Isla Mujeres or Holbox Island?
 

My husband and I along with our small children ages 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 will be traveling to Riviera Maya for 2 weeks in February 2015. We are staying in a beach house for 11 nights in Soliman Bay. We want to spend four nights on Isla Mujeres or Holbox Island. We like quiet calm beaches which draws us to Holbox I am just not sure this remote setting is safe for our kids. Isla is enticing as we do like nice little towns as well and there will be more for the kids to do there. We will have plenty of quiet beach time in Soliman Bay. Any suggestions????

Isla Mujeres

Have you looked at a map? Holbox is a long bus ride away. With two toddlers I'd chose Isla.

Haven't been to Holbox yet, but Isla is great and would be my choice for the same reasons stewbear mentions. Tons of great restaurants in all price ranges. Where are you looking at staying?

I like the beautiful beach at playa Norte....was looking at nautibeach condos but I would love suggestions for where to stay on isla. Would like to stay around 200 a night price range. I was thinking isla was best for us....thanks 4 confirming my gut feeling.

IMO this is a no brainer... Holbox wins hands down and if you've had the opportunity to visit both, you would understand. The one and only problem with Holbox is the distance as mentioned by Stewbear. It is appr. 3 hours from Cancun by car. In our case we took the colectivo from PDC, then the second class bus to Chiquila port where you get the ferry to cross the lagoon to Holbox (about 1/2 hour).
I am told that if you take your car you can park in a designated area near the pier (5 or 6 bucks a day). Make sure you know the times for departures. This said, once there I doubt you will want to leave. The village has a tropical seaside look, there are beautiful Mexican hotels on the beach and in town (2 blocks away) We stayed at Casa Lupita. You might want the cabanas on the beach or several other fancier and more expensive places. This island is heaven for birdwatching, swimmming and snorkeling,kayaking long strolls on the wide fantastik beaches and of course, dozing off on a hammock. Hundreds of intact seashells line the waters edge. The water is warm and shallow and very calm. Your children will be free to roam and run around just about anywhere, (unlike Mujeres). The streets are still sand, no pavement here and only a few cars. You can rent a go-cart taxi from the pier (about 3.00bucks) or rent a go-cart to get around. Talk about romantic and dreamy. The restaurants and food are great and the stars are incredible at night. A daily ritual here is watching the sun go down near the main pier or the beach. Make sure you bring cash, no credit cards. I dont want to put down Isla Mujeres as I have been on several occasions but when comparing... well you know the story :)

I as well have been to both. Holbox gives you the feeling of being at the end of civilization, which in some ways you are. No atm, no nightlife other than watching locals play basketball. Find a fishing guide (cheap), spend the day catching oodles of fish and grill'em up on the beach. We found a local (El Diablo) that cooked our catch for the cost of sharing with him. Visit a hammock maker. We've stayed at both Esmeralda and Hotel Puerto Holbox. We preferred Puerto Holbox. But both picked us up in Cancun, albeit at the airport, but no doubt they'd pick you up wherever. Holbox may very well be one of the safest places in the world because of it's isolation. That said, IM is more of carnival setting. I love both. Ideally, if you had more time, I'd do both. If you want quiet, empty beaches, and isolation, do Holbox. If you want more shopping and restaurants, do IM. IM's water is the more typical Caribbean turquoise, while Holbox's water tends to mix with that of the gulf and is not as clear, but still nice.

I really appreciate the detail about these two islands. They both sound amazing. I would choose holbox hands down if it weren't for the three hour drive from the airport. We will be flying all day with our children. That's a lot to drive for three more hours after a long day on the airplane. Maybe we can just do a day trip if we are feeling adventurous after we have been in the area for a week or so.

As I look at some photos of isla I am getting major anxiety....playa Norte is beautiful.....but holy crowded beach!!! I am not sure this is our cup of tea. It's beautiful but reminds me of Waikiki beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu......so not our cup of tea. Any suggestions on any other area besides soliman bay to split our 2 week trip up......I am wondering if we should just spend the whole time there???

You can fly to Holbox from PDC, Cancun, or Cozumel via Aerosaab but kinda spendy. It is true that Playa Norte can be crowded. Early in the day not so much. Playa Lonchera doesn't get crowded. And a day trip with snorkeling to bird island is OK.

I have not been any of these places but I am always good with just staying one place for 2 weeks. That seems a reasonable solution.
but I know so many who love Isla Mujeres, are you sure the entire island is as crowded as Waikiki? that doesn't seem accurate.

I am not certain of that....looks like playa norte is super busy....i would love suggestions on a quieter area. I am going to check into playa lonchera.

The beach area on Playa Norte gets less busy as you head toward Cabanas Maria del Mar and Na Balam, fewer beach clubs, etc. You can also visit Playa Sol, right around the corner.
Haven't stayed at Nauutibeach but they get good reviews and my friend and I ate lunch at their restaurant Sunset Grill last year.

Part of the crowd is a result of the day trippers from Cancun. jamie99 is correct, it is less crowded down towards Na Balam because the day trippers are too lazy to walk to far down the beach.

Isla Mujeres is beautiful, I was there in April. Got pictures and videos on > http://goo.gl/XwJpNA

Highly recommend visiting, it's only $19 to get there too.

Aaron,
What a great video and pictures. Thanks so much for sharing. What a beautiful island!

Your welcome :D

Misty, Have you considered taking the ferry across to Cozumel? If you hit the right week (Feb 14-21), you could be there for Carnival which is a lot of fun -- even for little kids. Carnival is very family oriented on the island - not like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There are childrens parades and costume contests. Have a look at some of the North end accomodations such as Playa Azul, Coral Princess, or a private condo like the Nah Ha.

My Carnival photos:
http://tonna.zenfolio.com/p115607476#h38cee23

We will be there during that time.....we are traveling from February 13th - 27. I have not heard of Carnival but that sounds like tons of fun. I will do some research on it. Can we take part in hype excitement if we stay at soliman bay the whole time or do we need to go to Cozumel? We have decided against isla and holbox for this time around. We will stay in a beach house the whole time we are there.

Misty, There is probably a celebration in Playa and Cancun. I don't know. Try posting the question on the Cancun/Playa forums on Trip Advisor.

Here is a link to the 2014 Playa Carnaval:
http://wheretogo.com.mx/c/Events/Car...el-Carmen-2014

Although the dates are different in 2015, the locations and activities will be very similar.

Carnaval is equal to Mardi Gras. It is the week before the start of Lent -- the final day is "Fat Tuesday" -- the day before Ash Wednesday. There are usually three parades (at least on Cozumel) one on Saturday (14th), one on Sunday (15th), and the final big one on Tuesday (17th).