Villas HM Paraiso del Mar, Holbox, Mexico
Holbox has been on my bucket list for many, many years. I was determined to swim with the whale sharks the first summer we retired here but, alas, Covid-19 hit and no one went anywhere. While the whale sharks remain on my bucket list, I finally did manage to get a very brief glimpse of Holbox. I had an opportunity to spend one night on the island recently and it was just enough to whet my appetite and have me yearning to return.
It is an easy drive from Puerto Aventuras to the ferry to Holbox. From Playa del Carmen take the cuota towards Merida to the exit to Chiquila. The narrow road to Chiquila is a beautiful drive through some lovely small towns. Once you arrive to Chiquila you can choose to hire a private boat or hop on the ferry, which departs about every 30 minutes. There is safe and reasonable parking right across the street from the ferry dock.
The ferry ride was quick and easy and the captain even slowed down to allow us to watch a dolphin riding our bow wave. Once you arrive on Holbox there is a line to grab a cab (cabs here are fancy golf carts). You can also rent your own golf cart or, in our case, we chose to hire a captain to take us to our hotel. It was quite exciting to have the panga boat pull up on the beach and we stepped out into the clearest ankle-deep water and white sand to carry our luggage up to the hotel entrance.
We chose the Paraiso Del Mar hotel. It is a lovely property, which includes a buffet breakfast in the morning that you can eat in the restaurant or poolside. We chose a busy night and the room options were very limited. My room was literally on the third floor, which required a walk up a spiral staircase. This is terrifying to someone with a fear of heights, and I confess to take the last several steps sliding up backwards on my butt. I’m also not ashamed to admit that my less than graceful ascent, with tears in my eyes, was witnessed by the bellboy. Each trip to and from my room did get a bit easier after that, but in the future I will book ahead and get a ground-floor room.
Accommodations are simple but clean and nice, and the proximity to the ocean makes them perfect. The lobby is large and airy with one of the most beautiful, huge palapas I have ever seen. The single rooms come with a sitting area and full bath with a walk-in tiled shower. If you care to splurge, they have beachfront suites, which include a large porch with seating and a hammock, a large living area with two built-in sofas and a bathroom. Upstairs the master bedroom is an open loft set-up with gorgeous palapa roof and its own balcony.
We were very fortunate to be visiting during the limited time that Holbox experiences its bioluminescence. We learned that this is part of what attracts the whale sharks to the area. We were able to secure a taxi that took us, not only to the area, but the driver also walked us to where we could best experience the bioluminescence. Under the most amazing stars we had a lovely time playing like childrenin the magical water. Note, it had rained the day before and the dirt roads on Holbox become an adventurous ride bouncing and splashing through some of the largest mud puddles I have ever seen. The golf carts have huge tires and are made to handle the conditions. Following our short, late-night adventure I carefully climbed back to my room, showered off the sea salt and mud and climbed into bed for a wonderful night’s rest.
Breakfast in the morning was a lovely buffet with too many choices to list. Sadly, it was soon after breakfast that my short jaunt to Holbox was over, but I will certainly be returning soon. We chose to have Pedro take us in his panga back to the mainland and avoid the ferry. I’ll be calling Pedro soon to pick us up and take us to see the whale sharks when I return to Holbox with Mike.