Culebra Blog | Culebra, Puerto Rico

The travel section of the Boston Globe prominently featured Culebra (and the Palmetto Guesthouse) on its front page story today, “Seeking Sun & Savings.”

Author Patricia Borns writes:

“For heat on the cheap, we scoured the warm zone for destinations with great packages, or lodging options under $130 a night, and recent round-trip airfares from Boston under $450. Then we applied our rating system: high scores for barefoot simplicity, debits for resort crowds. And the winners are . . .”

You can read the full article here: Seeking Sun & Savings

If you want to escape the cold northeast and checkout Culebra’s fine beaches like Flamenco, Brava, and Zoni then give us a call at the Palmetto Guesthouse.

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If you are suffering through all of the terrible weather around the northeast lately, here’s some recent Culebra Island video that I took. Enjoy…

Flamenco Beach Video:

Morning Mangroves Video:

Want to escape the cold and gloomy weather? Give us a call at the Palmetto Guesthouse!

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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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If you are planning a trip to our island the first question many people ask is, “What is there to do in Culebra?” Here are ten suggestions to help get your Culebra tour planning started:

1. Rent a car and drive around the island exploring: Culebra Car Rental
2. Go diving and “explore beyond the shore”: Diving on Culebra
3. You could do NOTHING and just unwind: Unwinding on Culebra
4. Hike to Brava Beach: Brava Beach Hiking
5. Take a water taxi to Culebrita Island: Culebrita
6. Have a cold beer and catch a sunset at Melones Beach: Melones Sunset
7. Walk 20 minutes to Carlos Rosario Beach and go snorkeling: Snorkeling Culebra
8. Spend a day at one of the top ten beaches in the world: Flamenco Beach
9. Hike to the amazing Resaca Beach: Resaca Beach
10. Eat at some of our fine restaurants: Culebra Restaurants

Here’s ten answers to the ever pressing question, “What to do in Culebra?”

If you have further inquiries, or would like to stay at a great small Culebra hotel, then give us a call at the Palmetto Guesthouse.

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Have you been thinking about making a trip to see the amazing beaches of Culebra, Puerto Rico but have been holding back because of the flight cost?

Well, pack your snorkel gear because JetBlue just announced their “All-You-Can-Jet” special today. Starting from September 8, and running until October 8, you can have unlimited flights on their airlines for one month for just $599.

You read correctly.

All of the flying you can do to anywhere Jet Blue flies for $599. Lucky for you, if you have been wanting to come to Culebra, JetBlue flies to San Juan every day from many major cities.

If you have any questions about how you get to Culebra from San Juan or Fajardo, give us a call at the Palmetto Guesthouse or shoot us an email palmettoculebra[AT]Yahoo.com.

Full details of the JetBlue offer can be found here – All-You-Can-Jet

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If it’s cold, snowy, and miserable where you are, Nathan and Becky Smit were in Culebra recently (staying at the Palmetto Guesthouse) and they shot this fantastic video.

During the course of the seven minute video Nathan has captured video and photos from Flamenco Beach, Resaca Beach, Zoni Beach, Carlos Rosario Beach, and Tamarindo…really great stuff!

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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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The weather on Culebra seemed really nice this morning while I was drinking my coffee here at the Palmetto Guesthouse. So after watching yet another fantastic sunrise over the harbor I decided to head down to Flamenco Beach and snap some pictures.

Sunrise in Culebra on the morning of December, 12.

Flamenco Beach looking west air temp about 80 degrees.

Flamenco Beach looking north with a bit of swell for body surfing.

Flamenco Beach looking east.

And of course, Kona had to come and dig for crabs!

Give us a call at the Palmetto Guesthouse if you would like a weather report or if have any questions about Culebra.

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Are you getting married soon? Would you like to gather with your guests in a romantic Caribbean location with tremendous beaches and lots of activities to keep everyone happy?

Here are the top ten reasons why Culebra makes a fantastic destination for you and your future spouse:

1) If you’re coming from the U.S. there are no passports required.

2) There are plenty of quirky, fun shops & restaurants.

3) Culebra has an unpretentious and relaxed laid back island style.

4) The island has unmatched unspoiled natural beauty.

5) There are plenty of secluded hideaways, where you can be the only one on the sand with the one you love and your guests.

6) For lodging there are charming, quaint, small scale accommodations (particularly Palmetto Guesthouse)

7) Need help or directions? There are plenty of friendly, helpful locals.

8) Culebra boasts top notch snorkeling adventures with you & the fish (and nobody else).

9) No shoes, no shirt, no problem…

10) We’ve got a night sky filled with romantic stars (and not tall buildings and bright lights to impair the view!).

If you are planning a wedding or need some information, please feel free to contact us here at the Palmetto Guesthouse for assistance.

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Telecommunications… Culebra style!

We often get the question of whether or not folks’ cell phones will work on island, here in Culebra. AT & T (formerly Cingular) and T-Mobile (previously SunCom Wireless) both work pretty well. Verizon too, but we’ve heard perhaps less so.

Too, there are some “dead” spots in the Zoni area and on the road to Flamenco, although, you can get reception from the beach (just to make your colleagues jealous!).

If you have had any success or challenges with your mobile while on island, please post a comment so that we can further share the info.

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