Must-see attractions in Culebra & Vieques

  • Military tank left behind on Culebra Beach.
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    Playa Flamenco

    Culebra

    Stretching for a mile around a sheltered, horseshoe-shaped bay, Playa Flamenco (Flamenco Beach) is not only one of Culebra’s best beaches, it also makes a…

  • palm trees at Playa Tortuga (Turtle Beach) on Isla Culebrita, Puerto Rico

    Isla Culebrita

    Culebra

    If you need a reason to hire a water taxi, Isla Culebrita (Culebrita Island) is it. This small island, just east of Playa Zoni, is part of the national…

  • B366R1 The sun setting over the Puerto Mosquito mangrove bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico. The bay is bioluminescent.. Image shot 2007. Exact date unknown.
Bahía Mosquito

    Bahía Mosquito

    Vieques

    Locals claim that the magnificent Bahía Mosquito (Mosquito Bay), a designated wildlife preserve located on the island of Vieques, about 2 miles east of…

  • Playa Carlos Rosario

    Culebra

    This remote thin, white-sand beach has one of the best snorkeling areas in Puerto Rico thanks to a barrier reef that almost encloses the beach's waters;…

  • Culebra National Wildlife Refuge

    Culebra

    More than 20% of Culebra is part of a spectacular national wildlife refuge, which was signed into law more than 100 years ago. Most of it lies along the…

  • Playa Zoni beach on a sunny day in Culebra, Puerto Rico.

    Playa Zoni

    Culebra

    Head to the eastern end of the island and you’ll eventually run out of road at Playa Zoni. Many locals think this is a better beach than Flamenco and it's…

  • Sun Bay

    Vieques

    Part of Puerto Rico's national park system, this half-moon-shaped bay, less than a half-mile east of Esperanza, is the island’s balneario (public beach),…

  • Playa Caracas

    Vieques

    Calm and clear, this beach is reached on a paved road and has gazebos with picnic tables to shade bathers from the sun; there's excellent snorkeling –…

  • Playa La Plata

    Vieques

    This secluded beach is as far east as you can go at present, spread across a mushroom-shaped bay with icing-sugar sand and a calm sea that shimmers with a…

  • Playa La Chiva

    Vieques

    A favorite with locals, this gorgeous playa at the eastern end of the main road is long and open with occasionally rough surf. It's easy to find your own…

  • Aerial view of the coastline of Vieques National Wildlife Refuge on Viques, an island in Puerto Rico.

    Vieques National Wildlife Refuge

    Vieques

    Lying within these protected confines are the best reasons to visit Vieques. This 18,000-acre refuge occupies the land formerly used by the US military…

  • Playa Brava

    Culebra

    It's beauty lies in its isolation; with no road you have to hike about 30 minutes along a little-used trail that is often overgrown with sea grape and low…

  • Punta Soldado

    Culebra

    On the southwestern tip of the island, Punta Soldado has a rocky beach perfect for exploring. The water is calm and clear and filled with healthy coral,…

  • Playa Escondida

    Vieques

    This deliciously deserted stretch of sand has absolutely no facilities – just jaw-dropping beauty. It faces Bahía Ensenada Honda, which is good for…

  • Pata Prieta

    Vieques

    This gorgeous cove has a slender stretch of sand and protected waters that are excellent for snorkeling. A steep gravel path leads to the beach.

  • PUERTO RICO, Vieques Island. Green Beach

    Punta Arenas

    Vieques

    Punta Arenas is excellent for a quiet picnic, some family-friendly snorkeling, and views of the mainland (note the wind farm) and El Yunque across the…

  • Playa Resaca

    Culebra

    A resaca is an undertow and a metaphor for a hangover, an allusion to the state of the water perhaps, or the way you'll feel after climbing up and down…

  • Playa Tamarindo

    Culebra

    Snorkeling is the thing here; the beach shares the fish-filled waters of the Luis Peña Channel Natural Reserve, making it a popular spot for independent…

  • Playas Media Luna & Navio

    Vieques

    If it's isolation you’re after, head east on the sandy road that runs along Sun Bay and you’ll enter a low forest. Go left at the fork in the road. In a…

  • Cayo Afuera

    Vieques

    This uninhabited pinprick of land lies a few hundred feet across the bay from Playa Esperanza. Part of the Mosquito Bay Reserve, many intrepid locals swim…

  • Playa Negra

    Vieques

    Bored of all that powdery, blindingly white sand? This beach lives up to its name with dark, sparkly sand derived from offshore volcanic rocks. This…

  • Playa Grande

    Vieques

    This long, narrow strip of golden sand has wave-tossed water that drops off very quickly, so it's not the best choice for kids or poor swimmers. If you…

  • Playa El Gallito

    Vieques

    Popular with brown pelicans, this small beach with a great reef for snorkeling is just 10yd offshore. Note, though, that between December and March, seas…

  • Starfish Beach

    Vieques

    On the northern side of Laguna Kiani is the best beach on Vieques for children and people learning to snorkel, with calm, shallow waters. Since Hurricane…

  • Cayo de Tierra

    Vieques

    A teardrop of land between the malecón and Sun Bay reached by a slender sandspit (or by wading, if storms have washed it out), Cayo de Tierra has a few…

  • Playa Melones

    Culebra

    This is the closest beach to Dewey; a tiny strip of sand with some shade trees and a smattering of picnic tables and a good spot to catch a sunset. The…

  • Sugar Mill Ruins

    Vieques

    Abandoned in 1942 after the US Navy took possession of the island, this 19th-century sugar mill now lies in ruins; overtaken by the forest, just some…

  • Museo Histórico de Culebra

    Culebra

    Housed in the Navy's former munitions warehouse (El Polvorín), this compact museum is jam-packed with interesting displays on the history of the island,…

  • Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust

    Vieques

    This trust, founded in 1984 to help protect the island’s bioluminescent waters, operates a tiny museum, which contains intriguing exhibits on its…

  • Fortín Conde de Mirasol

    Vieques

    This small fort – the last Spanish fort constructed in the Americas, in 1845 – sits on a hill above Isabel Segunda with sweeping views over the mainland…

  • Faro de Punta Mulas

    Vieques

    One of Puerto Rico’s 16 historic lighthouses, this pastel-shaded monument stands on the hilly point just north of the Isabel Segunda ferry dock. Built in…

  • Playa Esperanza

    Vieques

    This slender beach runs the length of Esperanza. Its advantages are its spectacular views and the fact it's within shouting distance of the town’s hopping…

  • Hombre de Puerto Ferro Archaeological Site

    Vieques

    Big boulders identify the grave from which a 4000-year-old skeleton of a pre-Arawak known as the ‘Hombre de Puerto Ferro’ was exhumed. Little is known…

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