If you are planning a trip to Mexico and want to avoid the spring vacation/summer crowds that flood Cancun and Tulum, then Isla Holbox Mexico should be on your itinerary. Think Tulum without the sea weeds floating on the beaches, boho chic vibes that can be experienced without the expensive price tag and large crowd. Isla Holbox has all that, and more.
Before getting to the top things you must see and do in this island to have the best time, we will share some of the important things you should know when you are planning your trip!
Tips to Plan Your Visit to Holbox Mexico
- Book Your Flights in Advance: We like to keep looking at deals that will help us spend less on flight tickets. On most days, you can find a good deal on flights like Spirit/American Airlines to fly into Mexico, but the tickets can get expensive when it’s spring break time or summer. Keep tracking flights on Google, Skyscanner and apps like Going to get the best deals
- Carry Cash (Mexican Pesos): While many major cities in Mexico like Cancun and Tulum accept credit cards that allow international transactions, Holbox is still a considerably remote island where cash is a highly popular form of payment. There are only a few ATMs in the island and they can run out of cash really quickly when it’s tourist season. You can withdraw some cash in the airport/port in Chiquila before you travel to the island
- Withdrawing Cash from Holbox ATMs: If you forget to carry sufficient cash and need to withdraw some for quick emergencies, there are still a few ATMs you can check out at the island. CIBanco Holbox ATM is an option that you can checkout. It’s best to try withdrawing cash early in the day to avoid the long lines at ATM. On weekends, ATMs are almost always out of cash so it’s best to carry a good amount of cash while coming to the island
- Carry Reef-Safe Sunscreen: Holbox Mexico is a part of the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area in Mexico which means we should do everything we can to respect the rules of preservation. Make sure you carry reef safe sunscreen that won’t affect the water in Holbox
- Learn Mexican Phrases: The small business and some big businesses in the island still prefer communicating in spanish. Learn the numbers in spanish like “uno”, “dos”, “tres”, “cuatro”, “cinco” to communicate the number of people for restaurant reservations, to understand the cost of activities/things you wish to buy and phrases like “cuanto cuesta” to ask how much something costs, “sin carne” to ask the restaurants for food without meat in them. “No hablo español” is an important phrase to indicate that you don’t speak spanish
- Supermarkets: In case you need to stock up on essentials like water, snacks or other things, you can check out the following options available on island- Super Monkeys, Abarrotes Dunosusa, GoMart (Open 24 hours), Besa for international items
Best Time to Visit Holbox Mexico
You can plan your visit during the following months depending on the type of activities you wish to experience. Sharing some of our tips on what we think is the best season to visit Holbox!
November to April (Dry Season): This is considered the most popular time to visit the island when there are no rains and the temperature hovers between 66 F to 90 F during the day. The water temperature is always between 75 F-81 F throughout the year which makes it perfect for swimming and relaxing. Spring break and Christmas fall in this season and bring a lot of tourists to the island (source: holbox info)
June to September (Wet Season): The wet season sees a lot of rain in the island. This tiny island also tends to get flooded with water during the wet season causing water to fill the roads. If you plan to travel to Holbox Mexico in this season, make sure you check the weather forecast before booking tickets. It’s best avoid days that predict rain or days after heavy rains. The water on the roads can take some time to dry. This is also the best time to go to the island if you want to swim with the whale sharks.
Hot Tip: We went in May, which is the shoulder month of the year. The island is calm during this month with lesser crowds since the dry season period is over and the wet season is yet to start. The temperatures during the day can get a little hot and humid on some days and there can be scattered rain on some days. But if you plan well and look at the forecasts before traveling, this can be one of the best times to visit the island and get cheaper prices on activities/hotel rooms
Getting to the Island
There is no way to get to Holbox Mexico directly via flights. Since it’s a remote island, traveling here can take some planning and effort. You would need to fly into an airport closest to the island.
We took an American Airlines flight from Austin, USA to Cancun, Mexico. The duration of the flight was roughly 2.5 to 3 hours and cost us USD 300 per person round trip. You can also fly into Tulum instead. It takes the same amount of time to reach Holbox from both these cities.
Once you reach Cancun/Tulum, you can either drive to the port of Chiquila or take an ADO bus to Chiquila from the airport. ADO buses depart once during the day from Tulum and cost ~600 MXN while they depart from Cancun 3-4 times a day and cost ~400 MXN pesos the travel can take anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
We chose to book an AVIS rental from the Cancun airport and drove to the port of Chiquila. From Chiquila, you will need to take a ferry to reach Holbox Island. Holbox Mexico is a car-free island so you will need to park your car at the port. There are multiple parking lots near the port and you can find them by searching “chiquila car parking” on Google. We parked in the Los Grillos parking lot which cost us 100 pesos per day. The lots are safe and there is a cover over all the parking lots which will keep your car from heating up.
Once you have parked your car in the parking lot, there are two ferry operators that you can choose from, Holbox Express or 9 Hermanos. You can either book the tickets online on their website or on the ticket counter at the port. The ticket costs 300 MXN one way per adult. Holbox Ferry operates from Chiquila every day 6:30 AM – 8:30 PM while 9 Hermanos operates from Chiquila every day 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, so there is a ferry available every half hour. The timings are roughly similar when you want to return from Holbox to Chiquila. Check their website for the latest info on timings and cost of the ticket.
The ferry takes 25-30 mins to reach Isla Holbox which makes the total journey time from Airport to Island, roughly 3-4 hours.
Stays in Holbox
Holbox Mexico has something to offer to every type of traveler, whether you are looking for a budget hotel or planning a luxury getaway. We were looking for a budget hotel which would not cost us too much so we stayed at Sirenas Carribbean Rooms Holbox. The property was hardly a couple of minutes from Playa Holbox beach which was extremely convenient since we spent most of the time on the beach. The room cost us roughly USD 150 for 2 days. The rooms were nothing special but we were okay with that.
Stays that won’t break the bank: If you looking for something a bit more nice but still within budget, you can check out Macondo Holbox for its bohemian chic vibes while still being close to the beach. You can choose Hotel La Palapa if you want a beachfront property within budget. Do note that La Palapa is an adults only hotel.
Luxury Stays: If you are looking for luxurious properties, Holbox also has many of them. A few that we noticed while on the island were Dream Holbox, Las Nubes de Holbox – starting point for Punta Mosquito, Mystique Holbox and Nomad Holbox to name a few.
Things to do in Holbox Mexico
There are so many things you can do in Holbox based on your travel style and the season that you visit the island. We will be sharing a few activities that we experienced and think you should do too. We will also share things that we researched about but couldn’t go because there wasn’t enough time. You can also check some other places that we visited during our Mexico trip in our Yucatan Guide.
Bioluminescence Tour
Holbox Mexico is one of the few places in the world where you can witness the phenomenon of bioluminescence. There are multiple ways you can try out this activity. If you are more adventurous, you can go on a kayak tour offered by some tour companies like Holbox Xtreme. The tours cost somewhere between USD 30 to USD 50 for one person.
If you don’t feel like kayaking, you can do a tour that takes you out to a remote beach where you can spend an hour playing with the glowing water. We chose this option and it costs roughly around USD 30 per person. There are many small tour operators along the Playa Holbox beach and you can book with any of them. They will pick you up from your hotel and drop you off there after the tours.
If you don’t want to get a tour and try doing this on your own, you can walk away from the lights around the beach and go to a dark part of the beach. You might end up seeing the bioluminescence if you are far enough away from the restaurant lights. We didn’t try this option since we were not so aware of the local conditions and didn’t feel safe doing it alone.
Hot Tip: Since you need an extremely dark sky to view the bioluminescence, you should plan your trip during the new moon phase. If you try this activity close to a full moon, you might not be able to witness it.
See Flamingoes in Punta Mosquito
This is the best spot in Holbox Mexico to spot flamingoes. If you keep walking till the end of the land in Playa Holbox beach, you will reach Hotel Las Nubes. This will be your starting point to Punta Mosquito. You will need to walk through water on A sand bar for roughly an hour to reach Punta Mosquito. The entire activity will take you a couple of hours. It is a really fun thing to do and you should definitely add this to your itinerary. The flamingoes can be spotted here from April-October.
While it is recommended that you go early in the morning when the tides are low and birds are fishing in the ocean, you can still go a bit later in the day if you monitor the tide conditions during the day. It is definitely advised to visit here during a low tide so that you can find your way back to the main beach area. When we visited, tourists were still allowed to walk till the end of Punta Mosquito. Now, part of it is closed off and designated as a bird protection area.
We were able to see a lot of flamingoes even though we went a bit late in the day. We checked the tide conditions before going into the water.
Tip: Make sure you take a waterproof bag with you to carry your valuables and electronics while walking to Punta Mosquito. The water rises up steadily over the day so you can find yourself in more water than you started out with. Funnily, we didn’t anticipate this and ended up having to carry our tote bags over our heads like many of the people around us.
Sunset at Playa Holbox
You can end your day by catching a beautiful sunset and relaxing by a beachside restaurant. The vibe of the island turns very serene during the sunset with everyone chilling at the beach. Zomay is one of the most beautiful restaurants to catch the sunset from. They even have swings at the bar area giving off a luxurious chic vibe.
Zomay can be a bit expensive but you can enjoy a sunset from other restaurants too. We went to the restaurant in front of Dream Holbox. They had good vegeterian and meat options in their menu and the prices were also reasonable.
More Things to Explore in Isla Holbox Mexico
- Swim with the whale sharks from June-September: We went in May so these tours hadn’t started yet. If you plan to do this, make sure you research since this is also the wet season and the island can get flooded
- Take the three islands tour: Isla de los Pajaros, Isla de la Pasion and Yalahau Lagoon to swim in cenotes and explore the variety of birds and other fauna in the island. This can take atleast half a day and we advise you to keep an extra day in your itinerary if you wish to do this
Places to Eat in Holbox Mexico
There are a quite a few places where we loved eating while in Holbox. We are sharing some recommendations here with you so you can also enjoy all the options this island has:
Breakfast:
- Copal at Hotel Zomay for it’s avocado toast and specialty coffees
- Complemento for healthy breakfast options and smoothie bowls
- Clandestino for high-quality coffee
- Mercadito de Holbox for authentic local mexican food
- Painapol for boho vibes and delicious acai bowls
- Zonnebloem for pancakes, smoothies and cutesy vibes
- Arte Sano for vegan breakfast options
Lunch:
While I (Suraksha) do not eat meat, Holbox is known for it’s seafood and authentic mexican food. We are sharing recommendations that our hotel manager shared with us
- Mantarraya
- Las Panchas for shrimp tacos
- Big Fish
- Barracuda
- Viva Zapata
Dinner:
- La Pinza for lobster pizzas
- Casa de los Asadores for Grill dinner
After enjoying all the food options available in Holbox, it’s time for dessert! The streets are full of carts that serve Marquesitas and Crepes. You should definitely try them if you have a sweet tooth.
If you wish to enjoy the vibes of a beach club, you should check out the following places. The food can get expensive here but some of them have a really good ambience. We visited NANA which had beautiful blue decor and felt very aesthetic. Yes, it is instagram worthy!
Beach Clubs:
- Fresco
- Maruva in Punta Cocos for ceviches and seafood
- Nana for tacos and the ambience
- Mandarina
- Hotel Las Nubes for sandbank view of Punta Mosquito
We are sure you will have a wonderful time in Holbox if you follow this itinerary! Let us know in comments which of these activities you would like to try!
