How not to spend your money on Isla Mujeres

When you are in Isla Mujeres, or for that matter anywhere in Mexico, It's not the best of ideas to use your dollars when spending money. There are some restaurants and shops that offer an exchange rate, whilst not favorable is not extortionate as it can be in other locations. Overall there really is no benefit in paying for goods and services in dollars.

Many will have experienced trying to get a taxi at the airport, and being quoted 1,200 pesos or 120 USD. However 1,200 pesos is not 120.00 USD. At the time of writing 1,200 pesos is 61.00 USD, so they are charging you double. Of course apart from the high penalty they are charging you for paying in dollars, 1,200 pesos is not the right price anyway. There are a large number of taxi touts as you come out of the airport and there are taxi offices on the left hand side, it's a question of negotiating. There is a solution, In order to avoid paying such a high price for paying in dollars; as you come out of the customs hall, on the left hand side there is an HSBC cash point, where you can withdraw pesos.

Once on the Island there is a cab rank as you turn left out of the ferry terminal, they too like dollars, but pesos is really what you want to pay in. If you are headed for Punta Sur where we and many others rent Luxury Isla Mujeres villas, the price to locals is 100 pesos, they may charge 150 pesos or 180 but the maximum is 180, any higher amount is overcharging. If there are only two people, you may be surprised if they stop on the way to pick up other passengers, that is the custom on Isla Mujeres.

Having exhausted the funds of any dollars brought with you or withdrawn from the airport ATM, one of the best places to change dollars to pesos is CiBanco, which is on the other side of the road from the ferry terminal about 100 yards to the north. It is also quite a good place to use your credit card to withdraw pesos, they have system which makes it difficult for your card to be cloned. The other place that is very secure is in the supermarket in the center of town, they have an HSBC ATM, where again there is virtually no risk of your card being cloned because it is within the supermarket premises, all other ATM's that are not within secure premises are best avoided.