Culebra and Vieques: the Caribbean the way it was 50 years ago.

Culebra and Vieques are two Puerto Rican islands in the Western Caribbean, each about 20 miles east of the main island of Puerto Rico. Culebra is only 15 miles West of St. Thomas, a U.S. Virgin Island. (19-18-59 N, 63-18-37 W.) The two Puerto Rican islands are called, collectively, the Spanish Virgin Islands, or SVIs. Click here for an interactive map of Culebra, and here, for Vieques.

The SVIs are part of the same archipelago and so share the same marine geology and topography as the Leeward Islands, the same crystal clear warm water, the same species of coral reefs and fishes, the same fine white sand, the same winds and weather, and the same good anchorages – in fact, Culebra has the best hurricane hole in the Leeward Islands. One of the beaches on Culebra, Flamenco Beach, was picked as the second best beach in the world by The Discovery Channel (and they did not even find the best beach on the island.)

But there the comparison ends: because, from 1939 until 1975, Culebra hosted a bombing and gunnery range for the U.S. Navy; and Vieques hosted a Navy bombing range until 2003. So both islands missed the explosion of tourism, yacht chartering, and resort development that inundated the Caribbean from the end of WWII through the 1980s. Neither island has a luxury resort, nor a yacht charter operation. There are no golf courses on Culebra, not even a public tennis court, and only one hotel swimming pool. On a crowded day, mile long Flamenco Beach may see 25-30 people; on the same day, the even longer and more beautiful Zoni Beach on Culebra, or the beaches on one of its companion islands, such as Culebrita, may see no people at all.

The heart of the charter cruising business in the Leewards is on Tortola, in the BVIs. To see how Tortola has changed in the past 30 years, take a look at these before and after photos.  Rather than the dozens of yachts that crowd harbors and anchorages throughout the Leeward and Windward Islands, seeing another boat at anchor in the isolated coves of Culebra and Vieques is the exception, not the rule. You can literally go back to the way Caribbean cruising was 50 years ago. There is a downside to that for some boaters; there are fewer support facilities in the SVIs, and the charter companies are more careful about skipper qualifications, backup crew, and resourcefulness. For the intrepid and adventurous that is frosting on the cake.

There are delightful restaurants on both Culebra and Vieques that serve seafood and traditional Puerto Rico dishes called Cocina Criolla, such as empanadadillas, gumbo, fried plaintains, and black beans.

Culebra is surrounded by a dozen small islands, all of which are marine and bird refuges. Sea turtles by the hundreds lay their eggs on one of Culebra’s beaches. You can snorkel for hours along Culebra’s mile long reef off Carlos Rosario beach (18-19-17 N. 65-10-23 W), or all around the offshore islet, called Culebrita (18-20-16 N, 65-15-23 W), often without seeing another snorkel tube. If you like to swim au natural you can find a beach on Culebra or Vieques where you can do so without violating the modesty standards of the islands.

Although there are no charter operations in the SVIs, there are three locations on neighboring islands to choose from for a bareboat charter from which you can cruise to Culebra or Vieques: Fajardo, on the east end of Puerto Rico’s main island; St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. There are pros and cons to each location. Charter companies at all three locations offer sailboats and power boats, both cats and monohuls. All are equipped with dinghies and scuba gear. Some of the larger boats have air conditioning. The Virgin Island operations offer provisioning service.

If you charter out of Tortola you will have the widest selection of boats and prices, but the cruising time to the SVIs is longer, and you must stop at St. Thomas or St. John to clear customs and immigration. U.S. citizens will need a passport. In addition, you may not take fresh food from the BVIs into the SVIs, so you must provision fresh food on one of the US Virgin Islands, or in the SVIs.

The next largest selection of boats is on St. Thomas, where there are two operations: VIP Yacht Charters and CYOA Charters. (VIP does not offer power boats for the SVIs.) Going to Culebra or Vieques from St. Thomas is with the trade winds and the current, so it is easy and fast but coming back can be a hard beat in a sailboat. U.S. citizens do not need a passport, but do need to clear customs in St. Thomas because it is a free port. There are some direct airline flights into St. Thomas from the U.S. mainland.

Chartering out of Fajardo with Caribe Yacht Charters is the quickest and easiest way into the SVIs, but the selection of boats is smaller. You might give Fajardo the first try, and, if you cannot find a boat you like there try St. Thomas. You might also consider asking for help from Ed Hamilton a broker in New England, who represents most of the major charterers in the Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas (but not Fajardo), and can give you unbiased recommendations about the charter companies and their boats. Ed provided many of the photos shown here as well as the before and after photos.

For more bareboat cruise destinations, click here.