Wikitravel one tip, do not leave anything in the golf cart. the locals might like to help themselves.
Go to the beach and walk right until you get to the marina - it's just a short walk. You could also walk the street...just go left. Buy your ferry tickets and pay attention to the return times for the ferry. You can also prepay for your golf cart there...although there plenty of options for that on the island.
We did the golf cart thing during our NYE 15/16 trip. We are by no means "experienced" on the island but here are a few notables. 1 - We rented our cart from they guy at the marina before heading over on the ferry. Others had told us it was about $20-$30 cheaper. As best we can tell it was. The cart place holds your drivers license until you return. The line to pick up the cart was really slow -took about 25 minutes. 2 - We did a loop of the whole island looking for local joints to stop and have a drink/beer and lunch. Kind of a "beer crawl", but next time I think we could do it better. We found "Soggy Peso", "The Joint", and a few other beer stops that we don't recall the names of. You must stop at “Villa La Bella” for a beer, if only to see their bathroom. Their sign outside reads “Beer so cold it will make your teeth hurt”. Google maps street view link 3 - There are a number of touristy things around the island (zip line, tortoise zoo, swim the the…). We didn’t do any of these, opting to just relax, drink, and see the sights. 4 - The far side of the island is very scenic, and if you don’t see it, you didn’t see the island. 5 - Use pesos -the exchange rates the locals give you is really bad. 6 - If you've spent the day drinking especially, pay close attention to the lines for the return ferry. We were forewarned by someone else and still almost did it wrong. The Embarcadero is the correct one, and the line is actually on the outside of the building. Enjoy! LEMO
LEMO's post is spot on. Some things I'd add though: - Villa la Bella has the BEST Pina Coladas! Made from scratch, I believe. - The little Turtle Farm is very inexpensive and quite interesting! - Mark on a map where you rented your golf cart. The town can look very different when you return from a different direction.
Exellent post. We mak a trip to Isla every trip. The beer crawl on the cart is great. We've hit every bar on the Island (I think). Some BEAUTIFUL places on the far side of the island that almost looks like the rocky coast of central California. Very different than the hotel zone beaches. The Ice Bar beach is a cool beach also.
We've heard the sand on Playa Norte/Coco Beach (North Beach) is pure white powder. Not sure about topless sunbathing. Probably OK if discreet. Sounds like a fun day! M&D
Playa Norte is sugar white sand. Have never seen any topless in 3 trips there. Lots of kids around every time we were there.
I would recommend Garafon. It is a great place to chill for the day. Have 3 really cool ziplines with spectacular views over the ocean. Buy the VIP ticket as it includes the cost of ziplining and a private pool and restaurant area that is all inclusive. The food was excellent You can take a cab here from the ferry for 120 pesos ( 8$) if you don't want to rent a cart.
We just did the trip last Thursday. LEMO is pretty spot on. Do it with others, it makes it more fun, we went with a couple we meet the day before and had a blast. Turtles is so cheap its worth seeing. "Cancun side" of the island is not scenic but lots of bar fun etc... make sure you do the loop as the EAST side is unreal for views ! Stop in ZAMA restaurant and beach club, pools, showers, great food nice place to cool off. Looks like private club , however it is open to public.
