Self-guided driving tour of Isla Mujeres - Isla Mujeres Purple Travel Guide
This is 4-6h tour that brings you to the Rainbow Stairs, Punta Sur, IceBar Mexico, Murals, Statues, and many more highlights of Isla Mujeres. We provide a route, detailed information, and we show lots of photos so you know what you can expect.
Our recommendation is to rent a golf cart, or if you feel comfortable with it: a scooter, and explore Isla Mujeres by yourself.
We have introduced the best golf cart rentals and scooter rentals earlier.
If you prefer a guided tour, there are plenty of island tours that you can choose from.
Even though we have never done a guided tour, we have heard nothing but extremely positive reviews for Isla Driver Robby and El Camino Tours.
Table of contents
Self-guided driving tour of the southern part of Isla Mujeres
The following self-guided driving tour of Isla Mujeres leaves out the El Centro/ Downtown area, as we have a separate self-guided walking tour of El Centro in Isla Mujeres.
The Self-guided driving tour of the southern part of Isla Mujeres can be accomplished in 4-5h, but our advice is to not rush. Take your time, and visit some stores, restaurants, or other sights that you are interested in.
Here is the route with 33 stops (the exact google maps locations, as well as reviews and websites can be found in our Isla Mujeres Purple Travel Guide):
0. Benito Juarez Garcia Monument
This monument honors Benito Pablo Juárez García, who was the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. He was of Zapotec ancestry, and the first and only indigenous president of Mexico.
Benito Juarez was born in Oaxaca in 1806 to a poor, rural, Zapotec family, and orphaned as a child.
He was elected Governor of Oaxaca, before taking over federal posts, including Minister of Justice, and President of the Supreme Court.
You have likely come from Av Rueda Medina. Make sure that you do not go back to this road, continue south on Av Juarez, which follows the Caribbean (eastern) coastline of Isla Mujeres.
During your drive, you will pass beautiful murals, and get some nice views of the Caribbean Sea.
Follow the road until another road (Av Perimetral Ote) branches off to the left. Here is your next stop.
1. Isla Brewing Company / Cerveza Isla
Isla Brewing Company is the first and only micro brewery on Isla Mujeres. Their restaurant is open from noon until 9pm Mon – Sat, and they are closed on Sundays.
Since you are here likely too early, keep them in mind for another time, or when you come back this afternoon.
Please be reminded that driving a golf cart after consuming alcohol is illegal, and it is illegal to carry open alcohol containers while driving a golf cart.
Isla Brewing Company make several types of beer, which they consider handcrafted beer with a Caribbean touch. Their food is good, too.
Continue on Av Perimetral Ote to your next stop.
2. Murals
Av Perimetral Ote has some nice murals.
Continue on Av Perimetral Ote to your next stop.
3. Mango Café
If you ask locals and visitors where the best breakfast is served on Isla Mujeres, the vast majority will tell you Mango Café. And yes, it is very true, their breakfast is just fantastic. They open from 9am until 3pm every day, so you can also go there for lunch, too.
Our recommendation is to stop here for a late breakfast, or early lunch – you decide.
Just be advised that Mango Café is understandably very popular, and you may need to park your golf cart or scooter one or 2 blocks away.
Your next destination is across the street and up the stairs.
4. Ship Houses
You have probably seen them shortly before you arrived at Mango Café – the Ship Houses. Cross the street from Mango Café and walk up the stairs if you want to get a closer look.
Continue south on Av Perimetral Ote to your next destination.
5. Murals and Swan House
Continue south on Av Perimetral Ote and pass by some beautiful murals.
You will then come to the Swan House.
Continue south on Av Perimetral Ote, then make a right on Antiguo Oasis and then a left on Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez to get to your next destination.
6. Casa Crayola
The Crayola House sitz right next to the blue Casa Azul, and is one of the most colorful houses on Isla Mujeres.
South and then go left at the next intersection and then turn right on Payo Obispo to get to your next destination.
7. Turtle, and Shark Monuments
To the left of Payo Obispo, you will see a cliff-side walkway with some well-maintained shrubs and trees. Not only will you have good views of the beautifully turquoise ocean and rough cliffs, but this cliffside park also has several monuments.
The first two are the Turtles and Sharks monuments. The turtle monument commemorates the Green Sea Turtle, and the shark monument the Caribbean Reef Shark.
There are two monuments just a few feet down the walkway to the south.
8. Dolphin, and Lobster Monuments
The next two monuments are the Dolphin and Lobster monuments. The dolphin monument commemorates the Bottle Nose Dolphin, and the lobster monument the Caribbean Spiny Lobster.
There is another cliff-side walkway a little farther to the south with the next destination.
9. Octavio Paz Monument
The monument commemorates Octavio Paz Lozano (1914 –1998).
Octavio Paz was a Mexican poet and diplomat, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.
Octavio Paz was born in Mexico City, where he published his first poems as a teenager and later studied law and literature. But he abandoned his law studies and moved to Merida in the Yucatan, where he worked at a school for sons of peasants and workers.
He later studied at the University of California at Berkeley in the United States after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship. Two years later, he joined the Mexican diplomatic service, and was assigned to New York City, and later to Paris.
In his poetry, Octavio Paz delved into the complexities of Mexican identity, blended pre-Columbian mythology, colonial history, and modern experiences. In his writings, he experimented with the form and structure of poems, and challenged traditional poetic conventions. His poems often have vivid imagery, unexpected juxtapositions, and a rich vocabulary, which creates a unique and powerful reading experience.
In his poems, he grapples with profound questions about love, loss, time, and the human condition, inviting his readers to contemplate the meaning of existence and our place in the world.
Continue on Payo Obispo and then make a right onto Calle Manuel Osorio Godoy. Go for three blocks and then turn left onto Calle P. de las Aves to go to your next destination.
10. Rainbow Stairs, Dragon Fruit House, and Murals
The rainbow stairs are one of those instagrammable places on Isla Mujeres that no island tour can do without.
When you are there, don’t forget to get to the opposite side of Calle P. de las Aves and marvel at the murals in this area.
Continue south on Calle P. de las Aves, and have a closer look at the green islands that separate the lanes in either direction.
11. Painted Car Parts
While the green islands that separate the lanes of the road in either direction have mostly trees in them, shortly before you reach Av Isla Contoy, you are in for a treat.
You will find painted tires, and other painted car parts, and painted kids’ cars.
Your next destination starts towards the end of Calle P. de las Aves.
Murals
You will find more murals towards the end of Calle P. de las Aves, and on Calle P. de los Peces when you turn left.
Turn right on Perimetral Ote, and after a few feet you will see your next destination.
13. Seashell Sellers
On your tour, you have likely seen a couple of street vendors who sell decorative seashells. Perimetral Ote seems to have the highest number of decorative seashell selling street vendors.
Continue south on Perimetral Ote to your next destination.
Murals
While you are driving south on Perimetral Ote, you will see some murals to your right.
Continue south on Perimetral Ote to your next destination.
15. Seashell House
The Seashell House is easy to miss, as the vegetation in front of the house has grown quite dense. Officially named Casa Caracol, go to the coordinates on the map, and park your golf cart or scooter. You will see the Seashell House to your right.
The house is up for rent on Airbnb.
Continue south on Perimetral Ote to your next destination.
16. Punta Sur
Punta Sur (South Point) is one of the main attractions of Isla Mujeres, and is being visited not just by Isla Mujeres tours, but also by tours from Cancun.
When you get there, be advised that the first exit from Perimetral Ote, where it makes a big 180-degree turn, is actually the exit. You must continue a few feet more and take the second road to the left, which leads you to a comparably big parking lot.
Punta Sur is significant, because:
It was an important Mayan religious site, dedicated to Ixchel, the goddess of fertility, medicine, and happiness
Punta Sur is the easternmost point in Mexico - there are parties here to greet the New Year as the first rays of sunshine in the new year will be seen here
It is the southernmost point of Isla Mujeres
It has some of the most beautiful cliffs in Isla Mujeres
The Yucatan Peninsula was one of the major area where the Mayans lived. The first cities were built here in the 6th century. Isla Mujeres was part of the Mayan province Ekab.
The island was dedicated to Ixchel, the goddess of fertility, medicine, and happiness.
Mayan girls on the verge of womanhood would travel to the temple of Ixchel on Isla Mujeres as a rite of passage marking their journey from childhood to adulthood, and to seek Ixchel’s guidance for physical and spiritual maturity.
The ruin that you see today at Punta Sur is called a temple, but its use is not clear. It may have been used as a temple, and/or as a lighthouse.
Further structures that could resemble the temple of Ixchel, together with more than 100 artefacts and skeletal remains, were found at Hacienda Mundaca.
In 1517, Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba discovered the island for the Spanish. He found a deserted island with at least one temple containing lots of statues of women, and thus called the island: Isla Mujeres – the Island of Women. It is not clear where on the island the temple was located.
Today, Punta Sur consists of two parts:
1) The free admission part: this is the northern area of Punta Sur with:
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Punta Sur letters
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iguana statue
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Ixchel statue
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statues of native women
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souvenir stores, a lighthouse (closed to the public), and good views.
2) the paid admission part: This part is open from 7am until 6pm and you need to pay 100 Pesos per person – cash only.
This is the much larger part of Punta Sur. It has short trails through the well-maintained nature of Punta Sur.
The trails lead to the southernmost point of Isla Mujeres, and along the cliffs.
There is also an Isla Mujeres picture frame through which you can take a photo of yourself with the beautiful turquoise ocean and Cancun in the background.
The statues are:
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Mayan Watcher
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Mayan Notary
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Mayan Priest?
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Yaaxche (Mayan god - the Tree of Life who played a significant role in the creation of the Mayan people)
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Mayan Trades: a sculptor and a trader?
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Family of Gonzalo Guerrero – the first of mixed race: a shipwrecked Spaniard who was enslaved by the Mayans in the Yucatan, but earned his freedom, and became a respected warrior. He raised three of the first mestizo (mixed European-Indigenous race) children in Mexico
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Pre-Hispanic Mayan Family of the Caribbean
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Mayan Priest?
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Ixchel
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Two statues of Pre-Hispanic Mayan Offerers
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Mayan Announcer with Sound Snail
There is also the Temple of Ixchel and/or lighthouse.
We saw several iguanas.
Be advised that there is no shade in the southern (paid) part of Punta Sur.
Exit the Punta Sur parking lot, and follow the Perimetral Ote street to the left around the corner where it changes its name to which turns into Perimetral Pte and where your next destination awaits.
17. Scenic Overlook
Park on the parking strip to the left and enjoy the view on the beautiful turquoise waters and Cancun in the background.
Continue north on Perimetral Pte to your next destination.
Murals
Along Perimetral Pte, you will find some nice murals.
Continue north on Perimetral Pte and let google maps guide you to the next destination, which is located on a backroad, which is a compacted dirt road, but good to navigate.
Murals
This is a private house on the right (east) of the road with beautiful murals. It is worth the detour on this compacted dirt backroad.
Go back to Perimetral Pte and continue north for about 0.9 miles (1.5 km) to a roundabout where your next destination is.
20. Ramon Bravo Prieto Monument
Born in 1925 in northern Mexico, Ramon Bravo became a popular swimmer, who participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics. In the 1950s, he dedicated his life to diving and underwater photography, and became particularly interested in sharks.
In the 1970s, a local fisherman from Isla Mujeres told him about a cave in which sharks went to sleep. At that time, it was believed that the swim bladder-less sharks could not sleep, but needed to constantly stay in motion to push oxygen-rich water through their gills.
Bravo verified that this was indeed true – he found tiger-, mako-, whitetip or bull sharks resting on the sand, sleeping in this cave.
Bravo made this finding public and sparked a small revolution when scientists confirmed the sleeping sharks – and Bravo got worldwide recognition for discovering and publicizing the sleeping sharks.
Bravo then served as guide and cameraman for Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his team of the Calypso for the documentary: The Sleeping Sharks of Yucatan.
From the 1960s into the 1980s, he wrote and published many novels and scientific works. One of them, the novel Tintorera from 1977, was made into a movie, and Bravo supplied the underwater photography.
Bravo also photographed and directed the underwater scenes of the James Bond movie Licence to Kill (1989).
In 1998, Bravo accidentally electrocuted himself at his home in Isla Mujeres.
A week later, at the entrance of the underwater cave of the Sleeping Sharks, located between Isla Mujeres, and Isla Contoy, Bravo’s wife Maria and a priest deposited his ashes and a bronze plaque in the presence of the President of Mexico, Jean-Michel Cousteau, and many local and state legislators.
The bronze plaque reads in Spanish:
Ramón Bravo, protector of the sea and the ocean, sleeps forever next to his sharks in this cave. Isla Mujeres 02–28–98.
At the roundabout, take the second exit onto Carr. Sac Bajo to get to your next destination.
21. Tortugranja
At this location, you will see a road branching off to the left – to Tortugranja. There is no need to stop here, as Tortugranja has not reopened after the pandemic. Some say that there were financial irregularities, but nobody seems to know for sure.
The gate is locked and some people report that everything is abandoned, and the turtles are gone.
Isla Mujeres is a hatching ground for giant sea turtles that lay their eggs in the sand from May through September. Those eggs were collected and placed in pens at the Turtle Farm Tortugranja to keep them safe from predators and tourists. Every year, hundreds of hatched baby turtles were held in holding tanks and released between August to October.
When turtles were injured or unable to survive in the wild, Tortugranja kept them for longer. Some were sold for their meat.
Continue north on Carr. Sac Bajo to get to your next destination, which could be one of the highlights of your self-guided driving tour of Isla Mujeres.
22. Icebar Mexico
IceBar is a beach club that has a beautiful white sand beach and turquoise water and something unique: an ice bar that is cooled to 18ºF (-8ºC) and in which everything is made of ice: the statues, the bar, and even the drinking glasses.
If you are afraid that you may catch a cold: they provide warm winter jackets that help keep you warm, but you should still not go in there when you are totally wet from sweating.
There are different tickets that you can buy:
IceBar Experience: US$21 per adult. It includes 2 beverages and a shot inside the IceBar
Day Pass experience: US$45 per adult, and US$38 per minor: It includes the Buffet, Icebar Experience & Open bar of National drinks
Access to the beach with its sun beds, lounge chairs, and tables is free. You can buy food and drinks from the menu, of buy a Day Pass or the IceBar Experience for a more unique experience. The water is hazy, and there is no snorkeling.
Now go south on Carr. Sac Bajo to the roundabout, and take the second exit, your next destination is less than 300 ft (90 m) ahead.
23. Hacienda Mundaca
Unfortunately, Hacienda Mundaca is closed for renovation for some time already, and the reopening date is unknown, but likely a few years away.
The gate is locked, but you can still get a quick look at what lies behind.
Why is Hacienda Mundaca famous, and who was its owner Pirate Mundaca?
Fermin Anonio Mundaca y Marecheaga was born in 1825 in Bermeo of Santa Maria, Spain. He made a fortune in the New World by capturing and selling Mayan slaves to plantations in e.g. Cuba, and probably also as a pirate – he bragged that he was a pirate, but there is no proof that has survived until today. In 1858, he settled down in Isla Mujeres, and built Vista Alegre (Happy View), a large hacienda that later covered over 40% of Isla Mujeres.
The hacienda housed livestock, vegetable and fruit gardens, and exotic plants. It also contained a sundial garden that was called: The Rose of the Winds.
Later in life, he fell in love with Martiniana (Prisca) Gomez Pantoja, nicknamed La Triguena (the brunette), who was born and raised in Isla Mujeres. She was reportedly ‘a willowy woman with green eyes, white skin bronzed by the Caribbean sun and long, straight hair’ who was 37 years younger than him.
To win her over, Mundaca dedicated the arches of his sprawling hacienda ‘The Entrance of the Triguena’, and the road ‘The Pass of the Triguena’.
Martiniana eventually married somebody else, and lonely Mundaca slowly went insane and lived the rest of his life in solitude, and later died in Merida.
At some time before his death, he carved the skull and crossbones on his tomb in the Downtown Cemetery.
Several years ago, archeological excavations at Hacienda Mundaca revealed some structures that could resemble the temple of Ixchel, together with more than one hundred artefacts and skeletal remains. If that is true, then the structure you saw earlier at Punta Sur, would have been a lighthouse and not a temple.
Coming from the roundabout to Hacienda Mundaca, make a left at the intersection onto Av Rueda Medina, and follow the road for six blocks, and then make a right onto Flamenco. After two blocks, you will see a small parking lot to your right. This is where you next stop is.
24. Mercado Isla Colonia
Mercado Isla Colonia is a typical mercado with produce vendors and restaurants. What is special about it is that there are murals seemingly everywhere inside and outside of the building – 12 in total.
Park your golf cart or scooter on the parking lot and walk into the building.
Continue to the end of Flamenco and then make a left onto Calle 7, then immediately another left onto Calle Espatula, and then an immediate right onto Calle Pato. This is where your next destination is.
25. Murals
Calle Pato has some nice murals.
At the end of Calle Pato, turn right and then immediately left on Calle 7. At the end of Calle 7, turn left and then immediately right onto Cayo Alcatraz. Your next destination is near the end of Cayo Alcatraz.
Murals
Cayo Alcatraz has some nice murals near its northern end.
When Cayo Alcatraz ends, turn left onto Calle Boca Nueva, and then right onto Av Rueda Medina, where your next destination is.
Murals
Av Rueda Medina has some nice murals, but they are spread out.
Keep driving north on Av Rueda Medina to your next destination.
Murals
Av Rueda Medina has some nice murals, but they are spread out.
Keep driving north on Av Rueda Medina to your next destination.
29. Chedraui
Chedraui is a Mexican grocery store chain, that also operates in some US states under the names El Super, and Fiesta Mart.
Chedraui is by far the largest store in Isla Mujeres, and comparable to Walmart.
You can even buy scooters, and some souvenirs here.
We loved the grocery, and pastry sections.
Exit Chedraui to the left and keep driving north on Av Rueda Medina to your next destination.
Murals
Av Rueda Medina has more nice murals.
Keep driving north on Av Rueda Medina for another 0.6 miles (1 km) to your next destination.
31. Whale Shark Monument
Whale sharks are the largest living fish species on the planet, with a maximum length of 62 ft (19m). Even though they are sharks, they a slow-moving, and feed by filtering water for plankton, squid, and small fish. From late May until the end of September, when the water is above 70 F (21 C), whale sharks come close to Isla Mujeres, and there are many tour companies that offer swimming and snorkeling with whale sharks.
This memorial celebrates the importance of whale sharks for Isla Mujeres.
Keep driving north on Av Rueda Medina for another 850 ft (260 m) to your next destination.
32. Dolphin Monument
The Dolphin Monument is to your right in front of the light pink wall, and can easily be missed.
This ends the sightseeing part of your self-guided Isla Mujeres driving tour.
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