Playa Tortugas - The Island of Women Across the Bay

A stop on Cancun: Downtown and the Hotel Zone, a free self-guided tour.

This little beach is a gateway. Ferries to Isla Mujeres leave from the pier here, and on a busy morning you will see day-trippers lined up with beach bags and snorkels while swimmers splash in the shallow, sheltered water nearby.

Isla Mujeres, the long island across the bay, was on the map long before Cancun. Spanish sailors led by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba landed there in 1517, and the usual story is that they found small female figures at a Maya shrine and named the place the Island of Women. Many link those figures to Ixchel, a Maya goddess associated with the moon and childbirth, though no one can say for sure.

When the planners arrived in 1970, Isla Mujeres was where the three caretakers of the Cancun coconut plantation lived. Stand on the sand and look out across the bay: you are seeing the old island that watched the new city rise.

Getting here: Walk east along Boulevard Kukulcan from Playa Langosta, about 20 minutes, or hop on the R1 or R2 bus one stop to km 6.5.

Did you know?: Cancun's name comes from the Maya words kaan, snake, and kun; the most accepted translation is nest of snakes.

Photo op: Stand near the pier and frame the ferries against the bay, with Isla Mujeres in the distance.

More on Wikipedia: Isla Mujeres · Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba · Ixchel

Playa Tortugas - The Island of Women Across the Bay

Stops on this tour