Keys & Islands
One of the best things you can do on your visit is spending a day on one of the many keys or islands off the east coast of the main island of Puerto Rico. There are keys on all sides of the main island, but the best are off the east coast. These include the only other inhabited Puerto Rican islands, sometimes referred to as the Spanish Virgin Islands: Vieques and Culebra. Luis Peña and Culebrita are popular keys off the coast of Culebra Island. Palomino Island and Icacos Key are popular day trips for beach goers leaving from Fajardo.
Culebra Island
Culebra is a small island off the coast of Fajardo, located between the main island of Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. It has a population of about 2,000 inhabitants. It is recognized for its natural beauty and pristine beaches. The main thing to do here is spend the day on Flamenco Beach. This beach, known for its turquoise water and soft white sand is the quintessential tropical paradise. Walking along the shore, relaxing in the shallows, and snorkeling in the crystal clear water makes for a great day trip If you need convincing, check out this video. For more information, check out my Culebra travel itinerary. Make visiting this beach a priority on your next trip to Puerto Rico.
Culebrita
This small, uninhabited island is the easternmost island in the Puerto Rican archipelago and a designated nature reserve. The neighboring island of St. Thomas is clearly visible and is closer than the Puerto Rican main island. To get there, you’ll need to hire a water taxi or organize a tour. I highly recommend Gammy’s Water Tours, we had a great experience with the couple than runs this business. In addition to dropping you off on the island, they also provide chairs, umbrellas, snorkel gear, and even a paddleboard for you to use. It’s a Caribbean Paradise with crystal clear water and white sands. A historic lighthouse sits in disrepair at the high point of the island. Sea turtles munch on sea grass in the bay and coral reefs surround the island on all sides, making for some amazing snorkeling, particularly on the west side of the island. There you’ll find a healthy coral and fish variety, including large nurse sharks. The main reason you won’t find crowds here is because it’s still flying under the radar – a true hidden gem. Although some likely find the $60 taxi price prohibitive.
This key is right off the west coast of Culebra. To get there, you must arrive via chartered boat. Snorkeling is a popular activity here with great visibility and decently healthy reefs. Luis Peña Beach is the most popular beach on the island and a must-see. It is one of the most idyllic Caribbean beaches I have seen, though rather small. Boats are nearly always moored at this small, white-sand beach. The photo really does not do it justice, but it’s all I have.
Vieques Island
Vieques Island is located a little closer to the main island of Puerto Rico, south of Culebra. It is much larger than Culebra and the population reflects that with over 8,000 inhabitants. It’s sometimes referred to as Isla Nena – like Puerto Rico’s little sister. Like Culebra, Vieques was once used as a military base by the United States Navy and also used for target practice. Nowadays the U.S. Navy is gone, but potentially live shells remain on the east side of the island. For that reason, about half the island was deemed the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge and made largely inaccessible. The island boasts the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world, beautiful beaches, and great snorkeling. Check out my Vieques Itinerary for more information.
A short boat ride from Fajardo brings you to Icacos Key – a small uninhabited island not far from the northeastern tip of the main island of Puerto Rico. It’s known for its crystal clear waters at Icacos Beach. There are many charters you can pick to take you to the island for about $100. I went with a company that rents inflatable motorized dinghies. They seat up to 4 people and you drive it yourself. The drive was a little scarier than expected but so fun. Upon arriving, you see the water change color as it gets more shallow. There were a lot of people chilling in the water and loud music. The water is crystal clear and the beach is beautiful. There is some mediocre snorkeling in the area, but the main attraction is relaxing in the turquoise water.
Palomino Island
Palomino Island sits southeast of Icacos, still relatively close to the main island. It’s privately owned and much of the island is leased to the Conquistador Resort. I visited the reefs off the coast of the island while scuba diving. If you want to set foot on the island, you’ll need to stay a night at the resort which runs ferries regularly and exclusively for their guests. Staying a night at the resort will run you about $300, making this possibly the most expensive Puerto Rican island to visit.
Devil Key
They really dropped the ball naming this key. From satellite this key looks just like a whale! We should petition the Puerto Rican government for a name change to Whale Key, it’s such a missed opportunity. This is another key I visited scuba diving from a dive company based in Fajardo. It has beaches on all sides and looks beautiful, I’m not sure if there are charters that take you there, if there are, sign me up!
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