Holbox

Holbox Island is a low-key beach town off the coast of Cancun. Previously it was known as the last sort of tranquilo, no-one-is-going-so-go-while-you-can kind of place. It still hasn’t been inundated with high rises and all-inclusives and it IS a bit of a faff to get there, but definitely everyone is going to Holbox so expect a lot of visitors. From our friends we had heard mixed reviews about Holbox, some loved it, some said it was just ok, others said not worth the hype. With all that in mind, I nervously booked it for 10 of us, including five kids and three generations of my husband’s family. In the end I we all enjoyed our six day trip of relaxing on the beaches of Holbox and were really glad we went over our Easter break (which this year was in early in the year and mid-March). We all felt that four full days plus our travel days was the perfect amount of time for Holbox.

How to get there
Holbox is 146 km and a two hour drive from Cancun airport to Chiquilá ferry port, and then a 20 min ferry ride, which is followed by a 10-15 min golf cart taxi to your hotel. So it does make getting there a bit of an adventure. We had a 6 a.m. flight from Mexico City which meant we had a half day on our first day, followed by four full days, and then on our last day we left the island at 4:30 p.m. for our 10 p.m. flight. We booked all our transfers (van, ferry, golf cart taxi) with the company Holboxeño. They were very responsive, friendly, invoiced us and were great to chat with in English on WhatsApp (+1 415 906-4276). They also offer excursions on the island and other transfer services around Cancun/Quintana Roo. My friend recommended them and she used them extensively and we both loved them and had a great experience with them. It was also nice to have someone waiting for you at the airport, at the ferry terminal you were simply handed your ferry tickets, and we were met on the other end at the golf carts. Super easy. There was no wandering around wondering what to do next.

Where to stay
As there were 10 of us, for the hotel we all had different criteria. We needed a few single beds, a large room for our family of five, we wanted breakfast included, to be on the beach, close to town to walk in for our other meals and no seaweed. I have to say, Hotel Zomay fit the bill! It had lush grounds with shady areas to read or play. A playground and volleyball net, paddle boards that you could just take out for free, a really nice, small beach where we never had an issue with seaweed. There was some cement structures in the nearby beach, but we saw many of these columns on the beach so that wasn’t unusual. The breakfast was varied and delicious with yogurt, eggs, pancakes, an avocado and mushroom toast options too, we all loved our breakfasts. It is also “the” place on the island to see the sunset. We had a private shady porch and hammock as part of our rooms and private access to the beach. The staff all spoke English and were very helpful. They will also book excursions for you, we booked one with them and that was a horseback ride through the mangroves for an hour and a half. The girls loved it! We were about 400 m walk more or less into town for all our meals or to take a boat tour so the location for us was perfect. But we were also far enough away that we didn’t hear the noise of town.

Other places where friends have stayed and recommended were Villas HM Paraiso del Mar, Palapas del Sol, Villas Flamingos and Blue Holbox.

Just because your hotel is on or near the beach, you should confirm they have direct beach access with sunbeds. Some don’t, and then you have to figure out your beach, shade, seats, etc.

What to do
Other than pristine beach, warm water, body surfing for two days when the waves picked up, and two perfectly still days in the sea, there are other things to do in Holbox as well. Two things we didn’t do due to the season (we went end of March) was swim with whale sharks and to see the bioluminescence (there was a full moon) and we also didn’t go do a three island tours of birds as it didn’t strike our fancy. We did book a six hour boat tour to the tip of Holbox to Cabo Catoche. They are all very similar in that you fish for your own catch, then you can snorkel and you end up swimming at a secluded beach while they prepare the fish you caught into ceviche or fry it for you. Snorkeling didn’t have any visibility when we were there, and it isn’t really usually very much see (according to our Capitan). We had fun fishing and the fried fish, ceviche, guacamole lunch was delicious. If you wanted something else to eat or drink it was easy to bring along. And there was a small kitchen bar on the island where you could get other drinks. There was also camping as well at Cabo Catoche. We saw turtles, dolphins, a manta ray when we stopped at a bird sanctuary, hermit crabs and sea birds. Our hotel and Holboxeño offer this trip but we booked with Andres Kyf Holbox on his WhatsApp at +52 999 994 8993 as he gave us a great rate and we had the boat to ourselves as we were 10 people. We would recommend him as we all enjoyed the day (minus the few who got a bit sea sick at the beginning!)

Another day we took the golf car taxis ($200 pesos per car and they hold four people each) to the end of Holbox to Hotel las Nubes (the last point where they can drop you off) so we could go walk out to Playa Punta Mosquito beach. You can carry your backpack (or leave in the mangroves on the beach) and then walk through the thigh-high water to the sand bar, continuing down the sand bar to the nature reserve and beach. The water is normally low down here but it was really high when we were there and we adults were splashing in calf-high water all the way out to the beach. It was a good workout! Our daughter can’t walk on sand due to her leg condition so we dragged her in the water all the way which she found fun. There is nothing there and it was very hot so bring sunscreen, a hat and water at the very least. We weren’t staying all day so we didn’t bring, or need, towels or snacks. We then walked back towards town and had lunch at Mantarraya which had been recommended many times and did not disappoint! It’s a beachside restaurant on the sand and in the shade. I had buttery shrimp that were some of the best I’ve had. We then taxied back to the hotel.

We enjoyed walks to the other end of the island to Playa Punta Cocos. From our hotel we could walk along the beach, although the sea was so high while we were there we had to walk via the road for the last bit. It has beach side bars and hammocks and a parking lot for bikes. Would make a great day at the beach spot!

We had big puddles when we were there, but sometimes Holbox has totally flooded streets so bring flip flops to walk through them and a sense of adventure.

The other days we just enjoyed the beach. Kids paddle boarded, played volleyball, we had a beachside Easter egg hunt and I tried to read three books but only managed two. Not bad!

There is also a cenote on the island, but as we were just in the Yucatan where we had glorious denotes every day, the hotel said we shouldn’t bother with the cenote on the island. But they said if you have never been to one, it’s good.

Where to Eat
We ate at Hotel Zomay a few times. They have a pizza oven and hamburgers for the kids, nice appetizers and I really liked the fish tostados and the sushi as well. Great views especially of the sunset. The sunset wasn’t as spectacular as it can be while we were there, but that would be the place to watch it and they set out a beach side tables and chairs for it at night.

Mantarraya, I have mentioned, the service and food was incredible as was the location.

Pinsa Pizza served great pizzas and pastas and there was a Happy Day 2 x 1 drinks when we were there. We didn’t make it to Roots Pizza which is also always recommended by others.

We needed to give the non-seafood eaters a break so we went to the suggested Viva Zapata. It was full and hopping every time we walked by, but we waited two hours for our food. I’m not sure about the others, but my fish tacos were the worst I’ve had. However the brochettes/meat shish kabobs looked good on the grill. I don’t think any of us would recommend it. But it WAS full every time we walked by. So maybe everyone else knows something we don’t?!

Parador 33 was a restaurant run by very fun Argentinians. I had a small and delicious salad with beets and a maracuya dressing. Everyone liked their pasta and pizza. They are known for their steak (of course!) but it was very expensive for our budgets. Limited menu.

We tried to get into Las Panchas, but it was so full we couldn’t get in for a 2 p.m. lunch. Instead we went to La Tostaderia around the corner, and I have to say I think it was one of our favourite meals. I had a stuffed grilled chili with cheese, then sliced and served with salsa in a taco. YUM! Kids had burgers (yawn). The food and service were excellent.

We ate at the open and airy Quartieri for pizza and pasta, I had the lobster pasta. The service was great and they had live music which was really nice. We all liked our meals and there was a lot of variety. A good choice.

Our favourite ice cream was El Mangle Blanco.

I tried two flat whites at two different coffee shops and neither disappointed, Copal Cafe right beside Hotel Zomay and Complemento Cafe.

I really wanted to try Santos Fuegos as it had had rave reviews and was close to our hotel. We weren’t sure how kid friendly it was, so we didn’t go, but I told some other guests at our hotel about it and they went and said it was amazing. Other friends recommended Amaite, Ama Japanese and Mandarina Seaside.

What we loved about Holbox was that it was low key, small little boutique hotels, a nice relaxed vibe and there weren’t any chains on the island, except the one Subway we saw. Everything was small and perfectly formed. It wasn’t cheap, for those who live in Mexico it was definitely “Polanco Prices.” But I am glad we went and felt like the time we were there was the right amount of time, we also had great weather so that was nice. It was a long journey to get there so I’m not sure we would go back, but we really enjoyed our time there and were glad we went.