Tortuga Beach

Location: Culebrita Island, Culebra

Getting there: Take the ferry from Ceiba to Culebra Island. From Culebra, you’ll need to hire a water taxi or organize a tour to get to Culebrita Island. I highly recommend Gammy’s Water Tours. The boat ride takes about 25 minutes. You’ll have 5 hours on the island and it will cost $60.00 per person.

Things to do: Relax in the shallows – the water is calm, clear, and bottom is soft, white sand. This is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, take it in! Snorkel – It’s called Tortuga Beach for a reason, you’ll always be able to find a sea turtle munching on sea grass in the bay. If you walk to the other side of the island (10 min walk) there is excellent snorkeling. Paddleboard – If the water is calm, Gammy’s will provide a paddleboard for everyone that uses their service that day to share. Natural pools – a short walk along the bay brings you to some natural pools created by a rocky area. Hike – Take one of the trails around the island, one leads up to a historic lighthouse.

Heads up: The conditions at this beach change depending on the time of year. Depending on when you visit, the water taxi will either drop you off right on the beach or on the twin beach on the other side of the island and you’ll need to take a short walk to cross over to Tortuga Beach. When snorkeling in the bay, keep an eye out for incoming boats. When hiking through the forested area of the island there were a lot of mosquitos when I went. I had to run and was still bitten a dozen times. Gammy, the captain of the water taxi, told me that the day before the mosquitoes were so bad they couldn’t even get close enough to the island to anchor their boas. The mosquitoes came out in thick swarms and surrounded any boat that got close. He said it had never been that bad.

For more information see Keys & Islands.