Isla Mujeres Snorkeling: Isla Contoy or a Reef Trip?
The short answer. Choose a reef trip if snorkeling is the point and you have an afternoon. Choose Isla Contoy if you want a whole day at sea with birds, a beach and lunch, and only a short snorkel. The reef trips take three or four hours. The Contoy day takes six, with about three hours on the island. In January, the north winds often keep Contoy's port shut, so plan a reef trip instead.
The two at a glance
| Isla Contoy day | A reef trip | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | About 6 hours | 3 to 4 hours |
| Fare | Just under US$180 a person | US$50 to US$89 a person |
| On the day | US$20 dock tax each | Nothing to US$15 each |
| Snorkeling | One stop on the way | Three stops, usually |
| Also | Birds, a guided walk, a beach, lunch | The underwater statues |
| Start | 8:30am, downtown | Morning or noon, downtown |
| January | The port is often shut | Runs if the sea allows |
The fares are the listings' own, and a reef trip's dock fee depends on which one you book. What each fee covers, and the park's own wristband charge, is set out in the visitor guide.
What Isla Contoy is
Isla Contoy is a separate national park, about 25 km north of Isla Mujeres by boat. It is a bird island first. CONANP lists brown pelicans and magnificent frigatebirds among its species, along with spiny-tailed iguanas, hermit crabs, hawksbill turtles and four kinds of mangrove. You walk its trails only with a guide, and that is the park's rule, not the tour's.
The park is open every day from 9am to 6pm, weather permitting. Its fee is MXN 225 a person a day, with children under 12 exempt, the same exemptions as the reef park. Sunscreen is to be avoided on the island. Contoy has its own section on the snorkeling spots page.
A Contoy day, hour by hour
The Contoy day starts at 8:30am at an office on Av. Juárez in downtown Isla Mujeres. You walk to the dock and ride 45 minutes to an hour to the island. On the way, the boat stops to snorkel on the reef. Then you get about three hours ashore.
Ashore, a guide walks you through the island and explains it. After that comes lunch, a buffet in a palapa: grilled fish in the local tikin xic style, or chicken, with rice, pasta and salad. The rest of the time is yours on the beach. Water, soft drinks and beer are in the fare, and drinks with alcohol are for guests 18 and over.
Matthew C. had a guide who snorkeled with the group and found a lobster and an octopus. The birds around the lagoons were the highlight. Robert G. spent a little over three hours on the island, mostly relaxing on the beach, and found the guided walk short. So this is a nature-and-beach day with some snorkeling, not a snorkel trip with some island.
The rules on the island
Contoy is stricter than a beach day. CONANP sets four rules for visitors, and your guide will hold you to them:
- No smoking anywhere on the island.
- Touch nothing: not the birds, the nests, the iguanas or the coral.
- No sunscreen: wear clothes that cover you from the sun instead.
- A life jacket to snorkel: it is compulsory in the water.
The snorkel stop also depends on the sea. Laura T.'s crew found the usual spot ruled out by the weather and chose another near the island, with fish, starfish and stingrays. So treat the stop as the crew's call on the day. January is not always lost, either: Matthew C. went in January 2026. But plan as if the port may stay shut, and keep a spare day.
A reef trip, by contrast
A reef trip is all about the water. The three-stop reef and museum trip leaves a shop on Av. Hidalgo at noon: a drift past the lighthouse at El Farito, a calmer reef, then the underwater statues. You are back in town in three hours. That gives you three separate swims in one afternoon, where Contoy gives you one.
The reef trips are cheaper, and you choose between many boats and starts. You can also go small: the short two-reef trip takes eight guests for an hour and a quarter. What happens on a reef trip, step by step, is on the snorkeling adventure page.
The fees on each
This is where the two differ most. The Contoy day charges a US$20 dock tax on Isla Mujeres for every adult and every child. Its listing does not say whether Contoy's own MXN 225 park charge is in the fare, so ask before you go. Towels, photos and tips are extra.
A reef trip's extra is smaller, from nothing to US$15 a person in cash. Some put every fee in the fare. The three-stop trip includes marine reserve admission and adds a US$5 dock fee. So for a family of four, the gap is more than the difference in fares suggests.
- Contoy: the fare, plus US$20 each at the dock; ask about the park charge.
- A reef trip: the fare, plus the fee your listing names, if any.
- Both: cash, a towel, and a tip if the crew earned one.
Getting to the start
Both start in downtown Isla Mujeres, so if you are staying on the island you walk. The Contoy office is on Av. Juárez, two doors from Javi's Cantina. Be there by 8:30am for check-in, and the day ends back at the same office. CONANP says boats reach Contoy from Isla Mujeres, Puerto Juárez or Punta Sam, but this day leaves from the island.
If you are staying in Cancún, you need an early ferry to make an 8:30am start, and you arrive with little slack. A noon reef trip is kinder to a day-tripper. How the ferry and the piers work is on the getting there page.
Who each one suits
Choose Contoy if you love birds, want a quiet beach, and like a long, easy day with lunch laid on. It suits couples and families with patient children. It does not suit someone who wants three hours in the water, and it is not for anyone with back or heart problems, by the listing's own advice.
Choose a reef trip if snorkeling is why you came, if you are on a budget, or if you have only half a day. It suits first-timers too, because the shallow stops are easy. For your own boat on the reefs, look at Isla Mujeres private snorkeling tours.
Can you do both?
Yes, on different days. The Contoy boat leaves at 8:30am and is out for six hours, and the Hidalgo reef trip starts at noon, so they do not fit on one day. Do the reef trip first, on your first calm afternoon. Keep Contoy for a later morning when the forecast is settled, and you have a spare day if the port stays shut.
The sailing catamaran is a third way to spend a long day on the water. It sails from the mainland with about an hour and a half on Isla Mujeres. What lives on the reefs you will swim over on any of these is in our guide to the sea life, and the walk-by-walk piers are on the snorkeling map.
A whole day at sea, or a short swim
Contoy Island Tour from Cancun and Isla Mujeres with Snorkeling
A six-hour day to the bird island: about three hours ashore with a guide, a snorkel stop, and a buffet lunch with drinks in the fare. Meet downtown at 8:30am; the dock tax of US$20 each is extra.
From $177 per person
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Half Day Sailing Private Catamaran to Isla Mujeres
A private sailing catamaran for up to 12 from the mainland marina, with snorkel gear, drinks and about an hour and a half on the island. Wheelchair accessible; a US$20 cash surcharge each at check-in.
From $949 per group (up to 12)
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Isla Mujeres Snorkeling Tour
An hour and a quarter on two shallow reefs with a dive shop's crew, eight guests at most. Gear and drinking water are in the fare, so the rest of your day stays free for the island.
From $89 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Before you book, read our packing list for the boat. Every fare sits side by side on Isla Mujeres Snorkeling Tours.