CherylD

Hi, I am planning a trip to Puerto Rico and want to include visits to both Vieques and Culebra. I would love to fly there but I can not seem to find a way to do so with miles or points(UR, MR). If I have missed an option, I would appreciate guidance.
Otherwise, we will take the ferry. Has anyone had experience with this? Apparently there is a new 'system', but it still requires arriving early and could result in quite a bit of motion sickness.
Thanks in advance!

xooz

Couple of quick points:
- Don't know of a ferry direct from Vieques to Culebra or vice versa. If you find one, please post it here.
- If there are 2 or more of you, consider taxi/car to Ceiba and fly from there. Would be cheaper than 2 flights from SJU to VQS
- Ferry has always been hit or miss, but now they only run the ferries that hold cargo/vehicles so it's slower and not often but sometimes you may not get on. I would be leery of making a financial commitment for something in Culebra if my plan was to ferry from Vieques-Fajardo-Culebra.

Others will know more... good luck. I am going to VQS this weekend I think. Not sure if I will ferry or fly, but if I fly I will take car to Ceiba and fly from there.

CherylD

Hi xooz, Thank you. I expected to return to PR in order to air/ferry to either island. I will check Ceiba - can you tell me which airlines fly from there? It doesn't appear that cape air does.
We will have a rental car. Is there a place to leave the car in Ceiba if we are on Vieques for 3 days?
I think Culebra might just be a day trip.

xooz

Vieques Air Link has several flights between Ceiba and Vieques... there are a couple of others I think, maybe Air Flamenco. I'm sure you can Google this.

Regarding a rental car, are you thinking you will rent a car at SJU and drive to Fajardo and get it on the ferry over to Vieques? If so, I think that is harder than you imagine. If this is your plan, check with your car rental company and see what they say. You will need a car on Vieques, so if you plan to rent one once you get to the island, book it early!

If you were thinking of renting a car and leaving it sit in Fajardo or Ceiba, I wouldn't do that. I would take a taxi or car service from SJU. Maybe $80, so if there are 2-4 of you, it would likely be cheaper than renting a car for the period.

CherylD

Thanks, I did find those airlines. Thank you also for the car rental information. I will alter our plans accordingly. Have you ever done the biobay tour in Vieques?

mkt

For Vieques your choices from SJU are Air Sunshine, Cape Air, Seaborne, and Vieques Airlink. For Culebra your choices from SJU are Air Flamenco, Cape Air, and Vieques Air Link.

xooz

So I looked into this for myself last night. There are at least 4 ways to get from SJU to Vieques:

• Connecting flight SJU-VQS.... about $150 one way
• Taxi to Ferry and on: about $90 (inc tip)
• Taxi to Isla Verde airport and flight to VQS ... About $92 ($20 taxi/tip and $72 flight)
• Taxi to Ceiba and Flight to VQS....about $125 ($34 flight plus $91 taxi/tip)

Note that the cheapest per person cost shifts as you add more people. Further, you may be able to match up with someone and share taxi to Fajardo or Ceiba and reduce costs. Or... if you are staying in SJU a night or so before, maybe the Isla Grande route is the most convenient.

Not sure what I am doing.. I may meet up with friends and share a ride to Fajardo or Ceiba. I think we could try the ferry and if it is a fail, we could taxi on to Ceiba. Oh, and as for the biobay tour, I have not done it though every other member of my extended family has and it is highly recommended.

Edited to add... I have not done the Isla Verde route, but it is intriguing. Doesn't appear to be daily service

mkt

Isla Grande you mean, Isla Verde is SJU

Anyway, as a local, I recommend against taking the ferry. They are unreliable and unsafe.

xooz

Yes.. Isla Grande is the airport.... airport code SIG

dblue

Trying to make a similar decision ... Staying on Culebra for first few days of my trip and then in Condado the second half of the trip. Seems like SJU->CPX and then CPX->SIG could work.

Any idea how much time I should leave between landing from my flight to SJU and then transferring to a flight from Cape or Flamenco?

Other options would be renting a car and leaving it at Fajardo which seems silly, or the 80$ cab both directions.

husbandsafraidofirs

2 years ago we rented a car in SJU for a 3 week PR vacation.
At some point during the trip we parked the car in a locked/gated overnight lot in Fajardo about 2 blocks from the ferry for about 4 days. No problems with the lot and it was cheap, maybe $20 for the whole stay.
The ferry was iffy so we committed ourselves to going to which ever island we could get the earliest ferry to. Ended up in Culebra. It was beautiful.
We camped at flaminco(?) beach for 4 nights-had to take a bus in and hitchhike out. At night we were very alone, only one other group camping. Unless you are really looking for a far away kind of experience, I would go to any one of the other beautiful beaches on the mainland and skip Culebra-especially for the hassle a day trip would be.
As an example of how little there is on the island, on the first day, I got all of my clothing stolen except the swimsuit and dress I was wearing. A local "donated" her shoes to me. There was nowhere on the island to even buy a pair of pants so I literally had to wear my swimsuit for the rest of my stay.
Although Culebra was one of the highlights of our trip, I just can't see it worth a day trip.
Have fun!

arollins

Culebra is very rustic, and one of the best beaches of the world. However, there is not much to do there at night. No shopping, or major restaurant. Back in the days my friends and I would camp in there for a week or so. We where the only ones there some times. Things have changed a bit, since there are some kiosk that sell food in the daytime, shower and bathroom facilities. There are also local hotel/motel/guesthouse where you can spend the night as well.
I would stay away from the ferry due to its unreliability, and they will give preference to local Culebra/Vieques resident in case space is an issue.
Flying is the best option all around, and Ceiba its certainly the best one. If you plan on flying, make your reservations ahead of time. A couple of years back, my wife and I did a one day trip to Culebra, totally unplanned, we got to Ceiba early in the morning and ended up chartering a plane with a group of other individuals that showed up without reservation. It was about $80 total per person round trip. Flight time is about 5 minutes or so, you spend more time taxiing and deplaning. The plane can only hold 8 passenger max, with limited luggage space. My wife actually sat in the co-pilot seat.
Vieques has more facilities, and its less rustic than Culebra.
For a day trip, there are taxi services in Culebra and Vieques, or you can rent a car which tends to be a bit expensive as opposed to mainland.
I actually parked my car in the public parking spot in Ceiba, it wasnt bad. and very inexpensive. I dont think there is any problem leaving the car overnight, but then again anything can happen. Public transportation in SJU is very limited.

dblue

Has anyone flown into SJU and transferred to Air Flamenco? Pretty sure my bags won't be transferred over, correct?

Should I try to only pack carry-on luggage? Otherwise I would have to go to baggage claim, get luggage and go back through security I assume.

Any tips and any idea how long I should leave between flights?

mkt

With an hour, if you run, you should make it. Try for at least 90 minutes to give yourself a margin of error

dblue

Thanks. Scheduled to have about 1:45 so I think we should be good.