Culebra Blog | Culebra, Puerto Rico

Here’s a shot from the Fajardo to Culebra cargo ferry fully loaded and getting ready to leave.

Need a place to stay on Culebra? Give us a call at the Palmetto Guesthouse.

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Culebra Island is an amazing place to visit. We have incredible beaches, good restaurants, and untouched natural beauty the way nature intended it. However, we also know that you work very hard and have limited vacation time. When it comes to making a decision on where to go, you need to get this right.

To be sure, a Culebra island vacation is unique and not for everyone.

In order to help you and your traveling companions make an informed decision, we compiled a list of ten things  that you should know about Culebra.

1.  Most Culebra accommodation options are located in neighborhoods. They are not fancy resorts.

2. You will most likely hear roosters crowing (at ALL hours), children playing, people laughing, and loud music.

3. Most of Culebra’s treasures are outside in the natural environment, if you want a vacation where you can spend hours on end in your room then you might want to go elsewhere.

4. If you are coming from a large metropolitan area, think New York or Washington D.C., realize that hyper-speed does not really exist here. The “pace” is sometimes referred to as “island time.”

5. There are NO high-rise hotels or all inclusive properties on Culebra. A typical stay is like visiting a friend’s home.

6. Culebra has one bank, one gas station, and zero traffic lights.

7. As Culebra is a tiny island, almost EVERYTHING must come to the island via plane or boat (including YOU if you decide to visit). Thus, resources can be limited and therefore things might be a bit more costly. This includes things like water and electricity, so you should be prepared to try to help out and conserve Culebra’s resources.

8. The beaches are beautiful and natural. There are no cabana boys waiting to serve umbrella drinks. There certainly are much fancier islands in the Caribbean, but Culebra is very unpretentious.

9. The dress code is very informal, such that the 25 lbs allotted for baggage on the airlines is more than enough for what you’d need to pack for Culebra.

10. Culebra’s grocery stores are small, smaller than most 7-11’s in the United States. However, you can get pretty much everything you need right here on island. And the fruit and veggie guy comes every Friday.

If Culebra sounds like your kind of low-key vacation paradise then please get in touch with us at the Palmetto Guesthouse. Also, check out our F.A.Q. page if you still have questions.

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This time of year we find many folks coming to Culebra Island from the northeast United States to escape the cold. One of the more common questions we get is, “Can you bike around Culebra?” (Culebra bike rental information.)

And the answer is a definitive YES! Some want to bike for exercise, and others just want a simple mode of transportation.

There are any number of bike routes on Culebra and this morning I took a bike ride with my Garmin 305 and mapped a couple of the routes:

1.  My first ride was to the top of  Zoni Beach. I started at the four way intersection (at Carlos Jeep Rental) and headed east. According to my Garmin the ride is 9.43 miles, it took me 50 minutes (round trip) and I burned 645 calories.

And half-way through the ride you get to enjoy this view over to Culebrita Island and St. Thomas in the USVI.

2. My second ride again started at the four way intersection and this time I went through town and then headed to Flamenco Beach. For the less motivated visitor, this is an easier option.

Although there is one pretty good hill half way through the ride.  According to my trusty Garmin 305 the ride is 5.13 miles, it took me 27 minutes, and I burned an additional 335 calories.

Of course, there is a killer view at the half-way point!

Want to get away to a warm weather destination for your training? If you have further questions about biking (or running and swimming) on Culebra Island, please get in touch with us at the Palmetto Guesthouse.

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You can get from Fajardo to Culebra by ferry, and from Ceiba and San Juan, you can get here by airplane. Of our guests staying with us here at the Palmetto, about thirty percent tend to fly and the other seventy percent take the ferry.

Culebra Ferry

Although there is a phone number to make reservations (787) 863-0705), it can be very difficult (nearly impossible) to reach someone in the Fajardo office.

The ferry operates daily (weekends and holidays as well) and the full schedule can be found here:  Culebra Ferry

The cost is $4.50 r/t per person to/from Culebra and please note – there is NO ferry between Culebra and Vieques.

The ferry leaves from Fajardo, located on the eastern part of Puerto Rico. To get to Fajardo from San Juan you can rent a car and drive and then park it in a secure lot (on the right before the ferry terminal-$5.00/day). It is NOT usually permitted to bring a rental on the ferry for insurance purposes. Moreover, it is NOT recommended as priority on the cargo ferry is given to commercial vehicles and then residents.

The ferries can be VERY full (i.e. sold out) during holiday periods, April, and in the summer months with additional travelers from Puerto Rico. The Palmetto Guesthouse can purchase tickets and mail them (for a slight fee) for guests who make reservations in advance. Most other months, the ferries are not full, but being at the dock in Fajardo at least one hour prior to the scheduled departure is recommended.

Culebra Airlines

The fastest, most convenient way to get to Culebra is to fly from the smaller regional airport in San Juan, called Isla Grande. It is about a 15 minute taxi ride from the main international airport and should cost about $15.00 + $1.00/bag.

From there you fly via Flamenco Air (787-721-7332 or 787-724-1818) or Vieques Airlink (888-901-9247) to Culebra. The price is $105 per person round trip and the flight takes ½ hr. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS are always recommended and you will likely have to try several times to reach a reservation agent. Don’t bother with email or leaving a message. You must speak to a person to make a booking.

There are scheduled flights daily with Flamenco Air and Vieques Airlink to/from Culebra/San Juan and Culebra/Ceiba (on the eastern end of the island near Fajardo) as well as charter services available and “on-demand” for routes/times outside of the normal schedules.

This information was orginally posted on our Palmetto Guesthouse “Frequently Asked Questions” page. If you would like to make a reservation or have further questions, please feel free to contact us: Palmetto Guesthouse Contact.

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Is there a ferry between Culebra & Vieques? (A very common question.)
There is NO ferry between the islands, nor are there water taxis or boats. You would need to ferry back to Fajardo and then take a second ferry over or vise versa.

How about flights between Culebra & Vieques? 
At this time, there are also no regularly scheduled flights between the islands, however the airlines (Flamenco, Vieques Airlink, Isla Nena) will sometimes put on flight for enough (4?) passengers. (Call the airlines for specifics.)

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Culebra is a small island and it has a good taxi/bus system. For $3.00 per person you can ride the bus from town to Flamenco Beach. Guests of the Palmetto Guesthouse can pick up the same bus just around the corner.

The buses run the loop back and forth between town and Flamenco daily from around 7am until about 5pm when the last passenger ferry departs for Fajardo. Arrangements can be made to have a driver retrieve you from the beach later if you want to stay beyond the 5pm time.

The buses are small vans or a bit larger “people-mover” type vehicles and will stop for you along the side of the road. There are no specific bus stops and no specific schedules, but they are a convenient and inexpensive mode of transportation to get around the most popular areas of Culebra!

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Are you visiting Puerto Rico and possibly looking for something fun to do for the day?

Why not come over to America’s best-kept secret in the Caribbean? Many international tourists with limited vacation time decide to visit Culebra just for the day.

While we think visitors who make the effort travel here should spend at least a week exploring, beachcombing and relaxing, due too its size the island does make a great day excursion destination, as well.

Interestingly enough, Culebra is not only a “must visit” travel destination for vacationing tourists, but the island is also a very popular getaway for the residents of San Juan and Farjardo who come over for the day to escape urban life and the big city.

I have compiled a list of three different activities that day visitors to Culebra might enjoy doing during their brief stay island.

Activity One – I will start with the most obvious, go to Flamenco Beach. If you have read any tourist related information on Culebra then you will have heard about Flamenco Beach.

For travelers who are looking for an effortless journey this is a very pain free and easy option. As soon as you disembark from the ferry there will be many great taxi/publico drivers waiting to whisk you the two miles from the dock to the beach. The taxi ride will cost $2.00 and in less than five to ten minutes of getting off the boat you will have the sand of one of the nicest Caribbean beaches between your toes. If you have the energy after reading, lying about, swimming and people watching make sure to walk to the painted tank on the northwest side of the beach.

Activity Two will be posted tomorrow and it is geared towards the active set.

Coming to Culebra for more than a day? Consider staying at the Palmetto Guesthouse.

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For those of you who are traveling to Puerto Rico, and hopefully Culebra, AirTran Airways announced today that they will now be servicing San Juan International Airport. According to a CNN website article, “AirTran will begin nonstop flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The fast-growing, low-fare carrier will begin flying between its hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport on March 5, 2008. AirTran Airways will launch daily, nonstop flights between Orlando International Airport and San Juan the same day and add a second daily, nonstop flight on April 9.”

I must admit that I do not know much about the airline but if you are planning a trip to Puerto Rico and Culebra in the near future this may offer you another flying alternative.

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We seem to be getting a lot of people asking lately if Culebra is a good destination for a honeymoon. This is GREAT news because we love questions! However, I typically like to throw back a few queries to the inquiring party…about how they envision their honeymoon.

Culebra is definitely your stereotypical secluded, exotic, and romantic Caribbean location. However, honeymoons are meant to be a once in a lifetime special occasion and you and your new partner really need to think about what it is you are looking for in a destination. Without question, Culebra is a fantastic place for honeymooners to visit and it has an amazing array of beaches and activities to keep everyone satisfied.

Some of the specific questions include: Would you and your new spouse like to sit on the beach and do absolutely nothing? Would you like to go scuba diving or snorkeling? Are you happy making your own entertainment in an ultra laid-back environment? Typically, if couples answer yes to these questions then I would say Culebra is the place for them.

Because we do not want people to be disappointed with their experience, especially not honeymooners, other questions include: Do you require a five star resort setting? Would you like to go out and party until five in the morning? Do you like all you can eat buffets? Do you have an adverse reaction to sand beneath your toes?  If you answered yes to a majority of those questions then I would suggest that you might want to consider a different honeymoon destination. Or, better yet, go to Puerto Rico for a portion of your trip and stay at a large resort, party until the wee hours, and shop at the large malls. When you are tired and ready to relax on the beach then travel on over to Culebra.

Editor’s note: For an interesting read on the origins of how the term honeymoon came about have a lootk at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeymoon.

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According to a report on the news this morning, many people are finding it harder to justify taking a vacation these days. Even when people do manage to escape the office it seems that people just can’t resist doing a little work from the road. This claim is further substantiated by Barry Lawrence of CareerBuilder whose research shows, “Working vacations are now the norm.”

Having spent the past five years living on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, and now on Culebra, we see a lot of visitors that can’t quite seem to relax…and they are on vacation! So, whether it’s getting back to nature on a hike, or taking a dip at the very popular Flamenco Beach, Culebra has its own set of unique activities and environments that will help you slow down, loosen up, and actually enjoy being away from the office.

Here are some tips to help you unwind when you come down for your Culebra Caribbean vacation:

- leave your laptop at home
- go with the flow
- make a picnic and hike to one of the out of the way beaches
- spend a day doing absolutely nothing
- turn off your cell phone
- go kayaking
- try something completely different like snorkeling or better yet, get certified to dive
- take a leisurely stroll through town

For the burnt out worker on a vacation away from the office, Culebra Island, Puerto Rico features lots of different adventure activities for both the young and the young at heart. From exciting water and land-based activities like hiking a beach trail, camping at the water’s edge, or swimming at Zoni Beach if you can’t unwind and forget about work here you might just be in trouble.

Need a place to stay while you relax on Culebra? Try the Palmetto Guesthouse for friendly, personal service.

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