My husband and I celebrate our vacation over Thanksgiving (a wonderful day to fly and I get out of washing dishes!!) Here's what I am thinking, but maybe this is too much in one trip? The logistics seem overwhelming.

We would fly from Pittsburgh to SanJuan, then flight or ferry to Vieques. Stay 2 nights (I really just want to see the bioluminiscent bay and maybe hang out on the beach). Then go to Dominica (I'm assuming we'd have to get back to SanJuan, then fly to Dominica). Stay at Jungle Bay Spa Resort for 3 or 4 nights. Fly back to SanJuan, stay 1 night. Then fly home.

We like eco travel - we're not afraid of not having TV or even electricity. But we don't want run down or dirty. We like original things like outdoor showers or great views...

Any tips on places to stay or how to organize all of these little hops would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I've been researching how to get to Dominica in one day so I'm somewhat acquainted with the flight options, which are limited.

AA appears to have a daily flight 5037 from San Juan to Dominica ( Melville Hall ) that departs at 12:35 PM and arrives at 2:25 PM. You would need to be back from Vieques in time to catch this flight. The AA return flight 5063 departs Dominica at 2:55 PM.

An alternative, if you can call it that, is the LIAT flight from San Juan which leaves at 2:30 PM and arrives at 5:05 PM with a stop in Antiqua.

I personally would commit to either Vieques or Dominica for the trip. Too much of your time would involve air travel and packing/unpacking. Based on my research from BWI, I'm guessing that you would need to overnight somewhere on the way to Dominica but, could return in a day.

Hope this helps.

Since you're going to have to stop in San Juan anyway, I'd do it. Assuming you can get to Vieques the same day you leave Pittsburgh, it wouldn't be bad. Just travel light, and there won't be much packing/unpacking to do.

I think it sounds like a great trip.

Check the luna calendar and base your decision on the phase of the moon!

The Biobay is best when there's little moonlight so with fixed vacation dates you can't pick and choose the best night to go and on nights that the moon is full you can't go anyway.

It's still a tough choice but it's easier to fly from SJU to Vieques than to take the ferry (more $$ though).

Just checked and it's a new moon on Nov 27th so you might want to research those overwhelming logistics!

Assuming you don't mind the wasted travel time between the two islands, I'd say go for it. You're realistic in what you're looking for from each island--the biobay on Vieques and an eco experience on Dominica, so just budget your time well between the two places.

I especially would love to read your trip report on Dominica. It's an island I'm trying to talk my husband into visiting one day.

Well, I was going to scratch the Vieques part of the trip and do it the following year. There are so many cool things to do at Dominica that I thought it deserved the time. BUT... I can't get to and from Dominica in one day. I have to stay over in San Juan anyway. So I'm going to focus on the Dominica part right now and then see if it's feasible to do a day trip to Vieques instead of overnighting it. The bioluminescent bay is really my main objective. And the moon phase will be perfect.... I'll post again once I've got all the arrangements figured out. Thanks all for your help!

You can't do a day trip to Vieques and do the biobay as the last flight out is around 6pm.
You might be able to stay just one night if your flight arrives on Vieques in the early evening.

Perhaps your vacation would have a more relaxing start if you spent your first night in Old San Juan..

Enjoy Dominica!

Yes, I have realized that the bio bay will just have to wait for another trip so that Dominica gets the attention it deserves.

We have to overnight in San Juan both ways. So I think I'll try two different hotels. I have three in mind: Condado, Marriott, LaConcha. Any opinions? I want to stay close to the airport and don't want it to be too chic - a pair of trousers, a short-sleeved button down and Tevas is about as dressed up as we want to be.

Condado is an area, not a hotel. The Marriott is an ok hotel and has been renovated within the past year or so, but both the Marriott and La Concha are on a rather mediocre beach. Isla Verde is much better. La Concha has more of a South Beach feel ... white rooms, trendy, expensive, no really good dining options, but it is a good hotel if you like that.

And if Puerto Rico doesn't really thrill you, considering re-routing yourself somewhere else that USAirways flies and then switch to LIAT to get to and from Dominica instead of AA (unless you are using miles).

I'm sorry - I meant Condado Plaza.

How far away is Isla Verde from the airport? (We're going to have less than a 24 hour hotel stay, so I don't want to get far from the airport). What hotels would you recommend in that area?

But your advice about finding another flight might be a good idea also. I would like to sneak another day out of Dominica if I could... I'll start trying to find flights somewhere other than PR.

Thanks for your help!

Isla Verde is actually much closer to the airport than Condado. There are some hotels very close, but if you want to enjoy the beach, I'd recommend the InterContinental, El San Juan, or Courtyard Isla Verde. These three hotels are right on nice stretches of beach and all have been recently renovated. The Courtyard is more of a family-oriented hotel but is usually the cheapest.

You'll probably find the best connections to Dominica (on Liat) through Antigua, but you might also be able to fly there from Barbados or even St. Lucia (AA does fly nonstop to both islands from JFK if you can connect there).

If you go to St. Lucia, it's (ironically) easier to connect through Puerto Rico and fly into the airport in Castries rather than Hewanorra. Bay Gardens Beach Resort is a nice mid-priced hotel not far from the airport. On Barbados, there's a Hilton near the airport that's a pretty good hotel and usually not terribly expensive.