Holbox is a car-free island in the northern part of Quintana Roo, Mexico between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. I went there for my birthday with my partner for 3 nights and absolutely loved it! In this blog post I am sharing how to get there, where to stay, and things to do as well as some vegan-friendly places to eat.
How to get there
You can easily get there by bus from a few different locations. We took the ADO bus from Playa del Carmen which cost 334 pesos (around £12.80) and took around 2,5 hours to get to Chiquila. From there, you can take a ferry across to the island. The ferry company we used is called Holbox Express and it cost 220 pesos (£8.40) one way and it only took around 20 minutes. They didn’t let anyone take their suitcases or big backpacks with them, they just put them in front of the ferry all together, so make sure you take out anything you need on the ferry, e.g. water, hat, etc. The ferry terminal is located on the south of the island and it is only a few minutes walk to the centre.You can see the ferry times in the picture below but remember to check online nearer the time in case they have changed.
Where to stay
There are loads of different types of accommodation on the island, from hotels to hostels to glamping. We stayed right in the centre, at a hotel we found through Airbnb. You can check out through this link HERE. It is only a 2-minute walk to the beach (near the Holbox Sign) and it has a swimming pool too. That was my birthday present from my boyfriend.
Things to do
Rent a bicycle
One of my favourite things we did was bike around the island. We rented a bicycle for 150 pesos (£5) each for 12 hours from the hotel but I saw many places around the centre that rent bicycles for similar prices. You can also rent golf carts, however they are more expensive. Keep in mind that some of the roads are flooded or have massive puddles, especially if it has been raining the day before but it was still a lot of fun and that didn’t stop us.
Punta Mosquito
I’m sure you have heard of this place when looking to visit Holbox as it is one of the top attractions on the island. It is a big sandbank where you can walk in the middle of the water to get to it as the water is very shallow. It took about 2 hours to walk one way but that was walking in the water ankle deep (sometimes knee and even waist deep) the entire time. I also saw a starfish, which made me really happy.
You can also go with a bicycle by road to a certain point and then walk through the water to get to it. On the way back the water was a lot deeper so we had to put our bags on our heads to get back to land.
Playa Punta Cocos
Punta Cocos Beach is about a 30-minute walk from the centre or a 10-15 minute bicycle ride. There was only one bar there so it wasn’t too crowded and it had some hammocks and swings too. We walked a bit further up past the bar and enjoyed the beach and vegetation views in the background.
Watch the sunset and sunrise
One of my favourite things to do, wherever I am, is to watch the sunset and sunrise. When we first arrived, we checked into the hotel and went straight down to the beach and watched the sunset. Everyone was sitting down on the sand, there were loads of cute dogs greeting people, and there was live music playing in the4 background from a nearby bar. It was absolutely stunning and the atmosphere was super fun and relaxing. The next morning, on my birthday, I woke up around 6:30 and walked to the beach again but this time it was a different kind of atmosphere. Apart from a few fishermen, there was no one else about. The sea was calm, everything was so peaceful and quiet. The golden light slowly appearing behind the palm trees made me feel so calm. The seagulls and pelicans also added to the atmosphere. So yes, I loved both sunset and sunrise for different reasons, and I would recommend watching both while you are there.
Walk a rescue dog at Refugio Animal Holbox
Another thing you can do while you are on the island is volunteer at the animal rescue centre. It is open from 10:00-18:00 and you can help with walking, bathing, cleaning the kennels, playing with them, etc. I ended up walking Polaco, a lovely dog who unfortunately was run over and was stuck on the road for days unable to move. Luckily, Refugio Animal Holbox found him and helped him recover fully!
Walk around the centre
In the evening, it becomes lively with colourful lights and music everywhere and it felt really safe walking around at night as there were many people around and plenty of lights. However, if you walk a little bit out of the centre, there aren’t many street lights. There are loads of beautiful murals dotted around, so there are plenty of photo opportunities. The Holbox sign down at the beach is also quite popular on Instagram for photos.
Try the delicious food
I was pleasantly surprised at how many delicious vegan options there are. One of my favourite places which we ended up going 3 days in a row since it was so good, is Arte Sano, a vegan and vegetarian place. On my birthday, I had the vegan pancakes and my partner surprised me with some candles which was very cute, and he had an omelet. The next day I had the stuffed chilli poblano pepper with vegan chorizo and mushrooms, in a green sauce, and beans and James had vegan chorizo and veggie tacos. The staff were really polite and friendly, and the tables are in a cute garden surrounded by trees.
On one of the evenings, we went to Painapol and I had the vegan burger and added the vegan meatballs too cause I was starving, and it was so tasty! James had the linguine with shrimps and mussels and said he really enjoyed it. It had loads of vegan options as well as regular ones which was nice.
Another place I would recommend is a bakery called La Pinsa. We stopped there after biking around for a few hours and had the focaccia. And honestly, it was the best focaccia I have ever had! They also make pizza where you can buy slices of it and it looked amazing but it was not vegan so I couldn't try it.
Bioluminescence
To witness the bioluminescence phenomenon, it is recommended you go around from around June to January to see it the brightest but I have also heard that you can see it all year round as long as it’s not a full moon. Unfortunately we didn’t do this as it was full moon when we went and they say that it needs to be completely dark in order to see it. But it's definitely on my bucket list so hopefully one day I’ll get to see it.
I really enjoyed my time on the island and I can imagine myself staying there for months, waking up for sunrise and working from a cute vegan cafe, eating a smoothie bowl! Buut, the internet is not that great generally on the island, and as I rely on it for my job, I wouldn’t be able to stay long term there. However, the internet is good enough for messaging, emailing, etc just not for video calling.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. You can also follow me on Instagram @marisa.vogiatzi where I post daily travel content about solo and budget travel, travelling by public transport since I don’t drive, and about my life as a digital nomad.
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