Isla Mujeres side
Isla Mujeres Dive Sites
The Isla Mujeres dive sites range from calm, shallow reefs on the island's sheltered west side to ledges, arches and current on the open-sea east and south. This page covers the reefs that aren't big enough for a page of their own.
Isla Mujeres is a narrow island, about 7 km long, lying a few kilometres off Cancun. Its west side faces the sheltered water of Bahía de Mujeres. Its east side faces the open Caribbean, with a rocky shore and deeper water. That split shapes the diving: gentle reefs to the west and south-west, where most beginners dive, and more demanding sites to the east and around Punta Sur, the island's southern tip.
The island and its reefs
The island's dive shops quote anywhere from about 20 to more than 40 named dive sites around it. Many are neighbouring sections of the same reef, and names vary from shop to shop, so don't be surprised if two operators call the same place by different names. The best known have pages of their own: Manchones Reef, the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks, the Punta Sur drift dive and the Ultrafreeze wreck. The rest are below.
Isla Mujeres dive sites, one by one
Media Luna
Media Luna ("Half Moon") is usually described as a shallow reef on the island's Caribbean side, at about 9 to 12 m (30–40 ft). Its appeal is structure: arches, ridges and ledges that are fun to explore, with grunts and snappers sheltering underneath. It needs reasonably calm seas, because the east side catches the swell.
La Bandera
La Bandera ("The Flag") lies south of the island, further out than the main bay reefs. Published depths vary from about 8 to 12 m. Only a few operators visit it, which keeps it quieter, and it often has a light current that turns the dive into a gentle drift. It is generally recommended for divers with some experience.
Cuevones
Cuevones ("big caves") is a reef close to Manchones and La Bandera, named for its holes and overhangs. Some guides list it among the sites for more experienced divers, and accounts differ on what the name covers: some operators use "Los Cuevones" for the caves of the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks. One account says a ship damaged part of the reef in 2007. Ask your shop exactly which spot they mean.
El Farito
El Farito ("the little lighthouse") is a shallow area near a small navigation light off the island, roughly 1.5 km from shore, used mainly for snorkelling. Some MUSA sculptures and planters sit in the shallows nearby. Dive shops sometimes use it for very easy first dives.
Grampín and Punta Negra
Grampín and Punta Negra are named by several shops as drift dives. Fish lists for Grampín include parrotfish, damselfish, yellowtail snapper, porkfish, creole wrasse, butterflyfish and honeycomb cowfish, and operators mention groupers and occasional juvenile sharks at Punta Negra. Depth depends on the route the guide takes.
Other names you may hear
Isla Mujeres shops also list sites such as Ixlaché Reef north of the island (a common stop on Isla Contoy and whale shark tours), Aristos Reef with a large swim-through, San Toribio with strong current, La Cadenita, a shallow and rarely visited drift, and La Piedra Atravesada south of the shark caves. Information on these is thin, so treat them as places to ask about rather than plan around.
Small wrecks around Isla Mujeres
Besides the Ultrafreeze, Isla Mujeres operators mention a handful of small working-boat wrecks, mostly old shrimp and fishing boats. The Hondureño is described as a former 40 m shrimp boat at about 21 m (70 ft), about 10 minutes by boat from the island. El Barquito and El Pesquero are small fishing-boat wrecks near the Manchones area, now home to schools of fish. One shop also lists the Chairel, a former car ferry that once linked Cancun and Isla Mujeres. These are short dives, often combined with a reef.
Diving from Isla Mujeres or from Cancun
You can reach all of these sites from either side. Staying on Isla Mujeres puts you closest to the island's own reefs and makes early, quiet starts easy. Diving from Cancun means a slightly longer ride, but more choice of shops. Either way, the sites on the island's east side depend on the weather. On days of wind and swell, operators move to the sheltered west side, and the sites on this page are often the back-up plan when the outer dives are called off.
If you are new to diving, the calm west-side reefs and Manchones are the right start. Our guide to Cancun dive sites for beginners lists the easiest options. If you want current, read up on Cancun drift diving first.
Isla Mujeres site names, depths and descriptions here come from published operator and guide descriptions, which often disagree. Your guide's briefing on the day comes first.