This past week we took a mini vacation to the small island of Culebra. If there was ever a place that has the quintessential tropical Caribbean island look, this is it!
Incredible Culebra!
The long stretches of powdered sugar white beaches and the warm turquoise waters of Flamenco beach were straight out of a travel magazine. We only stayed one night at the first place we saw, Kokomo, right off the ferry dock, but we got a good feel for the place.
I think we could have gotten a better deal because it was about the size of a closet and we had to crawl over the bed to get anywhere, and the floors needed a good mopping but it had hot water to shower and a clean bed so it wasn’t too horrible for $65. We asked around at a couple of places just to see what the going nightly rate was. One guy quoted me at Mamacitas Guesthouse $119 plus tax and I just said thanks and turned around. Then he said, “Well, how about $80?” So there is definitely room to negotiate if you go there!
The ferry terminal has moved from Fajardo to Ceiba after Hurricane Maria
It was still off-season on a Tuesday in early November. There was hardly anyone on the roads as we drove around in our golf cart (that we rented for about $50) going about 10 mph hiding Aeden in a beach bag. It was so fun. It’s like being in a tropical island adventure video game where you drive in a go-cart especially up some crazy hills and little side dirt roads haha.
Golf cart and off roads
Probably the hardest part about the trip was just how far it was from Rincon. Rincon is the furthest west you can go on the island of Puerto Rico and Ceiba is nearly the farthest east! So we gave ourselves 4 hours to get there going the southern route and giving time to stop for breakfast at El Meson, but we were still late and had to take the 11am ferry instead of the 9am. The boat ride was fun if a little choppy and we caught air a couple of times that made me just a little queasy. It took about an hour ride there. It was much quicker coming back the next day not fighting the current and we learned to go inside into the air conditioned area.
From the Ceiba Ferry to white sand beaches in about 1 hour!
The island is super tiny. Only about 1500 people live there and there are no other towns than the island itself. The disparity between rich and poor is very obvious. The poor and tourists take the ferry and the rich (and splurging tourists) fly in or boat in with sailboats and other vessels. The poor live in run down shacks and the rich have huge mansions on the hills.
Boats in the harbor
Family fun!
Cool drawbridge and moon!
My overall impression was that it was an incredible place to visit, but I would definitely get island fever living there because there is really not much to do other than spend time at the beaches and drink and that would get old quick. At least on the “main island” of Puerto Rico we can drive for 4 plus hours and get lost!
At the bridge to Flamenco Beach
One of the tanks by the sea
The most shocking thing to me was learning about the history of the bombing and military drills that were practiced on Culebra and Vieques. I can only imagine what it would have been like to live on an island that is so pristine only to hear, feel and see live munitions going off. And occasionally people (as well as flora and fauna) were hurt! Rates of cancer have been found to be higher on these islands as a result of dropping bombs on them as well. Thankfully these practices ended in the early 2000s but there are still some remnants such as these leftover tanks rusting in the sun and sea salt.
Another tank on Playa Flamenco that has been consumed by the sea
Great place for a photo shoot!
The Dinghy Dock is a popular restaurant in Culebra
We dressed up for dinner out. And with Hector the Protector in the background
Melones Beach is much different than Flamenco and is mostly full of washed up coral
Overall, it was a wonderful, short trip. I would have liked to have maybe seen a couple of other beaches, but I think we got a good feel for the place in our brief time there. There’s not a whole lot on an island that’s only about 7 miles wide! We climbed a hill, visited the police dock, went out to dinner at the night Dinghy Dock restaurant that had just opened for the season and walked around the ferry/downtown area where they are doing construction on a new pier/dock.
Aeden playing on the beach
Worth a visit for sure! When we arrived back on the main island we caught up with our friends Fran and Steve and then hung out at a pizzeria at the Luquillo Kiosks and then we were on our (long) way back home to Rincon. A fun outing and Aeden did so good in the car!
Here’s a quick video of our trip. Enjoy!