Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
Vieques is an island off the coast of the Puerto Rico. Additionally, Mosquito Bay is also home to brightest bioluminescent bay in the world known as Mosquito Bay.
Secondly, the island is also bigger island than Culebra.
Island is famous for three major things – beaches, wild horses, and bio bay. It has two major towns or areas: Esperanza and Isabella II. Esperanza is closer to most of the activities and beaches. Isabel II is closer to ferry terminal. The only way to get to Vieques is by air or sea. We took ferry and booked tickets in advance. Equally important, do not want to wait till last minute. Its only 45-minute ferry ride.
We booked UTV rental here as well. Furthermore, you need some form transportation on this island whether it be UTV or jeep. We stayed for two nights here as well. As you know, we had a little delay on ferry issues. Finally, we were still able to board a ferry last minute.
Beaches to Explore
Undoubtly, There are so many awesome beaches in Vieques, and they are not crowded. Clearly, it was so much fun to explore lot of them. We fell in love with all the beaches.
- Caracass Beach – loved it, so many wild horses right on the beach. Do not leave food openly. If you get lucky, you might be able to see albino horse. He is hero of that beach. lol.
- La Chiva – We were on no.8 lot. It is best with jeep rental, but UTV was fine. Roads are very rough.
- Black Sand Beach Playa Negra – 8-10 min easy flat hike to the beach, not swimmable conditions.
- Sun Bay – another favorite spot. It was a long stretch of a beach, find a good spot and enjoy.
- Media Luna – was told it is great beach for kids. You need a proper four wheel.
- Punta Arenas – did not go here, but our house manager suggested its good.
- El Gallito – Stopped here for a little picture session.
Things to Do
- Mosquito Bay (Bio Bay Tour) – I mean you came to Vieques; this is number one thing to do. You can only do guided tour here. We booked a day in advance and were easily able to get a reservation. There are many tour operators in the Esperanza area. Taino adventures were great. They had clear kayaks. We took 7.30 pm tour, and it lasted us 1- ½ hours overall.
- Do not miss out, and don’t let your fear take over. Mosquito bay is recorded in the Guinness World Record for the number of planktons seen in the water. It is a must.
- Some tips for bio tour.
- We left our personal belongings in our UTV. We hid it in the trunk. lol. our vehicle did not have a lock. Nothing happened to it. Therefore, if you have a car, leave it. You do not need anything with you. Tour guide will be able to store your personal belongings in their vehicle. It is safe. But its best to leave it in your own vehicle. Secondly, you will also remove your footwear and leave them with the tour guide’s vehicle.
- They take you in a school bus to the actual location, rugged rough roads. To get in the kayaks, you have to go through very small area of muddy/slushy water. Its part of the fun. Wear comfortable clothes for kayaking. There were no insects/mosquitos. Trust me, mosquitos love me a lot. So, I can assure you.
- Besides, do not take your phone when you go kayaking because its difficult to capture it on phone. Rather enjoy the moment. It was one of the best experiences of my life. When I saw fishes jumping and glowing due to planktons, it was surreal moment. We also saw a beautiful star lit sky. You are not kayaking the whole time. Choose a tour company that has clear kayaks for best experience.
- You do not need to be experienced kayakers, just need to know what to do. They provide life jackets.
- Beaches
- Sightseeing/old buildings
- Crab Rum Distillery
- Old Ceiba Tree
- Mosquito Pier
- Fort Mirasol
- Sunset in Esperanza/ Malecon
- Horseback Riding
Where to Stay
It depends on personal choice. We rented an Airbnb near the National Wildlife Refuge. Our Airbnb was called Villa Del Sol. It was on a very and interior road from all the attractions. We loved it and highly recommend it. They had passionfruit trees and we were able to enjoy them, fallen off from the tree.
It has all the amenities we needed for the beach and our stay. The house provided beach chairs, umbrella, towels, coolers, snorkeling gear and even a hammock. They even have a pool. They were very flexible with late check out. It worked out so well for us. We were able to enjoy a day at the beach and clean ourselves before taking ferry and then finally taking a flight.
Esperanza and nearby places to Black Sand Beach had lot of high-end hotel accommodations. You can check it out and see based on your preference. Personally, Airbnb provides all amenities for beach for free and it works out well for us.
Where to eat
Coqui Frog
Loved our Mexican meal here, we were so hungry also. The owners and staff were very friendly. They make and sell their own hot sauce. I tried 2 flavors. We also met some diners that were from east coast. Lol. We bonded over snow cold weather talks.
Buen Provecho
Nice breakfast or brunch place. We went to another place, and as it was closed came to BP. They had simple food, but it was well made. I had eggs and my husband tried their pancakes. Both were delicious and filling, again their hot sauce was so good. They also provide two types of hot sauce. Ask for it. They have outdoor seating, and it was perfect to enjoy a meal with roosters roaming free.
Rising Roost Café
One of the best breakfasts on the island. I am not exaggerating. We both got eggs. Mine was called El bote (boat)- basically scrambled eggs in bread loaf but it was so delicious. We devoured it. My husband got himself an omelet that came with garlic bread. When we went here, it was too early and but in sometimes they got busy.
Duffy’s
We had dinner here one night, the place is right on roadside facing the water so nice views around sunset. My husband tried some chicken sandwich (he liked it) and I had their veggie burger which I was surprised to like it. Veggie burgers either have plant-based meat or mushrooms, I love it, but this was made with actual vegetables. Not sure if it was store bought patty or house made, but it was delicious. The drinks here were okay. The owner also offered another vegetarian option, but I had my mind on burger.
Lazy Jacks
We planned to dine here initially but changed it last minute. But we ended up getting dessert as it was a last night of vacation. Tiramisu was delicious, it came with ice cream (odd for me). The place was packed at night.
Other places to try.
- Panaderia Lydia – This place had very simple sandwiches or breakfast options but heard a lot about it. The line was too long so we could not get pastries.
- Panaderia La Viequense
- El Quenepo
- Fine dining option
- Bieke Bistro
- Good food and drinks according to our house manager.
- El Blok hotel – La Placita
- Another fine dining places.
- Bili restaurant
- Blue Horizon
Our Itinerary
Day 1 – We picked up UTV rental, checked in Airbnb. Went directly for early dinner as we skipped breakfast (sea sickness) and lunch (due to missing our ferry). We had light fruits and stuff. Dinner was Coqui Frog. Wanted to So, ended up relaxed at our room.
Day 2 – Breakfast at Buen Provecho, Caracas Beach until noon, La Chiva beach. We had snacks with us at the beach. Came to Esperanza, enjoyed local neighborhood, Sunset on the board walk, Dinner at Duffy’s. Bio Tour at 7.30 PM.
Day 3 – Rising Roost for breakfast 8.30 AM. Fort Mirasol, then went straight to Black Sand Beach, spent ½ hour. From there, we went to Sun Bay and relaxed there. Went back to room, to shower, packed, ate leftovers for lunch and check out. We requested late check out at 3 pm. So, thankful for the Airbnb manager. 4 hours extra from original check out time and got to clean up.
Before dropping off, our UTV rental we went for a drive. Lol. We came across La Gallita beach, Ceiba Tree and wanted to go to Mosquito Pier, but ran out of time. We dropped off our UTV rental at 4 pm. Took ferry out to Ceiba at 5.30 pm. Directly, from Ceiba ferry terminal got into Uber for the airport. Our flight was after 10 PM.
We planned to eat at the airport, but options were not very good and too expensive. So, we just had some pastries and coffee. So, just in case get something from outside to eat. If you want to explore more things or relax more, I will highly add 1-2 days more in Vieques. We loved the vibe and place. You would love it.
If you enjoyed my post, please leave a comment and catch up with rest of the PR trip here, here and here! Stories !