On 28th January, we left Cozumel island for another island, Isla Mujeres, which entailed taking the Ultramar car ferry back to Playa Del Carmen, then driving north to Cancun and grabbing the car ferry over to Isla Mujeres. Timing wise we were on the 1pm crossing (about 45 minutes) to Playa Del Carmen then the drive to Cancun (only about an hour and 15 minutes, or 75km), then on the 5pm from Cancun to Isla Mujeres. It was all fairly straightforward except that not many people take the car ferry to Isla Mujeres so it is a little further than all the signs for foot passenger crossings. What we were so lucky about though is that we caught the most beautiful sunset as we arrived on Isla Mujeres.
The island is actually where I spent my 30th birthday, 14 years prior, and I had great memories of being there with Robin. The island is actually only 5 miles long, so we were definitely in the minority with a car as most people hire golf buggies but equally with Tiger at almost 3, a buggy and a big rolling suitcase it definitely was the right decision for us. There was not loads of parking but we did find space just around the corner from our hotel, Casa Barco Hotel Boutique which was £118 for 2 nights. It was a lovely place, with a nice bath, a shared kitchen space and right in the middle of everything.
The island was just so lovely and I could have stayed there for weeks but only had 2 days! So we went to the beach, enjoyed the shops, restaurants and of course driving the length and breadth of the island from Playa Norte to Punta Sur where there is a windy lighthouse and Mayan sculptures.
On 30th January, my ambitious plan was to get all the way back from the island to Cancun airport. On the day I was a bit nervous as it was a Sunday and there were not that many boats so I was super early to make sure I didn't miss it! In the end, however, I took the 11am crossing and we were at Cancun airport, having returned the hire car, by just after 1pm. Our flight with TAP Air Portugal left at 16.05, arrived in Lisbon at 05.45 and then the connecting flight from Lisbon was at 07.10 arriving in London Gatwick at 09.45. Phew!