Vieques Island?

[zion zig zag]

Anyone been? Thinking of going for a family vaca in March. Airfare to SJU is cheap. I'd entertain other locales but airfare for 8 people is the limiting factor.

[Tippster]

Supposed to be awesome, especially the old bombing range which is now a Natural Refuge.. Culebra Island next door is near the top of my hit list.

[Cruiser]

My mom and sister went a couple of years ago and raved about it. Said it was really homey and less developed than other Caribbean destinations they'd been to.

[zion zig zag]

Supposed to be awesome, especially the old bombing range which is now a Natural Refuge.. Culebra Island next door is near the top of my hit list.

Culebra looks great but supposedly harder to get to?

[gravitylover]

I hope you like red ants and scorpions.

[jgb@etree]

Anyone been? Thinking of going for a family vaca in March. Airfare to SJU is cheap. I'd entertain other locales but airfare for 8 people is the limiting factor.

It's really lovely, as far as bombing ranges go. Careful where you step.

[Harry]

It's really lovely, as far as bombing ranges go. Careful where you step.

No kidding. We blew the shit out of that place when I was in the service. They really have all the dud ordnance cleaned up ? Hard to believe.

[Todd Zander]

No kidding. We blew the shit out of that place when I was in the service. They really have all the dud ordnance cleaned up ? Hard to believe.

From what i remember if you stayed on the road and walked only on established footpaths to the beeches you were probably alright. And the beeches were all that and more.

Has the bioluminesence? Bay recovered? That is definitely a thing to experience, just drink alot beforehand so you can piss on yourself should you choose to swim.

[Crampedon]

When I lived St. Thomas we could see them bombing the shit out of it at night, hear it as well if the wind was right.
Once a year we would take a sailboat and load it with boards and go to Culebra for a windsurfing race "ride Culebras winds" put on by the these two german brothers that are probably still there, Jurgen and Manfred Charchulla I think was the last name. Good times.

[PlayItLeo]

Culebra looks great but supposedly harder to get to?

Idk about that. Ferries to both Culebrah and Vieques leave from Fajardo pretty regularly and getting to Fajardo from SJ isn't hard. Never been to Vieques, but Culebra is rad. There's not a whole lot to do, but that's kind of the point. Beach by day, beach parties and ecstasy by night. Good times YMMV

[PeastCoast]

It's a superfund site due to the use of depleted uranium among other munitions. I'm sure it's fine now, Marriott just built a new property there that is supposed to be nice, but haven't been.

[HansJob]

Do it. One of the most beautiful places I ever spent time in. That was in the 70's while we were trashing it. Bring your fins, mask, and snorkel.

[huckbucket]

Idk about that. Ferries to both Culebrah and Vieques leave from Fajardo pretty regularly and getting to Fajardo from SJ isn't hard. Never been to Vieques, but Culebra is rad. There's not a whole lot to do, but that's kind of the point. Beach by day, beach parties and ecstasy by night. Good times YMMV

I waited in line for an hour for the ferry before saying fuck it and booking the 15 minute flight from Fajardo. The ferry just aint worth it.

The Culebra beaches were nutso beautiful. I've heard really good things about Vieques, but I've also heard that it's really, really low key. If your crew is into action at night, it might not cut it.

[gageyk]

Spent 8 days on Vieques and Culebra in Oct 2013. Very cool, totally laid back. Went for the same reason you did. Low airfare. Pleasantly surprised. Make sure you're there during New Moon and go to Mosquito bay. http://www.abessnorkeling.com/bio_bay_tour.shtml.

Snorkeling on both islands was great. Again, very low key, no posh resorts or really any resorts at all. I just got back from southern Baja on Sunday. I like Vieques and Culebra better. The bombing range is now a conservation area, very remote beaches, minimal to no evidence of it's checkered past.

We flew from San Jose, $70 per person on 8 passenger Cessna's, about 10 minutes. Don't bring any contraband. When we went to load the Cessna all our luggage was placed on the ground and the dogs came out fro a sniff.

[mcski]

Spent a week in vieques scuba and snorkeling but that was prob ~15 yrs or so ago. It was definitely low key back then but beautiful white sand. Good snorkle and scuba options. The bioluminescence bay swimming was unreal. You could even find live conk snorkeling. I'm sure it's not quite the same, but it was great. All that bombing dissuaded lots of tourists so it wasn't all bad.

[DJSapp]

Spent 4 days there in 2006. Totally a sleepy island, good beaches, good snorkeling, good place to forget about the world. Prop shot flights from San Juan are under $100, skip the ferry, 5 hours of your life isn't worth saving $50/pp. Be there during a new moon for the bio bay, it is like nothing else. Mind the closures where they haven't finished cleanup from the beaches, but the beaches are empty and amazing. Completely empty. If there is someone there, just drive 5 more minutes to get one to yourself.

We stayed at Bananas on the south side, and apparently we missed the big Saturday night event of horse racing right down the road. Apparently that happens right there in front of the bars.

[zion zig zag]

I hope you like red ants and scorpions.

Didn't see any of either.

It's really lovely, as far as bombing ranges go. Careful where you step.

I was a little worried about this initially at some of the out of the way beaches, but then I thought about the 5000 wild horses roaming the island and how I never saw one that had been blown up.
We took the ferry to the island and a small plane off. I highly recommend the small premium to fly. The beaches were incredible and empty.

[jgb@etree]

Didn't see any of either.



I was a little worried about this initially at some of the out of the way beaches, but then I thought about the 5000 wild horses roaming the island and how I never saw one that had been blown up.
We took the ferry to the island and a small plane off. I highly recommend the small premium to fly. The beaches were incredible and empty.

Horses that stumble across uxo don't usually roam around to tell the tale.

Glad to hear you had a good time though!

I would have just been chivalrous and let my wife walk in front of me at all times. "No, please, after YOU dear". "Honey, why are you 50 yards behind me?" "It's OK dear, I had to tie my shoe - I'll catch up!!" "But you're wearing sandals" "Uh, I had a rock in them - keep moving, I'm right behind you!!!"

[DJSapp]

Horses that stumble across uxo don't usually roam around to tell the tale.

...that's why the red ants and scorpions dine on. I never saw any when I was there either, but I didn't see Mr. Ed all blowed up. I did see a horse rolling on it's back on a beach in the sand, which was quite a trip.