Isla Holbox has been on my list for years, that quiet stretch of sand on Mexico's Yucatan coast where the streets are sand, the golf carts outnumber cars and the whole thing feels like Tulum before Tulum got famous. A new video guide making the rounds on MSN covers the practical stuff you actually need to know before you go, and the biggest takeaway is the least glamorous one: bring cash.

Real pesos, not just a card. Holbox is still small enough that plenty of street food stands, beach vendors and small guesthouses are cash-only, and the island's ATMs have a reputation for being unreliable, empty, or both, sometimes all three in the same afternoon. The video's advice matches what I'd tell anyone: withdraw what you need on the mainland before you take the ferry over, because once you're on the island your options get thin fast.

Credit cards work at the nicer restaurants and hotels, but don't build your trip around them. And here I'll admit my own bias: I once landed on a small island with about forty dollars in local currency and a card nobody accepted, and I spent two days negotiating my life like it was a barter economy. Learned my lesson the expensive way, which is, I'm realizing, the only way I learn anything while traveling.

Getting there is its own little adventure. You fly or bus into Cancun or Valladolid, take a bus or shuttle to Chiquila, then a 25-minute ferry across to the island. Sounds like a lot of connections but it runs smoothly, and the ferry is the kind of slow, salty, sun-in-your-face crossing that puts you on island time whether you're ready or not.

Once you're there, you walk, you bike, or you ride in a golf cart taxi. That's it. No rental cars because there are basically no roads that want them. Pack light, and I mean actually light, because dragging a wheeled suitcase down a sand street in the heat is a humbling experience I don't recommend.

The food is the reason I keep circling Holbox on the map. It's a fishing village at heart, so the lobster pizza gets the hype but the ceviche and whole grilled fish are where it's at, and the small loncherias do simple things extremely well. Which fits everything I believe: a handful of dishes from a kitchen that's been making them forever beats a long menu any day.

Other things worth knowing from the guide: mosquito repellent is not optional, bioluminescence season in the warmer months is genuinely magical, and the shoulder months are cheaper and quieter if you can swing them. If you're going between May and October, keep an eye on hurricane season when booking.

Every place has something, and Holbox's something is that it hasn't over-explained itself yet. Go before that changes, and go with pesos in your pocket. Where would you head first, the beach or the lunch counters? Because I already know my answer.