Mexico · Mexico · Marina Aquatours & Playa Tortugas
Cancun sends boats out from four separate waterfronts — a public ferry terminal north of downtown, two hotel-zone beaches, and the marinas hidden behind the hotels on the lagoon — and the one on your voucher decides how your morning starts.
Quick answer
Ultramar's own fare table puts a round-trip adult ticket to Isla Mujeres at 580 pesos, and that single number is the yardstick every boat on this page is measured against. The pre-booked ferry voucher at $35 buys the same 15-minute crossing with the ticket window skipped. A full-day catamaran at $99 buys the reef, the open bar and a beach club you never have to find. The cheapest water here is not in Cancun at all: Puerto Morelos reef snorkelling starts at $19, half an hour down the coast.
The failure mode this city specialises in is the pier. Puerto Juarez is a working ferry terminal on Avenida López Portillo, north of downtown; Playa Tortugas and Playa Caracol are beaches inside the hotel zone; Marina Aquatours and the jungle-tour docks sit on the Nichupté lagoon behind the hotel strip, reached from a different side of the boulevard. They are not interchangeable, and the R-1 bus that links them costs 12 pesos.
Two charges are collected in cash at the dock and appear on no listing: CONANP's 125-peso national-park wristband and the marina's own boarding fee. Budget for both. And from November to March, check the port captain's bulletin before you set an alarm — the rule that grounds boats here has a number in it.
Compare
The six kinds of day out that leave Cancun's waterfronts, with the boat on this page that represents each and the thing that actually decides between them. Prices, durations and review counts are the operators' own figures from the listings below, re-checked in September 2026; the last column is what you are really buying.
| Type of day | Time out | Leaves from | From | What decides it | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferry crossing, do it yourself | As long as you like | Puerto Juarez or Playa Tortugas | $35 | A voucher and no queue at the window | Details |
| Reef snorkelling with lunch | 4 – 6 hours | Puerto Morelos harbour | $19 | Cheapest reef in the region, park fee extra | Details |
| Isla Mujeres catamaran day | 7 hours | Hotel-zone marina | $99 | Reef, open bar and a beach club sorted | Details |
| Lagoon speedboat you drive | 2 hours | Nichupté lagoon marinas | $70 | You steer; the reef stop is 25 minutes | Details |
| Flamingos and pink lakes | 12 hours | Hotel pickup, then Río Lagartos | $98 | A coach day with a boat in the middle | Details |
| Private-feel speedboat | 3 hours | Hotel-zone marina | $149 | A beach the big boats cannot anchor at | Details |
The boats
Seven bookable boats, each carrying its operator's own rating and review count. Prices are per person and exclude the cash fees collected at the dock, which are listed further down this page. Re-checked in September 2026.
4.5★ (948 reviews) · from $35
4.6★ (519 reviews) · 12 hours · from $98
4.3★ (411 reviews) · 4 - 6 hours · from $19
4.5★ (354 reviews) · 4 - 6 hours · from $19
4.8★ (165 reviews) · 7 hours · from $99
4.6★ (143 reviews) · 2 hours · from $70
4.7★ (47 reviews) · 3 hours · from $149
The piers
Cancun has no single harbour. Ferries leave from a terminal north of downtown and from two hotel-zone beaches; the tour boats leave from marinas on the lagoon behind the hotel strip. Turning up at the wrong water is the most common way to miss a sailing here.
Puerto Juarez — signposted as Gran Puerto — is the real ferry terminal, at Av. López Portillo SM-84 north of downtown, the address Ultramar publishes on its own routes page. The crossing from here is the shortest anyone runs: 15 to 20 minutes, roughly every half hour. It is also where the whale-shark boats and most Isla Contoy trips load, being the closest quay to the open sea north of the island.
Playa Tortugas sits at Boulevard Kukulcán km 6.5 and Playa Caracol at km 9.5, both inside the hotel zone. Same Ultramar fare, longer crossing — 25 to 35 minutes, because the boat has to clear the bay first — and a thinner, roughly hourly timetable. Ultramar's fare page adds a line worth reading twice: at Playa Caracol the dock fee is not included.
Marina Aquatours, also at km 6.5 but on the lagoon side, is where the Isla Mujeres catamarans load; its own site lists a boarding fee of 15 USD per person, adult and child alike, cash at check-in. The jungle-tour docks further along the lagoon charge more — operators publish a 20 USD per-person marine-use fee, cash on the day, described as a federal charge for use of the marine natural elements. Neither appears in the booking price.
Punta Sam, further north again, is the car ferry and nothing else: UltraCarga runs it four times a day on weekdays, at 06:00, 10:00, 14:00 and 18:00, the crossing takes about 45 minutes, and you must arrive an hour early to buy the ticket. Golf carts rent on Isla Mujeres itself, so unless you are moving a vehicle it has nothing for you. The R-1 bus links every other waterfront — hotel zone to downtown to Puerto Juarez, around the clock, 12 pesos in cash to the driver — which is why a Puerto Juarez departure is no obstacle even from km 20.
| Waterfront | What leaves from it | Where it is | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Juarez (Gran Puerto) | Ultramar ferries, whale-shark boats, Isla Contoy trips | Av. López Portillo, north of downtown | Shortest crossing at 15–20 min and the densest timetable |
| Playa Tortugas | Ultramar ferries from the hotel zone | Boulevard Kukulcán km 6.5, beach side | Same fare, 25–35 min crossing, roughly hourly |
| Playa Caracol | Ultramar ferries | Boulevard Kukulcán km 9.5 | Ultramar's fare page states the dock fee is not included |
| Marina Aquatours | Isla Mujeres catamarans, reef days | Boulevard Kukulcán km 6.5, lagoon side | 15 USD boarding fee in cash at check-in |
| Nichupté lagoon docks | Self-drive speedboat jungle tours | Lagoon side of the hotel strip | 20 USD marine-use fee in cash before boarding |
| Punta Sam | UltraCarga vehicle ferry only | North of Puerto Juarez | Four sailings on weekdays, 45 min, arrive an hour early |
| Puerto Morelos harbour | Reef-park snorkel launches | 36 km south, 40 min by road | No shore snorkelling allowed — the reef is boat-and-guide only |
The arithmetic
Ultramar is a scheduled public service, not a tour, and its fares are published openly. That makes it the honest comparison for anyone whose only goal is to stand on Isla Mujeres.
Ultramar's fare table gives an adult one-way at 290 pesos and a return at 580 pesos, children 220 and 440; anyone over 1.20 metres pays adult. The fare is identical from all three terminals, so the pier you pick changes only the crossing time and the frequency. Add the R-1 bus at 12 pesos each way and two people reach Playa Norte and come home for about 1,184 pesos.
Against that, the pre-booked ferry voucher on this page is $35 per person — more than the window price. What the difference buys: a ticket you already hold, no queue at Puerto Juarez on a cruise-ship morning, and no exposure to the dollar rate offered at the ferry window, which is consistently worse than any bank's. Pay at the window in pesos and you win; pay in dollars and the gap closes on its own.
What 580 pesos does not buy is the reef. No scheduled ferry stops at Manchones or El Meco, and the snorkelling the catamaran day at $99 is built around happens in water the ferry crosses without slowing — nor does it buy the open bar, the lunch or the beach-club loungers. Want the island? Take the ferry and spend the difference there. Want the day arranged? Book the catamaran, knowing you are paying for the reef stop, not the crossing.
South of the city the arithmetic inverts. Puerto Morelos reef snorkelling at $19 is the best value on this page and cannot be replicated independently: the national park bans snorkelling from the shore, so the reef is reachable only on a permitted boat with a certified guide, life jacket compulsory and sunscreen prohibited. There is no cheaper self-organised version, because there is no self-organised version.
Prices
Three bands, drawn from the seven listings on this page rather than an average of the market — and every one of them sits on top of a cash fee collected at the dock.
The two Puerto Morelos reef trips at $19 and $19 are the cheapest boat-and-snorkel days on this coast, and the Isla Mujeres ferry voucher at $35 is the cheapest way onto the water from Cancun itself. All three leave the day open; none of them includes the 125-peso park wristband.
The self-drive lagoon speedboat at $70 is two hours and one reef stop. The Isla Mujeres catamaran at $99 is seven hours with the reef, the food and the drinks folded in — the only listing here where nothing else needs organising. The Río Lagartos day at $98 costs the same and is barely a boat trip at all: twelve hours, most of them on a coach, with a lancha in the middle.
The virgin-beach speedboat buys scarcity rather than inclusions: three hours, a low passenger count, a beach with no road to it. Its 47 reviews average 4.7★ — the smallest sample here, which is what a boat carrying a dozen people a day looks like in the numbers.
Season
Sea temperatures are the monthly averages published by Weather2Travel; the sailing notes are what the calendar actually does to departures out of Puerto Juarez and the lagoon marinas.
The norte is the one that cancels your morning. From November to March, cold fronts sweep down the Gulf and the port captaincies at Puerto Juarez and Isla Mujeres close the water — but not to everyone. The closure is written by hull length: as Riviera Maya News reported of one two-day closure, the port was "open to vessels over 40 feet in length but closed to vessels under 40 feet in length", with the Ultramar ferries expressly continuing to run. On the same grey morning, the catamaran sails, the ferry sails, and the lagoon speedboats and small-boat runs are grounded. If you have one winter day and one shot at the water, that number is the whole decision.
Sargassum is the second. The Quintana Roo monitoring network tracks around a hundred beaches through a season that runs roughly May to October and peaks between June and August, and the University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Laboratory publishes the Atlantic-wide forecasts the local network works from. It does not usually cancel a boat; it changes where the boat stops. A catamaran that normally anchors on the leeward side of Isla Mujeres will move round to cleaner water, and a swim stop on a weed morning becomes shorter. November to February is the reliable clear-water window.
Whale sharks are the third, and they are a fixed window. CONANP regulates the season as 15 June to 15 September, and the rules on the water are strict: a permitted boat, a GPS-equipped life jacket, biodegradable sunscreen or none, and only two swimmers plus a guide in the water with any one animal at a time while the rest of the boat waits its rotation. Boats leave from Puerto Juarez and from Isla Mujeres itself, which is nearer the feeding grounds. Outside those three months, nobody can legally take you.
Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November on NOAA's Atlantic calendar, peaking from mid-August to late October. Direct hits are rare; a system three hundred kilometres offshore that raises a swell, closes the port for two days and leaves the sun shining is not. Free cancellation 24 hours ahead is what makes booking in those months sensible rather than a gamble.
| Month | Sea | Water clarity | What it means on the water |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26 °C (79 °F) | The clearest of the year | Peak nortes — cancellations come from wind, never from cold |
| February | 26 °C (79 °F) | Clear | Whale sharks absent; the reef is at its best and least busy |
| March – April | 26 °C (79 °F) | Clear, then first weed | Spring-break crowds, calm seas; book the early slot |
| May | 27 °C (81 °F) | Sargassum building | Beach stops start being relocated rather than cancelled |
| June | 28 °C (82 °F) | Sargassum, often heavy | Whale-shark season opens mid-month; hurricane season opens too |
| July – August | 28 – 29 °C (82 – 84 °F) | Peak sargassum | Warmest sea, fullest boats, weed on the leeward beaches |
| September | 29 °C (84 °F) | Weed easing, rain heavy | Wettest month and the statistical peak of the hurricane season |
| October | 28 °C (82 °F) | Clearing | Storm risk still real; prices at their lowest of the year |
| November – December | 27 – 28 °C (81 – 82 °F) | Clearing to clear | First cold fronts arrive; big boats sail, small ones do not |
Extras
Cancun collects more money at the pier than almost any port on this site, and none of it appears in a booking price. Every charge below is per person, cash, and named with the body that collects it.
| Item | Amount | Who collects it | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| National park wristband — Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc | 125 pesos per person per day | CONANP | Any snorkel stop inside the park, including the Punta Nizuc reef on the jungle tour |
| National park wristband — Arrecife de Puerto Morelos | 125 pesos per person per day | CONANP | Both Puerto Morelos reef trips; life jacket compulsory, sunscreen banned |
| Isla Contoy landing permit | About 10 USD in cash, roughly 200 pesos | CONANP, collected on the island | Contoy day trips only — the park caps the island at 200 visitors a day |
| Marina boarding fee | 15 USD per person, adults and children | Marina Aquatours at check-in | Catamaran departures from the lagoon marina |
| Marine-use dock fee | 20 USD per person | The jungle-tour operators at the dock | Self-drive speedboat tours on the Nichupté lagoon |
| Dock fee at Playa Caracol | Charged separately | Ultramar's own fare page states it is not included | Ferry departures from Playa Caracol |
| Las Coloradas entry | About 320 pesos | The salt-flat concession | The Río Lagartos day, if entry is not itemised on your voucher |
| R-1 bus to the piers | 12 pesos per ride in the hotel zone | The driver, in cash | Any departure you are not taxiing to |
On the water
The ferry terminals sit north of downtown at Puerto Juarez and Punta Sam; the tour marinas sit on the lagoon behind the hotel strip. Isla Mujeres is 13 km offshore, Isla Contoy 30 km beyond it, and the cheapest reef of all is 36 km south at Puerto Morelos.
Questions
It depends entirely on the boat. Ultramar's ferries leave from Puerto Juarez north of downtown and from Playa Tortugas (km 6.5) and Playa Caracol (km 9.5) in the hotel zone. The catamarans and self-drive speedboats leave from marinas on the Nichupté lagoon, the other side of the boulevard from the beach. Punta Sam is the vehicle ferry and takes no foot tours. Your voucher names the one you need; the R-1 bus links them for 12 pesos.
Ultramar's published adult fare is 290 pesos one way and 580 pesos return, with children at 220 and 440; anyone taller than 1.20 metres pays adult. The crossing is 15 to 20 minutes from Puerto Juarez, roughly half-hourly, and 25 to 35 minutes from the hotel-zone piers, closer to hourly. Pay in pesos — the dollar rate at the window is poor. The pre-booked voucher at $35 costs more but removes the queue and the exchange rate.
Only if you want the reef. The seven-hour catamaran at $99 adds a snorkel stop the ferry does not make, an open bar, lunch and beach-club access, and rates 4.8★ across 165 reviews. If your plan is Playa Norte, a golf cart and a long lunch, the ferry does that for 580 pesos return. Buy the catamaran for the water; buy the ferry for the island.
It is CONANP's daily fee for the two national parks the boats snorkel in — Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc, and Arrecife de Puerto Morelos to the south. It is 125 pesos per person per day, cash at the dock, and it is in no listing price here. Under-12s, over-60s and people with disabilities are exempt; Mexican nationals and residents pay half, students with credentials a quarter.
Because the harbour is 36 km south and the boats are small local launches, not hotel-zone catamarans. Both $19 trips include boat, guide and lunch; the 125-peso wristband is extra. The park's rules are strict: no shore snorkelling at all, a permitted boat with a certified guide, life jackets compulsory and sunscreen prohibited. Bring a rash guard instead.
CONANP sets the season at 15 June to 15 September and nothing runs outside it. Boats leave from Puerto Juarez and from Isla Mujeres, which is nearer the aggregation. The rules are enforced on the water: a GPS-equipped life jacket, biodegradable sunscreen or none, and two swimmers plus a guide with any one animal while the rest of the boat waits. A listing offering whale sharks in January is not a whale-shark trip.
It rarely cancels one; it moves the swim stop. The Quintana Roo monitoring network tracks roughly a hundred beaches through a season running about May to October and peaking June to August, and skippers work round it by anchoring on the cleaner side of Isla Mujeres. Reef stops are usually unaffected — the weed is a surface problem near the shore. November to February is the clear-water window.
Cancun's port captaincies close the water by hull length rather than blanket-cancelling. In a typical norte the port is declared open to vessels over 40 feet and closed to those under 40 feet, which means the ferries and the big catamarans keep running while the lagoon speedboats and small-boat trips stand down. Operators refund or rebook. If your trip falls between November and March and you only have one free day, the 40-foot line is the reason to book a big hull.
No. The park is boat-access only, permits go to a small number of approved operators, and CONANP caps the island at 200 visitors a day — the tightest limit on this coast. The landing fee of about 10 USD is cash, paid on the island, on top of the tour. Trips run seven to eight hours from Puerto Juarez or Isla Mujeres and sell out in high season.
Nearby
Or browse every boat tour and day cruise by port.
The wall dives and drift snorkelling of the same reef system, an hour south then a ferry east
Catamaran & reef sailing ▸ Key WestUSAThe other side of the Straits: shallow-water reef, sunset sails and a harbour you can walk to
Sunset & reef sailing ▸ NassauBahamasCaribbean day cruises with the same catamaran-and-beach-club format and no park wristband
Catamaran & reef sailing ▸