Justin & Lourdes

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April 14th 2021

Places to Eat that We Love

We’ve been to Vieques multiple time over the years, here are our favorite places to eat:

Brunch

Panaderia Viequense

A great spot for breakfast or lunch. This place has been around for years and is a local favorite. Hands down some of the best sandwiches ever here. Its where Lourdes would always get lunch at least once when in Vieques when she visited growing up.

Rising Roost

Another great spot for Breakfast/Bruch. Lots of healthy alternatives and great coffee.

Bigotes Puerto Rican Restauraunt

Their brunch game is great, a lot of good, delicious food and plenty of coffee. They also serve dinner.

Dinner/Late Night

Tin Box

A mix of Sushi and BBQ food in the middle of a jungle. Its definitely one of the more unique places to go eat in Vieques. Drinks are great too!

Coqui Fire

They make their own hot sauce. Great Mexican-style restaurant.

Williams Pizza

This place has been around forever as well. Great cheap pizza

Calle Flamboyan, Esperanza

This street is lined with great restaurants with a view of the beach.

 

Rentals

Although Vieques is a small island, its easier to get around with a vehicle than on foot, especially if you want to visit some of the more remote areas on the island. The three common options are: Scooters, Golf Cars, or Jeeps. On our prior trips to Vieques, we have gone with a two-person scooter to get around town. If you’re planning on taking more than just a pair of backpacks on the road with you, it might be better to opt for a golf cart or a car.

Taxis

Taxis can be reached at 787-741-8294 and will normally run until midnight. There are usually taxi cars waiting by the airport and ferry terminal to pick up new arrivals. Cash preferred.

Car Rentals

Here’s some of the options available, there may be a few more that you can find by searching through Google. Most of these will accept all major credit cards (some will place security deposit holds if you use a debit card).

Scooters for Rent by Vieques Inc

Location is walkeable if you arrived in the Ferry. They carry options for Scooters, UTVs or Golf Carts and charge by the day. You can reserve online at scootersvieques.com/ or in person once you arrive. We have used their scooters before and they’ve worked out pretty well. Rental should include high-vis jacket, which is essential for driving around the island at night.

Island Car Rental

For all your Jeep/Van needs. They do offer rides from the airport for an extra fee.

Maritzas Car Rental

Carries Jeeps and other traditional car rental options.

Avis

There is an Avis, its not close to either the Ferry terminal or to the Airport, but easy enough to get to via taxi.

Gear Rentals

There’s a few places in Vieques where you can rent all sorts of gear: from Kayaks and Snorkeling Gear to Scuba Gear. Most will also offer guided tours.

Abe’s Snorkeling

They’re located in Esperanza and offer all sorts of gear for excursions. You can reach them by phone at (787)435-1362 to make gear reservations or tour reservations.

Black Beard Vieques

They’re located in Isabel II and offer gear and planned excursions. You can reach them by phone at (787)244-6626  to make gear reservations or tour reservations.

Other Tours

You will notice there are a lot of horses roaming around in Vieques. Some of them are wild but others are owned by horse tour companies that will take you on rides along the beach. One of them is Esperanza Riding Company
 
The Crown Jewel of Vieques is definitely the Bio Bay, it is one of the brightest in the world and fiercely protected. The Bio Bayis open for tours every night, except the days leading up/during/after a Full Moon (you cant see much in those days so they determined it was better for the bay to let it recharge without people interfering). There is no swimming in the Bio Bay to protect ecosystem and keep the beach bright. Instead, tours are completed on Kayaks with clear bottoms to allow for the best view of the bay. As you saw in our home page, we are planning to coordinate a group tour of the Bio Bay the night before the big party, tickets tend to be at around $60 per adult and $30 per child.

Places to See

 

Fortin Conde de Mirasol Museum

When the Spaniards first moved into Vieques, they established this for to protect the island. This fort has been conserved and converted into a museum covering the History of Vieques.

Faro Puerto Mulas

The Lighthouse of Vieques, another very old and historical building. You can see the mainland from this area and get some very nice photos.

Crab Island Rum Distillery

The first Rum distillery in Vieques! They offer rum tasting and a tour of their factory and processes. You can also buy the rum bottles from here. We checked them out soon after they had first started when we were in Vieques in 2020 and took a bottle home with us. Check their website crabislandrum.com to see their current selection and available hours.

Bunkers Road

An old military road on the West end of the island aptly named due to the bunkers that slope up from the ground. Everything is empty and the bunkers are normally filled with bats.

Mosquito Pier

The old Navy pier where they would stock up their boats. There has been some talk of re-using it as a new ferry landing, but its very far from the towns. Now its a popular diving spot, you can sometimes even find sea turtles swimming around. Be mindful of the current and waves, on rough days you will be slammed against the corals that grow all along the length of the pier and it will hurt for weeks (we found that out the hard way).
 

National Wildlife Refuge El Buey

This is the name for the west side of the island. There are a few roads to go through and see some remnants of military biuldings of years past. Multiple beaches for snorkeling and scuba diving as well. We recommend a scooter or offroad vehicle since the roads can be a little rough. Stay on the allowed access areas (if you read the history bit you know why)..

Vieques National Wildlife Refuge

Refuge that takes up most of the Eastern half of the island. There are portions of this refuge that close at night, but a lot of nice beaches lie along the road at the southeast end. Stay on the allowed access areas (if you read the history bit you know why).