I Just Got Home from Vieques and Have Info!
May 9th, 2005, 10:28 AM
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I Just Got Home from Vieques and Have Info!
Hi Everyone! It's me Beneteau- I was in search of that B&B awhile ago, which turned into conversations that were incredibly helpful, albeit unrelated to my original hotel quest, which I sorted nicely.
I just got in from my trip. We stayed at Bravo which was really fantastic. We were in room 9 which was very isolated and lovely. A few shortcomings here and there but still top notch. While we were there Chef Michaels closed down! Not sure what the surrounding reason was, but it seemed abrupt so that's that. Bayhonda (spelling?) also closed (family sqabble or something- so much drama for such a small island!), so we didn't make it there. Here's what I learned about food:
Most restaurants are very high end, which is fine if that's what you're looking for, but we live in NYC and are glad to get away from that but it's oddly difficult on Vieques, as they don't seem to make it easy for the tourists to dine on local food. Having said that, we did go to Media Luna and it certainly is fantastic. We went to Uva, which I found to be a complete joke so don't bother, honestly. Tradewinds and La Serena are fantastically low key and have great food for the price. Taverna Hispanola is a little hole in the wall that has the best shrimps ever.
I noticed posts about the bio bay not existing, but we had no problem at all sorting it out. There's a place on Esperanza, next to Bili, that organizes evening trips of $25 each person. It's fascinating and completely worth it. Bring Deet-free mosquito repellant. Trust me.
Renting a car from Marcos was no problem, they left it at Bravos for us and we left it there when we were done- couldn't be more convenient.
We took the ferry to Vieques(in spite of warnings of rocky seas)and did NOT regret it- much more economical (it's a $65 cab ride from San Juan and then $2/pp ferry ride) and an easy 40 minutes in the sun watching the scenery. Far outweighs sitting in some plane for more $$, in my opinion. And the ferry landing is right next to Bravos, incidentally.
The best beaches are Media Luna, Blue and Red beach (for calm white sands and turquoise waters)- don't bother with Sun Bay. But try Green Beach- no one seemed to be crazy about it in the posts, but I found it to be different but equally beautiful, and you can take long walks all the way around when you need a break from lolling on the beach.
We stayed on Vieques for the bulk of the week and then a day in Old San Juan at the end. We were glad we did it in that order, as it was a nice, gentle segue back to civilization. A day in OSJ is all you need, really. Stay at El Convento if you can as it's really lovely. Eat at "Baru"- really nice food and great atmosphere.
That's all I can think of but please feel free to ask me anything at all...I found all of the advice on Fodor's super helpful before my trip.
B.
I just got in from my trip. We stayed at Bravo which was really fantastic. We were in room 9 which was very isolated and lovely. A few shortcomings here and there but still top notch. While we were there Chef Michaels closed down! Not sure what the surrounding reason was, but it seemed abrupt so that's that. Bayhonda (spelling?) also closed (family sqabble or something- so much drama for such a small island!), so we didn't make it there. Here's what I learned about food:
Most restaurants are very high end, which is fine if that's what you're looking for, but we live in NYC and are glad to get away from that but it's oddly difficult on Vieques, as they don't seem to make it easy for the tourists to dine on local food. Having said that, we did go to Media Luna and it certainly is fantastic. We went to Uva, which I found to be a complete joke so don't bother, honestly. Tradewinds and La Serena are fantastically low key and have great food for the price. Taverna Hispanola is a little hole in the wall that has the best shrimps ever.
I noticed posts about the bio bay not existing, but we had no problem at all sorting it out. There's a place on Esperanza, next to Bili, that organizes evening trips of $25 each person. It's fascinating and completely worth it. Bring Deet-free mosquito repellant. Trust me.
Renting a car from Marcos was no problem, they left it at Bravos for us and we left it there when we were done- couldn't be more convenient.
We took the ferry to Vieques(in spite of warnings of rocky seas)and did NOT regret it- much more economical (it's a $65 cab ride from San Juan and then $2/pp ferry ride) and an easy 40 minutes in the sun watching the scenery. Far outweighs sitting in some plane for more $$, in my opinion. And the ferry landing is right next to Bravos, incidentally.
The best beaches are Media Luna, Blue and Red beach (for calm white sands and turquoise waters)- don't bother with Sun Bay. But try Green Beach- no one seemed to be crazy about it in the posts, but I found it to be different but equally beautiful, and you can take long walks all the way around when you need a break from lolling on the beach.
We stayed on Vieques for the bulk of the week and then a day in Old San Juan at the end. We were glad we did it in that order, as it was a nice, gentle segue back to civilization. A day in OSJ is all you need, really. Stay at El Convento if you can as it's really lovely. Eat at "Baru"- really nice food and great atmosphere.
That's all I can think of but please feel free to ask me anything at all...I found all of the advice on Fodor's super helpful before my trip.
B.
May 12th, 2005, 08:36 AM
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Hi Beneteau. I'm glad you liked Bravo and Marco's car rental worked out well.
The ferry trip is good, but it might not work during the busy season as the lines can get really long and you end up sitting and waiting to (hopefully) get a ticket to the ferry. That's when the plane is most convenient since you can book it ahead of time for a certain flight.
It seems that Puerto Rico is really up and coming as I've seen more and more articles about it, especially of Vieques (biobay) and El Yunque. Nice to do stuff before tons of tourists catch up on it.
The ferry trip is good, but it might not work during the busy season as the lines can get really long and you end up sitting and waiting to (hopefully) get a ticket to the ferry. That's when the plane is most convenient since you can book it ahead of time for a certain flight.
It seems that Puerto Rico is really up and coming as I've seen more and more articles about it, especially of Vieques (biobay) and El Yunque. Nice to do stuff before tons of tourists catch up on it.
May 12th, 2005, 01:26 PM
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Hi beneteau, thanks for your trip report. Vieques and the bio bay is on my short list of places to visit in the near future. We will be in OSJ, staying at El Convento, in about two weeks - on the tail end of our St. John vacation. Did you stay at El Convento? Any info about that or OSJ would be greatly appreciated. We leave Friday (tomorrow) night!
May 15th, 2005, 04:11 PM
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It's so great to hear from travelers exploring new places. i've thought about the taxi drive and then the ferry trip to Vieques. considered both options, fly or take the ferry, we've decided to take the ferry and enjoy the sights, we're renting two houses in Esparanza and will update everyone on the homes. We're going in July so should have some good feedback. A total of 13 family members are traveling for a reunion, any recommendations for good food?
Looking forward to hearing about Vieques and the sights.
Looking forward to hearing about Vieques and the sights.
May 18th, 2005, 04:39 AM
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What was the weather like? My husband and I leave for PR in June, and all I can see on the weather websites is a forecast for rain over the next 10 days! I am hoping its just the tropics and its mostly sunny but with afternoon showers. thanks!
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