How to get to Holbox

Holbox has no airport and no road onto the island. Everyone arrives the same way: overland to the port of Chiquilá, then across by ferry. It is simpler than it sounds, as long as you understand the clock.

Leg one: getting to Chiquilá

From Cancún airport it is roughly two and a half hours by road. From Playa del Carmen, a little over two. From Tulum, including the new Tulum airport, closer to three.

You have three options. A private transfer meets you at arrivals and goes when you go. A shared shuttle costs less and leaves on its own schedule. The ADO bus is cheapest and perfectly comfortable, but it runs a fixed timetable that may not line up with your flight.

If you drive yourself, you leave the car in a guarded lot in Chiquilá. You cannot take it across.

Leg two: the ferry

The crossing takes about twenty-five minutes. Two companies run it, and in practice they alternate through the day, so departures are frequent. Buy a return if you know your dates.

This is where people get caught. The last ferry of the day leaves earlier than most visitors assume. A flight that lands in the evening often cannot make it, and the result is an unplanned night in Chiquilá — a port town with very little reason to stay in it.

The fix is simple: send us your flight number before you book anything else. We will tell you whether it works, and if it does not, what to change.

Leg three: on the island

There are no cars on Holbox. From the pier you travel by golf cart, bike or on foot, along sand streets. Casa Odara is a short cart ride from the pier and one block from the sea.

A practical note: wheeled suitcases and sand do not get along. Nobody minds, but expect the last stretch to be carried rather than rolled.

Going home

Plan the departure backwards from your flight, not forwards from breakfast. Ferry, then road, then check-in — and leave more margin than feels necessary. We work this out for every guest as a matter of course.