Culebra
Stretching for a mile around a sheltered, horseshoe-shaped bay, Playa Flamenco (Flamenco Beach) is not only one of Culebra’s best beaches, it also makes a…
Must-see attractions in Culebra & Vieques
Culebra
If you need a reason to hire a water taxi, Isla Culebrita (Culebrita Island) is it. This small island, just east of Playa Zoni, is part of the national…
Vieques
Locals claim that the magnificent Bahía Mosquito (Mosquito Bay), a designated wildlife preserve located on the island of Vieques, about 2 miles east of…
Culebra
This remote thin, white-sand beach has one of the best snorkeling areas in Puerto Rico thanks to a barrier reef that almost encloses the beach's waters;…
Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
Culebra
More than 20% of Culebra is part of a spectacular national wildlife refuge, which was signed into law more than 100 years ago. Most of it lies along the…
Culebra
Head to the eastern end of the island and you’ll eventually run out of road at Playa Zoni. Many locals think this is a better beach than Flamenco and it's…
Vieques
Part of Puerto Rico's national park system, this half-moon-shaped bay, less than a half-mile east of Esperanza, is the island’s balneario (public beach),…
Vieques
Calm and clear, this beach is reached on a paved road and has gazebos with picnic tables to shade bathers from the sun; there's excellent snorkeling –…
Vieques
This secluded beach is as far east as you can go at present, spread across a mushroom-shaped bay with icing-sugar sand and a calm sea that shimmers with a…
Vieques
A favorite with locals, this gorgeous playa at the eastern end of the main road is long and open with occasionally rough surf. It's easy to find your own…
Vieques National Wildlife Refuge
Vieques
Lying within these protected confines are the best reasons to visit Vieques. This 18,000-acre refuge occupies the land formerly used by the US military…
Culebra
It's beauty lies in its isolation; with no road you have to hike about 30 minutes along a little-used trail that is often overgrown with sea grape and low…
Culebra
On the southwestern tip of the island, Punta Soldado has a rocky beach perfect for exploring. The water is calm and clear and filled with healthy coral,…
Vieques
This deliciously deserted stretch of sand has absolutely no facilities – just jaw-dropping beauty. It faces Bahía Ensenada Honda, which is good for…
Vieques
This gorgeous cove has a slender stretch of sand and protected waters that are excellent for snorkeling. A steep gravel path leads to the beach.
Vieques
Punta Arenas is excellent for a quiet picnic, some family-friendly snorkeling, and views of the mainland (note the wind farm) and El Yunque across the…
Culebra
A resaca is an undertow and a metaphor for a hangover, an allusion to the state of the water perhaps, or the way you'll feel after climbing up and down…
Culebra
Snorkeling is the thing here; the beach shares the fish-filled waters of the Luis Peña Channel Natural Reserve, making it a popular spot for independent…
Vieques
If it's isolation you’re after, head east on the sandy road that runs along Sun Bay and you’ll enter a low forest. Go left at the fork in the road. In a…
Vieques
This uninhabited pinprick of land lies a few hundred feet across the bay from Playa Esperanza. Part of the Mosquito Bay Reserve, many intrepid locals swim…
Vieques
Bored of all that powdery, blindingly white sand? This beach lives up to its name with dark, sparkly sand derived from offshore volcanic rocks. This…
Vieques
This long, narrow strip of golden sand has wave-tossed water that drops off very quickly, so it's not the best choice for kids or poor swimmers. If you…
Vieques
Popular with brown pelicans, this small beach with a great reef for snorkeling is just 10yd offshore. Note, though, that between December and March, seas…
Vieques
On the northern side of Laguna Kiani is the best beach on Vieques for children and people learning to snorkel, with calm, shallow waters. Since Hurricane…
Vieques
A teardrop of land between the malecón and Sun Bay reached by a slender sandspit (or by wading, if storms have washed it out), Cayo de Tierra has a few…
Culebra
This is the closest beach to Dewey; a tiny strip of sand with some shade trees and a smattering of picnic tables and a good spot to catch a sunset. The…
Vieques
Abandoned in 1942 after the US Navy took possession of the island, this 19th-century sugar mill now lies in ruins; overtaken by the forest, just some…
Culebra
Housed in the Navy's former munitions warehouse (El Polvorín), this compact museum is jam-packed with interesting displays on the history of the island,…
Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust
Vieques
This trust, founded in 1984 to help protect the island’s bioluminescent waters, operates a tiny museum, which contains intriguing exhibits on its…
Vieques
This small fort – the last Spanish fort constructed in the Americas, in 1845 – sits on a hill above Isabel Segunda with sweeping views over the mainland…
Vieques
One of Puerto Rico’s 16 historic lighthouses, this pastel-shaded monument stands on the hilly point just north of the Isabel Segunda ferry dock. Built in…
Vieques
This slender beach runs the length of Esperanza. Its advantages are its spectacular views and the fact it's within shouting distance of the town’s hopping…
Hombre de Puerto Ferro Archaeological Site
Vieques
Big boulders identify the grave from which a 4000-year-old skeleton of a pre-Arawak known as the ‘Hombre de Puerto Ferro’ was exhumed. Little is known…
