Hi! I have a couple of questions about PR and would welcome any advice.

1) T he main thing I want to see in PR is the bio bay, though my friend could take it or leave it. We are on a tight budget staying at the Wyndhadm Rio Mar for 4 nights (got a really cheap deal on cheapcarribean). That said - Is the bio bay tour on Vieques really so much better than Fajardo that I should try to figure out some way to do it, despite the expense and time?

2) What are the best beaches in PR?

3) Are there any beaches on "mainland" PR that compare with the ones in Culebra or Vieques? (white sand, aqua water, etc.) If not, is it worth going to Culebra or Vieques for a day trip to go the beach?

Thanks!

Good link for you below MANY options

Best to rent a cheap car www.carrentals.com

and visit several depending on your tastes...

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...094020110.html

Thank you!

I've been looking at a lot of "official" travel guides. I wanted to get advice from regular people who have been there.

Any advice about whether the biobay tour in Vieques is worth the money and hassle?

We just returned from Puerto Rico and stayed at Wyndham Rio Mar resort. It's a really nice resort (excellent rooms) although I wouldn't recommend eating there. The beach and swimming pool are really nice. You are also very well located to go to the rain forest. One note about driving in Puerto Rico: You will definitely want to rent a car, but you must decide whether you want to rely on the kindness of strangers or not as there are no street signs. The highways are well marked, but they use GPS to get around. There are signs to your hotel coming from San Juan, so it's not so bad to the hotel; however, you will need to stop and ask for directions a lot without GPS. If you want a fabulous meal, go to Metropol which is towards Fajardo about 10-15 minutes from your hotel. It is located right off the main highway on the right side near a movie theater. You can get a variety of upscale local dishes which are very well prepared. The service is excellent and while it's not the cheapest place to eat, the food value is excellent and way cheaper than anything at Rio Mar. You will also want to stop off at Amigos (supermarket) which is off the highway on the right going towards San Juan. I don’t know anything about the biotour. We chartered a ½ day fishing trip which we thoroughly enjoyed. We also viewed the rain forest which you can do very cheaply. Since you have time, I recommend bringing hiking boots and spending some time on the various trails. There’s a little café on the rain forest road which serves grilled chicken skewers ($4/ skewer). Buy one, you won’t regret it.

Thank so much lustfulwanderer!

The Bio-bay will depend on when you are there & the moon phase & yes the Vieques one is better. For beaches around OSJ, try Luquillo, but Rincon has my favorites. There is also a bio-bay tour out of the SW portion of the island near La Parguera (sp?)

Thanks SAnParis,

The first 2 days of our trip are optimal-bio-bay viewing nights.

I went to the Bio Bay in Vieques, and I have mixed feelings, but I have to say that probably was because of the tour, not the Bio-Bay. When selecting a tour make sure you will be with a guide all the time, I mean that you will be in your kayak and a guide will be in other kayak. I did a kind of independent tour with a company called "Fun Brothers" and was not -fun- at all. He clearly said from the beginning that he will take us to the Bay and in the Bay he will give instructions for us to go on our own but since the bay was small and “full” of people it was going to be easy. Well after taking us with the rest of the group, (terrible driving), he took the kayaks out and vaguely pointed in the dark saying that we need to go from one point to the other following supposedly some lights at the distance that in the water you couldn’t see. He also said that he was going to be the whole time in the starting point holding a blinking light so we could see/follow our way back. He also pointed out that if we hear the see rumbling we were in the wrong direction. Needless to say we didn’t enjoy being in the open see having no clue were to paddle, there were almost no people around and soon all the people from the group took different paths, when we tried to get back we couldn’t see the “blinking light” and when we managed to get back to the shore our guide was not there. We found out later that he went to town to get other customers, obviously he doesn’t care if something happen to any of his clients but well for me this is one of those Lesson Learned! I will definitively go back to the Bio-Bay but with an organized company, not a big-tour group but just somebody that can actually “guide” you.

While in Vieques there are tons of beaches to explore and not so crowded.

wow Silarem...that sounds like a real nightmare! I plan on doing the bio-bay with gary's clear canoe tour, which I have read very good reviews about