Must-see attractions in Vieques

  • B366R1 The sun setting over the Puerto Mosquito mangrove bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico. The bay is bioluminescent.. Image shot 2007. Exact date unknown.
Bahía Mosquito

    Bahía Mosquito

    Vieques

    Locals claim that the magnificent Bahía Mosquito (Mosquito Bay), a designated wildlife preserve located on the island of Vieques, about 2 miles east of…

  • Sun Bay

    Vieques

    Part of Puerto Rico's national park system, this half-moon-shaped bay, less than a half-mile east of Esperanza, is the island’s balneario (public beach),…

  • Playa Caracas

    Vieques

    Calm and clear, this beach is reached on a paved road and has gazebos with picnic tables to shade bathers from the sun; there's excellent snorkeling –…

  • Playa La Plata

    Vieques

    This secluded beach is as far east as you can go at present, spread across a mushroom-shaped bay with icing-sugar sand and a calm sea that shimmers with a…

  • Playa La Chiva

    Vieques

    A favorite with locals, this gorgeous playa at the eastern end of the main road is long and open with occasionally rough surf. It's easy to find your own…

  • Aerial view of the coastline of Vieques National Wildlife Refuge on Viques, an island in Puerto Rico.

    Vieques National Wildlife Refuge

    Vieques

    Lying within these protected confines are the best reasons to visit Vieques. This 18,000-acre refuge occupies the land formerly used by the US military…

  • Playa Escondida

    Vieques

    This deliciously deserted stretch of sand has absolutely no facilities – just jaw-dropping beauty. It faces Bahía Ensenada Honda, which is good for…

  • Pata Prieta

    Vieques

    This gorgeous cove has a slender stretch of sand and protected waters that are excellent for snorkeling. A steep gravel path leads to the beach.

  • PUERTO RICO, Vieques Island. Green Beach

    Punta Arenas

    Vieques

    Punta Arenas is excellent for a quiet picnic, some family-friendly snorkeling, and views of the mainland (note the wind farm) and El Yunque across the…

  • Playas Media Luna & Navio

    Vieques

    If it's isolation you’re after, head east on the sandy road that runs along Sun Bay and you’ll enter a low forest. Go left at the fork in the road. In a…

  • Cayo Afuera

    Vieques

    This uninhabited pinprick of land lies a few hundred feet across the bay from Playa Esperanza. Part of the Mosquito Bay Reserve, many intrepid locals swim…

  • Playa Negra

    Vieques

    Bored of all that powdery, blindingly white sand? This beach lives up to its name with dark, sparkly sand derived from offshore volcanic rocks. This…

  • Playa Grande

    Vieques

    This long, narrow strip of golden sand has wave-tossed water that drops off very quickly, so it's not the best choice for kids or poor swimmers. If you…

  • Playa El Gallito

    Vieques

    Popular with brown pelicans, this small beach with a great reef for snorkeling is just 10yd offshore. Note, though, that between December and March, seas…

  • Starfish Beach

    Vieques

    On the northern side of Laguna Kiani is the best beach on Vieques for children and people learning to snorkel, with calm, shallow waters. Since Hurricane…

  • Cayo de Tierra

    Vieques

    A teardrop of land between the malecón and Sun Bay reached by a slender sandspit (or by wading, if storms have washed it out), Cayo de Tierra has a few…

  • Sugar Mill Ruins

    Vieques

    Abandoned in 1942 after the US Navy took possession of the island, this 19th-century sugar mill now lies in ruins; overtaken by the forest, just some…

  • Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust

    Vieques

    This trust, founded in 1984 to help protect the island’s bioluminescent waters, operates a tiny museum, which contains intriguing exhibits on its…

  • Fortín Conde de Mirasol

    Vieques

    This small fort – the last Spanish fort constructed in the Americas, in 1845 – sits on a hill above Isabel Segunda with sweeping views over the mainland…

  • Faro de Punta Mulas

    Vieques

    One of Puerto Rico’s 16 historic lighthouses, this pastel-shaded monument stands on the hilly point just north of the Isabel Segunda ferry dock. Built in…

  • Playa Esperanza

    Vieques

    This slender beach runs the length of Esperanza. Its advantages are its spectacular views and the fact it's within shouting distance of the town’s hopping…

  • Hombre de Puerto Ferro Archaeological Site

    Vieques

    Big boulders identify the grave from which a 4000-year-old skeleton of a pre-Arawak known as the ‘Hombre de Puerto Ferro’ was exhumed. Little is known…

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