best beaches in vieques puerto rico : my favorite one

Vieques island is part of the Puerto Rican archipelago. It is one of many Caribbean islands. You’ll find that this island has a lot of beaches. Most of them are extremely beautiful, while others are absolutely unique. In this best beaches in Vieques Puerto Rico blog post, I will tell you which one is my favorites and the ones that are definitely worth a detour. This blog post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase, I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Find out more here.

Do you need help planning your Vieques itinerary ? Check out these helpful resources:

• Flights
• Accommodation for all budgets
• Rental car
• Ferry tickets
• Activities, tours, and day trips
• eSIM for international data

How to get there?

There are two options to go to the island of Vieques. The first one is by plane and the second one is to take a ferry ride. 

By plane

If your are considering the option to go by plane, you can have a ticket from San Juan airport to Vieques. It is the most expensive option available out there. The ticket is around 300$ round trip. So, it will add up to the cost of the trip if you are on a budget. 

By ferry

The best bet, in my opinion, is to go by a ferry. Even more so if you are planning to visit mainland Puerto Rico. You can buy your tickets in advance through the City Experience apps or directly at the ferry terminal. I recommend that you by your tickets a couples of days in advance with the apps, because the most interesting departure times will sellout very quickly. The price for a one way ticket from Ceiba is 2$ and non-refundable. Consequently, it is the most affordable option available. But, you need to know that, if you are not a local, you cannot bring your car to the ferry. 

P.S. the ferry schedule might not be optimal if you want to spend a whole day on the island and get up in the morning at a reasonable hour. The best way to enjoy a full day is to go to ceiba ferry terminal the day before, take a evening ticket and sleep on the island for two nights. Then, that way you will have enough time to see everything. 

What should I rent – car vs golf cart ? 

The golf cart is definitely the cheapest way to go everywhere you need on isla de Vieques. But, since the island can have some pretty big holes in the road, you might be tempted to rent a car. While it is true that the dirt roads going to Vieques national wildlife refuge are not the greatest, everything else is really manageable.  So, the golf car can easily do the trick. 

Despite the fact that everywhere online I saw that the roads were horrible on the island, I decide to try to get around on a golf cart anyway, and let me tell you, if you’re have been to the province of Québec, the roads in Vieques are a little bit worst, but not by much.  

Therefore, the best option is to rent a golf cart. But, to make you are making the most of it, rent it at least at 5PM the day before. This way you’ll have time to do everything that is worth it. 

P.s. golf cart are not as fast as a car. They go at 35mph. Then, if time might worry you, invest a few extra bucks for a car. I think it’s the only reason why you should rent a car, because I was able to do everything I wanted with the golf car, but the time constraint was a little bit stressful.

best beaches in vieques puerto rico

As you will notice, Vieques as a ton of beaches. It can be hard for someone to choose between all of them. That is why I made a list of the best beaches in vieques puerto rico. Some of them are really unique and since it’s a small island, you might be able to visit a few of the one that I will recommend. 

My favorite one

Mosquito bay

Vieques has the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay and the best way to enjoy it is to kayak in the bio bay. Many companies offer a tour and they have multiples options available. When you rent a tour with any company, usually they will ask that you meet them in the town of Espranza. Then, they will bring you to the beach in a school bus for your activity.

After that, you have to choice to rent a regular kayak, a clear bottom kayak and a full clear kayak. In my opinion, the clear bottom kayak bottom is more than enough to have a wonderful experience. but, the regular kayak, will not be sufficient. 

While you paddle, all the water around will get a blue glow. You can see fishes dashing in the water and stingrays slowly swimming. All in a beautiful blue light. Honestly, I feel like it we were in Moana and the spirit animal of her grandmother (a stingray) was swimming with her. It was magical. Additionally, with the clear bottom, you will see all the air bubbles pass by in a bright blue light. It looks like a multitude of tiny stars under you. It is really pretty and really worth the few extra bucks for the clear bottom.

The bio bay tour SHOULD NOT be missed as it’s such a unique experience. The captivating glowing water of mosquito bay will be worth your time I promise. But, if you are tight on your schedule, book it the night before your day trip and get a room directly on the island. This, way you will have more time to do the other activities and take the ferry back to the main island of Puerto Rico.

Tips: 

1- reserve in advance. The places get taken really quick

2- Try to go a day of the new moon. This, way, the sky will be darker and you will see the blue light a lot more. 

3- Keep in mind that the best time of the year to see the bioluminescence is from December to April.

4- If you have the possibility to choose a time frame, go after 8pm, but even better at 9pm. It will be darker outside, making the experience even more enjoyable. 

Others that are really worth it:

Playa Negra

If you’ve never had the chance to see black sand, this beach is definitely worth the detour. To get there, you will need to find a parking near the road, one is available in front of Playa Negra Fine Foods. Then, you will see a wooden sign, on the other side of the road, showing you where the trail starts. Once you start going down the path, you will walk beneath to little cliffs with lianas all around. It’s at least a good 15 minutes walk to get to the beach as the path winds a lot. 

When you get there, you will see a black sand beach with crystal clear waters. That being said, the sand gets super hot. Make sure to bring a towel or a beach chair with you for a better experience. It’s also the perfect spot if you want to take amazing pictures, because de spot is quite unique. You could totally do something crazy with a drone too. 

Playa Caracas

This one is part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge. Located on the southern coast of this Caribbean island, the Caracas beach as pretty calm waters with soft white sand, sparse palm trees and wild horses that roam free. It is the perfect place to enjoy the sun and spend time relaxing.  

You could also enjoy some snorkeling since the water is really really clear and calm, but there are a lot of sea urchins at this one. You can avoid them by checking the colors of the water before going in. It, the water is dark, sea urchins are there and avoid this place. Beside that, there’s a lot of animal life at playa Caracas. You can see many soft and hard corals, tropical fishes and, if lucky, sea turtles.

There’s also a few hiking trails nearby, if you want to explore a little bit. I recommend Tapón trail, which is a nice and easy hike, where you walk trough a mangrove forest full of hermit crabs nests. You will see them running along as you walk pass them.

Playa Punta Arenas

Located on the West coasts, this one is the farthest beach to go to from Isabela Segunda, I would not recommend that you go as far as this one if you do not have a car. Going by golf car, is quite an adventure to say the least. But, in my opinion, it was worth the drive. This was one of the best beach to do snorkeling. I had a high visibility underwater and I saw a lot of animals. It was so much fun. I saw crayfishes, tropical fishes, sea turtles and sting rays. I was not lucky enough to see octopuses, but it’s a know fact, that many snorkelers have seen them swimming around.

Blue beach

Also know as Playa La Chiva, this is one of the most pristine beaches of Puerto Rico on the South side of Vieques. It’s just on the other side of playa Caracas in Vieques National Wildlife refuge. The crystal-clear water tones will amaze you. Additionally, the tones of the turquoise waters are simply stunning.

It is definitely one of the prettiest beach of the island and if you are looking for an amazing tropical beach with few tourists, this one is a winner. As few people are willing to go down the bumps and holes of the dirt road leading to this beach, you will have some quiet time over there for sure. This is perfect if you want to enjoy a good book or simply enjoy the sun.

Sea glass beach

This one is at a walking distance of the ferry and it’s an easy access from the road. Hence, if you have a little bit of time to kill before taking back the ferry to the mainland, you should make a little bit detour to visit this one. As the name suggest, you can collect see glass directly from the beach. It has multicolored polished pieces of glass all over the beach. It’s nice to look around for pieces with your little ones or to pick a little souvenir for yourself. Plus, you can relax and enjoy a little bit of you time just before going back. 

Need help for your next trip? Check out some of my other posts.

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