Hope no one minds that this "trip report" is over a year old. Someone was looking for information on this wonderful island and there was nothing on FT, so I thought I would post it here now. It was wriiten by me and posted on another web site, before I had even heard of FT.

Culebra – An Anniversary to Remember. Part 1

If you are looking for a secluded getaway, beautiful white sand beaches, and a chance to kick back and enjoy “island time” with nothing to distract you, then Culebra is the place to go. Culebra is like stepping back in time to the Caribbean of 40 years ago.

My wife and I flew Isla Nena airlines from San Juan International to Culebra on a Thursday afternoon in August for our 24th Anniversary. We decided to take Isla Nena airlines rather than the ferry because we were returning to San Juan on Sunday and we wanted all the time we could get on Culebra. The cost of our roundtrip tickets were $130.00 each, but it saved the four or five hours that it would have taken to make the trip to Fajardo and the ferry to Culebra. In addition, our flight landed in San Juan at 2:30 PM and it would have been very difficult if not impossible to catch the last ferry to Culebra. (From personal experience, the ferry service to Culebra and Viequez has a history of not running due to various reasons, so if getting to the island on any particular day is important to you, do not rely on the ferry).

You must pay for your tickets in advance on Isla Nena when you book your flight and your tickets are non-refundable. Most advice I read on getting to the island suggested booking well in advance, but there was only one other person on our flight to the island. The staff of Isla Nena is extremely friendly, but they will weigh your luggage and they will charge you $.50 per pound for each pound you check over 30 lbs. You will not need anything on the island anyway so leave everything at home except your suntan lotion and snorkeling gear. Isla Nena gives you a paper receipt which is your return ticket and they tell you if you lose it, you must buy another ticket to get back and they mean it. On our return trip a young lady had to buy a ticket back to San Juan when she could not find hers.

We enjoyed our first experience with “island time” on our flight. Scheduled to leave at 5:00 PM we asked if we could take the 3:00 PM flight and they were happy to accommodate us. At 3:15, the pilot and counter agent were still discussing whether to fly the 3:00 PM flight or cancel it and fly the 5:00 PM flight. After a spirited conversation, the counter agent prevailed and we loaded up on a new Cessna Caravan and took off with my wife and the manager of the Dinghy Dock, a restaurant on Culebra at around 3:30.

We enjoyed a very comfortable ride but slightly bumpy ride with great views of Fajardo and the rain forest El Yunque until we got to the approach on Culebra. As you approach the airport you fly directly over Flamenco Beach and then between two small mountains. The pilot hugs the mountain on the right and is literally flying just above the tree tops. He follows the side of the mountain and all of sudden you see the landing strip another 500 or 600 hundred feet to right and you’re perpendicular to it.
He just keeps flying at tree top level until he is at the end of the runway and then makes a hard left turn, dives, and lands. I fly every week so I enjoyed the thrill of it but my wife was more than glad when the wheels touched the asphalt.

After quickly getting our bags at plane side, (I fly USAirways a lot so you know what a pleasure that was) we walked across the street to Jerry’s Jeeps. We had read several reviews about how crazy Jerry is, and we were not disappointed. Jerry was nowhere to be found as he thought we were coming in on the 5:00 PM flight and we could not raise him on the cell phone. (Our cell phones worked everywhere on the island and we had very good signals. We are on Verizon and I was told that our signals were actually coming from St. Thomas which is only twelve miles away)

If you have never been to Puerto Rico, your first impression of Culebra could be a disappointment. The island is basically very poor and most of the homes are concrete with junk just lying around everywhere. If you are expecting well manicured landscapes and golf resort type of surroundings then do not plan a trip to Culebra. When you walk up to Jerry’s it will remind you of a junk yard in the states with a lot of old Suzuki “jeeps” in various states of repair. Jerry rents Suzuki’s, not jeeps.

After waiting for a bit we called Druso, the owner of the Harbour View Villas, and he said he would send his daughter down to pick us up, take us to check in and then run us back to get our jeep. While waiting for Jennifer, Druso’s daughter, Jerry shows up and we start the process of renting the jeep. I say process, but renting a jeep with Jerry is more like a fun adventure. Jerry is a wealth of information about the island, its people, places to eat, places to go, which beaches have the best snorkeling, etc. Jerry is from the states, but has lived in the islands for a number of years. In short, it is worth renting from Jerry for the information he provides, his famous hand drawn maps, and his wonderful sense of humor. We rented a relatively new four door Suzuki hard top (you can not rent soft tops anywhere on the island) with air-conditioning for $165.00 (tax included) for three days.

Jerry needed to check in a jeep that was being returned, so Jennifer took us on a 45 minute tour of Dewey. Dewey is the town in which you land and is the only town on the island. We were shown where the restaurants were and what they served, hours they were open, etc. Our tour included driving by the only liquor store on the island, the two gas stations, the two grocery stores, the bakery, etc. The town of Dewey is very small so it is not difficult to figure out where everything is once you manage to figure out the two one way streets.

Jennifer has lived on the island most of her life except for time spent in the states going to school. She was a great tour guide and could offer insights into the history and culture of the island. (She also informed me that I, not my wife, would be fined for walking in town with no shirt on and that the local police were very strict about this law) She was an unexpected pleasant addition to our arrival on the island. She is planning on opening a restaurant on the Villa properties next year. She just graduated from the prestigious culinary school Johnson & Wales and we wish her well in her endeavor.

When staying at the Harbour View Villas, you do not exactly check in. Having found the property on the internet, we had to send a money order for our stay in advance ($125.00 per night including tax and all fees) and the Daubon’s email you back and let you know your reservation is ok. Having already paid, we were taken straight to our villa. We asked for a Villa that was secluded and private and we were not disappointed. Our villa was the last one of three down a long concrete walk that overlooks the harbor of Dewey where the ferry docks. The villa is completely private, surrounded by trees, but with a deck that offers a spectacular view of the harbor and the island of Viequez in the distance.

The villas are very rustic A frame structures. The “first” floor has a living area with two sofas built into the wall with a dining table that is really built over the top of the stairs you walk up to enter the villa, and a kitchen. The kitchen has a stove, sink, microwave, and a refrigerator. The bathroom and shower are also located on the “first” floor, but are enclosed to offer privacy. Walking up the stairs to the second floor, you have a queen bed with mosquito netting to sleep under which we did not need. We did not get bitten by anything at all during our entire stay on the island. Off the bedroom are two large French doors that open to the deck looking up the mountain. It is a very private deck as it is surrounded by trees, but provides a very nice breeze.

Being lovers of the outdoors and camping, the very rustic nature of the villas was exactly what we were looking for. The villas have no air conditioning, only ceiling fans. The villa was a little warm in the afternoon but the breeze made it comfortable and at night it was very comfortable. Off the living area there are four large French doors that open onto a deck with the spectacular view mentioned before and this open area provides a very nice breeze all the time.

There are no phones, televisions or radios in the villa. The bathroom was clean but we did not figure out how to get hot water for showers until after we had left. (there is a timer to the right of the mirror you must turn on and wait five minutes for hot water.)
The refrigerator in our villa kept things cool, not cold, and the freezer did not work at all. If you want your drinks cold, buy ice. There are no locks on the doors and we were told there is no problem with crime of any kind on the island. We left our things in the villa during the day with no problems whatsoever.

continued in part 2