Adventures in Holbox Island in Mexico and around

At 150 kilometers from Cancun, the small island of Holbox provides a great opportunity to vacation. It is easy to get to the island of Holbox, a backwater in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, just on the opposite side of the famous sands of Cancun, Tulum and Playa del Carmen. But to reach this small village of sandy streets, bereft of cars, it takes a few seconds to realize that the journey was worth it in this town does not lose its fishing tradition.

Photography by Šarunas Burdulis

Aspects of the island of Holbox:

Holbox is just 42 miles long and about 2 wide. Age, years ago, a place inhabited only by fishermen. Today, the boats are mixed in a picturesque beach with hotels eternal hidden among palm trees, hammocks, pelicans, gulls and palapas where you can enjoy the sunsets from micheladas (beer with lemon juice and salt) in a relaxed space, ideal for lowering change.

How to get to Holbox?

But getting there is almost an adventure in itself. The starting point is Cancun. Holbox is only 150 miles away, a distance that is short on maps, but on the ground can take up to five hours exploring it. You have to come to the village of Chiquilá (by bus takes about three hours) and then take the ferry that crosses in 40 minutes to the island.

From Cancun you can take a bus or rent a car milkman to travel to Chiquila coastal town that is off the island. The bus ride takes about three hours. From Chiquilá you take a ferry, which takes about 40 minutes to cross the Gulf of Mexico to the dock in Holbox. Once on the dock of the island just take one of the golf carts that make taxi to reach the coast or the main square, where most hotels.

Holbox Island Progress:

Since arriving at the dock and across the people you have certainty that the world is far from the resorts and bustle of the big coastal cities. The streets are covered with sand, there is an ATM on the island, the locals speak Mayan, and the central square is dominated by locals selling handicrafts and some restaurants offering ceviches, fish, tacos, pizza or grilled sea famous, amongst other things. Months ago the first cinema opened, where every day is announced in a handwritten card, taped to the wall, the two films to be broadcast tonight.

The colorful reigns in the walls of all houses on the island, home to around 2000 people engaged in fishing or tourism. There is a small Italian community, dedicated, when not, to the food and hospitality.

Photography by jarito

Fun in Holbox:

The whale shark comes to the waters of Holbox in the summer, from June to September. Despite its frightening name and size, the whale shark, they say here, is a gentle, and fish, with which you can swim safely. That is precisely the experience that gives Miguel, like many other locals. «The skin is like velvet,» he says, then smiling and nodding when asked if touched at all.

Holbox, which in Maya means black hole, also offers experiences of this kind of tranquility and a relaxed atmosphere. A typical day might start with a walk along the beach for breakfast at El Cafecito, ridden by Italian small cafe, a few blocks from the main square. For the rest of the day, most hotels sell drinks or beer to kill the hours of beach, either in a chair, a hammock, a box with a mattress and cushions or nothing but a towel on the sand.

In the evening, after the return of the fishermen, the beach is filled with gulls and pelicans that fly over the boats of fishermen. This is the best time to reach out to some of the palapas to enjoy a serving of guacamole or a plate of ceviche as the sun sets on the horizon, giving way to a sky full of stars.

Gastronomy in Holbox:

The town’s main square and its surrounding streets have several dining options for less than $ 20, simple or sophisticated places. The island offers menu icons feeders with some Mexican food, as the typical tacos and quesadillas, but also lobster, seafood, ceviche, fish or, if preferred, all together in a grilled seafood.

But the magic of the place has been a magnet for many foreigners who settled there are also dishes from all latitudes and for all tastes. Edelyn on the plaza, has an interesting menu in the lobster pizza. Nostalgic can come to La Parrilla de Juan, Argentina in a corner terrace just steps from the plaza, where you can enjoy steaks. Without being the most attractive restaurant on the island, pelicans, with their pasta with seafood sauce, enjoys an excellent reputation.

While people die at 22:00 am, when silence becomes deeper, there is some room for the night life in bars and music from a handful of bars, which rises when young students flee to the Mexican beaches.

Beaches in Holbox:

However, the long beach of the island, where the whiteness of the sand lost in waters ranging from blue and turquoise, is the jewel of the place. For those seeking a bit of adrenaline in the water can take lessons in kite for $ 75 or rent for $ 25 an hour to row the ocean tables standing.

A long walk along the coast to the area of Yum Balam reserve, leads to a tropical paradise with an abundance of iguanas, pink flamingos and pelicans. It is an amazing place for bird watching enthusiasts.

Being close to the beach is a bit more expensive than staying in a hotel in the town square, but worth it. Prices for hotels are between 75 and 200 U.S. dollars on the beach, above the values that get away from the sand.

But many of these hotels have a spirit of inn, sun loungers and hammocks on the beach, lots of wood and candles that are mixed with fabrics in green, blue, red and yellow. The beach offers from options to the more sophisticated rustic, but most involved in the same philosophy: few people, lots of personality and details of a well-kept house rather than a hotel. Mawimbi is one of the recommended hotels, served by a pair of Italian travelers, Carmelo and Ornella (rooms 75 to $ 195).

Photography by Šarunas Burdulis

Holbox is a hidden gem behind-hour trip, the kind that’s hard to find, and to cast doubt on whether it will be a good idea to tell the tale. Do not be a thing for fear that, for many years, someone comes to mind to create a direct flight to the small airport, or build one of those hotels that offer all that scare-free prices, a flood of outsiders end up chase the magic of a place where time seems at times to have stopped.

Good Trip to Holbox!