Holbox Island: The Perfection….And The Reality

Published by Cassie on 30/12/201630/12/2016

Holbox is an incredibly beautiful island and there is plenty to do there for the whole family. I’ve opted to use this setting to demonstrate the difference between perceived perfection and the reality of travel with small kids but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of useful information to be found…

There may be affiliate links in the article. If you click and make a purchase then I may make a small sum at no extra cost to you.

Pictures really don’t tell the whole story. People see ‘perfect’ families or ‘perfect’ locations and don’t always remember that no family is perfect or that every perfect view could be two metres from desperate poverty or a tantrumming toddler. Then they feel bad that they’re not achieving the perfect life or visiting perfect places and that they can’t share their perfect pictures on social media.

So here’s my story (our story) in pictures with both the sanitised version and some comments on the reality!

That said, it doesn’t mean we didn’t have a wonderful time, just saying that the pictures don’t tell the whole story.

Why Holbox?

Well, if you’ve been to Cancun and Playa Del Carmen and Tulum and are looking for somewhere else you may stumble upon Holbox is one possibility. There are no cars on the island, no one cares if you live in the same shorts and t-shirt for a week and shoes are definitely an optional extra.

How To Get To Holbox

Holbox is a small island off the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo. To get there you need to get yourself to Chiquila, a small town famous for little more than boats to Holbox. Chiquila is the end of the 5 road. Be warned: the 5 is not a wonderful road, it’s very much ‘tope’ (speed bump) and pothole heavy and many of these buggers are pretty invisible until the last moment.

Once you reach Chiquila, drive on through, ignoring all the car parks you pass as there are plenty more and the price doesn’t change as you approach the port. Find somewhere safe to leave the car, the car parks have guards so it’s well worth paying for the space.

Now, all you need to do is walk towards the port until you are approached by people selling tickets for the boat to Holbox. There are two companies to choose from but they’re pretty much identical so people just tend to pick the boat that’s leaving first. The companies are called Holbox Express and 9 Hermanos. Both charge $140 (2017 prices) pesos one way for an adult. Children and pensioners are cheaper. The boats leave every thirty minutes and the journey lasts around thirty minutes too.

Luggage is taken from you and stored at the front of the boat. Don’t forget to pick it up at the other end, as I, um, may have done!

You can sit inside or on the top of the boat. Up on top had wonderful views but was quite windy and the railings around the boat were easily gappy enough to lose a toddler over the side if they were allowed to muck around. We made ours wear life jackets when they came up on top.

Arrival in Holbox

There are no cars on the island so you need to collect your luggage and then find a golf cart taxi to take you to your hotel if it isn’t walking distance from the port. Ours wasn’t so we jumped in two carts and set off. Because there had been a huge storm two days before we arrived, most of Holbox’s sandy roads were actually under water for much of our time on the island. It made things, um, fun.

There will be a row of taxis awaiting the arrival of every boat. A ride in a taxi shouldn’t cost more than $30 pesos.

Holbox under water

What Happens When It Rains In Holbox?

It’s meant to be paradise, right?

Turns out that 15 minutes of rain turns paradise into a soggy old place! Most of the roads become un-passable without a golf cart or very wet feet. The island also starts to smell as the water stagnates and has nowhere to go. We were told that part of the problem is that the water needs to be left alone for a few days to allow as much into the mangroves that cover the island as possible. Once the mangroves are sated then water can start to be pumped out.

We found ourselves basically on a hotel island on the island. We were completely surrounded by water and had to pick our way through the building site opposite to leave our hotel, so underwater were the roads around us. The workmen were very good-natured about our regular trips but it wasn’t quite what we were expecting in paradise.

Another problem of heavy rain is everything winds up damp. Our entire, nice, hotel room was damp to the touch and there was nothing we could do about it.

However, given that the beach and the sea are the main reasons to be on the island, once the rain stops, life is fine. We weren’t there for rain, just the aftermath. I reckon, had we been there for the rain we’d still have been on the beach, laughing and dancing in the rain.

Where To Eat In Holbox

On our first night in town, we headed to the beach, left mum and dad quaffing sundowners and snarfing down snacks in Raices, a gorgeous laid back, slow food, place while Col and I took the kids down to the pier to see what was going on. By the time we got back, my parents were convinced they’d found the best restaurant on the island. After a few experiments elsewhere, I’d fully support this opinion. Raices was truly the perfect beach restaurant: great food (coconut prawns to die for), great drinks, happy to provide plainer food for the kids, and a swing by the bar that they didn’t mind the kids using.

Beach Antics in Holbox

Fishing on Holbox, Mexico

If you head out along the pier to where the locals are fishing, be prepared to chat! We found Mexicans fishing and pelicans waiting for fish to be thrown back in the sea so they could gobble them up. The guy in the picture is holding a pufferfish that he let the kids touch before he threw it back in the sea. The pier is lovely and it’s really good fun but we were mainly super panicked about our then two-year-old as she’s a reckless little thing and we were terrified she was going to throw herself off the pier in her excitement. Luckily she didn’t but a day later her brother did get his leg stuck between the slats when he didn’t watch where he was walking.

Once the skies clear, the beaches are truly stunning. The water is greener than on the Caribbean coast, but then, the whole of the Gulf Coast has this lovely greenish water. The sand is white, the water shallow and it’s just perfect for sunbathing and frolicking in the water whilst pelicans swoop around overhead.

This may be the picture of a perfect life but actually, she’s having a wee.

Further out of town along the beach is the famous Holbox hammock sign. We were super lucky that no one else ever came near while we were there. We sat in beach chairs directly in front of the hammocks, drinking margaritas and piña coladas whilst having hammock fun and photos whenever we wanted it.

Even further along the beach, my mum and I had a fascinating time exploring alone. The water is extremely shallow for a very long time so we just walked and walked until eventually the tide started changing and we felt it might be safe to return to shore while we still could.

(I’ve drawn over the boy’s bum to give him swimming trunks as he was actually naked at this point). Looks like the dream, right? Swinging in the hammock with my wonderful son? Well, he’s actually licking me, a lot, at this point. He’s happily licking me because he likes that I taste of salt. Ah, the dream.

Boat Trip From Holbox

I think most of the boat trips from Holbox are much of a muchness. All the ones we examined certainly were. We were told there was a slim possibility of seeing dolphins amongst all the other fun stuff, so we set out on to the beach, pretty excited at our day ahead.

The trip was laid out as:

Isla Pasion – to see pelicans, both local browns and Canadian white pelicans and flamingos.

Small island perfect for swimming with kids – here our tour fell down because after we saw the flamingos our guide pointed to an island, told us it was full of mosquitos so not worth visiting. We didn’t know it was the island where we were meant to stop for a swim so didn’t say anything. We felt fairly cheated when we realised but no one cared at all when we tried to tell the broker what had happened.

Bird Island – this island is just incredible. You actually don’t touch the island at all, you’re on a bridge walk-way thing in the water with two look-out points just watching and watching. Both my kids had to wee over the side of the walkway. Yay.

Cenote – the cenote was fine, it’s an open air one with an optional walk to a look out over the island. We were a little concerned about crocodiles given that we’d seen one in the water as we approached the cenote but we decided to believe the locals who told us the crocs don’t enter the cenote. It made for slightly jumpy swimming, though.

But on the way we saw actual dolphins. There were four of them and they played around our boat for a while. The best bit was how excited the two-year-old was to see them. I somehow didn’t expect the two-year-old to be so thrilled by something unrelated to Peppa Pig but she really was.

Mexico is rampacked full of  awesome beach vacation options. DId you know that?

Dolphins, Holbox

If you love almost deserted perfect beach areas then you also need to explore the north coast of Yucatan: El Cuyo, Las Coloradas and San Felipe will blow your mind!

Kid Fun on Holbox

Do you need extra kid fun on an island like Holbox? Really? Well, probably not but in case you want to know, there is a pretty run down fair type place on the main square. Our kids struggle to walk by a trampoline or bouncy castle without begging for a bounce and here was no different. The lure of a two storey trampoline was too great so we let them on. The small one fell down the stairs almost immediately and gained a fantastic facial war wound.

And then it was time to go home. Friday morning arrived too soon.

Oh, and I saw this sign, which I loved. It says, ‘I don’t ask you to clean my island, just don’t dirty it’. It’s sad it has to be said but what a nice way of putting it.

If you think you would enjoy Holbox, then you also need to check out Bacalar, a similarly beautiful place further south on the Peninsula, and Cozumel, an island not far from Cancun.