Holbox is just about three hours up the northern coastline of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and is a small piece of paradise on earth that you HAVE to visit! There are no cars, no roads, and miles of undeveloped beaches. This island is still pretty raw and not developed.

Isla Holbox is one of the last remaining unspoiled public islands of the Caribbean.

Driving from Cancun to Chiquila

The Ferry to take you over to the Island of Holbox is located in Chiquila.

The drive from Cancun to Chiquila usually is about 2 ½ hours. However our manager Abdiel drove that day and shared with us a nice short cut that eliminates about 1/2 hour off the drive to Chiquila.

To drive from Tim's Ocean Condos to Chiquila you head back towards the airport down Punta Nizuc about 10 km and exit south to get on highway 307 Tulum-Cancun/Mexico and head towards to QROO 180.

Taking a car to Chiquila from Cancun

Turn right on Federal 180 towards Valladolid for about 16 minutes where you will need to turn right and then a quick left to stay on QROO 180. You will see a small taco stand there called Mr. Carnitas.

Follow Cancun - Valladolid/Carr Mexico 180 until it ends and then turn left to stay on QROO 180. There is a OXXO Gas station and a Pemex located at this intersection if you need to stop.

Follow QROO 180 about 40 km, when you reach Valladolid Nuevo take a short cut (just after the speed bump at 262 km) and give the man some "toll" money.

Follow this short road until you meet the QROO 5 and turn right, then follow the signs to Holbox/Chiquila.

Pit Stop on the way to Chiquila

On the way was this cute little roadside cabana where a man was selling fresh cold coconut drinks and a special fruit called Yaca or “Jackfruit” in English. Of course, I had to have Abdiel pull over so that I could to try it. It was really wierd looking.

This fruit is Huge

Yaca or “Jackfruit” in English. This fruit is the largest tree-borne fruit, weighing as much as 35 kilograms, that is close to 80 lb.s

Parking at Chiquila Holbox Ferry

When you get close to the ferry at the circle wrap around until you see several local places to park.

We parked just behind a yellow building which looked secure, I think it was about 100 peso for the day.

We did not leave any belongings in the car. We did not have any issues when we came back from being gone the whole day, so we will be using this place again.

Use the Ferry vs. Charter a Private Boat

When you walk down the jetty, you will see on the right side the ferry boats and on the left side single private boats that seat about ten people.

The ferry is a catamaran with modern bathrooms, video screens and air conditioning.

The ferry schedule to leave from Chiquila to Holbox runs about every half hour. The departures start from Chiquila at 6 am and the last service to Holbox is 9 pm. The return ferry going back to Chiquila starts at 5 am and the last one is 8 pm.

I wanted to get my day going so we chose to use a private boat to get us to the Island.

This worked out really well because then Abdiel was able to ask the captain of the boat if he would give us a private tour by ourselves, which was great.

Antonio was the captain and he did a great job getting us to Isla Holbox, it took less than fifteen minutes and we were there.

Holbox Dock

Once we arrived at the Holbox Dock there were yellow golf carts waiting to help transport you to where you want to go.

Abdiel explained to me that the walk was less than a mile to where we were going to sit on the beach so we walked. I was glad we did that because it allowed me to take a lot of pictures of the buildings and the street art and just breath in all of its culture.