My husband and I are thinking of travelling to Vieques, Puerto Rico for five days (over Easter). We'd like to try and do it on a budget. So far, we are thinking we will take a taxi to Farjado and take the ferry over (how long is the ferry ride?) Can anyone recommend a hotel or b&b for @ $100-150/night? And once on the island, do we need to rent a car? Any suggestions would be helpful...

Ride on the Ferry is $2 and takes about 90 mins. You will definitely need to rent a 4 wheel drive if you want to experience the best of Vieques which is the isolated beaches. We stayed at the Crows Nest which is within your price range. Clean, large and quiet though a bit dated room-wise.Very nice grounds and v.g restaurant. I suggest you do your homework on happy hours and when restaurants are open . Days off may vary. IF the moon is right check out bio bay tours. If it is up , bay is not as visable unless you take the tour on a pontoon and go under the boat.

Just so that you are prepared: Vieques and Culebra are THE destination for college kids and young adult during Easter Vacation. Everyone goes camping!!!! Think Ft Lauderdele during Spring Break. The official holiday is from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday but there is no school (k-12 and some colleges) for the entire next week.

Everyone will try to go either on Wednesday evening or Thursday, the ferry might look like a mob scene and people will start queing very early in the morning. If you try to come back on Easter Sunday it could be tricky as well.

Taxi from San Juan might be quite $$$. I would opt for a flight from San Juan or the new ferry that leaves from San Juan to Vieques. After round trip taxi, the price might even out.

I would also recommend renting a car but this is a reservation that you need to make WAY in advance as rentals will be quite busy and there are not that many units available.

You will enjoy Vieques very much, personally I prefer more quiet seasons.

here's a possible trick (speak up if others think it's not possible) ... you can rent a car in SJ and drive to fajardo and see if you can take the car over to Vieques (must check with car rental place AND reserver car ferry in advance). with a car, you have to reserve the car on the boat, so it might get you out of the line up for people going to the island w/o a car, not to mention save the hassle of finding a rental on the island...

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm going to see about avoiding Wed-Easter Sunday - or even finding 5 days that we can do another time during the spring. I will also check out Crow's Nest - sounds just like what we are looking for. Taxi to the ferry in Farjado sounds like it would be inexpensive and not as risky as trying to take a car over... Thank you again!

Hi Scout4,
To really see Vieques, you need to rent a car. Be sure to do a trip to the bio bay - an amazing experience. If you email me, I will provide you with info on the great place we stayed last year. You will love Vieques!