What is the attraction of Isla Mujeres?

What attract people to isla Mujeres, probably above all else, is the tranquillity; the knowledge that tourists can walk around at 3 or 4 am, if they wish, with no concern for their personal safety. There are not many places in Mexico, indeed the world where you can say that.

On the island there are many lively bars designed to accommodate young people but no discos. In general whilst there are plenty of young people visiting the island, the average age of the visitors to Isla is probably higher than many holiday resorts. This is because Isla Mujeres now attracts the older wealthier visitor; those who can pay $800 – $900 a night for a double room and those are the same people who often are the purchasers of luxury Isla Mujeres real estate.

Luxury homes on Isla Mujeres are expensive, mainly because land is so expensive due to the fact that there is virtually no more prime land available. An example is of a 600 square metre plot we have, admittedly in a prime position overlooking the sea and that is valued at $430,000. It is therefore not difficult to imagine why luxury quality home under $1m are very hard to come by. There is some land available to be purchased but mainly on the Caribbean side of the island which is not to everybody’s taste, because of the strong winds.

There are now apartments for sale on Isla Mujeres for $2.5m. The cost of property on Isla has increased in value significantly over the past few years and continues to go up year on year. It is just a question of supply and demand, in other tourist areas they just expand as demand increases. This is not an option on Isla Mujeres, and now more and more people are choosing the island as the location to which they would like to retire. Usually buying and holidaying in the property that will eventually become their retirement home..

There is a demand for rental properties and rentals tend to be high, our three bedroom three bathroom properties rent for a low season rate of $500 per night and high season $800 per night. They are gated properties, fully furnished to a very high standard and have their own pool and private gardens. Letting can represent a very good investment return, until such time that the owners are ready to use it as their retirement home.

Many people continue to let out their property after retirement and it’s not difficult to see why; even in the low season the rental would be $3,500 for a week. So they just go off and have a very nice holiday for the week, probably only costing half that amount.

So apart from the tranquillity and the property investment opportunities what else brings people to isla? Scuba diving is a major attraction on the Island, the wide variety of fish and their amazing colours has to be seen to be believed, the sea is turquoise and the sand is white. It’s not surprising that many describe Isla Mujeres as a paradise and return year after year. Even for those who are not interested in diving, the beaches at the northern end of the island are wonderful . Also many just enjoy exploring the island on a golf cart, stopping of at the occasional bar on the way.