Caribbean - Puerto Rico & Vieques Trip Suggestions

Hi All,

I am planning a trip utilizing the FRN that I have earned from SPG this November, Planning to try out both W Vieques & St. Regis Bahia Resort. I have booked the ticket into San Juan already but everything else is open. Being first time visitor with only 3 nights available, what would be the best combination for me to use/enjoy my stay?

I noticed the fare between SIG to VQS is significantly cheaper than flying SJU to VQS. How much is the taxi cost from SJU to SIG?

Any comment/feedbacks are appreciated! Thanks so much!

welcome to FT.

SJU-SIQ is about a 20-30 minute ride depending on traffic. I will guess that cost is about the same, around $30 or so. You are correct in saying that SIQ is certainly A LOT CHEAPER than SJU for this route. Isla Grande is a much smaller airport, and it is close to El Condado area and San Juan.
THere is also a ferry, which will be cheaper overall, but it leaves from Fajardo, taxi to that area will be very expensive, overall.

I've done SJU-SIG in 10 minutes, but that was.. unsafe.

20 minutes is average, with 30+ depending on traffic.

I'd avoid the ferries since they tend to be slow and the crossing can get quite nasty. Also, there have been more mid-water breakdowns and cancellations than normal.

Fly.

Do I need to rent a car while in Vieques? or taxi should be good enough?

Is it better to stay 2 nights on Vieques 1 Night at St.Regis or vice versa?

Do I need to rent a car while in Vieques? or taxi should be good enough?

Is it better to stay 2 nights on Vieques 1 Night at St.Regis or vice versa?
It's nice to have a car (well, Jeep) in Vieques, but it isn't necessary.

I'm planning the same trip in late October, but for 5 nights.

Here's my current rough agenda. I have a $360 RT ORD-SJU and hotels currently booked (Sheraton on points, resorts on FRN). Island hop and cars are yet to be booked.

Arrive Thursday afternoon, take a cab from SJU to Old San Juan
Spend the night in Old San Juan Sheraton
Leave for Vieques Island first thing Friday morning by taking cab to SIG
Hang around the W resort on Friday
Rent a Jeep on Saturday and go to the beaches and explore the island
Leave back to main island PR on Sunday morning into SIG, cab to rental car facility, rent a car and drive to St. Regis
Hang around the St. Regis resort on Sunday
Explore PR and the rainforest on Monday by car
hang around the resort on tuesday, return car and fly back to ORD

So, in summary, 1 night at the Sheraton Old San Juan, 2 nights at the W Resort Vieques Island, 2 nights at St Regis Bahia Beach, in that order.

if we don't rent a car in Vieques island and just do the resort & biobay during the night. Is 1 night adequate for the island? like come in first flight in the morning and leave the next day afternoon?

if we don't rent a car in Vieques island and just do the resort & biobay during the night. Is 1 night adequate for the island? like come in first flight in the morning and leave the next day afternoon?
That should be enough for a taste. That's also how a lot of the locals do it.

Which site can SIG to VQS be booked? How much is the roundtrip usually? Thanks!

http://viequesairlink.com/

http://www.airflamenco.net/

I suggest reserving via phone.

Thank you for the links!!!


http://viequesairlink.com/

http://www.airflamenco.net/

I suggest reserving via phone.

Jumping in here.

I'm staying over in San Juan and wouldn't mind seeing the bio bay one evening (got a 6:15am flight the following day so ideally popping across during the day and return after the bio-bay tour)
Any recommendations on how to get to Vieques for this? Saw one place mentioning $119 + tax using a boat over to the island etc.

Jumping in here.

I'm staying over in San Juan and wouldn't mind seeing the bio bay one evening (got a 6:15am flight the following day so ideally popping across during the day and return after the bio-bay tour)
Any recommendations on how to get to Vieques for this? Saw one place mentioning $119 + tax using a boat over to the island etc.
Plane. Both from SJU and SIG.

The water crossing can get quite nasty, and delays are common (as can be cancellations)

Does anyone have a preference Vieques Air Link vs. Air Flamenco? If so, reason? Ticket price is almost the same. Thanks.

Does anyone have a preference Vieques Air Link vs. Air Flamenco? If so, reason? Ticket price is almost the same. Thanks.
Either one.

I found this thread helpful for trip planning. 2 weeks out, I still have a couple of questions:

1 2 operators have been recommended for the Bio Bay tour - Abe's & Island Adventures. Abe's seems to use kayaks (that's cool!) and IA uses electric boats. Is that the only difference?

2 Many of you have recommended flying to Vieques, and I don't understand what is wrong with the Fajardo Ferry? Is it always late? Rough crossing?

Thanks in advance for more advice!

It's can be a rough crossing, residents of Vieques/Culebra have priority for boarding over everyone else (which means if there's a lot of them, you can be denied a space on the ferry), and they have a bad reputation for breaking down, causing irregularities in the schedule.

My friends that are in the Coast Guard, and many of my local friends who know about watercraft refuse to ride in those ferries in the event that something goes wrong.

I found this thread helpful for trip planning. 2 weeks out, I still have a couple of questions:

1 2 operators have been recommended for the Bio Bay tour - Abe's & Island Adventures. Abe's seems to use kayaks (that's cool!) and IA uses electric boats. Is that the only difference?

2 Many of you have recommended flying to Vieques, and I don't understand what is wrong with the Fajardo Ferry? Is it always late? Rough crossing?

Thanks in advance for more advice!

I am in PR right now and will be flying on to Vieques in 3 days. We are going with Island Adventures pontoon boat and will let you know how that is. It seems people prefer the kayak experience, but I am not sure MrSteph58 and I would enjoy the paddling. He has a sore shoulder and I've done kayaking with my daughters (elsewhere) in the past where I wasn't sure if we'd make it to the pickup point. My SIL did the biobay kayaking and said it's hard work.

I have not read anything positive or even good about the ferry. If you can drive to Ceiba and drop off the rental car (Avis) the flight is $30. From Isla Grande in San Juan it's $60, from SJU it varies and lowest I think is $109 (one-way prices). Someone was nice enough to give us Cape Air vouchers, so that is what we are doing from SJU. Luggage max on Cape Air is 50 lbs, on the others it's 30 lbs, if that's an issue.

Re: Biobay & Island Adventures. Trip was fine, we enjoyed riding in the boat. Went on the 8:30 p.m. tour @$40/pp. Island Adventures was very close to our casita, on the road into Esperanza. They also have a casual restaurant so grabbed dinner prior to the biobay.

It is really dark out there, but the water was like glass so paddling probably is not that difficult (except for the darkness). All kayakers were gone by the time we got there. So many stars in the sky which were awesome, too. The biobay water looked amazing even from the boat. We liked the boat, but can't compare if kayaking is that much better. I'd say you'd have to paddle at least 30 minutes each way in a kayak. Our guide on the boat was a young girl who was informative (although none of us knew any different, so who's to say if her facts were accurate). Might be more educational if a naturalist were the guide. We were happy with our choice.