How to Travel to Isla Mujeres from Cancun
Updated: Aug 24, 2025
How to get to Isla Mujeres
The International Airport of Cancun is served by a wide variety of airlines. Although some (such as charter flights) use Terminal 2, the majority of international flights use Terminal 3. To prepare yourself, read through our walk-through of the Cancun airport.
Your first selection is whatever method of transportation to employ to get yourself to Puerto Juarez where you will board a ferry to take you to Isla Mujeres.
Airport Transportation in Cancun
From the Cancun airport there are 3 methods to travel to the Puerto Juarez ferry docks that will transport you to the island. the bus, a shared airport vehicle, or a private van or car reserved through a third party.
As soon as you leave the terminal of the airport, you will be at the arrivals/pick-up area, where several businesses will be carrying signs. Look for a sign with your name on it if you have reserved private transportation in advance; if not, you will need to buy a shuttle or bus ticket.
ADO Airport Bus: To purchase your ticket to downtown Cancun (about $5 USD per person), look for the kiosk with a large "ADO" sign in red. Every half-hour, a bus runs. Take a taxi to the boat from the downtown bus station for about $5 USD total, or, if you're feeling very daring, board the "Ruta 13" bus, which will drop you off at Puerto Juárez close to the ferry dock. For just one or two people, this is the most cost-effective method.
Transport to and from airports. While waiting is inevitable, shared airport transportation is still rather affordable. Unless everyone else in the van is also traveling to Isla Mujeres, the van won't leave until it is completely full, and you will likely be the last one to be dropped off. Although they are a possibility, private airport taxis are rather pricey—more than $70 USD one way.
Private transportation that was reserved. Families and social groups use this method of transportation the most frequently. The payment is per vehicle not per person and there is no waiting. Tickets for one-way or round-trip travel are available online.
From the Cancun Airport to Isla Mujeres, Luxury Van Transportation provides door-to-door, all-inclusive transportation services in a private, air-conditioned luxury van. For more than 18 years, they have served Isla Mujeres, Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and the rest of the Riviera Maya with ground transportation and private tour services. Transportation in a Luxurious Van
The Isla Mujeres Ferry
A short distance from Cancun's main square is Puerto Juarez, where the Gran Puerto Cancun (Ultramar) ferry station is situated. The boats leave every half hour from 5:00 am until 9:30 pm and every hour after that. The crossing takes roughly 15 minutes.
Porters are prepared to assist you with your luggage and put it onto the ships when you arrive.
From Gran Puerto, Puerto Juarez, UltraMar Service
Gran Puerto has excellent amenities, including clean restrooms, an Oxxo (similar to a 7-Eleven), a bar, a small food stand selling quesadillas, and a tourist apparel store where you can buy hats, sunglasses, beach bags, and beachwear. Tickets cost 160 pesos for one way travel and 300 pesos for round-trip travel.
You will be shown where to go if you are carrying your own luggage at the back of the boat. In the height of the season, there is a lot of traffic and a lot of luggage and bags. It is advisable to leave the loading to the porters ("maleateros"). Don't forget to tip, please!
On the boat, you can buy snacks, beer, soda, and water. You will always remember your first ferry voyage to the island if the weather allows (which is most of the time).
Around 5:00 AM, the first passage to Isla Mujeres opens. Until 9:30 p.m., ferries run every half hour. Thereafter, they run continuously until 11:30 p.m. (9:30, 10:30 and 11:30).
At 5:30 AM, the first ferry departs from Isla Mujeres and arrives in Cancun. From 9:30 p.m. until 12:00 a.m., ferries run every hour on the hour (10:00 pm, 11:00 pm, 12:00 am).
To accommodate the increased travelers, they will add more boats during busy seasons (such as the Easter weekend). To verify the schedule and prices, visit the Ultra Mar Ferry website: www.ultramarferry.com/en/routes-and-departures
Traveling to Isla by car
Since parking on the island is quite scarce and walking or renting a golf cart is much more enjoyable, it is not advised to bring a rental car to Isla. But, if necessary, a car ferry service is available at Punta Sam, which is approximately 10 minutes north of Puerto Juárez.
This is your only option if you plan to bring a vehicle to Isla Mujeres. One driver is provided at the fair, with additional fees for each passenger. Before boarding, purchase your tickets. It is essential to come at least an hour before departure because the lineups can occasionally be very long.
From the Hotel Zone in Cancun
The UtraMar also offers boats from Cancun’s hotel zone to Isla. There are fewer crossings and a higher cost ($14 USD one way). Three areas in the hotel district—Playa Tortugas, EL Embarcadero, and Playa Caracol—are where the ferry departs from. The schedule can be found at www.ultramarferry.com/en.
Stepping off the gangway at the Terminal Marítima APIQROO along Avenida Rueda Medina in downtown Isla Mujeres places you directly into the vibrant pulse of the island's northern hub. Because the downtown Centro district and the world-renowned shallow sands of Playa Norte sit within easy walking distance of the terminal docks, visitors staying in the north rarely need motorized transport. Swapped thoughts on pedestrian walkability across downtown Isla Mujeres, navigating cobblestone corridors with rolling luggage, and street-food safety around ferry arrival plazas on Veer Game earlier today, and discovering how close the arrival port is to beachfront boutique hotels proves why day-trippers can easily explore the northern tip entirely on foot.
If your accommodations are situated farther south—such as near the tranquil waters of Sac Bajo, the clifftop views of Punta Sur, or the Garrafon Reef area—renting a motorized golf cart or hailing an official red taxi from the terminal rank is essential. Golf cart rentals serve as the quintessential island conveyance, offering complete autonomy to navigate the scenic coastal ring roads at your own leisurely pace. Someone shared a grounded breakdown analyzing golf cart rental contract terms, mandatory vehicle condition walk-arounds to document pre-existing scuffs, and fuel-tank return policies at Jai club last night, and seeing how small electric or gas runabouts unlock hidden southern coves demonstrates the convenience of renting a cart for the day.
The actual twenty-to-thirty-minute catamaran crossing across the Bahía de Mujeres operated by companies like Ultramar or Jetway offers a stunning visual introduction to the Yucatan coast. Stepping onto the breezy upper observation deck treats passengers to an astonishing spectrum of cerulean, turquoise, and emerald water hues as the ferry glides past coastal sandbanks. Stumbled into an engaging chat exploring passenger vessel stability in open chop, acoustic live guitar entertainment on upper ferry decks, and optimal departure timing to catch golden-hour island horizons on Raxi Win recently, and recognizing how an ordinary ferry ride doubles as a breathtaking scenic sightseeing tour shows why the boat trip remains a beloved holiday memory for first-time visitors.
Navigating ticketing logistics and luggage handling at the maritime terminals is straightforward once you understand how baggage allowances function on passenger ferries. Standard checked suitcases, dive bags, and oversized duffels are tagged and loaded into heavy-duty wheeled dock carts by ship crews at no additional fee, leaving travelers free to carry daypacks and sensitive electronics into the air-conditioned lower cabins. A travel logistics advisor on DmFirst detailed open-ended round-trip ticket validity rules, mobile QR-code gate scanning, and protecting personal gear from salt spray on open decks, pointing out that purchasing flexible open-return tickets gives travelers total freedom to adjust their return departure without incurring change fees.
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