In addition to Cozumel – Mexico's largest inhabited island and a tourist destination in itself – Cancún is flanked by the smaller islands of Isla Mujeres, Contoy and Holbox. All of them are lovely bits of coral-based terra firma, covered with sand and basking in the sun.
Holbox is 10 km off the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. It spreads for 40 km, east to west, linking the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean Sea. It is riddled with wetlands and only two kilometers across at its widest point. The locals are fishermen and birding is spectacular.
Contoy is a federally-protected bird sanctuary located north of Cancún, east of Cabo Catoche [the tip of the peninsula]. The island is 7.3 km long, 800 m wide, and home to both resident and migratory species.
Isla Mujeres is the most popular of the northern islands, and certainly the easiest to reach. There are day trips and a regular ferry service from Cancún. Only seven km long, a kilometer wide, Isla is a destination in itself. Playa Norte has the best beaches and most of the action. Isla is provincial Mexico and very different from its younger, flashier sister across the bay. People come for a weekend and stay the month.
The chain of islands off the coast of northern Quintana Roo are the treasures of the Mexican Caribbean: Isla Mujeres, Contoy, habitat of countless sea birds, and Holbox, a remote and little-visited island of fishermen.
In addition to Cozumel – Mexico's largest inhabited island and a tourist destination in itself – Cancún is flanked by the smaller islands of Isla Mujeres, Contoy and Holbox. All of them are lovely bits of coral-based terra firma, covered with sand and basking in the sun.
Holbox is 10 km off the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. It spreads for 40 km, east to west, linking the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean Sea. It is riddled with wetlands and only two kilometers across at its widest point. The locals are fishermen and birding is spectacular.
Contoy is a federally-protected bird sanctuary located north of Cancún, east of Cabo Catoche [the tip of the peninsula]. The island is 7.3 km long, 800 m wide, and home to both resident and migratory species.
Isla Mujeres is the most popular of the northern islands, and certainly the easiest to reach. There are day trips and a regular ferry service from Cancún. Only seven km long, a kilometer wide, Isla is a destination in itself. Playa Norte has the best beaches and most of the action. Isla is provincial Mexico and very different from its younger, flashier sister across the bay. People come for a weekend and stay the month.
The chain of islands off the coast of northern Quintana Roo are the treasures of the Mexican Caribbean: Isla Mujeres, Contoy, habitat of countless sea birds, and Holbox, a remote and little-visited island of fishermen.
© 2004 Editorial Veras. La guía Oficial del Caribe Mexicano.