Vieques puerto rico: Vieques Puerto Rico Travel Guide – Attractions, Hotels, Beaches, Things to Do
Vieques, Puerto Rico Itinerary: A Weekend of Things to Do
Vieques, Puerto Rico Itinerary: A Weekend of Things to Do | The Strategist
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7 items in this article
Photo-Illustration: The Strategist/Luiny Rivera
7 items in this article
Photo-Illustration: The Strategist/Luiny Rivera
Everyone knows that person who spends weeks sniffing around travel blogs, going deep down into TripAdvisor rabbit holes, collecting Google Docs from friends of friends, and creating A Beautiful Mind–style spreadsheets to come up with the best vacations and itineraries possible.
In this recurring series, we find those people who’ve done all the work for you, and have them walk us through a particularly wonderful, especially well-thought-out vacation they took, that you can actually steal.
Jewelry designer Luiny Rivera lives in Brooklyn but grew up in Puerto Ricoand makes frequent trips to San Juan and Vieques to stay at her favorite Ayurvedic hotel. With daily yoga, vegan food, and detoxifying body treatments on offer, Rivera returns regularly to chill and disconnect. But she’s equally up for exploring the island, with hikes through the National Wildlife Preserve and late-night bioluminescence tours. Here she shares the best local restaurants, her favorite secluded beaches, and the ideal swimwear for getting a “Caribbean suntan.”
My favorite place to go in Puerto Rico is Vieques, a small island on the east side.
It’s a beautiful Caribbean island, the best place to disconnect, especially if you’re from the city. I’m from Morovis, outside of San Juan, so the way I do it is fly from JFK to San Juan, and stay in San Juan for one night at a little boutique hotel, La Botánica (from $142 a night). It’s an Ayurvedic center, all vegetarian, it’s very beautiful. The rooms are treehouses or little houses, kind of like Airbnbs. That evening, take a walk up and down Loíza Street, where there are lots of restaurants. My favorite Puerto Rican food is there, at Jose Enrique (1021 Ashford Ave). For me, the best item is the catch of the day, the fish. You could also Uber to Viejo San Juan, the old city, and walk around to see the buildings before dinner. For something fancy I like La Lanterna (202 Calle del Cristo). You need a reservation. It’s Italian, and so good; last time I had some gnocchis, and they were delicious.
Treehouse with Floating Deck at La Botanica
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com/strategist/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckpn3l8ro00303g6gcjtzc6r9@published” data-word-count=”130″>The next morning, go to the Super Max market (201 Calle de La Cruz), a ten-minute walk from La Botánica. Once you’re on Vieques, you won’t find as much stuff, so go buy mangoes, fruit, cheese, crackers, olives, bottles of wine. I like classic picnic food for the beach. You can carry it in a little basket on your flight to Vieques. You can take the ferry, but I don’t recommend it; you have to drive east to Fajardo to catch it, and sometimes the times are not accurate. The airplane is more beautiful anyway, you can look down and see the islands. I always use Vieques Air Link (from $85). It has three trips a day; take the first or second one out so you can get to Vieques.In Vieques, you should rent a Jeep or a four-wheel-drive truck so you can explore the island.
Head to Finca Victoria, where I always stay and where I send New Yorkers. It’s owned by the same people as La Botánica, so it’s Ayurvedic and vegetarian as well. You can take several-day detox programs, or just get massages or do yoga by the pool. All of the rooms are pretty, but I love any of Nuria’s suites (from $250 a night), and I like the Baez-Haus ($216 a night), because it’s like a treehouse with a lot of air going through.
FINCA VICTORIA ‘Casa Nuria’ Farm — Guesthouse
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BaezHaus Treehouse FINCA VICTORIA Farm/Guesthouse
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On Friday night you’ll want to stay at Finca Victoria; they offer seated dinners at the hotel and recently started bringing in guest chefs to prepare delicious four-course vegan dinners served outside on the deck.
The menu changes every week; recently they served gazpacho and empanadas with jackfruit, white beans, and chimichurri. If you email [email protected] you can make a reservation for the 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. dinner.
There’s yoga every morning at 8 a.m. and complimentary breakfast every day at the hotel. They don’t have a menu, so after yoga, you won’t know what you’re going to eat until you eat. It’s probably going to be a little veggies, greens, roots, tortillas, a little rice. I’ve seen them serve blue rice, where the blue is from a flower added to the water when boiling the rice. It’s very filling, but very healthy.
Finca Victoria is in the middle of the island, it’s not on the beach.
Drive about 20 minutes to the entrance of the wildlife reserve, and you enter onto a dirt road that leads to all these beautiful beaches. Bring your picnic foods and water, because there won’t be any place to buy things. The best thing to do is drive and explore and just look. The most popular beach is Caracas, because it’s the first one on the south side of the reserve, and because it’s white sand — like, so white, white, powdery sand. You can easily visit a couple beaches in a day; the best thing to do is get a map and explore all the beaches, and the further you go — like to Ensenada Honda or Pata Prieta — the more secluded they are. And you’ll see wild horses everywhere, not just on the reserve but everywhere in Vieques. It’s an adventure.
Go back to the hotel and take a dip at the pool to refresh. The hotel is specific for people who want to chill and disconnect, and it’s made for pampering.
I did the detoxifying Panchakarma package of consultations and treatments — it was seven days, so that’s a different trip — but you can book different massages and baths. I love the reflexology ($45), and the body-polish scrub (from $96) was my favorite. I did it twice. During those seven days my skin was the best ever — very glowy.
In the late afternoon, chill on the deck, have some wine, and smoke some weed, if you have it. If you want to go out, there’s a little seafront area where you hop around to bars. I always go to Tin Box (Intersection of Routes 996 and 201, Vieques) for dinner and drinks; it’s a very short drive from the hotel. They have two restaurants in the same place; one is a sushi bar and the other is comfort food, like fish or chicken, but my favorite thing is the cornbread, it’s amazing. They have good drinks too. I only drink red wine or vodka, and when I’m in Puerto Rico I drink vodka with natural fruit juice — whatever is fresh — or fresh coconut water.
If you’re exploring, most of the good stuff in Vieques is in the wildlife reserve. Go back, and when you enter at Highway 997 there’s going to be a little road on the right, Puerto Ferro Peninsula Road, that takes you to the Puerto Ferro bay where there is a beautiful lighthouse. You can walk around the lighthouse, and just sit there and chill and look out over cliffs. If you leave the reserve, you can also drive to the Black Sand Beach, which is an adventure because you have to leave your car on the little road leading up to it, and walk 20 minutes to find the beach. It’s not a crazy hike though; if you have hiking sandals or any comfortable shoes you’ll be fine. Once you get there, it’s a beautiful place for a walk and for photos, but the surf is really strong so it’s not the best place to swim. It’s more like a scenery stop.
com/strategist/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/ckpn44s4h005n3g6g2bg2k7mq@published” data-word-count=”76″>If you spend the whole day at the beach, you’ll want to go back to Finca Victoria to relax and sit by the pool. Schedule an herbal bath ($45): At the treatment center, the Ayurvedic therapists will draw you the most beautiful bath that’s specific to your dosha and your needs. It’s like being inside a bag of tea. One of the bathtubs is outside on a deck, so you can soak while you’re in nature.At night, head to Mosquito Bay, the famous bay with the microorganisms that light up in the darkness. You take a little boat tour to see the Bioluminescent Bay. The owner of Finca Victoria can recommend a local to reserve a boat with, or you can do what I did last time and rent kayaks through any of the guides listed on Vieques.com. Plan to go on the night when there’s the least moon; it’s better when the moon is crescent or it’s a new moon phase, because the darkness makes the microorganisms glow more.
Take the latest tour out; the darker it is, the more beautiful the organisms are.
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The Covid situation there: Travelers entering any of the Island’s three open airports are required to fill out a Travel Declaration Form on the Puerto Rico Health Department’s online portal, which produces a QR code required to proceed.
Both international/unvaccinated travelers must also upload a negative PCR molecular or antigen COVID-19 test result to the portal. Fully vaccinated travelers entering on domestic flights are permitted to upload their vaccination cards instead of negative tests.
Rivera recommends booking through local sites like Vieques Car Rental, but bigger sites like Kayak currently have more inventory.
Luiny Rivera’s Wellness-y Weekend in Vieques, Puerto Rico
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Vieques,Puerto Rico
Vieques (/viːˈeɪkᵻs/; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbjekes], locally: [ˈbjeke]), in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands.
Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and retains strong influences from 400 years of Spanish presence in the island.
Vieques lies about 8 miles (13 km) east of the Puerto Rican mainland, and measures about 21 miles (34 km) long by 4 miles (6 km) wide. Its one main town Isabel Segunda (sometimes written “Isabel II”), the administrative center on the northern side of the island. The population of Vieques was 9,301 at the 2010 Census.
The island’s name is a Spanish spelling of an American Indian word (likely Taíno) said to mean “small island”. It also has the nickname “Isla Nena”, usually translated from the Spanish as “Little Girl Island”, alluding to its perception as Puerto Rico’s little sister. During the colonial period, the British name was “Crab Island”.
Vieques is best known internationally as the site of a series of protests against the United States Navy’s use of the island as a bombing range and testing ground, which led to the navy’s departure in 2003.
Today the former navy land is a national wildlife refuge, with numerous beaches that still retain the names given by the navy, including Red Beach, Blue Beach, Green Beach and others. The beaches are commonly listed among the top beaches in the Caribbean for their azure-colored waters and white sands.
Pre-Columbian history
Archaeological evidence suggests that Vieques was first inhabited by ancient American Indian peoples who traveled from continental America perhaps between 3000 BC and 2000 BC. However, estimates of these prehistoric dates of inhabitation vary widely. These tribes had a Stone Age culture and were probably fishermen and hunter-gatherers.
Further waves of settlement by Native Americans followed over many centuries. The Arawak-speaking Saladoid (or Igneri) people, thought to have originated in modern-day Venezuela, arrived in the region perhaps around 200 BC (again estimates vary). These tribes, noted for their pottery, stone carving, and other artifacts, eventually merged with groups from Hispaniola and Cuba, to form what is now called the Taíno culture.
This culture flourished in the region from around 1000 AD, and survived on Vieques until the arrival of the Europeans in the late 15th century.
Spanish colonial period
The European discovery of Vieques is sometimes credited to Christopher Columbus, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1493. It does not seem to be certain whether Columbus personally visited Vieques, but in any case the island was soon claimed by the Spanish. During the early 16th century Vieques became a center of Taíno rebellion against the European invaders, prompting the Spanish to send armed forces to the island to quell the resistance. The native Taíno population was decimated, and its people either killed, imprisoned or enslaved by the Spanish.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spanish took steps to permanently settle and secure the island. In 1811, Don Salvador Meléndez, then governor of Puerto Rico, sent military commander Juan Rosselló to begin what would become the annexation of Vieques by the Puerto Ricans.
In 1832, under an agreement with the Spanish Puerto Rican administration, Frenchman Teófilo José Jaime María Le Guillou became Governor of Vieques, and undertook to impose order on the anarchic province. He was instrumental in the establishment of large plantations, marking a period of social and economic change for the island. Le Guillou is now remembered as the “founder” of Vieques (though this title is also sometimes conferred on Francisco Saínz, governor from 1843 to 1852, who founded Isabel Segunda, the “town of Vieques”, named after Queen Isabel II of Spain). Vieques was formally annexed to Puerto Rico in 1854.
United States control
In 1898, after Spain’s defeat in the Spanish–American War, Vieques, along with mainland Puerto Rico, was ceded to the United States.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the sugar industry, on which Vieques was totally dependent, went into decline due to falling sugar prices and industrial unrest.
Many locals were forced to move to mainland Puerto Rico or Saint Croix to look for work.
In 1941, while Europe was in the midst of World War II, the United States Navy purchased or seized about two thirds of Vieques as an extension to the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station nearby on the Puerto Rican mainland. The original purpose of the base (never implemented) was to provide a safe haven for the British fleet should Britain fall to Nazi Germany. Much of the land was bought from the owners of large farms and sugar cane plantations, and the purchase triggered the final demise of the sugar industry. Many agricultural workers, who had no formal title to the land they occupied, were evicted.
After the war, the US Navy continued to use the island for military exercises, and as a firing range and testing ground for munitions.
Protests and departure of the United States Navy
The continuing post-war presence in Vieques of the United States Navy drew protests from the local community, angry at the expropriation of their land and the environmental impact of weapons testing.
The locals’ discontent was exacerbated by the island’s perilous economic condition.
Protests came to a head in 1999 when Vieques native David Sanes, a civilian employee of the United States Navy, was killed by a jet bomb that the Navy said misfired. Sanes had been working as a security guard. A popular campaign of civil disobedience resurged; not since the mid-1970s had Viequenses come together en masse to protest the target practices. The locals took to the ocean in their small fishing boats and successfully stopped the US Navy’s military exercises.
As a result of this pressure, in May 2003 the Navy withdrew from Vieques, and much of the island was designated a National Wildlife Refuge under the control of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Closure of Roosevelt Roads Naval Station followed in 2004.
Geography
Sub-tropical dry forest on Vieques
Vieques measures about 21 miles (34 km) east-west, and three to four miles (5 km) north-south.
It has a land area of 52 square miles (130 km2) and is located about ten miles (16 km) to the east of Puerto Rico. To the north of Vieques is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south the Caribbean. The island of Culebra is about 10 miles (16 km) north of Vieques, and the US Virgin Islands lie to the east. Vieques and Culebra, together with various small islets, make up the so-called Spanish Virgin Islands, sometimes known as the Passage Islands.
The former US Navy lands, now wildlife reserves, occupy the entire eastern and western ends of Vieques, with the former live weapons testing site (known as the “LIA”, or “Live Impact Area”) at the extreme eastern tip. These areas are unpopulated. The former civilian area occupies very roughly the central third of the island and contains the towns of Isabel Segunda on the north coast, and Esperanza on the south.
Vieques has a terrain of rolling hills, with a central ridge running east-west.
The highest point is Monte Pirata (“Pirate Mount”) at 987 feet (300 m). Geologically the island is composed of a mixture of volcanic bedrock, sedimentary rocks such as limestone and sandstone, and alluvial deposits of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. There are no permanent rivers or streams. Much former agricultural land has been reclaimed by nature due to prolonged disuse, and, apart from some small-scale farming in the central region, the island is largely covered by brush and subtropical dry forest.
Bioluminescent Bay
The Bioluminescent Bay (also known as Puerto Mosquito, Mosquito Bay, or “The Bio Bay”), is considered the best example of a bioluminescent bay in the United States and is listed as a national natural landmark, one of five in Puerto Rico. The luminescence in the bay is caused by a micro-organism, the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense, which glows whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon blue.
Climate
Vieques has a warm, relatively dry, tropical to sub-tropical climate.
Temperatures vary little throughout the year, with average daily maxima ranging from 82 °F (28 °C) in January to 87 °F (31 °C) in July. Average daily minima are about 10 °F (6 °C) lower. Rainfall averages around 45 to 55 inches (1150 to 1400 mm) per year, with the months of May and September–November being the wettest. The west of the island receives significantly more rainfall than the east. Prevailing winds are easterly.
Vieques is prone to tropical storms and at risk from hurricanes from June to November. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused considerable damage to the island.
Language
Both Spanish and English are recognized as official languages. Spanish is the primary language of most inhabitants.
Tourism
Bahía del Corcho(Cork Bay)
aka Playa Caracas(Caracas Beach)
also called Red Beach a name given to the beach by U.S. NAVY.
For sixty years the majority of Vieques was closed off by the US Navy, and the island remained almost entirely undeveloped for tourism.
This lack of development is now marketed as a key attraction. Vieques is promoted under an ecotourism banner as a sleepy, unspoiled island of rural “old world” charm and pristine deserted beaches, and is rapidly becoming a popular destination.
The lands previously owned by the Navy have been turned over to the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Service and the authorities of Puerto Rico and Vieques for management.
Snorkeling is excellent, especially at Blue Beach (Bahía de la Chiva). Aside from archeological sites, such as La Hueca, and deserted beaches, a unique feature of Vieques is the presence of two pristine bioluminescent bays, including Mosquito Bay. Vieques is also famous for its feral paso fino horses, which roam free over parts of the island. These are descended from stock originally brought by European colonisers.
In 2011, TripAdvisor listed Vieques among the Top 25 Beaches in the World, writing “If you prefer your beaches without the accompanying commercial developments, Isla de Vieques is your tanning turf, with more than 40 beaches and not one traffic light.
“
Transportation
Vieques is served by Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport, which currently accommodates only small propeller-driven aircraft. Services to the island run from San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, Ceiba Airport or Isla Grande Airport (20- to 30-minute flight). Flights are also available between Vieques and Saint Croix and Saint Thomas.
Air Sunshine offers direct service to and from Vieques(VQS) and San Juan(SJU) and connecting service to St.Thomas(STT),Tortola(EIS),Virgin Gorda(VIJ),Anguilla(AXA),Sint Maarten(SXM),Dominica(DOM) and Nevis(NEV) on a regular basis and all other destinations on demand.
Gallery
Landmarks and places of interest
The 300-year-old ceiba tree in August, 2005.
0030
9000
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031 +25 +27
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3 м/с. Влажность воздуха 67%. Давление 763 мм”> Eve9000
| Temperature, ° C | atmospheric phenomena | mm | Dav., mm | moisture., % | Wind, m/s | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +23 +25 | Izmodoros is hazardous0030 | 762 | 73 | 10.2 SV | |||||||||||
| MORNITY | +23 +25 | Horms | +20 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Day | +24 +26 | Variable cloudy | +23 | ND | 0 | 763 | 72 | 7.2 SV | |||||||
| +23 +25 | Clear | +21 | ND | 0 | 763 | 76 | 10. 0 SV | ||||||||
| Temperature, ° C | Atmospheric phenomena | are felt | UV-index | precipitation, mm | moisture, % | +23 +23 | ND | 0 | 763 | 68 | 8.8 VSV | +25 +27 | + ND | 0 | 763 | 70 | 10.1 VSV |
Воздух прогреется до +24°C. Ветер северо-восточный, 10.2 м/с. Влажность воздуха 73%. Давление 762 мм”> Night 7 VSV| 9000 9000 9000 9000 | Temperature, ° C | UV-index | precipitation, mm | , mm | moisture. , % | Wind, m/s | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night | +25 +25 | smallerly | shortly0030 | +22 | ND | 0 | 762 | 79 | SV | ||
| Morning | +23 +25 | 000 900 900 900 900 900 900 ND 900 ND 900 763 | 77 | 9.4 VSV | |||||||
| Day | +24 +26 | +23 | ND | 0 | 762 | 75Vieques Municipality of Añasco Puerto Rico Find the best prices for groups of 10 people or more Send a request to several hotels at once to get the best deals. Use our service The city of Vieques is located in Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Añasco Archived Nearest settlements near Vieques All settlements Best establishments |