Planning a Vieques or Culebra trip
The unglamorous half: making the Ceiba ferry, and what you do for transport once the boat lands. Schedules and rates change constantly here, so every page says when we last checked it.
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The Ceiba ferry to Vieques and Culebra, and what actually holds
Tickets online or at the counter: $2.00 to Vieques, $2.25 plus a $2 fee to Culebra, until 31 December 2026. It leaves Ceiba, not Fajardo, and takes no rental cars.
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Vieques and Culebra ferry schedule, August to November 2026 Every sailing
The Ceiba ferry schedule to Vieques and Culebra and back, 1 August to 30 November 2026: every sailing, including the 3:45 a.m. Tuesday and Friday boat.
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Getting around Vieques and Culebra
Your rental car cannot come with you, but on Vieques a jeep counter is 100 feet from the ferry. Who rents what on each island, públicos, and golf cart or jeep.
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Mosquito Bay moon calendar 2027 The full moon closures and the dark nights
Every night in 2027 that the Vieques bio bay closes for the full moon, and every evening the moon is out of the sky during the tours, month by month.
3 trips · from $57 Checked -
Vieques and Culebra, February to April 2027 High season, the dark nights and the ferry
High season on the islands. The bio bay closes 19–21 February, 21–23 March and 19–21 April, and no ferry after 30 November 2026 is on sale yet. What to book first.
6 trips · from $60 Checked -
Vieques and Culebra over Holy Week 2027 Semana Santa, 21 to 28 March
Holy Week is 21 to 28 March 2027. Good Friday and 22 March are Puerto Rico holidays, the ferry fills, and the bio bay closes 21 to 23 March. What to book first.
3 trips · from $57 Checked -
Vieques and Culebra over the holidays December 2026 to January 2027
The holidays fill the Ceiba ferry, the bio bay closes 22 to 24 December, and the moon is out of the evening sky 28 December to 7 January. What to book first.
3 trips · from $57 Checked -
Where to stay on Vieques and Culebra Which town, and the room tax
No chain hotels on either island. Esperanza for the bio bay, Isabel Segunda for the ferry, Ensenada Honda on Culebra, and a 9% or 7% room tax on the bill.
Places to stay Checked -
Flying to Vieques and Culebra Cape Air from SJU, or the 25-pound charter
Cape Air flies from SJU itself: 25 minutes to Vieques, 20 to Culebra, one small bag free. Vieques Air Link flies from Isla Grande and Ceiba with 25 pounds, total.
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Where to stay before the Ceiba ferry Ceiba, Fajardo or the airport
The first boats leave Ceiba at 3:30 and 4:30 a.m., and San Juan is 75 to 90 minutes away. When a night in Ceiba or Fajardo beats the drive, and where the beds are.
Places to stay Checked -
The Vieques refuge, what is open, and the map from 2008
Every published trail, gate coordinate and prohibition for the largest wildlife refuge in the Caribbean, plus the fact that it publishes no opening hours at all.
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Vieques or Culebra Which island, and what decides it
Vieques for the bio bay and quiet refuge beaches, Culebra for Flamenco and the reefs. No ferry runs between them, so on a short trip pick one. Here is how.
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Vieques and Culebra ferry price 2026 $2 now, $11.25 proposed
The rise was postponed on 4 May to 31 December 2026. Until then it is $2.00 to Vieques, $2.25 to Culebra. After: $11.25 plus a $2 fee each way, and $3 a suitcase.
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What you can take on the ferry, and what each item costs
One free carry-on per passenger. Coolers, chairs, surfboards, bikes and crated pets each need their own ticket, and here is the full published price list.
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Getting to the Ceiba ferry terminal without a rental car
75 to 90 minutes from San Juan, and the rental car stays behind. The ferry operator's own ground transport runs from Río Piedras at $9 a seat, $30 minimum.
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Vieques to Culebra, where three sources disagree
The operator's FAQ says the route is not sold. Its rates page prices it at $2.00. The tourism board says charter. In practice it is four hours through Ceiba.
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Culebrita and the cays, a refuge from 1909
Twenty-one offshore cays in a refuge Theodore Roosevelt created in 1909, real opening hours, an 1886 lighthouse, and daily water taxis from Culebra at $55 a head.
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Photo credits
- A ferry at the dock in Culebra: Jirka Matousek, CC BY 2.0
- The bow of the Vieques ferry: Josefito123, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Isabel Segunda, Vieques: Karan Jain, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Playa Esperanza at dusk: JHill, CC BY-SA 2.0
- On deck crossing to Vieques: Steven Isaacson, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Sunset over Sun Bay, Vieques: Steven Isaacson, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A Vieques Air Link Islander: twiga_swala, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A beach in the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Public domain
- Dewey and its ferry landing from the air: Steven595, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Trucks on the cargo ferry to Vieques: Western Area Power (Photo by Jeff Miller), CC BY 2.0
- Dewey and Ensenada Honda from the air: Steven595, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Culebrita from its lighthouse: JRick1, CC BY-SA 3.0
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