Culebra Island, Puerto Rico
Culebra is considered to have one of the best beaches in Puerto Rico. Its is a small island in PR and its archipelago consists of so many other small private secluded beaches.
Culebra is east of main island of PR. You can take a fast ferry or cargo ferry and be there in 1-1 ½ hours. Due to its proximity to main island, people take day trips to Culebra. You can also take small plane ride. Both are equally inexpensive, and really depends on what your priorities are.
We took ferry from Ceiba (the only place to take ferries) to Culebra. They release ferry tickets few days in advance. So, make sure to book it in advance if you want a desired time to visit Culebra. It’s difficult to get tickets in person on same day. I will share our experience later the blog.
One thing I would like to share here without fail, our ferry was fast ferry. It was going very fast, and water was choppy, so if you feel motion sickness or sea sickness, then make sure to not eat a lot and get yourself medication. Some people had trouble with that, and they kept throwing up, specially if you have kids. Good thing, we found out that they had vending machine for sea sickness medication. You can purchase dramadine right at the ferry terminal.
If you want to spend a day in Culebra, its possible. There is not much to do, other beach and relaxation. It’s a different thing, if you plan to take water taxi and visit nearby smaller private islands for snorkeling than you may have to stay in Culebra.
However, we stayed there for 2 nights. We took early morning ferry at 9.30 AM and were there around 10.30. Then, we had booked UTV rental like golf cart. So, my husband went to pick it up and we decided to get something to eat as we were starving, and it was also lunch time. We found many places were just not open for lunch. Decided to pick up some salsas, chips, and fruits from D’s Kitchen. It was plentiful for lunch.
Our check in was later in the day, so we picked some thing to eat and found a place closer to our Airbnb to just chill. We had requested for early -check in, so always check with your hosts if they can let you check in early.
By 1 PM, we were able to leave our luggage in our rooms and change into bathing suits. We immediately went to the famous Flamenco Beach in Culebra. This beach is the reason Culebra is so famous. It was about 15 mins from ferry terminal, where we were staying as well.
There is a small entry fee per vehicle. And we spent rest of the afternoon at Playa Flamenco. It is such a beautiful beach. We loved it. Beach premises had lot of food and drink stall, you can rent umbrellas and chairs etc. too. They also had showers, just to keep in mind.
We had chairs from our Airbnb and did not need an umbrella. We were able to find a spot under tree and it worked out for us. Beach stretches itself far and there is a way behind the sand to walk and you can find more spots. The same way leads to the abandoned tankers. Its about 10 mins max.
For dinner, we went to Dinghy Docks. Its such a cool restaurant. Highly recommend it. It had limited vegetarian options, but still, plenty of food. We enjoyed our food there. We went there two days in a row as another restaurant was closed the next day and we had not many options.
I tried their hummus wrap (one of the best) and my husband loved his guava glazed chicken dish. As you can see there were sides too and we had an appetizer too. All in all, delicious. The highlight was the fishes, that everyone was feeding leftovers.
Second night, we had some trouble with restaurants. So, keep in mind restaurants can be closed on a weeknight, just make sure to check. We made slight mistake, and Zacos Tacos was closed so decided to try another place, but they had no veg options. So came back to Dinghy. We tried few more things that day like spinach artichoke dip, jalapeno popovers (we loved them the day before so), husband tried chicken empanada and loved it too.
I randomly decided to ask our server if they had any other veggie options that night. She told me they change their veg options every day. So, we ordered black bean patties too. Patties were good, but kind of felt weird eating them without any bread or in wrap.
All in all, great place for vibe, ambiance, and food.
We had one full day in Culebra, so we decided to go to Zoni beach. Zoni beach is very secluded, and it takes about 20-25 minutes’ drive. Very few people visit this beach. We loved this beach too. The drive was also fun and very few people on the road.
When we went there, there was only one other couple sitting at the beach. If you prefer seclusion and have time, this beach was beautiful too. Lots of opportunity for snorkeling. May be not the best beach for kids even though water was not that wavy.
We had picked up breakfast from Culebra Coffee place, a small deli type place and our egg white wrap and a smoothie to share, and to enjoy at the beach.
Around lunchtime, we left to go back to Flamenco beach. Again, decided to stop by D’s Kitchen place to pick up salsa and chips. They carry some meat wraps too if you like.
We got ourselves some drinks and enjoyed our leftovers and salsa and chips and spent our day at Playa Flamenco. On our way back, we also stopped by at Tamarindo beach. We didn’t like it, there was so many rocks and mosquitos that we decided to leave. I am sure if we went further, maybe we would have found a good spot. Dinner was at Dinghy Docks as I shared earlier.
Next day, we were going to Vieques island. After checkout and dropping off our UTV, we took ferry back to Ceiba. There is no direct connection to Vieques form Culebra. So, you must go back to Ceiba.
This is where we made minor mistake. Our ferry from Culebra was supposed to get us off around 12.30 pm., we took 11.30 am ferry but instead of fast ferry (that takes one hour) we were asked to board cargo ferry which takes 1 ½ hours. So, we thought we would get off at 12.30 and had booked ferry to Vieques at 1 pm, which of course we could not board. We saw our ferry to Vieques and requested to board it, but they refused as according to them, the doors were closed.
The staff told us that they can change our tickets to next available tickets. The next ferry was at 3 PM. They did not have tickets available for 3 at first, so we had to wait until last minute to check with the ticket counter and were able to take ferry at 3 pm. I am glad we were able to get on ferry.
We had booked UTV rental on Vieques island and they close at 4-5 pm. But at the end it all worked out.
Places to eat
- Dinghy Dock
- Zacos Tacos
- Navidad
- D’s Kitchen and Garden
- Culebra Coffee
- Blac Coffee – did not try it but looked good.
Beaches to Explore
- Flamenco beach is a must and is number one beach. You will not regret. We came here twice.
- Zoni Beach – secluded and very beautiful beach too. A little bit farther and opposite side to Flamenco. So, plan properly.
- Tamarind Beach – It was okay beach for us, we just stopped by for sunset and did not like it. It is on the way to Flamenco.
- Culebrita Island – Take water taxi for few hours and spend time snorkeling. We did not do it this time.
Our airbnb was closed to ferry terminal and on the same street as Dinghy Docks. Additionally, it was not a great airbnb, we loved the outdoor area but rest was okay. So, I am linking it here.
If you do not want to stay in Culebra, but still add it to your itinerary for a day trip. Pack up some sandwiches and light bites and take a cab from ferry terminal to Flamenco beach – like 15 mins drive. Its pointless to rent a UTV just for a day. Take the later ferry out to main island and you can have fantastic day trip. PS, beach has showers, food and drinks to purchase and umbrella/chairs rentals too.
Stay tuned for Vieques recommendations!
If you haven’t yet checked out San Juan recommendations, then click here!