Punta Cocos
Overview
Punta Cocos is the south-western point of Isla Holbox, a short ride from the town along sand streets. It is the quietest of the island's three beaches, a shallow turquoise bay used by locals for fishing and known as the best place on Holbox to watch the sun go down.
There is very little here, which is the appeal. A few small properties, mangrove behind the sand, and water so shallow and still that it looks like a lagoon rather than as sea. It faces west and south, away from the town.
Like the rest of the island it sits within the Yum Balam Biosphere Reserve, and the mangrove behind the point is part of that protected system rather than scrub to be built on.
Our current condition score for this beach is .
Photo summary of last month
Each photograph is published unedited and in date order, and is replaced as newer submissions arrive, so what appears here is the most recent view of the beach rather than a promotional photograph.
Photographs are published unedited and in date order, and they replace themselves as new submissions arrive.
Dark patches in the shallows here are commonly seagrass rather than sargassum, and the mangrove behind the point sheds its own organic matter.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
Sargassum affecting the Mexican Caribbean travels west across the tropical Atlantic, enters the Caribbean Sea, and is carried north-west up the Quintana Roo coast by the Yucatán Current before turning into the Gulf of Mexico through the Yucatán Channel. That route runs along the eastern, Caribbean-facing side of the peninsula: Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cancún.
Holbox is on the northern, Gulf-facing side, beyond the corner of the peninsula, and its beaches look out over shallow water rather than into that current. The island usually receives far less sargassum than the Caribbean coast, but it is not immune: winter cold fronts can push significant landings onto its beaches.
Storms are the exception worth knowing about. After heavy weather the lagoon system behind the island pushes seagrass and organic debris onto these shores, which looks similar in a photograph and is a different thing entirely.
The sargassum season
Because Holbox usually receives much less sargassum than the Caribbean coast, it is a common alternative when the Riviera Maya is affected, but it is still worth checking the live map before travelling.
The wider picture for this coast, including how the belt has grown over the past decade, is set out in our Riviera Maya sargassum season guide.
Swimming conditions and safety
The bay is shallow, warm and almost always flat, which makes it forgiving for children and unsuitable for anyone wanting to swim properly, since deep water is a long way out.
There are no lifeguards and no facilities at the point. Mosquitoes and sand flies from the mangrove are abundant at dawn and dusk, particularly in the rainy season, and there is little natural shade.
Boat traffic is light here compared with the town beach, though local fishing craft work the bay.
On sargassum: fresh weed in the water is harmless, if unpleasant to swim through. The sulphurous smell some visitors associate with it comes from material that has decomposed on hot sand for a day or more and is releasing hydrogen sulphide, so a strong smell indicates old weed rather than a fresh arrival.
Choosing a hotel on this stretch
Punta Cocos has a handful of small properties and is the quietest place to stay on Holbox, which suits visitors who want isolation and sunsets and does not suit anyone who wants to walk to dinner.
The town is the practical alternative, with restaurants and the plaza on foot and a busier beach; east of town toward Punta Mosquito is quieter sand with a golf-cart ride into the centre. Power and water infrastructure across the island is modest, so recent reviews are worth reading rather than assuming a price level guarantees reliability.
For visitors weighing Holbox against the Riviera Maya during the season, the trade is Caribbean water and snorkelling against near-certain absence of sargassum, plus a longer journey.
Access and getting there
Holbox is reached by passenger ferry from Chiquilá, about two hours by road from Cancún, with a crossing of roughly 25 minutes. ADO coaches serve Chiquilá from Cancún and Mérida, and shared shuttles cover the same route.
From the town, Punta Cocos is a short golf-cart taxi ride or a walk of around 20 minutes along sand streets. There are no private cars on the island.
We do not publish a car park for Punta Cocos, because there is no lot on the island; the parking that matters is in Chiquilá, where private operators serve ferry passengers on terms best confirmed on the day.
Check live conditions before you go
Punta Cocos sits about as far from the sargassum route as anywhere on the Mexican coast, but the journey is long enough to be worth confirming. On the live map we track it with dated photographs and a current condition score, alongside the town beach and Punta Mosquito, so you can compare the island's three beaches against the Caribbean coast on the same morning.
See live conditions, photos & cams →