Isla Mujeres sits seven miles northeast of Cancun, a limestone sliver seventeen hundred feet wide at its narrowest point, surrounded by reefs that Jacques Cousteau surveyed in 1961. Spanish conquistadors named it after clay figurines of Ixchel, the Maya moon goddess, found in shrines along the eastern cliffs. By the 1970s, the island had become a backpacker refuge accessible only by wooden launches. The marina at Boulevard Kukulcan opened in 1988, establishing the first regular catamaran service and transforming the crossing into a floating party culture that now carries two hundred thousand passengers annually. Modern catamarans depart from the Hotel Zone marina between 9:00 and 10:00 AM, each vessel carrying forty to eighty passengers on twin hulls that slice through the Bahía de Mujeres in under an hour. The route passes Punta Cancun, where the Caribbean meets the calmer bay waters, then traces the western shore of Isla Mujeres past Playa Norte—a crescent of sand consistently ranked among Mexico's finest beaches. Most operators include a snorkeling stop at El Meco reef or the shallower Farito site, where elkhorn coral and sergeant major fish populate water no deeper than fifteen feet. The mandatory twenty-dollar federal dock and reef conservation fee, collected at the marina, funds buoy maintenance and reef restoration projects. Onboard service centers on open bars stocked with domestic spirits, Mexican beer, and rum-based tropical drinks mixed by crew bartenders. Music systems alternate between reggaeton playlists and live percussion performances. The return crossing typically occurs between 3:00 and 5:00 PM, timed to afternoon winds that favor sailing over diesel power. Operators supply snorkeling gear, but passengers bring their own reef-safe sunscreen—chemical formulas have been prohibited in the marine park since 2018. The experiences vary by vessel size and beach club partnership, but the core appeal remains unchanged from the route's early years: an hour of open water, coral visibility, and a shoreline the Spanish saw five centuries ago.