Isla Mujeres Restores Beach Access Points and Protects Seaside Walkways

Image: Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Photo Credit: PHOTO: Alexandra Roy)
Image: Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Photo Credit: PHOTO: Alexandra Roy)
Laurie Baratti
by Laurie Baratti
Last updated: 4:10 PM ET, Sun August 10, 2025

Officials in Isla Mujeres—an island located off the coast of Cancun, Mexico—have kicked off a new effort to reopen public pathways to the sea, making it easier for both locals and visitors to enjoy the island’s celebrated beaches.

According to Riviera Maya News, Mayor Atenea Gómez Ricalde has announced that her administration is working to “regularize and restore access to the sea” in spots known locally as “bocacalles”—the street-corner intersections that connect neighborhoods directly to the shoreline. 

The initiative involves several municipal departments, including Urban Development, Environment and Ecology, Cadastre and the Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat).

The first phase of the project began at Playa Norte, where two public beach entrances have already been reopened: one at the end of Hidalgo Street and another at the end of Carlos Lazo Street.

According to Municipal Planning Director Soledad Che Celis, the goal is to give island residents back their direct access to the beaches. “From where the waves break, a five-meter strip should be left clear so that island families and tourists have space to walk freely along the seashore,” she explained.

The program doesn’t stop at restoring these pathways. Che Celis said the city is also working to regulate the placement of lounge chairs and daybeds along the waterfront. The government wants to ensure concessionaires respect their permitted boundaries, leaving that key five-meter buffer zone unobstructed.

The Planning Director emphasized that the Municipal Government remains dedicated to promoting tourism while maintaining order.


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Laurie Baratti

Laurie Baratti

Assistant Editor

Laurie Baratti is an Assistant Editor for TravelPulse. She is a San Diego-based journalist whose work has previously appeared in publications like TravelAge West, SPACE, Modern Home + Living, Montage, and Sandals Life magazines. Travel writing has long been her passion, and she is always looking for excuses to explore the world outside of her native California. Laurie is also a lifelong equestrian, a proud pet-parent, and an underground advocate of the Oxford comma.

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