I have two articles that have been sitting in the hopper for over two months, one is a bucket list for countries in the world to visit and the other is about beaches in the world to visit.
On the list for beaches of the world I was excited to see Flamenco Beach on the island of Culebra within Puerto Rico. Seeing this made me even more excited to visit Puerto Rico as it was 1) a new place to explore and 2) a beach off of my bucket list.
Flamenco Beach
Flamenco Beach is a seaside resort in the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, known for its excellent swimming, sport fishing and diving sites. Stretching for a mile around a sheltered, horseshoe-shaped bay, Playa Flamenco is not just Culebras best beach; it is also generally regarded as the finest in Puerto Rico, and quite possibly the whole Caribbean. In fact, certain discerning travel writers have suggested that it is among the top 10 in the world, including been named at 3rd spot by CNN Travel (March 2014)
We were concerned that we had traveled for a full day to Puerto Rico and missed out on Flamenco Beach as I tried buying tickets for the Culebra ferry online prior to leaving and the system told me that it was too early. Then, one day I tried and the site told me too bad I didn’t plan better as all the tickets were sold out!
What…!
We decided to take a chance and am glad we did by jumping in the car VERY early and driving from San Juan to Fajardo and purchased our ferry tickets onsite, which there were plenty. We figured if there were no tickets then we would spend the day in Fajardo and explore there.
With tickets in hand we jumped in line with the others and waited to take our ferry ride to take us to the magnificent Flamenco Beach.
The Culebra ferry from Fajardo was about an hour each way (I slept both ways so not really sure exactly how long it was). and we paid $4.50 for our round trip tickets.
Once you arrive there are plenty of transportation options from the ferry dock to the beach and we selected one who was offering a “round trip” price, which was $1 less per person. Later we found out that if we had bought our snorkeling package ahead of time, they would have picked us up, took us to Flamenco Beach, provided equipment and travel to the their snorkeling cove, and transport back to the ferry.
I always find it amazing how a day can be rainy and dreary yet bright and sunny all the same. That was our day as you can see from the overcast in the photos. We spent $30 and grabbed 2 chairs and an umbrella to protect us from both, the rain and the sun.
There is a stand on the beach up near the bushes for a few guys who will bring everything down to the beach and set it up for you.
Mom has a chair in the shade so she is happy so the family heads out to enjoy the most crystal clear water I think I have ever seen. Even on our overcast (but yet sunny) day, the beach was gorgeous. I wish I could have brought truckloads of the perfect white sand home with me. (Instead we brought several cups back in our shoes, luggage, etc.)
There are several little restaurants within huts that sell very reasonably priced food and drinks at Flamenco Beach (in the parking lot area) during the day.
Located under the trees you will find picnic tables to site and eat your lunch or sip on a pina colada. We chose a table that had a lot of flies so make sure your is not located in the proximity of the trash area. LOL
If you want to bring your lunch you can but note that glass is not permitted. And guess what… they do check before allowing you enter the beach area.
We are beyond thrilled that we were able to experience the fine sands of Flamenco Beach between our toes and if I were to do it over again I would have booked us a room so we could have spent more than one day there.
Have you been to Flamenco Beach? Was it what you had hoped for?
What is your favorite beach in the world?
Resources:
- Flamenco Beach on Wikipedia
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