A Trip To Isla Holbox
My daughter and I just visited Isla Holbox for a few days. For anyone who doesn’t know, Isla Holbox is located on the northern edge of the Yucatan peninsula. It’s in the same state as Cancun and is just about 2.5 hours away; the drive from Cancun is 2 hours and the ferry is another 30 minutes.
Holbox is small enough that people walk, ride bikes or drive golf carts there. We saw no more than 5 normal vehicles and all were trucks, we saw a truck delivering soda, and truck full of cops, a garbage collection truck and a couple of private trucks. Last I looked Holbox had a population of just under 2000 people.
What I like about Holbox is that it’s completely and totally boring. There is just not much to do there. You can go for a jog on the beach. You can lounge around on the beach. You can have long leisurely meals. About the most exciting thing to do there is to go out on a boat to go fishing, or visit some nearby bird nesting areas. It’s truly a place where there’s nothing going on.
After about 12 hours on the island I found myself coming unwound. And I was able to relax in a way that I normally don’t. It’s just so peaceful and boring in Holbox that it’s hard to have any stress when you are visiting there.
The one bummer about Holbox is that I didn’t find a decent meal there. Everywhere we ate was mediocre. I couldn’t even find a proper cappuchino. Maybe I missed the good restaurants, but it’s a pretty small town and I couldn’t have missed much. When I was there a few years ago I remember a decent Italian place, but couldn’t find it this time (it either moved or it’s gone). Oh well.
I’ve got a lot of photos to share and will do so on another day.
December 31st, 2007 20:01
How were the restaurants there this time? Last time I was there (before the Wilma damage) it was hard to find a place for breakfast. Either they opened at lunch time or not at all. Have the beachfront hotels been restored? I am hesitant to visit for fear of not finding lodging. Otherwise I would go in a heartbeat. It is a great place to detoxify from the hectic life of this island across your bay! LOL!
(CancunCanuck had to tell me how to leave a comment on your site. I am just too stupid to figure it out on my own!)
January 1st, 2008 10:00
We were in Holbox in September and got to snorkel with the Whale Sharks. I highly recommend it, it was awesome. Unfortunately, we only saw one whale shark, so we’re planning to go back this summer when there are more. It’s a wonderful place.
We also couldn’t find any good fish- apparently they’re known for their bad fish- not sure if that’s a Gulf Coast thing or what.
January 1st, 2008 12:29
We had the same problem with not being able to find anywhere to get breakfast. We went to one place that was packed and decided to keep looking. Then we found another place but they’d stopped serving breakfast at 10:30 am, it was 10:34!!!! I couldn’t believe that.
There are plenty of places to stay there. You don’t see much evidence of Wilma there and all the hotels seem to be open.
As for Whale Sharks I think the key is to go in August, which I never manage to do.
When I was there last time I found great fish right on the beach at a little lean-to shack in front of Casa Sandra. But this time I didn’t eat there since my kid is a vegetarian.
January 20th, 2008 19:06
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