We went to Isla Mujeres in July for one reason: whale sharks. The waters surrounding this island host the largest congregation of whale sharks in the world. Every year, around the full moon in July, they gather offshore to feed on the eggs of spawning tuna. It’s something I’d heard of, but I didn’t expect much — lots of tourists, lots of regulation, no guarantee on sightings. Instead, it over-delivered: hundreds of whale sharks, mantas right there with them, more than we could keep track of. Here’s our four-day itinerary from that Fourth of July weekend.

Thursday: NYC to the Boat Dock

We landed in Cancun, grabbed a taxi to the Renaissance Cancun, and caught the private ferry over to Almare, Marriott’s adults-only resort on Isla Mujeres. By the time we checked in, there wasn’t much left to do except find a lounge chair by the pool and let the trip actually start. No itinerary, no agenda. Just cocktails by the pool and the sky going orange over the water as the sun went down.

Friday: Golf Carts and Playa Norte

Isla Mujeres is small enough to rent a golf cart and just go, so that’s what we did. We spent the day at Playa Norte, the beach on the island’s north end, where the water goes from clear to turquoise in the space of a few steps. The beach was full of people in the water and boats passing by. We waded out into the waist-high water ourselves and just took it in. Driving around the island afterward gave us a good look at parts we wouldn’t have otherwise seen — quieter roads, smaller docks, a different pace than the beach itself.

Saturday: The Whale Shark Experience

This was the day the trip stopped being a nice beach vacation and became the real reason we were there.

We’d booked a private whale shark tour with Sea Hawk Divers, and it delivered. We got hundreds of whale sharks and mantas, all in the same stretch of water, at the same time. The mantas were somersaulting while whale sharks moved past us in every direction. At one point our guide had to keep reminding us to watch where we were swimming, because if you stopped to watch a manta, there was a real chance you’d drift directly into the path of a whale shark. It was unreal, like dodging gentle giants while trying to take in everything happening around us at once.

On the way back, we stopped for an additional snorkel before heading in. The boat ride itself was worth the trip on its own — turtles mating at the surface, dolphins jumping clear of the water. The snorkel stop was nice, but hard to compete with what we’d just come from.

We were back by late afternoon for another chill stretch at the Almare pool, followed by dinner. We hadn’t planned on doing it all over again — but it was good enough that we booked the boat for a second day.

Sunday: Glass Water and a Drift Dive at Punta Sur

We weren’t sure we’d get the same conditions twice. We didn’t — but what we got instead was just as good. The sea was flat, calm, almost like glass. The ride out was quiet and still, and if you looked over the side of the boat, you could see straight down to the bottom.

There were fewer mantas this time, but still plenty of whale sharks — more spread out, which meant more swimming to keep pace with them. We stayed in the water for hours. Having to work for it changed the feel of the day: the boats were spread further apart too, so for long stretches it felt like we had the whale sharks to ourselves.

In the afternoon, instead of snorkeling again, we dove Turtle Point, a drift dive at Punta Sur on the island’s southern tip, where we saw giant turtles as expected and a few stingrays resting on the sand nearby.

That night, we watched England play Mexico in the World Cup. This was the kind of thing that’s more fun by accident than by planning, watching a Mexico match while actually in Mexico.

Monday: Sunrise at Punta Sur, Then a Couples Massage

We got up before sunrise, took the golf cart back to Punta Sur, and watched the first sunrise hit mainland Mexico from the easternmost point in the country. Afterward we wandered the area and stopped by Hacienda Mundaca, the old pirate’s estate on the island.

We closed out the trip with a couples massage at the Almare spa, which has its own set of pools and a hydrotherapy circuit worth arriving early for. Then it was back on the ferry, back to Cancun, and home.

Summary

Four days is not a long trip. But Isla Mujeres gave us an encounter with whale sharks and manta rays that’s hard to put into words. We didn’t think anything could top our whale shark experience in Tanzania — this did. The shop we booked through told us they hadn’t seen concentrations like this in years. Two days in the water with hundreds of them, and we’d go back for a third without hesitation.