Private charter boat to Vieques from Fajardo??
Jun 29th, 2010, 09:08 PM
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Private charter boat to Vieques from Fajardo??
We plan to do a day trip to Vieques including the Bio Bay tour and don't want to stay overnight in Vieques. From what I read, you need to stay overnight if you want to do the Bio Bay tour since the ferry leaves at 6pm for Fajardo. Is there a private charter boat company I could pay that would transport us to Vieques and back to Fajardo on the same day? We don't want to book with East Wind Catamaran since we don't want the dinner and the rum drinks they offer. We can book the Bio Bay tour with other company for only $30 p/p. We have a big group so getting a private charter boat is feasible. Does anyone know of a private charter boat to recommend us that would take us back to Fajardo at night? Also is Island Adventures a good company to do Bio Bay tour? We don't want to kayak and electric boat is better for us. Thanks in advance...
Jul 2nd, 2010, 07:39 AM
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I have some thoughts as I regularly vacation in Vieques every year.
There are some yacht charter companies in Fajardo, though not as many as on the west side of Puerto Rico, where adventurers hire ships to take them to Mona Island. You should contact one of them (like Erin Go Bragh Charters) and see if they or any of their competitors would be willing to take you out of Vieques at night. The bio bay tours run twice nightly, usually at 7 and 9:30pm. The first tour ends around 9pm. Island Adventures (biobay.com) is the company to go with if you want to take the electric boat. The guides are great, and show you how the mangroves around the bay feed the protozoans that light up the water. They also take time to show you contellations (including the Southern Cross) and let you swim in the water for about 20 minutes.
Abe's Tours gives you the option to go by kyack. After trying both the electric boat and kyacks, I strongly prefer kyacking. But given you are in a big group, I can see why you prefer everyone to be on the same boat.
Assuming you are able to charter a yacht to take you to Vieques, you might as well have the boat take your group to one of the southern beaches (Navio, Red, Blue, Garcia, etc.) and make the most of your single day there. The beaches are the reason you will want to go back to the island. It's just going to be very difficult to find a company that will take you back to Fajardo at night. In addition to making phone calls (emails are frequently ignored by charter captains I have found), you might also want to sign-up and try Aardvark (vark.com) which is an ingenious question & answer service with a rapid response time. You can get a lot more ideas from the million or so people who use Aardvark. And if you have a Google account, you can already add Aardvark as a resource on Google Instant Messaging at im.aardvark.
Good luck! You are trying to do what I've never seen done before. Go to Vieques and not want to stay more than 24 hours!
There are some yacht charter companies in Fajardo, though not as many as on the west side of Puerto Rico, where adventurers hire ships to take them to Mona Island. You should contact one of them (like Erin Go Bragh Charters) and see if they or any of their competitors would be willing to take you out of Vieques at night. The bio bay tours run twice nightly, usually at 7 and 9:30pm. The first tour ends around 9pm. Island Adventures (biobay.com) is the company to go with if you want to take the electric boat. The guides are great, and show you how the mangroves around the bay feed the protozoans that light up the water. They also take time to show you contellations (including the Southern Cross) and let you swim in the water for about 20 minutes.
Abe's Tours gives you the option to go by kyack. After trying both the electric boat and kyacks, I strongly prefer kyacking. But given you are in a big group, I can see why you prefer everyone to be on the same boat.
Assuming you are able to charter a yacht to take you to Vieques, you might as well have the boat take your group to one of the southern beaches (Navio, Red, Blue, Garcia, etc.) and make the most of your single day there. The beaches are the reason you will want to go back to the island. It's just going to be very difficult to find a company that will take you back to Fajardo at night. In addition to making phone calls (emails are frequently ignored by charter captains I have found), you might also want to sign-up and try Aardvark (vark.com) which is an ingenious question & answer service with a rapid response time. You can get a lot more ideas from the million or so people who use Aardvark. And if you have a Google account, you can already add Aardvark as a resource on Google Instant Messaging at im.aardvark.
Good luck! You are trying to do what I've never seen done before. Go to Vieques and not want to stay more than 24 hours!
Jul 2nd, 2010, 12:44 PM
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It's quite likely the charter boat will cost more per person than the catamarran (the dinner/rum drinks is a small portion of the ticket price per head).
So you could take the catamarran and skip the meal/drinks.
Erin Go Bragh was the company I would have recommended but you mentioned a 'large group' so their boat might well be too small for your party.
So you could take the catamarran and skip the meal/drinks.
Erin Go Bragh was the company I would have recommended but you mentioned a 'large group' so their boat might well be too small for your party.
Sep 23rd, 2010, 07:51 AM
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Jan 11th, 2011, 03:37 PM
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We recommend you consider Nautifull Sailing Charters, out of Palmas del Mar, Humacao. We also heard they provide services to the W Hotel in Vieques, and have done wonders for many people, as we have experienced. They have options of recent models vessels (Cats and Monohulls), certified Coast Guard captains and try harder to meet all needs. Definitely don't miss the Bio Bay Tour!!! Recommend you take/rent kayaks, best at low moon (dark) nights, and really consider an overnight.
Jan 15th, 2011, 05:24 AM
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minnymi, did you find a way to travel to Vieques? I am very interested in this post, because I'm looking for a way (other than flying both ways) to get my family of 10 to Vieques. We want to stay 5 nights, and then fly back to SJU. A day of sailing, snorkeling and lunch on our way to Vieques would be great. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.
