Isla Mujeres (Quintana Roo, Mexico)

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Isla Mujeres is a lovely small island in front of Cancun (which is the absolute opposite of lovely and small). If you take one of the colectivo shuttles to Puerto Juarez, it will take you forever to pass by the zona hotelera, but you save about 30 dollars (cost is 12 dollar). You cannot miss it, since people are screaming at you to sell it to you. The ferry over runs constantly, until late 70 pesos return trip (7 dollars).
For the way back you can take a cab to the airport, official price is 22 usd (whereas the official price for the cab for the opposite direction is 44 usd. Really!). Cheaper way is a cab to the bus terminal and a bus to the apt.

Over there on the island you will easily find accommodation, as you are landing right in town, or as the “city center” is quite a small one and right in front of you.
I stayed at Francis Arlene Hotel and liked the place and my room a lot. I had a view over the village and could see the ocean too. And it is located in a quiet side street.
1 block down is a nice café that offers free WiFi, for if you bring your own, or opposite that café is the best internet café. Also, on the same road (Guerrero), close to the Zocalo (main square) in a bright blue house, a women sells early lunch to locals. Yummie flutas, empanadas, gorditas, tacos and other stuff, prepared in front of your eyes.

My favourite restaurant is Picus, on the waterfront close to the ferry landing site. Best fresh seafood, if you go down to the beach you can see them pealing the shrimps and preparing the fish on the grill. A nice drink is a lemonade. Water, fresh lemon juice and sugar, like in good old days.
Go to Mañana for breakfast and lunch, a cosy place run by Israelians. Good food and drinks, and a large bookshop reselling books.
Om Bar was a great place to go out later at night, and also the corner bar on the main (pedestrian) street, for a start.
And on the beach, Buhos Bar is my favourite, still existing every time I return.
Happy Hours runs until 16.30h, at 5pm it is pitchblackdark.

If you are looking for a more quiet place to stay, choose a hotel on the west coast (and get yourself a golf cart to drive around). In the faaar distance (luckily) you see the skyline of the Cancun hotels, and you have your own beach.

The island is only 8km long, a scooter trip around it took me 2 hours, with several stops.
The temperature in December was just perfect, day and night. Flip-flop weather.
Be prepared for rainy days or rainy hours (still warm). Nothing to do then, no cinema, no shopping center.
Snorkeling is not good anymore, 10 years ago it was.

North Beach has lost half of is sand on the top of the island, during the last hurricane, now there is only the palm tree area with the sunchairs left, gets pretty crowded.
On the western part of North Beach is the landing spot for the daytrippers from Cancun who spread out there from the morning onwards (and disappear in the afternoon).
Around the East towards the lovely lagoon is a nice spot too. All in all you can walk the beach in 15 minutes. Water is crystal clear and turquoise and warm, simply beautiful.

Went beachcombing one morning along the rough East coast, after a storm and found several huge shells as my souvenirs. In fact the rough east coast is full of them and white coral pieces, but broken ones of course. You walk on them.

No idea why everyone thinks Cancun and Isla Mujeres are located in the Yucatan province (incl. me). It is not. The states name is Quintana Roo (Yucatan is further North).

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Photos

North Beach
Early in the morning

North Beach (western side)
In the late afternoon

Coconut on the beach
Be careful not to lie under a palm tree...

Sunset
Part I

Sunset
Part II

Homemade
Really good local lunch, made for locals

Cancun
in safe far distance

Christmas
Everywhere you saw lovely decoration