Vieques is pronounced “bjekes” and located 8 miles east of Puerto Rico. It is known internationally for being a bombing range and testing ground for the US Navy until the people of Vieques said enough is enough and effectively protested the US Navy off the island in 2003. It is also known to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean and has the world’s largest and brightest Bioluminescent Bay.
We had an amazing time on Vieques and made a lot of photographs during my visit that I will post over the next week or so.
Let’s start at the beginning of our trip to Vieques with getting there. We flew from St Thomas via Seaborne Airlines on a 17-passenger airplane (see photos above.) The flight was surprisingly smooth and everything was on time. There are a handful of other airlines that also fly into Vieques and flying is your best bet with getting to the island. There is also a very inexpensive (inexpensive as in less then $5) ferry from Puerto Rico, but everyone says that it is unreliable due to not running regularly because it fails to pass inspection.
Once you’re on Vieques hop on a públicos (public cab) located right outside the airport, make sure to negotiate the fare before driving off to your hotel or car rental. We had 4 people in our públicos and it was $5 a person. We found that most people spoke English and Spanish.
Additional information on planning a trip to Vieques at Frommer's HERE.
