📍Playa Flamenco, Culebra - 4/25/22
We were so excited to be able to visit Culebra! I've been dying to be able to visit one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Flamenco Beach/Playa Flamenco. I bought our ferry tickets with a little less than a month in advance. They are very affordable so I ended up buying tickets for 2 different days in case the weather wasn't great. At the bottom of this post I listed some information you should know prior to visiting Culebra.
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Our experience:
We arrived 30 mins prior to boarding to the port of Ceiba. We weren't aware the parking was not within the port. We ended up missing our 9am ferry because we didn't have enough time to find parking, then wait for the shuttle, and have the shuttle take us to the port. We had to make a line to change our tickets to the next available time which in our case we ended up on the 10am ferry to Culebra. The trip took about 1.5hrs. The ferry ride was fairly smooth, although it was kind of choppy at times with water spraying on us. The 10am ferry we ended up on happened to be the cargo ferry which has open air seating on the top. Make sure to wear sun protection things, wear sunblock, and stay hydrated.
It was a beautiful sight seeing the island for the first time and its turquoise water. Upon arrival we saw Hector el Protector who is said to protect the island of Culebra coast. Its such a cool curious structure to see!
Once we got off the ferry, right outside of the port, there were plenty of taxis waiting to take you to your destination. We took a bus taxi to Flamenco Beach for $5/pp. The taxi driver gave us a small tour on the way to the beach and told us interesting facts about the island.
Flamenco beach is absolutely beautiful! Crystal clear waters, powdery white sands, perfect breeze, tons of shore and space so it doesn't feel crowded. It was SO RELAXING. It is one of the top beaches in Culebra, and also consistently ranked as one of the top 5 beaches in the world! *Please note: we went on April 2022, which was the month where there was a terrible migration of seaweed to the Caribbean coasts.*
Flamenco has a very picturesque wooden bridge that directs you to the beach. Once you cross the wooden bridge, if you look to your far left (very far) you will see a military tank which makes for some badass pictures! It's quite a far walk, but totally worth it.
• Some details about Flamenco Beach :
• Flamenco beach has a $5 cover charge per person. Although I have heard that lately they only charge $2/pp.
• Parking is $5 per vehicle
• Please keep in mind you CAN'T take glass bottles or containers. Please respect the rules in order to have a safe experience and keep our beaches beautiful and safe.
• They have a kiosk that rent chairs and umbrellas. We rented an umbrella for $20 which I would recommend doing to protect yourself from the sun. You're allowed to keep the umbrella up until the kiosk closes, which in our case we needed to turn in the umbrella prior to 4:30pm.
• They have food trucks! We tried chuletas, arroz con habichuelas, and tostones. We also had pinchos de mero, and a pina colada. Def recommended.
We ended up leaving the beach around 4:30pm which was when we turned in our umbrella to make sure to make it back on time to not miss the ferry this time lol. Our departure back to Ceiba was supposed to be at 5:30pm, but to our unpleasant surprise the ferry ended up being delayed and picking us up at 7pm. We were in line for 1.5hrs waiting for what felt like forever. Thankfully they handed out umbrellas to help protect us from the scorching sun. We were also starving so my husband ended up buying pizza from across the street. Yes, thankfully we asked the port workers and they allowed him to go out and then come back with food. The pizza was SO GOOD!! One thing to point out is that they don't sell slices of pizza, they only sell whole pizzas.10/10 recommended.
All in all our visit to the island of Culebra was absolutely amazing! My husband and I can't wait to go back. We are def going to try and spend the night next time we go in order to enjoy more of the island.
Important Information:
• Ferry should be taken from the port of Ceiba
• You can buy ferry tickets in their website https://www.puertoricoferry.com/ or go directly to the terminal/port 2 weeks or a month in advance.
- They have a very limited quantity of tickets online, and they sale it only with a month in advance.
- They sale out very fast online, so make sure to be diligent.
• You should arrive at least an hour prior to boarding time to avoid missing your ferry. They start boarding 1 hour prior to departure.
• There is no parking within the port. The parking is further down the road and it is $15/day. They also have a shuttle that goes back and forth between the parking lot and ferry port.
• If you get sea sick then I recommend bringing something for it.
• Only Culebra residents are allowed to bring their car in the ferry. No visitor cars allowed.
• You can rent a jeep or golf cart once you arrive to Culebra, or by going online and renting it in advance.
- With a jeep you can adventure to anywhere on the island. The golfcart is more limited because some areas on the island have steep hills and the carts can't go up efficiently. Just keep that in mind when renting your vehicle.
• Renting a vehicle is not necessary. There will be plenty of taxi waiting outside the port upon arrival.
• Make sure to double check hours of operations for stores because they operate a little different than what one could be used to.
Shop all my favorite beach essentials HERE!
Shop all my favorite travel essentials HERE!
*link to overall Puerto Rico trip
