Our 2 days on Holbox island and travel tips
We added Holbox to our travel list at the last minute as we had a few days left with no plans and local people had recommended this island to us several times. In retrospect, we are still not sure if it was the right decision, because in November the beaches were full of seaweed and the sea was not very clean either. But in general, we have to say that there was a great and relaxed atmosphere here, which made the end of our trip to Mexico very pleasant 🙂
Best activities on Holbox island
Relax
Seriously, Holbox is above all a laid-back island where no one rushes anywhere. Just lie down on the beach, in a hammock or on a lounger and soak up the relaxing atmosphere.
Best beaches on Holbox island
- Playa Holbox – the main beach around which you will find the most beach bars, sunbeds, swings, etc.
- Playa Punta Cocos – it is located about 2.5 km from the center and we we walked there. Some people rented bike or island taxis, which can be found on every corner (yellow golf carts) as a mode of transportation. But this beach disappointed us a bit because the water was more brown than blue (maybe we were just unlucky in November). It is a long sandy and small stone beach, around which there are a few bars and a hammocks. Apparently, it is possible to see bioluminescen plankton here in the evening. But we didn´t stay on the beach long enough to be able to confirm or deny it 😀
- Punta Mosquito and how to see flamingos – when it was low tide, we put on our swimsuits and headed towards Punta Mosquito beach. Due to the low tide and the low water level, a strip of sand was created a few meters from the beach, along which it was possible to walk to the nature reserve. There is possible to see flamingos. But don’t think, you can’t walk through it with dry feet, sometimes we had water up to our bellies. The journey took us about an hour and we even saw a few flamingos, so it was worth it 😀 We won’t tell you the exact route, we just followed the crowd and were about 200-300m from the beach the whole time we were walking. The approximate location is here
Kitesurfing alias kiting
There are many kiting schools on the island, so don’t hesitate if you have ever wanted to try this activity. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it during those 2 days, but we saw a lot of people learning it during the low tide. It looked fun and safe thanks to the low water level 🙂
How to get to Holbox island by bus or car
Bus + Ferry
First, you need to get to the town Chiquilá by (ADO)bus from where the ferry goes to Holbox. The bus goes from every major city, for example we went from Valladolid. There are two ferry companies that go to Holbox – Holbox Express and 9 Hermanos, and apart from the departure times, there is no difference between them and both cost the same, 220 MXN (approx. 12 USD, November 2022).
Car + ferry
You have to park your car in Chiquilá, as there are no proper roads on Holbox and the only ones that drive there are golf carts 😀 For information about the ferry, see above.
Accommodation on Holbox island
Prices of accommodations are higher on the island compared to the mainland part of the Yucatán Peninsula. Because of this, we ended up spending 2 nights in a tent, which was good except for the high number of mosquitoes. Having a repellent on Holbox is still a must. It was called Mapache Hostel and a good breakfast was included in the accommodation price. If you don’t mind a tent, we can definitely recommend it. It is also located very close to the beach
Restaurants and cafés on Holbox
- Complemento Café Holbox – great place for brunch, coffee and fast wifi. It is more expensive in terms of price, but it is worth it
- Esta al Carbon – burgers, wings
- Complemento Café Holbox -delicious coffee
- Casa Alebrije Holbox – tasty nachos and margarita, cool interior
