An Isla Mujeres Snorkeling Day Trip from Cancún

A day trip to snorkel off Isla Mujeres from Cancún is easy to plan once you know the order: cross, snorkel, eat, swim, cross back. This guide builds the day around the trip you pick, and says when a pickup day beats the ferry. If you would rather be collected at your hotel, the Isla Mujeres snorkeling tours from Cancun do that, and you can skip straight to them.

How does the day fit together?

The island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Cancún, by the tourism board's own figure. Almost every shared reef trip meets downtown, a short walk from where the ferry lands. So the plan is simple: take a ferry that lands you with time to spare, walk to the meeting point, snorkel for three or four hours, then spend the rest of the day on the island.

The one thing to fix first is the start time of your trip. The most-booked reef trip leaves at noon. Contoy Adventours meets at 8:30am for the bird island. Your booking tells you the time for the others. Work backwards from that.

Give yourself slack. A missed ferry or a long ticket queue can cost you the trip, so aim to reach the meeting point early.

Pack for the whole day, not just the boat. Wear your swimwear under your clothes, and bring a towel, a long-sleeved shirt for the sun, water, and cash for the fee on the day and for tips. A small bag is easier to carry on the ferry and to stow on a crowded boat. Leave anything you would hate to lose at the hotel.

Which ferry terminal should you use?

Puerto Juárez is the usual crossing from the city, and Ultramar sells Isla Mujeres crossings from there and from two piers in the hotel zone, Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol. Pick the terminal nearest where you sleep.

Fares and timetables change, so check them with the ferry company when you travel. Buy a return, and note the last crossing back before you leave the mainland. If you stay north of the city, the whale shark days and some private boats meet you at the Punta Sam terminal.

Morning or afternoon trip?

A noon trip gives you a relaxed start: an unhurried breakfast, a mid-morning ferry and time to find the shop. You are back by mid-afternoon, with the beach still ahead of you.

An early trip suits a day that ends back on the mainland in daylight. It also suits a hot day, when you want the snorkel done before the midday sun. Contoy is the extreme case: at 8:30am on the island, you either take a very early ferry or sleep on the island the night before.

The light and the sea vary more by weather than by the clock. On a windy day the reefs are choppy whatever the time. Every fare refunds in full up to 24 hours before, so watch the forecast and move the day if you must.

What about lunch?

Plan it around the trip. The Contoy Adventours reef trip puts lunch in the fare. The Isla Fun Tours trip sells it as a US$10 add-on. The Island Adventures trip serves a snack ashore afterwards, which is not a full meal. The rest leave it to you.

On a noon trip, eat a late breakfast and have lunch in town afterwards. On a morning trip, eat on the island when you land. Either way, drink water, as the sun on the boat is strong.

Where can you swim after the trip?

At the north beach. Playa Norte sits at the island's northern tip, a walk from downtown, and the Quintana Roo tourism board names it among the island's main attractions. The whale shark days stop there for a swim on the way home.

It is a swim, not a reef: the coral and the statues are offshore, where the boats go. Bring a towel, since several trips exclude them, and keep an eye on the time if you have a ferry to catch.

How do you get around the island?

On foot downtown, and by golf cart beyond it. The tourism board notes that visitors explore the island in golf carts, and the island is small enough that a few hours in one covers a lot. Most reef trips meet within walking distance of the ferry.

Casa del Buceo is the exception: its pier is about five minutes' drive from the ferry terminals, so take a taxi. Every meeting point is on the snorkeling map.

What if you would rather not take the ferry?

Book a trip that collects you. The whale shark days sell hotel pickups in Cancún, and so do the private museum boat and the yacht. The private catamaran leaves from a marina on the mainland coast north of Cancún and sails across.

No shared reef trip collects you: for those, the ferry is part of the day. Every trip with a mainland start is compared on Isla Mujeres snorkeling tours from Cancun.

Is a whale shark day a better use of the day?

In season, it can be. From 15 May to 17 September, a whale shark day replaces the reef trip with six hours at sea, a pickup, lunch and a snorkel stop on the way back. It is a full day at sea, not a day on the island.

Outside those dates it is not an option. SEMARNAT sets the season, and no swim is sold before or after it. The shared days and the private boat are compared on Isla Mujeres whale shark tours.

What does the day cost?

Add four things. The fare: from $50 a person for the cheapest reef trip to $89 for the short small-group one. The cash fee on the day, from nothing to US$20. The ferry both ways, which you buy yourself. And lunch, unless your trip includes it.

A pickup day has fewer lines on the bill, but a bigger fare: $155 to $160 a person for a shared whale shark day, plus US$10 or US$20 cash. Every fare, fee and extra is set out in our guide to prices and fees.

What if the weather turns?

The operator decides on the day. A crew may swap a stop for a calmer one, or cancel, and most listings then offer a different date or a full refund. If you have a flexible day in your holiday, book the snorkel early in your stay so there is room to move it.

Plan around the seasons too. In Cancún's records, from the SMN station across the channel, March is the driest month and April has the fewest rain days. October is the wettest, inside the Atlantic hurricane season that runs from 1 June to 30 November. CONANP warns that the January north winds often keep the port closed for Isla Contoy. Month by month, the detail is on the best time to visit page.

Should you stay the night on the island?

If your trip starts early, it helps. The Contoy day meets at 8:30am on the island, and a night there turns a rushed crossing at first light into a short walk to the office on Avenida Juárez. A whale shark day from the island dock works the same way. It also lets you snorkel one day and spend the next at the beach, with no ferry in between.

For a noon reef trip, a day trip from Cancún is enough. You cross mid-morning, snorkel, eat, swim and cross back before dark. Either way, keep your ferry ticket safe: you need the return half to get home.

How do the three kinds of day compare?

Here are three ways to spend the day, from each trip's own times and terms. The fare is the trip alone; the ferry and the cash fee are on top.

Want the reefs chosen for you? Our guide to choosing a snorkeling trip narrows the shared trips down.

Frequently asked questions

Trips that fit a day from Cancún

Isla Mujeres Snorkeling Adventure at the Underwater Museum

Three snorkel stops around the island with a guide, from across the ferry terminal, and every dock fee and tax already in the fare. Lunch is a US$10 add-on, and drinks are yours to bring.

From $59 per person

Check Availability

Snorkeling in Isla Mujeres and Underwater Museum

Four hours on the reefs and the underwater museum from a downtown office, with lunch in the fare. Drinks are extra, and there is a US$10 dock fee each; infant seats and strollers are welcome.

From $65 per person

Check Availability

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)

Check Availability