Hi. Can someone tell me how long is the drive from Martineau Bay Resort to: a) Green Beach. b) Blue Beach. Thank you.

Depends how many horses in the road you have to stop for!!
Martineau to Blue Beach-it is maybe a 10 minute drive to the gate of Camp Garcia, blue beach is maybe a 10 minute drive down the base road.
Green Beach, maybe 20 or more minutes, only because you do not get driving too fast down there. And on the way to Green Beach there will be things you will want to explore.

Also, with a little one in tow, you will want to go to Media Luna Beach, out past Sun Bay. REally shallow for a long way out. "See to the bottom" clarity, and no surf!

All of our driving times to beaches took a bit longer than we thought based on looking at the map, but we were coming from the south coast.

And be sure to ask for specific directions to specific beaches (take the first right fork, then the second left one, etc) because the maps the rental car companies provide are "not to be used for navigational purposes" as we discovered to our detriment. Basically, none of the former navy roads are really marked, and we ended up driving around for a long while after leaving Red Beach (which also has picnic shelters) to find either Garcia Beach or Secret Beach. We ended up driving down a narrow path flanked by mangroves that was difficult to turn around on!

In addition to the color beaches, you might want to check out Sun Bay/ Sombe and Media Luna with Patrick. Both have natural shade and extremely gentle surf. Sun Bay has the bonus of also having facilities right there on the beach.

Thanks for the replies. As I'm planning our days (only 2 full days!), I feel like I'm not going to be able to do much .
I'm trying not to cram too much. After reading trip reports including ejcrowe's and owa's, I put Green Beach and Blue Beach on the must-do list. Media Luna and Secret Beach were on the "will-attempt-if-we-have-time" list, but I'll move Media Luna to the must-do list.

Mahobaygirl: I may have to move the time of the meeting with you and Owa. I'm concerned about the drive time to the beaches and getting "lost" like ejcrowe did. The morning of our meeting, we pick up our rental car and plan to go to Green Beach. I'm worried about making it back to the resort on time to meet you. Let me figure it out and I'll email you and Owa in the next 2 days.

ejcrowe: I booked the biobay tour with Island Adventures for Sunday 1/14. I'm really looking forward to it.

It's COOOOOLD in New Jersey now and I'm just so ready to go someplace warm.

Carib-whatever is good for you. I am open pretty much anytime, at least in early Jan.
If I had to strike something from the must-do list, it would be Secret Beach. When you do Media Luna, drive down a bit further to Navio.
Beautiful blue, crashing surf. But there is a cave on the left, the water comes in there, but not the surf, you guys would love checking that out!
And the map that EJ sople of, that is the ONLY map provided anywhere of the island!!

ct, I'm getting so excited just reading about your trip. It's cold here in MA, too, and even though we just got back from St. Kitts I'm longing to be heading southward again.

For what it's worth, Sun Bay is well marked and is a large public beach in Esperanza. You really can't miss it, if you want to try something reliable. It's nearly a mile long and it's just lovely, but it's likely to have more people than any beach except perhaps Red Beach. Of course, crowded beaches by Vieques standards are quite different from everywhere else!

Ct-i just re-read your post. I hate to see you guys lose precious beach time by hurrying back to meet us! What about at the end of the day?

Mahobaygirl: I was thinking end of the day as well (late afternoon or early evening).

Caribtraveler, Yes, figure out what works best for you. You don't have many days on Vieques.

We just spent two wonderful days in the California wine country. The trees are changing color, Christmas decorations are up, the wine tasting was superb, and the food, as usual, unbelievable.
Owa

My wife and I just returned from a long weekend in Vieques and I thought I would chime in. If I were only going to choose two beaches to go to - and this is very subjective - I would choose Blue and Navio. My wife and I went to Blue midday on Saturday and were literally the only people on this unbelievable beach. Doesn't get much better than this!!!

Thanks ccc. Isn't Navio wavy? I think that's one of the reasons I didn't pick it.

Owa: I'm emailing you today. Lucky you. I love California wine country. I did it one day last year while visiting my brother who was having health issues. I would love to go with my husband one day but he doesn't drink at all so I don't know that he would enjoy it that much.

ccc, Oh, oh, oh, you can't do this to those of us that love Vieques. Give us a little. Like where you snorkeled. Did you go back and snorkel Green? How was the water temperature? Did you stay at Hix House again (I hope my memory is correct). Food?

I'm glad you had a great time. Where to next? Thanks and Happy Holidays. Owa

yes, would love to hear more!!

Nadine, Navio is very wavy, but if you are in the area, just stop by. It is beautiful, and the cave that I mentioned earlier, your kiddo would love going in there.
It's worth a peek!

We arrived in San Juan late Thursday and flew over to Vieques early Friday from Isla Grande (I highly recommend this over flying of SJU as a cost saver - especially if two or more people are traveling). Our flight out of San Juan left at 5:45 on Sunday so we had almost 3 full days - better than nothing but not nearly enough!

Since we were there for such a short time, we visited our favorite beaches - Navio and Blue. Yes, Navio is a bit wavy but they are certainly not huge - knock you over type - waves. What could knock you over - or swallow your car - are the massive water filled potholes (really closer to lakes!) in the road. Don't worry. Just keep driving and don't stop in the middle of one.

Meals - we wanted to try El Quenepo, which is on the main drag in Esperanza. It was bought this summer by a chef from North Carolina, but he hasn't finished work on it yet. This sent us to standbys BBH and Media Luna, which were both very good. One of the best images I have of Vieques is sitting at one of the balcony tables at Media Luna as young people, dressed for Saturday night, trotted by on horseback below. It really puts you in another time/era/culture. For lunch (or a cheap breakfast) we really like La Viequense, which is more or less across from Roy's. It's a good place to pick up sandwiches to take to the beach. We also really like Uva's Next Door, but it wasn't open yet.

We stayed in a great villa called Las Terrazas. We spent our last day hanging out by the gorgeous pool there. We were having so much fun doing nothing and talking about how great life was that we lost track of time and almost missed our flight home.

Oh, here's one tip - there's a dive bar called El Sombrero Viejo, which is just down the road from Media Luna. Although one would never guess it, they have a great selection of wine and liquor (by the bottle).

Am happy to answer any questions.

I have heard about El Quenepo opening. I cannot think of where it is but I was told it was the first restaurant on the Malecon, back in the day! Apparently was just a place under a sun umbrella!
Also, La Sirena, also on the malecon, is about to be opened under new ownership.
Thanks for your TR!

As you are driving into Esperanza from the direction of the Green Store, El Quenepo is one of the first buildings on the right (either before or after Blue Caribe - sorry can't remember). Their ad says something along the lines of "Island Food - tropical, fun, and funky". I think it's likely to be a great spot. La Sirena I think is going to be called Duffy's Again. Duffy is the Chez Shack guy, so it should be fun.

Also, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that there's a great new store in Isabel Segundo called Black Beard Sports. They rent bikes and snorkel/diving equipment and apparently also do tours.

One more Vieques tip: as you drive out of Esperanza (towards Tamarindo and Blue Horizon), there's a house on the left where the "flan lady" lives. Stop here and buy awesome flan (vanilla, coconut, etc.). It's just past Tradewinds on the left. Look for the sign on telephone pole.

Lastly, you haven't seen Christmas decorations until you've seen those in Vieques!

Thanks ccc. I am going to print your report for the tips. How was snorkeling? Happy Holidays, Owa

unfortunately not enough time for snorkeling. We were too busy drinking rum drinks!!! (notice the first tip was where to buy booze!).