Welcome to Isla Holbox

Isn’t life great when it’s low-fi and low-rise? That’s the attitude on friendly Isla Holbox (hol-bosh), with its sandy streets, colorful Caribbean buildings, and lazing, sun-drunk dogs. Holbox is a welcome refuge for anyone looking to just get away from it all (‘all’ likely meaning the hubbub of Cancún)... Read More

Top experiences in Isla Holbox

Recent articles

The best places to swim with whale sharks

Swimming alongside the largest fish in the sea is one of the ultimate bucket-list experiences. Lucky, then, that there are a handful of destinations around the world where in-season sightings of whale sharks are almost guaranteed. Remember to keep a respectful distance from the gentle giants, resisting the urge to touch them or to use flash photography.

A diver photographing a whale shark. Image by Jones/ Shimlock-Secret Sea Visions / Getty Images.
Sarah Reid
Lonely Planet Writer

Swimming with whale sharks in Mexico

Everybody knows you go to Honduras' Bay Islands to swim with whale sharks. Well at least everybody who loves the ocean, loves diving and has the complete box set of Jacques Cousteau on DVD.

But the small, funky island of Isla Holbox – a tiny spit of sand just a day’s travel from the glitzy (and slightly chintzy) Mexican resort city of Cancún – is an equally great spot to swim with the biggest fish in the sea, and the island is an attraction in its own right.
Greg Benchwick
Lonely Planet Writer

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