Mexico

How to Spend 4 Days in Holbox, Mexico

I spent a long weekend (Thursday – Sunday) on the island of Holbox, Mexico in December. I had heard of the island (which is apparently pronounced “Hol-bosch” not “Hol-box”) for a number of years. Despite being near-ish to Cancun, it was billed as the anti-Cancun — no mega resorts, cash only, and few of the tourist crowds. It’s popular among Europeans but Americans haven’t taken over en masse yet, though it’s becoming increasingly popular among the Instagram set for its colorful street art and FOMO-inspiring water hammocks. I haven’t been to Tulum, but I’m told Holbox is what Tulum was like 20 years ago, before it blew up.

Here’s what I did:

Note: these are just rough, unedited travel notes. For examples of my published writing, check out my published clips.

How to Get to Holbox

Most people get to Holbox by flying into Cancun, then traveling by car/van about 2½ hours north to the little port of Chiquila. From here, it’s about a half-hour long ferry to Holbox, where you can hop on a ATV-golf cart–style taxi or walk to your hotel.

It’s possible to take a bus from Cancun to Chiquila where the Holbox ferry is. You can also grab a taxi from the airport, though that’ll cost you. If you’re on a tight budget that’s your best bet, though from what I could tell you have to transfer from the Cancun airport into the city and then get your bus there. You can also rent a car and drive yourself, but the roads aren’t great at some parts.

With limited time and Spanish skills, I organized a transfer with Holbox Adventure through my hotel and am so glad I did. The transfer cost $150 each way (total price for two of us) and included a private van transfer with airport pick-up, tickets to the ferry, and a taxi pickup once we arrived in Holbox. They coordinated tickets and timing, so we just showed up and watched the countryside speed by.

Two notes if you do use a driver and aren’t fluent in Spanish, like us:

Arrival at the Cancun airport is a little confusing — there are a few areas where people will try to pick you up/offer you a ride. We almost got duped by someone trying to “help” us, who kept telling us the driver to Holbox was in a different location from where our guy actually was waiting. Follow the pickup instructions closely, don’t give your name out, and find the official tourism people in the airport if you need directions.
Most things in Holbox are cash-only, and our transfer was no exception. I thought I had paid for it when booking our hotel; turns out it was just an online deposit that ultimately went toward the hotel room, not the transfer. So I had to fork over the entire 3,000 pesos I took out for my time on the island to our driver. So make sure you take out extra cash to pay for the transfer, even if you book it through your hotel.

Where to Stay in Holbox

While the island of Holbox is about 26 miles long, the town on the island only takes up a mile or two, and the rest of it is largely nature preserve and undeveloped. Because of that, lodging is mostly concentrated around this town. Hotels range from little hostel-like lodgings to boutique beach spots — no chains or big resorts here. There’s also Airbnb, though the tourism office discourages use of that here because it’s said to be causing gentrification and developers are pricing out residents to build rental units. The hotels are spread along the beach and through town. I thought it was easiest to stay close to town, whereas if you’re at the far end of the beach (at like Hotel Villas Flamingos or near Punta Cocos) it’ll be about a half-hour walk, or a short bike/taxi ride into town.

Here’s where we stayed:

Hotel La Palapa: Friends recommended this beachfront spot, and I wholeheartedly second the suggestion. The hotel is RIGHT on the beach, like about 15 steps from our room to the sand. It’s about 2 blocks from downtown, meaning it’s right there and takes like 2 minutes to walk to the center of things, but it’s removed from any nighttime noise. The beach itself is compact and on the shady side, but there’s a little beach bar and a handful of loungers/chairs on the sand where you can order drinks and watch the water.

The rooms were spacious and clean, with cool little touches like towel animals and a sink and showerhead that were basically giant conch shells that cascaded water.

How Much Money to Bring to Holbox?

Almost everything on Holbox is cash-only, and there are only a couple ATMs on the island — one at the police station, and one at a Ci Bank on Calle Tiburon Ballena. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they have a line of people waiting to use them and then they run out of money.

We read online that a rule of thumb for how much money you need in Holbox is 1,000 Mexican pesos per day per person. That’s about right, however it doesn’t account for specific activities or things like transfers. For two people, over four days, we spent about $17,000 pesos: 6,000 on transfers to/from the airport, 4,600 on a fishing charter, and the remainder on food/drink. Most meals set us back 300-600 pesos. We didn’t splurge on any big meals, but also didn’t hold back on drinks — beer cost like 40 pesos, and cocktails were about 120 pesos.

Where to Eat & Drink on Holbox

Before traveling here we collected the following Holbox restaurant recommendations from friends and blogs. In 3½ days on the island we made it to almost all of these spots (marked with an * asterisk)! We did not, however, try the Lobster Pizza that Holbox is known for.

Las Planchas*: right behind the hotel and a great spot for lunch — fresh seafood
El Cafecito*: some of the best coffee in town, and delicious breakfasts and juices
Luuma: A cool bar/resto where you eat in like a garden. Very instagrammable. One of the more “upscale” places on the island (though nothing here is incredibly fancy).
Coquitos Beach Club*: Trendy spot on the beach west of town with a beautiful bar + bar swings!!
Viva Zapata*: also has bar swings! Good menu, has a bit of a touristy/international vibe but food is far above tourist traps.
Holbox Foodie Market*: outdoor market with live music (though we didn’t see any music while here). Mix of tacos, burgers, sandwiches, and seafood.
Raices Bar*: has great seafood and good cocktails. Looks over beach and has hammocks and swings. Great sunset spot.
Cafe del Mar: (by Fly Fishing Lodge) supposedly has good cocktails and is good sunset spot
Los Pelones has good pasta
Hot Corner*: a good bar; right by the hotel; gets crowded on weekends; live music and dancing; free cocktails for ladies on Thursday nights from 8 pm to 10 pm
Bar Arena*: rooftop bar
Barba Negra: gourmet tacos, located in Holbox Foodie Market
Basico: recommended for juice, food, drinks
Zomay: beach bar with drinks on swings
El Chapulim: great food (try the fish tacos) in cozy spot

What to Do in Holbox

Relax, of course! This place is beach bum heaven, where the dress code includes flip flops and you can easily pass a day just gazing at the blue Caribbean waters. For the more activity-prone, here are some other things to do aside from eat, drink, and chill.

Lie in water hammocks: They’re all over, with some strung along the main beach, as well as at Punta Cocos.
Fishing: You can charter a local guide to go deep sea or not-as-deep sea fishing. If you’re really serious about it, a couple of fly fishing operators set up whole tours.
Rent bikes or a golf cart and explore the island
Find the flamingos: You can often see them around Punta Mosquito, and also may spot some at Punta Cocos. Or just keep an eye out for a pink bird flying!
Kayaking: Tours are approx 2 hours and you go through mangroves. (Tours leave only in the mornings around 9 am so plan ahead)
Bioluminescent Tours & Beach: Punta Cocos on the southwestern side of the island is a bio bay; you can swim in the water here or join a tour and paddle around the glowing water. Check moon phases before you come — the best time to see the phosphorescence is during a new moon when it’s darker out.
Sunset at Punta Cocos: Sunset is something to see wherever you are on the island, but Punta Cocos is the best place to watch. It’s the westernmost spot on the island and has a little bar setup so attracts a fun crowd of sunset-seekers. Bring a flashlight or plan for a taxi to come pick you up — the bugs get bad after dark and the dirt road back to town is dark and pot-holey.
Swim with whale sharks: Whale shark season in Holbox runs from June through September. During this time you can join a tour to snorkel or dive with the majestic animals.

4 Days in Holbox — What I Did

Day 1 (Thursday)

We arrived in Cancun and first needed cash. Flying in on Southwest, we landed in a terminal that didn’t have an ATM, so went on a little airport adventure to find one. After the transfer via van, boat, and ATV, we arrived at our hotel around dinner time.

El Taco Queto: We stumbled across this super casual taco spot, which is basically a smattering of plastic tables and chairs under an awning … and it turned out to be one of our best meals on the island. It’s BYOB (pick up beer at the market next door), with tacos, quesadillas, and chips and guac.

Hot Corner: This is one of the main nighttime hangouts in Holbox, with live music and a great location on a downtown corner. It’s about as clubby as we saw, but the dress code is backpacker-chic; you’ll see far more flip-flops than heels. Thursday is “ladies’ night” so women get free cocktails. Or you can get beer from the market across the street and sit on the curb and listen to the music and dance in the street.

Day 2 (Friday)

I woke up and went for a run along the beach — the sand here is hard-packed so it was a great beach run, and I got to scope out bars and beach setups along the way to return to later. Morning was also a great time to visit the big photo opps: the “Holbox” sign had no one there, nor did the Holbox hammocks. Later in the day, both of these are quite popular.

El Cafecito: This little cafe has good smoothies, coffee, and sandwiches/breakfast food like omelets. There’s an inviting front porch with brightly colored tables and chairs for al fresco breakfast.

After breakfast we had to go to the ATM like 3 times because paying for our transfer in cash drained all the money I took out. After empty machines and one that seemed to be frozen, we got one to work and got mas dinero.

Las Planchas: We came for lunch and enjoyed huuuuge servings of fresh seafood and tacos. It was very fresh and very good. The restaurant is right behind Hotel La Palapa; I couldn’t figure out what hours this open-aired seafood centric spot was open, since there were always people here but a “closed” sign was often up, but they seem to at least do breakfast and lunch.

After lunch we took a beach walk to Las Nubes at the far eastern end of town. Along the way we scoped out the beach bars, many of which have my new bar obsession: BAR SWINGS!!! I also tested out the hammocks that are strung on posts in waist-high water all over the beaches here. Once we made it to the end of the beach, and a little beyond, we turned around and walked back on sand bar for about a mile back to town.

Raices: A lot of people rave about this beachfront bar and restaurant. We set up camp here to wait out our first real Holbox sunset (there are great views here, as there are all along this stretch of beach. The pier is a popular place to watch sunset too — there’s an unobstructed view here). Little did we know they have a sunset ritual, which includes a conch shell, and a feathered fire dancer.

Viva Zapata: Despite seeing bars with swings all day, none of them were actually OPEN yet, until we got to Viva Zapata. Off the main drag in town, this place has an eclectic menu and flags from around the world line the walls. At first glance, it feels like it might be a not-so-great tourist trap, but the food is excellent, and anyway who cares if it’s touristy because swings.

Day 3 (Saturday)

Fishing! Holbox is a fishing hotspot, for everything from deep sea to hand lines to fly fishing. We set up a fishing charter through our hotel, and a local captain came and picked us up right from the beach at La Palapa. Once we were out of sight of land, we dropped anchor and our captain set us up with hand lines and bait. From there we had a solid 3 hours of catching what would end up being our lunch — mostly pargo (snapper) and grouper, plus a few jacks and one little pufferfish who our guide set free after inflating.

Upon our return, the captain chopped up our catch into the freshest ceviche I’ve ever had, which we enjoyed beachside at our hotel.

Sunset at Punta Cocos: Holbox is known for its sunsets, and this is the ultimate place to watch the show. It’s about a half-hour walk from downtown Holbox to Punta Cocos at the western end of the island (or you can bike or take a taxi buggy). Once you’re here, it’s beach heaven: a smattering of chaise lounge chairs set amidst shrubby trees on the water’s edge, a small bar (we brought beers not knowing there’d be some to buy), hammocks strung in the water, and a pier that was closed to the public but made a nice backdrop in the sunset. Farther west, the bay opens up; we saw a flock of flamingos and at night this is where many of the bioluminescence tours operate.

Sunset here lived up to expectations, but what was not expected were the mosquitos that came out in force as soon as the light started to fade. Hardcore DEET bugspray was not a deterrent, these things were insane.

Coquitos Beach Club: On the walk back to town from Punta Cocos, we stoped at this trendy beach club, which had a very photogenic bar swing set up, as well as some delicious margaritas.

Holbox Foodie Market: This tiny airy food hall has an assortment of different restaurants/food trucks. We did Barba Negra which had really good tacos

Bar Arena: The rooftop bar on top of Hotel Arena has expansive views of town, plus a small pool which had a giant flamingo floatie in it.

Hot Corner: Compared to our visit on Thursday night, Saturday was much more crowded here, though we were still able to grab seats at the outdoor bar. There were many folks sitting on street median; good people watching.

Day 4 (Sunday)

Because our airport transfer began at 11 am (to make it to a 5 pm flight from Cancun — we arrived at the airport at 2:30 pm), we took it easy today and spent the morning just chilling at the hotel beach.