Vee – eh – kees
That’s the way to say the name of the island eight miles off the coast of Puerto Rico, calm enough for grandmother travel with adventure enough for 13-year-old grandchild adventure.
I took a look at Vieques with this perspective: what’s-to-do here from a vacation home rental on the Caribbean side for warmer sea waters.
I’ve heard happy tales of extended stays on the northern Atlantic side of the island. I think our walkable-to-restaurants location was more fun, and more flexible.
Esperanza is the name of the little town where my multi-gen family of four ate most nights. Eating in was leftovers from generous restaurant portions.
Or simple purchases from the market .3 miles from our house.
Getting Around the Island
Getting around only required a golf cart for us, and only for a 24-hour stretch. That got us to three gorgeous beaches, one after-dark bioluminescent kayak adventure, and a quick look at the other side of the island, including the food truck park.
Could be compelling to rent one longer and experience even more beaches – 25 choices I think.
Taxi to and from the airport was our only other transportation. The nine-seater plane connecting to San Juan is its own adventure.
Are you ready to explore off the beaten path? Let us inspire you!
Beaches
Heading to the National Wildlife Refuge seems interesting as a beach approach! But it works in abundance.
Beaches are just one of the habitats; upland forest, coastal lagoons and mangrove wetlands are here too. Maybe book a kayak paddle in the mangroves.
No drones are allowed in the National Wildlife Refuge, but you might see an endangered brown pelican. This is considered one of the most ecologically diverse refuges in the Caribbean.
Pata Prieta
Pata Prieta was our first choice. Clear signage and a small parking lot was reassuring until it wasn’t.
“No dredging because of possible buried munitions.” Could feel a little daunting to think about being on former U. S. Navy training grounds.
Nevertheless, a reasonable walk on sometimes slippery gravel on this coastal forest path opened up to the awe and wonder in store on Vieques beaches.
Getting right in the water was impossible because the lure to walk left toward a hill jutting into the sea was so strong…as was the walk to the right past hammocks in trees, lush green bushes and a long stretch of sand.
When we did swim, the 13-year-old pranced right in, her parents carefully navigated rocks and 76-year-old me waited on the edge.
Leaning on a strong arm I made it past the rocks to a glorious time in the warm Caribbean blue waters. Hands and knees worked OK to get out alone.
La Chiva, Caracas, La Plata, Playuela
Intriguing names to every beach, and interesting variety of paths to reach them, whether from clear parking places or guessing at a spot on the road. Always expect a bit of a walk before the grand water vista appears.
North Shore Sea Glass Beach
Vieques visitors choose this beach for the fun of discovering bits of glass well worn by years in the ocean. I have family who return to the same rental home multiple years, and sroll Sea Glass Beach time after time.
Plan to park on the street, walk left of a gazebo and take a path to the water.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Get a map of the beaches (Vieques Insider magazine has a good one) in case sketchy cell service limits your GPS. And if you hire a car to drop you at a beach, arrange the pickup before getting out for the same reason.)
Sun Bay
This is a big stretch with one mile of sand for settling in and making an all-day beach holiday.
Sun Bay is the only island beach with lifeguards, restrooms, showers, barbecue grills and food kiosks. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources manages the beach.
Do expect to see lots of the Vieques wild horses here. Don’t expect to feel the same sense of discovery the smaller beaches offer as you emerge at the end of their entry paths.
Media Luna
Little kids can play safely here because the water is shallow, calm and warm. Grassy areas among the trees are family friendly.
Bioluminescent Bay
Magic is possible on Vieques, even if it’s really single-cell chemistry converting energy to light. Kayaking at night is the way to experience this magic, with a licensed guide charged with Mosquito Bay protection.
No swimming for the same protective reasons; the fine I heard is $5,000. The Bay is fragile.
So join a group and marvel that every stroke of the paddle creates light….yours and the kayakers all around. Looking down is part of the magic too because these kayaks are clear bottomed and the touch of the vessel in the water creates swirling lights.
Bioluminescent is the big word within this Bay where every gallon of water holds 720,000 single cell bits of plankton The measurement was even higher before Hurricane Maria.
Their lights are bluish green and reported to be the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world.
Seemed like a good reason for my multigen family of four to reserve kayaks with the Fun Brothers shack right on the beach.
Scientists and conservationists study these lights a lot; they believe leaves dropped by the adjacent mangrove trees contribute to the phenomenon.
Salt water plays a part too. No bio-lights shined for six months after Hurricane Maria because too much water was non-salty.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Leave the mosquito repellant behind; there are none here. The bay is named from a pirate story with boats called mosquitos. Plus, you don’t want to affect the waters with such chemicals.
The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust is the place to visit for details about protecting the bioluminescent ecosystems and also seagrass beds, coral reefs and the mangrove forests.
Spending the Nights on Vieques
House rentals and Airbnbs are definitely a major option.
My multigen family with friends stayed in a house named La Casona Blanca near the bustling little town of Esperanza. Four bedrooms on ground level, two up a flight of stairs and all accessible to hammocks and swings, outdoor sofas and chairs, a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen and skies full of stars.
The inside kitchen was also fully equipped and the living room with television offered cushy sofas and pillows.
Easy access to the roof, casually furnished, invited sunset viewing every evening; we could look over the lush treetops and see the ocean.
Walking to that beach and to the little grocery and into Esperanza where the ocean-side brick walkway is called the Malecon added up to only 3.3 miles total.
We felt a part of community, talking to the neighbors, even watching a rooftop dance class at one home.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Horses are everywhere on Vieques, including their deposits in the road so careful stepping is advised.
Hotel El Blok
Hotel El Blok anchors one end of Esperanza’s downtown. It’s a more substantial structure than the open air, intimate eating places all on the same side of the street.
Thirty rooms in this hotel, restaurant and beach access just across the street.
The rooftop bar is stunning, both architecturally and for the views—ocean, treetops, sunsets.
This is definitely an end-of-daylight destination no matter what libations seem interesting.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Look around the hotel, inside and out, to figure out what architect Nataniel Fuster had in mind saying the hotel was a dialogue with climate and culture, putting people in touch with their surroundings and emphasizing the relationship between internal and external designs.
Waterside Inn
If seriously casual is a preference, Waterside Inn is just behind Lazy Jack’s dive bar, the other end of the Malecon from Hotel El Blok.
Rooms #1-8 are next to Jack’s and rooms #9-18 back up to Orchidea Trattoria & Pizzeria.
Other Choices
Blue Horizon Boutique Resort (adults only) and Hotel La Finca present a different more inclusive vibe. Hix Island House is part of a group of ecolodges, using solar energy and LED lights.
Some of the Places To Eat on Vieques
Eating in is a fine choice when seeking relaxation and living in a rental home with stunning views, a pool to slip into and a rooftop vista. Grocery stores are certainly adequate but not expansive so think of extra portions and take-out from the restaurants.
Flamboyan is the name of the street to stroll for choosing restaurants in Esperanza. Maps also show 996 as the highway on either ends of Flamboyan.
Eateries are casual and open air: covered but offering the ocean view and air. Menus reflect traditions from indigenous Taino people, West Africa and the U.S.
Tables are available but lots of Duffy’s Esperanza customers head directly to the swinging seats. Photo credit: Christine Tibbetts
Duffy’s Esperanza is iconic and recommended by other visitors strolling the Malecon and wondering where to eat. Seats at the bar are wide porch swings. Tables with tall chairs suit families and people who want to look across the table at each other.
Arepas and Mamposteao specials of the day introduced me to Puerto Rican traditions at Duffy’s. Arepas are flatbread made of ground maize and stuffed with all sorts of pleasures-avocado, chicken, pork, cheeses for starters.
Mamposteao is an alluring blend of rice (arroz is the word here) with beans, cheese, plantains.
Burgers offer an alternative to fresh seafood.
SheBuysTravel Tip: If you like to eat where you live, check out the four ensuite guest rooms for rent above Duffy’s Esperanza called Flamboyan Guest House.
Lazy Jack’s Pub is the late place, open past midnight. Lunch starts at 11:00 a.m. and tacos seemed just right. People watching at Jack’s includes the overnight guests in the adjoining rental rooms.
Banana’s Beach Bar & Grill is one place to count on finding mofongo. That’s plantains picked green, mashed and fried with oil, garlic, salt and sometimes fried pork skin.
Expect mofongo on a plate with shrimp or chicken, beef or vegetables. The color is bland.
Banana’s feels larger than other eateries along Flamboyan Street but still exuding the feel of local owners and wait staff, even little children playing as their families worked.
Placita is the restaurant inside Hotel El Blok. While still spacious and airy, the feel is more formal than any along the road and could be the right place for a lingering dinner.
I carried my green feline cocktail from the rooftop bar with me to the restaurant. . . sunset watching so compelling I forgot to sip it. Ingredients? Absinthe, Finlandia cucumber mint vodka, combier lychee and lavender syrup
The Placita chef works from an open kitchen; sofa seating is part of the design, along with traditional tables.
My three-generations table were all delighted with our shared plate of pasteles: local taro root, calabaza potato, banana and pureed in veggie stock.
Expect pasteles in many restaurants—a masa or dough of root vegetables, sometimes stewed meat, green bananas and wrapped in a banana leaf.
At Placita we also shared pork belly stuffed arepas served with a pineapple compote. Grilled pulpo (that’s octopus) certainly looked like an adventure, and pleased us too.
Find big steaks on the menu in Hotel El Blok too, and also shrimp with garlic olive oil called gambas.
Rancho Choli is a few blocks off the Malecon road and worth every step. This is neighborhood eating with a big nod to Taino indigenous traditions.
Daily specials matter because the Rancho Choli family cooks by the seasons. Pork is roasted on a spit on the site, palm leaves from their trees wrap the pasteles, seafood is caught each day.
Getting to Vieques
From San Juan, fly or ferry to Vieques. My nine-seater Cape Air flight to the island was part of the adventure: weighing suitcases and backpacks and trusting people’s declarations about their bodies to properly balance the plane.
The pilot asked for a volunteer co-pilot. Best I could tell the only task from the right-hand front seat was to hold open the small window until we were in the air.
I had a big dog in the seat behind me, cuddled up with his owner.
The views are glorious, giving perspective to the San Juan skyline and the Vieques island oval.
SheBuysTravel Tip: The airport is small and efficient. Planning ahead for a rental car or taxi is surely a good idea. The airport is on the northern side of the island with the town of Isabel Segunda and government offices. Ferry access from San Juan airport is an hour taxi ride and ferry tickets can only be purchased in person.
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