Vieques day trip : the best things you should do

Vieques island is part of the Puerto Rican archipelago. It is one of many Caribbean islands. You’ll find that this island has plenty of things you can do. You can either go hiking in mangrove forest, enjoy the most beautiful beaches and even kayak in bioluminescent bay. In this Vieques day trip blog post, I will tell all the things you should to make the most of your trip. 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. You should not that 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 buy 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. 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. 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.

Where should I sleep? 

Since I was trying to cut back on expense to save a little bit of money to do more scuba diving, I decided to go for a budget friendly option and I was not disappointed. 

I slept at the Seagate Hotel in Isabel Segunda. It’s a small town where you will find most of the rental companies, gift shop and restaurants. You will have to walk around 17 minutes from the ferry or around 5 minutes drive. It’s the perfect place if you want to go for an evening walk in town or watch the sun sets on fortress Conde de Mirasol. Also, on the same road, there is a tree where you can see a lot of humming bird flying by.

What to expect ?

You can expect to fell like you’re in a little jungle when you rent a room at the Seagate Hotel. You will put your golf cart at the parking lot is that is just outside of the property. Then, when you enter the gates, this is where the magic happens. You will see many palm trees, mango trees, trees in bloom and many others where big iguanas are sleeping in. As you walk down the concrete path, chicken will run pass you as you go to the reception. Penny will greet you and show you to your room. 

p.s. they will text you to know when you are coming in, to greet you. So, make sure you have international data available. 

As you go to your room, you’ll see that you have access to a private balcony facing west. Perfect for sunset lovers. You will have access to a kitchen where you can cook all your meal, if you want to, a private bedroom and a bathroom. The air conditioning is only available in the bed room because it’s the only room where you there’s plastic covering the windows to limit the humidity level in there. As such, you will need to close every door and window leading to the bedroom if you want a good night sleep. You will also have access to free WIFI and Netflix in your room.

Make sur to bring ear plugs, because the chickens are singing a lot!! 

So, if you want to rent the same thing as me, I rented basic room number 10. It was exactly the same as I described, but the balcony was way bigger than the other room on site.

Why is this so special ?

First of all, this hotel as an amazing customer service. Penny will make sure that someone will be there to greet you, show you the property and your room, when you arrive. They make sure you feel at home and that you have everything you need for your stay. If you need something more, they will try to get it for you. For breakfast, she will make sure to have food for everyone.

When I was there, they put hard boiled eggs, fresh fruits, cereals, cake, muffins, fruit juice and milk every mornings. Even if we were up at six in the morning, everything was available and we had access to the fridge if she did not put it on the table yet.

One other thing that makes this place special, was the amazing view of the fortress. Every evening we would go out, eat our supper and enjoy the fortress with a beautiful sunset as a background. These were really perfect moments, especially with the rooster singing at the same time!  

Plus, they have a stable on site with many horse. Therefore, they offer horseback riding tour and they will bring you all the way to the beach. It’s an amazing activity to do, if you have time on your hands.

What to do in one day? 

This is the best part of the Vieques day trip. I will tell you everything you should not miss while visiting this beautiful island.

​Book a kayak tour in the bioluminescent bay

Vieques has the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay and the best way to enjoy it is to kayak in the bio bay. Because of that, many companies offer a tour and they have multiples kayak options available. You can have 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 enough. 

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 felt like 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.

Therefore, the bio bay tour SHOULD NOT be missed. 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. 

See the 375 years old ceiba tree

This one is a quick win and an impressive sight to see. You will have to drive15 minutes maximum to get there. It is in a cute park  created by many Puerto Ricans volunteers.

This tree is so big and spiky, it will make an amazing picture for your Instagram. Since it has been around for such a long time, it survived many things, like tsunami and even hurricane Maria.

There is a small hiking trail at the back of the park, but I wouldn’t waste much time on this one, there are much better one in the national wildlife refuge. 

Enjoy the wild horses of Vieques

Horse were introduced on the island by Spanish colonizers in the 16th centuries. Since then, they spread on the island and you can see them roam free.

Even if you can watch them in the national wildlife refuge, if you want to see them in a great number, the best place is on road 200, between the distillery and mount Pirate. You will see them grazing in the meadow or resting in the shadow of trees. 

If you would like to see foals fooling around, the best time to visit is from March to May. We went at the end of April and they were a lot of them trotting near their mother. It was really funny and cute. 

Rest at 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 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. 

Hike Tapón trail in Vieques National Wildlife Refuge

This hike is around 1.6km long with an elevation gain of 30m. The trail in is perfect for beginners or people looking for something a little bit different. You will walk through a mangrove forest with plenty of hermit crabs nests. It so much fun to watch them run around as you pass by. The directions are really easy to follow. You should not miss a turn, even if the trail might have some overgrown vegetation. 

What I liked most, was that we had the trail for ourselves and that as you walk, you have a lot of great beach views.  You can even go on those beach and enjoy some snorkeling if you want to. But, beware many see urchins are in the water. You should bring water shoes if you go for a swim.

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

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Culebra scuba diving guide: all you need to know

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Eeyou istchee tourism : what you need to do up north