BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS NEAR CANCUN

We continue today, with the tour of beautiful places near Cancun to visit in one day, Today we will talk about the closeby islands to the Solaris hotels. The perfect place to Relax and meditate, and why not? Getaway a bit form all the noise in the hotel zone, take in consideration, that to get to these islands, you must board a boat, yacht or ferry.

There are many more islands, but due they are too small, the only way of getting there is thru private boats, Here you will read the list of 6 to visit, that are the best, and what to do when you are there, according to my experience.

Isla Mujeres

This Island is just across the Solaris hotels in Cancun, with easy access by a Ferry that departs the hotel zone marina or the Puerto Juárez harbor, only a 30 min ride. This island is relatively small as its only 5 miles long by half a mile wide, the name came in the agent colonizers, they where exploring, and found a place with a lot of small crafted women dolls, the legend tells, that this where thrown, from the sea to worship the Fertility goddess Ixchel.

Once you are there, you can easily walk along the island, visit the central plaza, and window shop the craft market, swim in the beautiful crystal clear water, go to the lookout at the south end and enjoy the cliffs, go do snorkel at Garrafón or the underwater museum, also visit the turtle farm.

Also, by being an island, you have the best of both worlds, the Sunrise at the south end, and the sunset at the north beach, what else can you ask for, then the beauty that nature gives us, each and every day.

For all the food lovers, this is a fisherman's islands so you can eat several seafood dishes, the Tikinxic fish, is the specialty of the place, and I do recommend you to try the stuffed fish, that can be purchased on the fisherman's lodge.

In regard of the Scuba diving and snorkel, you can see, Turtle colonies, and colorful fish, but for the adventurous type, We highly recommend you to visit the Sleeping sharks' cave, a place where sharks go to rest for long periods, and not that far away from the island.

Cozumel

As we have stated before, this is divers paradise, because it has a diversity of reefs to explore, but it's also the shipping dock for all international cruises, that sail alongside the Caribbean. To go to Cozumel, first you have to drive to Playa del Carmen, and then take a boat to the island, it will take you around an hour and a half to get there.

One of the biggest islands in México, with 30 miles long and 9 miles wide, and by the way, the name of the island, means land of the swallow bird.

This place is known because of the divers but has many other Eco-friendly activities to do, you can practice windsurf, deep sea fishing, golf, zip lining, go to the Crocodiles Sanctuary, or visit the archeological zone of San Gervasio

3 must-see places:

El Cielo, an incredible beach that has almost half a mile of crystal clear powder blue water, and sanctuary of the starfish and other fish colonies. Perfect place to do snorkel, since its dept is less than 3 feet.

Underwater park of Palancar - The real diver's paradise, its reef, has 4 different coral reef formations, caves, and depts, giving it the unique, adventurous touch, multiple fish colonies, and manta rays can be seen nearby.

Chankanaab National park - its actually a coastal sinkhole, nearby you can dive and search for the remains of ships, and the image of the Cozumel cross, on the park you can also find zip lines, beautiful white sand beaches, pools and more, You can interact, with dolphins, sea lions and manatees, something kids really love.

Isla Blanca

This small island, its actually not an island, you will ask me, hows that even possible? First of all, its part of the Cancun peninsula, and you can get there driving, but its so narrow, that at some point the tide crosses from one side to another, on one end you could enjoy a powder white sand beach, and on the other we will find the Chacmuchuc lagoon, on both sides the waves are so calm, perfect for the practice of kite surf or windsurf.

Now, here comes the kicker, the only way to get there is on your own car, and because its an unexplored beach, you won't find any signs, shops, or people selling you things, so come prepared with food and drink, this is one of the last well kept secrets of Cancun.

Holbox

The farthest one, form this article, but without a doubt, the travel is worth it, Holbox its almost 3 hours away from the Solaris hotels in Cancun, you will need to first travel from Cancun to Chiquilá, and afterward take the ferry across the island. On the way there you will have more than enough time to admire the vegetation form the country, with 21 miles of beautiful beaches, the name of the island comes from the Mayan language and means Blackhole.

Like every island, their main activity is fishing, and lobster is what there is most of, I highly recommend you to try the home cooked dish, the Lobster pizza.

Within the things to do while being there, its relax and rest all day long, but also you can see the incredible show at night by the bioluminescence, that some marine life does on the water, see the pink flamingos, or the pelicans, Swim next to the Whale shark (it's seasonal )

By being a small island, there is no cellphone signal, and most of the places there, don't have even TV sets ( yes, there is electricity on the island ), but they don't use them, as there are things to do in the evening and at night, take a walk on the main plaza, and listen to the live bands, eat an ice cream, go out and walk in the beach under the bright starts, two things into consideration : the streets are not urbanized, and the ferry stops crossing the water at 4 pm, so after 4 you are going to have to sleep there.

Isla contoy

This small island that has only 5 miles, it's the home of more than 150 bird species, that's why, its unofficial name is the bird island, very close to Cancun, and to the Solaris Hotels.

Now, let me tell you, this is a protected area, as 3 different endangered turtles, live here, and lay their eggs on the island, The Carey, White, and Caguama, also 70 % of the island is covered by mangrove.

The Ecotourism is allowed, but limited to only 200 tourists a day, not to affect their Ecosystem, if you have the opportunity to go, I do advise you to apply for a guided visit by one of the marine life specialist that do their internship in the island.

Isla Banco chinchorro

A Coral base island, as a longitude of over 28 miles, and its 9 miles wide, a bit over 5 hours away from the Solaris hotels..

The main attraction as most is diving, thousands of fish inhabit this region, as well as you can find Spanish ships, sunk on the bottom of the sea, the best find by expert divers, on the land side, you can also see hundreds of reptiles, like Iguanas, lizards, and crocodiles

The Spanish ships, crashed on the coral reef walls, and the locals tell us that there are over 18 ships around the island, and many more to discover.

Something really impressing about this island, is that in the middle of it, it has a lagoon, with 3 small islands.

As you can see, Cancun and his surroundings have a wide variety of things to do and explore. Don't let the opportunity get away, to visit one in your next trip to Solaris Hotels.

We hope to see you soon, and for you to enjoy unforgettable vacations.