Vacation In Vieques Puerto Rico
Vieques Island is the second largest island in Puerto Rico. Comprising the eastern two-thirds of the Commonwealth it is also the home of Columbus’ first settlement in America and the site of a national park. There are many ways to get to Vieques Island: by air, jet boat, ferry boat or helicopter. Some visitors prefer to take their car over on the ferry boat, called The Sunshine Express.
Vieques, Puerto Rico is a small island just east of the main island of Puerto Rico. It is a popular tourist destination, but not nearly as well known as other Caribbean islands like Jamaica, the Bahamas or even Dominica. I was planning a vacation in Puerto Rico and spent days researching the top places to visit on the island. I narrowed it down to Fajardo, Rincon and Vieques. I was looking for a vacation place with some excursions available that were short enough where I wouldn’t run out of time.
With an island made for relaxation, a secluded beach, and one of the best conditions for freediving in the Caribbean, Vieques can be a dream vacation destination.
Puerto Rico is commonly known as the Caribbean’s blooming garden, a tropical haven located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s praised for its unspoiled beaches and pristine shores, and has been regarded as one of the top ten places to visit in the world. On top of that, it’s filled with various activities that you can do during any time of the year.
Vacation In Vieques Puerto Rico
When Elliot and I began planning our winter getaway to Puerto Rico, we were pretty intentional with our itinerary. We wanted to have a relaxing trip that didn’t involve too many hotel switches, but we also wanted to make sure our tourism dollars were being put to good use.
We decided to split our time in Puerto Rico between the city and the beach; we spent 5 days in San Juan, and 3 days on the island of Vieques.
Vieques is a small island 8 miles off the east coast of the main island of Puerto Rico. Most well-known for being home to the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world, Vieques is also a popular weekend getaway spot for both locals and tourists alike.
Vieques, Puerto RicoPlay Video
A little Vieques history
It would be easy to simply say that Vieques is a laid-back, beachy paradise, but I think it’s important to know about the island’s history before visiting, too.
Vieques was first inhabited by indigenous people that came from Caribbean regions like Cuba and Hispanola. They became known as the Taíno people, and were the first people Christopher Columbus would have come into contact with when he “discovered” the New World.
The Spanish claimed Vieques along with Puerto Rico in the 1490s. The smaller island eventually became a center for Taíno rebellion against the Spanish, leading to the Spaniards killing, imprisoning, or enslaving most of the native population of the island.
After the Spanish rolled in, Vieques experienced a few hundred years of lawlessness, becoming a hotspot for pirates and smuggling. Then came the sugarcane plantations in the mid-1800s. In 1898, after Spain lost the Spanish-American War, Vieques (along with the rest of Puerto Rico) changed hands and became a US territory.
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In 1941, the US military seized most of Vieques to be used as an outpost for its Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on the Puerto Rican mainland. After WWII ended, the US Navy continued using Vieques for munitions testing and didn’t leave Vieques until 2003, after a few long years of local protests.
After the military left, much of Vieques was designated a National Wildlife Refuge. But there are still scars left behind; some visible (like the signs around the island warning you to watch out for unexploded bombs), and some more sinister (like the mysteriously high rates of cancer and other serious illnesses among longtime residents).
On top of all this, Vieques was hit hard by Hurricane Maria in 2017; not only were buildings flooded and destroyed, but the world-famous bioluminescent bay went dark for a while, as the tiny organisms that produce the bay’s glow all died.
But Vieques has rebounded. There are few physical signs of hurricane damage any longer, and the bio bay is now brighter than it ever was before. And since the island doesn’t get the cruise ship tourists that the main island of Puerto Rico sees each year, we knew our tourism dollars could do some good on Vieques.
When to visit Vieques
NOTE: Vieques is open again to visitors, but ALL people traveling to Puerto Rico need to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to their departure. More info here. The Vieques ferry has also been operating for locals only; tourists may need to fly to the island.
The weather in Puerto Rico is generally pretty warm and tropical year-road, but there are definitely some months that are better for a visit than others.
Puerto Rico basically has two tourism “seasons.” Peak season is from December to May, and off-peak season runs from June through November. June-November is also hurricane season in the Caribbean, and can be slightly wetter (and obviously also sometimes full of hurricanes).
Another thing to consider when visiting Vieques is the moon cycle. If kayaking in Mosquito Bay (the famous bioluminescent bay) is on your to-do list, you’ll want to schedule it for as close to the new moon as possible, since darker skies make for a brighter bay.
Elliot and I visited Vieques at the new moon in late February, and it ended up being pretty perfect. It was hot enough to swim (and the water here is always warm enough for swimming), and the bio bay was super bright!
How to get to Vieques island
There are two different ways to get to Vieques: you can take the ferry, or you can fly.
The ferry leaves from Ceiba, which is a little over an hour from San Juan by road. The ferry is cheap (only $2 per person) and only takes about half an hour. But the ferry can get crowded (especially on holiday weekends), and locals are always given preference over tourists. They do offer a small number of tickets for pre-booking online (here), but there is sometimes a risk of not making it onto your desired boat.
The other way to get to Vieques is by flying. There are flights from 3 different airports to Vieques; you can fly from San Juan International Airport (SJU), Isla Grande Airport (SIG), or Ceiba Airport (RVR). Several small airlines fly these routes a couple times per day, including Vieques Air Link and Cape Air.
The flights are short (30 minutes from SJU, 20 minutes from SIG, and 10 minutes from RVR), and prices can vary. The most expensive route is from SJU, and the cheapest from RVR.
Elliot and I flew on Vieques Air Link from Isla Grande (SIG), which is not far from SJU. It’s a small regional airport, and we paid $170 round trip each. You fly in tiny planes (ours had seating for 10), and don’t be surprised when you AND your luggage have to step on a scale before boarding.
In the end, we were glad we flew. It was quicker, didn’t involve paying for a taxi to/from Ceiba, and the views were pretty phenomenal!
Pro tip: If you’re planning to fly back home directly after your time on Vieques, I highly recommend allowing at least a few hours in between your flights. Flights to/from Vieques can sometimes experience flight delays due to weather. (Our flight back, for example, was delayed 2.5 hours because of a stubborn storm hanging out above San Juan.)
