A thin strip of sand on the northern tip of the Yucatán peninsula, Holbox is an attractive draw for the traveler looking for a Caribbean paradise free of the tourist hordes of Cancún and Tulúm. While the island is certainly geared toward tourism, the scale of the operation here is such that you feel like you are a somewhat discreet traveler, someone in-the-know and perhaps more enlightened than those masses lined up in front of Señor Frogs in Cancún. Travel guides to Holbox are still quite rare, and the island still has the feel of the Mexico of 30 years ago.
This is an island with outstanding natural beauty, a marrow-deep chill, superlative dining options, and a range of accommodations for the eco-minded traveler. The following is an account of some of the best places I stayed and ate over the course of a recent trip with my fiancé.
Getting to Holbox
Should you decide to come via bus, ADO has comfortable daily service from Cancún and Mérida to Chiquilá. If you want to get to Holbox as quickly as possible and in style, there is a small airport on the island, and Holbox Air offers private charters on small Cessna and Piper planes to destinations around the Yucatán peninsula.
If you choose to drive, Highway 180D from Cancún or Mérida is a smooth trip, though one that perhaps feels longer for its flat terrain and utter lack of landmarks or scenery. Once you turn off towards the port town of Chiquilá, beware the final stretch of Highway 5, as it is littered with bathtub-sized potholes capable of doing serious damage to your car (or, worse, your relationship). I can still hear my fiancé’s “Cuidado! Watch the road!” reverberating in my ears.
Any travel-related discord is soon forgotten, however, once you arrive in Chiquilá and board a ferry. Two ferry services leave every 30 minutes, both fast and cheap, offering outdoor seating that gives that tingling anticipation feeling as the island comes closer into view.
Once you arrive on the island, a line of golf cart taxis will be waiting to take you to your destination, with fixed rates depending on where you’re headed. Not only are the golf carts a fun reminder you are no longer on the mainland, but taxis on Holbox have virtually none of the pushy salesmanship you see in other, more commercialized areas of the Yucatán region.
Where to stay on Holbox
That fact is reflective of a larger reality: for an island whose main source of revenue is tourism, Holbox is mercifully free of the commercial, one-size-fits-all mass tourism found in other popular resort areas. Instead of giant high-rise hotels, the traveler has options that run from funky hostels to chic boutiques to small, five-star beachside resorts. In order to get a feel for the range of accommodation on offer, we decided to try a sample of all three.
There are many reasons why staying in a hostel is a great travel option affordability, ease of making friends, the communal vibe. Hostel Tribu checks every box. The hostel sits one block off the beach and features a charmingly funky design, group activities ranging from full moon kayak excursions to twerk classes, open mics on the second-floor bar, and a restaurant serving inspired fusion cuisine. Owner Davide Coggi creates a welcoming atmosphere and — importantly for an island business — has committed to reducing the hostel’s waste with an innovative composting program.
Perched on the sand, Casa Cat Ba is a small boutique hotel with a familial atmosphere and gorgeously decorated rooms and common spaces. Each of the six rooms has a balcony with a view west over the sea, perfect for watching the sunset turn the clouds from popcorn puffs to a color closer to the pink of Holbox’s flamingos. Take it in with a passion fruit mezcalita in your hand.
Beyond the gorgeous setting and the comfort of the rooms what stands out about Casa Cat Ba is the easy-going, charismatic hospitality of the staff. Hotel manager Ivette told me she hopes guests “feel like family from the moment they arrive” and leave feeling like the place is a “home away from home” — true on both counts in our case. For the eco-minded traveler, Casa Cat Ba is a smart option as well, as they display a commitment to mitigating their impact on the island’s fragile ecosystem, with as close to zero waste operation as can be imagined. Oh, and the breakfasts were fresh and varied every morning. Eating the best avocado toast of your life as the sun rises over the Caribbean is a moment you won’t soon forget.
We stayed three nights in Casa Cat Ba and were sad to leave, but our next stop proved to be a delight: Las Hamacas Club de Playa on the eastern edge of the main beach. This is the spot to go if you want a bit more privacy from the bustle of downtown Holbox. The small resort is everything you could want in a dreamy escape, with an attentive smiling staff, spacious rooms with modern amenities and private balconies with a view of the sea. There is a large pool for guests only, with a swim up bar serving some of the finest cocktails on the island. The restaurant has both spectacular views and serves contemporary seafood and grill cuisine. A sand bar just off the shoreline makes for a picturesque spot to catch the sunset, as the numerous selfie stick wielding influencers can attest.
On our last night on the island, we thought we’d try something romantic for dinner. We asked around town for a good date night spot, and the locals told us to go to Parador 33, a cozy, open-air spot tucked away from the bustle of the main street.
Here, the mood was familial, with barefoot kids mingling with the stray cats underfoot, and yet it remained intimate with low lighting, the best wine list we saw on the island, and an innovative menu. A highlight was the steak, cooked in an outer shell of rosemary-tinged dough which, cracked open tableside, revealed a tender cut of meat. A glass of malbec was the perfect pairing here.
For some, lying on the beach all day and watching the sunset is what vacation is all about. For the more active-minded traveler, the island has a range of activities. A dominant westerly wind means kiteboarding is an option, and there are a plethora of schools for lessons and rental gear. The yearly whale shark season attracts visitors who wish to see these giant fish up close. Personally, we swam great distances every morning, following the current east to west along a string of buoys a half kilometer offshore.
The end of a trip can be a jarring experience. For us, it was an alarm clock blasting us into get-away-day reality at 6 a.m., the somber shuffle out of our room at Las Hamacas, the waiting golf cart cab. As we bounced through the sand streets on the way to the ferry we watched the sunrise over the sea, not a trace of wind over the glassy surface. As we were dragged into the nagging concerns of the mainland — getting the car out of the parking, the coming highway tolls, the potholes — the mind couldn’t help but try to stay in the moment, enjoying the last view of the island’s beauty.
Stewart Merritt is a professor and freelance writer based in Mérida. A native of California, he has been visiting Mexico his entire life, especially the Pacific coast, where he likes to surf. This summer he will marry his Yucatecan fiancé.
Great article and unfortunately it and others like it may guarantee that Holbox will not remain bucolic but instead will become just another overrun tourist rap.
Exactly. This article will help ruin a good thing.
Thank you Daniel! Hope to visit soon. Holbox has had major sewage and garbage collection issues over the years, a symptom of poor local management of growth. Any signs if this during your visit?
Garbage, Greg are you talking about all of Mexico or only Holbox!?
*you lost me at numerous selfie stick wielding influencers.
I spent a week in Holbox. The beaches, water, and nature are truly gorgeous. But the noise level in town or anywhere near it, was deafening. Examples: the four wheeler motorized vehicles are the island´s taxis. They are everywhere and obnoxciously loud. It was challenging to find restaurants or cafes for breakfast at 9 am. that didn´t already have music blasting at the entrances from large speakers. My hotel, while clean and appealing, had no sound insulation between rooms. Adjacent guests stayed up very late. One couple had a baby in their room. It was “party time” every evening in town and even hard to find a quiet , peaceful place to have dinner without music from large speakers. I live in Mexico and have for 11 years. We will not return to Holbox.
To each his own. I found the beaches on Holbox to be inferior to practically anywhere else in Mexico. Even Progresso up the road is much nicer. The water around Holbox was not even knee deep. We had to lie down to cover ourselves in the stinky water. Prices were also relatively expensive being on an island and everything was in cash.
However something you failed to mention was that during the summer months the flamingos are in abundance. We spent a couple of evenings riding bikes a far as possible up the coast and then wading out to a sandbar to watch the flamingos as the sun set over the water. That was truly magical. Something for the bucket list! On the other nights we rode bikes the opposite direction and waited for the stars to come out to watch the biolumenesence at one of the lagoons.
Thanks for the report. It would be great to see an update on post-Beryl circumstances.
Interesting reference to “eco minded” surely an oxymoron in this context ; the return flights alone will dump thousands of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, the permanent environmental damage of the construction of the crappy tourist accommodation with the appalling pollution involved in waste disposal and sewerage discharge is basically disastrous all for a few menial jobs in hotels / bars