If you have seen pictures of it, you probably want to know how to get to Holbox. For ore information one the beauty (and ugly) of Holbox, check out this blog. But for now, Im going to let you know how to get to Holbox from Merida.
I started my journey from Merida and struggled to find information online on how to get to Holbox from there.
So here’s an outline of my journey to help you get to Holbox (and I recommend leaving ASAP!)
At the time I was travelling (October 2018) there was one bus a day from Mérida to Holbox.
Summary
- $600 (£25) [Mex dollars]
- 7 hours
- Bus -> Ferry -> Golf Buggy
The Details
Bus Mérida -> Chiquilla ($400)
I caught the 06:45 from CAME Mérida ADO station.
It made one stop in the north of Mérida (you could also get on here but I wanted to go to the main stop to be confident I didn’t miss it.
The bus departed on time and felt clean and safe. The seats were recliners and a movie was played for most of the journey (in Spanish of course!) There was a restroom on board and I was lucky enough to get two seats to myself for the full journey.
It made a stop in Valladolid 2.5 hours in for 20 mins where you could stretch your legs and buy a snack.
The Bus arrived on time to Chiquilla (12:15)
Ferry Chiquilla -> Holbox ($150)
I quickly bought a ticket for the Holbox Express ferry from a vendor and boarded the 12:30 boat. (If you arrive late or don’t catch this one there’s another company departing at 1pm and the next Holbox Express was 1:30 so it’s not a big problem.)
The ferry took 30 minutes. The ride was a bit wild as a tropical storm started mid way. I’m unsure what was rain and was was sea spray, but I arrived on Holbox SOAKED. If you can deal with the motion sickness of being inside a boat, sit downstairs!
I arrived in Holbox at 1pm
Golf Cart Ferry Port -> Hotel ($50)
On arrival there were a lot of golf carts waiting to taxi people to hotels. I usually avoid this type of scenario and like to make my own way places. But Holbox has no vehicles and I had no WiFi to map my hotel. (Plus I was soaked through, had been awake since 5:30am and was getting hangry!)
The golf cart was an experience! It was like 4×4 driving across roads that aren’t roads, avoiding major floods in some places and rolling straight through them in others. I got to my hotel within 10 minutes and the ride cost 50MXD (£2).
All in all, it took 7 hours door to door from one hotel to the next. While this is a bit of a trek, the early start means you’re in Holbox by 2pm and have the afternoon to explore or catch up in sleep on a hammock.
Alternative Routes
- Travelling from Cancun is a similar approach, catching an ADO bus from either Cancun Airport or the city centre.
- For my return journey, I took the Holbox Express back to Chiquilla and then bought an ADO bus ticket to Cancun Airport.
- If you have a more restrictive schedule, there are numerous shuttle bus companies available at the ferry port and on the island to arrange trips between Chiquilla & Cancun or Holbox for your way back.
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