Isla Holbox – A Secret-Not-So-Secret Paradise
I was told that a remote part of the Yucatan, a place called Isla Holbox, was supposedly a great place to travel with young kids. I had never heard of it (which of course made me want to go) and did not know how to pronounce Holbox (Hol-bosh). I was looking for a relaxing Thanksgiving/birthday weekend getaway and was allured by this northernmost tip of the Yucatan peninsula. The days of Holbox’s relative obscurity are numbered, perhaps they are already over. The secret is out.
Holbox is indeed a fantastic vacation spot for families, or travelers of any ilk looking for calm waters, white sand, expansive skies, and choices between dips in turquoise waters or your next hibiscus taco. As more people flock to this quaint paradise, I hope efforts to preserve what many call the last of the “untouched Yucatan” are successful. Here are a few highlights:
Hotel Mawimbi – The first hotel I contacted looked gorgeous but was adults only (always an important thing to check when traveling with kids!). They recommended Mawimbi, which was an absolute stroke of luck. Situated on the edge of town, next door to the famed Turtle Resort (and Luuma restaurant), the hotel feels slightly tucked away, yet the town center is a 3 minute walk. Mawimbi has character. There is a small collection of rooms (Book ahead!). Our room had a lot of character along with every amenity (I’m looking at you air conditioning). Almost every faucet at Mawimbi was a conch shell (including the shower head), giving a slightly kitschy, yet appropriate beachside feel. The grounds are immaculate, centered around the restaurant/bar area that is sprinkled with hammocks and lounge chairs (paradise must provide options)! The staff were an absolute highlight. From our greeter, Irwin, to the servers, kitchen staff, general manager, and hotel dogs (all local rescues, including Mika, a Weimaraner with a club foot), absolutely everyone went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable, catered to our kids and special diets, and unobtrusively organized anything we requested (which, since we didn’t want to do much, included a massage, fresh coconuts to sip, and transportation to and from the airport…..but had we wanted to do more, they would have made it happen). We were absolutely spoiled. Mawimbi operates like a family, and they welcome guests to be part of their close-knit crew during your stay. During our 6 days, I witnessed many a beach meanderer stop and ogle at Mawimbi. Each time, I felt so grateful to call this place home for a week.
Pace – I read somewhere that Holbox is the type of place where you can wake up and decide hour by hour what strikes your fancy (no pre-planning needed), and that is how I experienced it. Our daily routine: sleep in, 9am yoga for me, eat a delicious breakfast while digging our toes into the powdery sand, slather ourselves in sunscreen, grab blowup unicorn, swim in the ocean for hours, order fresh coconuts or cerveza, watch a bit of World Cup soccer, lounge in a hammock/play cards/draw, walk around the silty streets of town, sleep in a giant comfy bed, repeat.
We had a rough 6 weeks leading up to this vacation. Unlike the calm waters of Holbox, our lives temporarily felt like the waves of Puerto Escondido: relentless and strong. Like so many families, we were hit with sickness after sickness just as the weather turned. Cece had a stomach bug, followed by the flu, followed by a short visit to the hospital for RSV, and the rest of us suffered less severe, but disruptive illnesses. All the while we tried keeping pace at work, juggling some big life decisions, and to top it off, our dog ate a sock, which required huge surgery. I write all of this to say, my body and mind needed Holbox more than I could have imagined. The ability to sit and think with little more to do than balancing an ever-growing collection of seashells my daughters excitedly placed in my hands was good for the soul.
What to do with kids – first, I will mention we did see a smattering of other young families in Holbox, but there were just as many solo travelers, backpackers, and honeymooners. Holbox seems to have something for everyone, but here are my top kid-friendly recs:
Beach, all day, every day. It is not every day we are presented with water that is clear, warm, shallow, and uncrowded. My 5-year-old relished in what felt like an enormous open-water swimming pool, and my almost 3-year old was delighted to bob around (with the protection of arm floaties) and test her swim lesson skills. The ocean here is low stress, which is a joy to every parent of little kids. For once my husband and I weren’t tossing a coin deciding who would escort the kids into the water next. We were happy to go, and in fact, rarely got out of the water. Although I was equally happy to lie near shore as crystal water lapped around my beached body as the girls adorned my belly with shells.
Town Center – Holbox is no exception to the family-oriented nature of every other Mexican city I have ever been to; the town center included an extensive playground with slides, swings, and small climbing walls. Next to that was a two-level bounce house that operated 7-days/week. 40 pesos/ half hour and an organized system to manage the number of kids jumping at any given time. The jump house was surrounded by plastic chairs where my husband and I could sit and chat while the girls ran themselves ragged.
Yoga/Wellness – I texted Samseh Wellness on a whim asking if the girls could participate in a ceremony to mark my 40th birthday. Sam can design a ceremony for any occasion: birthday, wedding, anniversary, or just because you feel like it. This is one of those unique experiences I know will stay with our family for a long time. They were able to participate in all aspects of the 60-minute event that miraculously kept their attention. We were delighted when Sam said she was hosting a free kids yoga class in the town center the next day. They are hoping to arrange these more frequently than once/month. The event included light yoga, sound bowl immersion, and aromatherapy, all within the town center’s striking amphitheater. Also, Sam is simply an incredible human being. She is gorgeous inside and out and has the rare ability to inspire you to be your best self just by being in her presence.
Walking – Holbox is known for murals all over town. Walking about feels like an open-air modern art museum. There was a surprise afternoon rain shower on our first day in town, which left the streets completely flooded for the remainder of the week (I read in rainy season it is recommended to bring galoshes, which I 100% understand). The girls took an opportunity to ditch the shoes and walk through the silty “goo” and puddles all week. It was a favorite activity for Cece… it is the simple things!
Restaurants – the food in Holbox is excellent. We found it very accommodating for our vegan diets. Options range from typical beach-style taco carts and juice bars to fine dining. Some of our favorites included:
Luuma - fine dining attached to Tortugas Resort. The cocktails! The food! The ambiance! This place is popular for a reason. We were able to walk-in as a family of 4 around 6pm, but most nights there appeared to be a line.
Maizstro - recently opened in a new location, this restaurants boasts the best guacamole and hibiscus tacos we had.
Hotel Mawimbi - Mawimbi is a popular lunch and dinner spot even if you aren’t guests of the hotel. There weren’t a huge number of vegan options, but they creatively came up with options for both breakfast and dinner. And perhaps due to the hotel’s Italian owners, they made a killer bowl of simple pasta that our girls devoured almost every day.
Roots - this pizza place would thrive anywhere in the world. Truly, it is some of the best pizza I have ever had. The crust was perfection. Also, they have a mildly spicy charcoal/oil dipping sauce that I could not eat enough of. I crave it every time I think of it.
Arte Sano - perhaps the most established vegan spot on the island, the food did not disappoint and portions were huge. I had the homemade veggie burger with grilled pineapple, which was very tasty. Our kids devoured the fries.
Kuxtal Market & Cafe - Mostly vegan, curated, farm-to-table style appeal. This place offered delicious breakfast and lunch. There is also a cute market with artisan goods (and it is across from the local art market, which offers cheap options for all your souvenir needs).
Other places we tried and liked included El Cafecito, Rosa Mexicano, and Los Zapatos (we watched World Cup soccer at Los Zapatos. There wasn’t much vegan fare (although guacamole and beers always suffice), but it was a fun kid-friendly sports bar atmosphere).
3 Island Tour – the only planned excursion we did was the famed “3 island tour”. We booked a private boat, the total was $250US for 4 people, 3 hours. Although I could have happily lounged around Mawimbi indefinitely, I’m so glad we took a few hours to explore our surroundings. The boat took us to Punta Mosquito, Passion Island and Yalaha Cenote. We experienced more extensive crystal waters, which we waded through on soft sand beds, gorgeous mangroves filled with bird life, wild flamingos, as well as a dip in a cenote. The excursion was a great pace for our kids and a reminder of the pros and cons of getting too comfortable: it is both lovely to get to know one place well, but there is always so much to explore. Ah, life’s difficult choices
Holbox will be hard to leave. Not only because this has been a week of paradise, but because I wonder how it will inevitably change by the next time we come. Locals noted they’ve seen traffic on Holbox for the first time ever. Although our stay wasn’t incredibly long, I get the sense protectors of this land are making strides to preserve what is an ecological and geographical paradise. On our ferry from the mainland (Chiquila) to Holbox the onboard TV played a commercial of a tourist littering a candy bar wrapper in the ocean. An ocean king swells from the depths of the water to return the piece of garbage to the senseless sunbather by flicking it in his face. May we all tread as lightly as possible while visiting a worldly paradise, such is Holbox.
*Note: on our 4th night a fire broke out at Tortugas Hotel (a faulty electrical outlet), burning both that hotel and Mawimbi. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the damage was extensive. It was devastating to watch the livelihood of so many locals literally go up in flames. We know efforts are underway to rebuild and we cannot wait to return and celebrate that happy day. It was also an all-to-real reminder that remote destinations often lack basic infrastructure (it never occurred to me prior to the fire that Holbox doesn’t have a fire station). Although we do not purposely seek dangerous situations, understanding that half the world lives without basic infrastructure is partly why we travel; to get out of our comfort zones. Experiencing the community come together is something we will never forget or take for granted.
