Has anyone been lately? How do the beaches compare to USVI, BVI and Barbados? We are primarily interested in snokeling, boogie boarding, and windsurfing. We like a laid back casual atomosphere and don't need alot of pampering. Mainly need honest information about water quality at the beach. Visibility, snorkeling from beach, any waves?
Thanks,

pcw

I was in Culebra,Feb of 2002. Really didn't expolore the island b/c we were on a day trip. We mainly just lounged on Flamenco Beach, which I rate in my top 5; as the most beautiful beaches in the caribbean. The water was flat and CRYSTAL CLEAR.Hope this helps

thanks EJC that's an encouraging report.

I also would like to know how the beaches compare to St. John. Also, is Vieques another good choice to visit now that the Windham has opened up.

Would like to hear how Vieques compares to St. John, USVI.

I also would like to hear pros and cons of Vieques or Culebra?

I haven't been to Vieques, but it is larger than Culebra.I heard the beaches are fantastic.

We were in Vieques the end of Oct for eight days and going back for five days the end of Feb on our way back from Anguilla. Stayed at Wyndham. Sometimes they have auctions on Luxury Link.com for 5 day packages. If you go to www.caribbean-on-line.com to the caribbean forum and on the upper right scroll down to Puerto Rico I have a detailed report on our trip posted in early Nov. Beaches were nice but like the Turks and caicos and Anguilla beaches better.

What is the easiest way to get to Culebra if we are flying into San Juan. do you need a car once you are there?

Sally30, once you get to SJ, you drive to Fajardo ,on the esat coast. You can take the ferry or you can fly. The ferry takes about 1.5 hrs if you are only doing a day trip, you probably don't need a car. If you're staying a week, then the ferry will take your car from SJ to Culebra.

Thanks EJC. If we are staying a week (5 nights) do you advise renting a car at the airport in San Juan then driving ourselves to Fajardo. Do we need to make a reservation for the car? Is there a website with information on the ferry. Planning a sort of last minute get away so haven't done my research yet. Could anyone recommend a not expensive place to stay? the island looks beautiful. we are looking for relaxation and a good beach to swim at.

We were in Culebra last year and going to Vieques this year. Culebra is laid back with a capitol L. The beaches are great and the snorkling is fine but not more unusual than St. Johns. We took a snorkling trip to an even smaller island and had a great time. I don't recommend renting the car in San Juan or taking the ferry. I heard it is pretty rough and you have to get to the ferry dock from the airport. I don't think they even let you take rental cars to culebra. The roads are pretty rough. We flew (20 minute puddle jumper) and the jeep came with our place Tamarindo Estates. It was waiting for us at the airport in Culebra. If you want more info you can do a search for Culebra on this site. We loved it and can't wait to compare to Vieques.

For a 4 night stay would we need a car on Culebra or would bikes be okay? We really just want to go to the beach and relax. I can't get a sense of the size of the island from the maps I'm looking at.

Sally, I would definitely suggest you rent a jeep once you reach Culebra. If you are visiting on a long weekend make sure to make your rental reservations ahead of time. For locals who take their car on the ferry, they need to make reservations with the ports authority. Too much of a hassle if you are on holiday. I would also suggest you fly, since it is a very short flight. The port to catch the Culebra ferry is located in Fajardo, about a 1hour 45 minute drive from the main San Juan airport. There are no accessible buses to Fajardo and a taxi would be too expensive. Culebra is a fairly small island off the east coast of Puerto Rico. It is mountainous so I suggest you drive unless you are into mountain bikes. There are some great off the beaten path beaches like Sunny or you can visit the more popular areas like Flamingo beach. It has a small town laid back atmosphere. I hope you enjoy your trip.

I was in PR in June and it was amazing...the best part was a day trip on a sail boat to a few diff islands...viejes was amazing...we stopped to snorkel in a few different spots...the second one was like seeing a whole different world lots of colorful/stained glass looking fish...coral etc...it was my first time so i dont have much to compare it to but the water was absolutely stunning----and it was snorkeling off the boat...the beaches were vacant on our tour so it looked like a scene from survivor It was a good drive from the city though and boat ride was an all day thing