The Culebrita, PR - Travel Guide
About Culebrita
Isla Culebrita is an uninhabited island 1.3nm off the East coast of Culebra. Without a private vessel, the only way to get to this national wildlife refuge is by water taxi. We absolutely loved our visit to this idyllic island. So much so that we stayed almost a full week! If you have the opportunity to visit this fantastic island, take advantage! You won’t regret it!
After a few days in Culebra, we sailed East to Culebrita. We stayed in two anchorages.
Table of Contents
For Cruisers
Land Access/Dinghy Docks
Land access is only achieved one way, beaching your dinghy. As it’s an uninhabited island, there are no docking facilities available to use. There aren’t even abandoned docks (At least from what we saw).
Provisioning (Grocery Stores)
None
Anchoring
Playa Tortuga - aka “Turtle Beach”
Located on the North side of Culebrita and another popular anchorage. Aptly named, this anchorage is a favorite amongst sea turtles. Every single day we saw no less than 4 turtles swimming, napping, and grazing around SV H.O.M.E.S.! Talk about a treat!
Punte Arenisca
The West side of Culebrita or Punte Arenisca anchorage can be difficult because there is a good amount of coral located here. There are a few sand patches big enough for an anchor and chain without fouling the reef, so make sure you have good light! Further South in the anchorage, you’ll see an orange buoy which is a free mooring placed by another cruiser. We spent a good amount of time anchoring and reset a couple times, to avoid potential reef damage. But once we found our spot, we stayed for days!
Best things to do on Culebrita
Culebrita is home to 6 beaches but we only visited 3 of them during our stay on Culebrita.
Playa Tortuga - aka “Turtle Beach”
The most frequented beach of Culebrita. This white sand, crescent shaped beach is truly picturesque. Keep your eyes open for sea turtles because this beach is well known as a breeding ground. It definitely lives up to it’s name!
West Beach
Where most of the water taxis will drop off. More than just a beach, just under the waterline you’ll find a different world. Sea life and coral are found off this beach but sadly we saw first hand the damage careless boaters have caused.
We were anchored here for Jon’s birthday. After a day of snorkeling, we arrived back to the boat and found a swarm of new friends. Honey bees! We had washed SV H.O.M.E.S. the day prior and believe the bees were attracted to the freshwater. As much as we LOVE honey bees we don’t want to live with them. So, we spent a good amount of the next few days discouraging the bees from making their new home here.
Trash Beach/Treasure Beach
Located on the East side of the island. Directly in the path of the easterly trade winds, Trash Beach is appropriately named. Between the winds and undercurrents, all the flotsam, driftwood and “trash” eventually wash up on the shore. That aside, it is quite beautiful. Just see for yourself!
Faro Culebrita (Culebrita Lighthouse)
The Culebrita lighthouse was built in 1886 and was one of the oldest lighthouses in the Caribbean until 1975 when it was decommissioned. The last remaining Spanish-era structure in Culebra, this lighthouse was an important navigational aid for maritime traffic. Sitting halfway between mainland Puerto Rico and the USVI, it was ideally situated to mark the Virgin passage.
But, even in its deteriorating state, it was an absolute treat to see! The trail to the lighthouse was marked by HUNDREDS of scuttling hermit crabs which provided a good amount of entertainment. Goats also live on the island and we saw (mostly heard) them throughout our hike. The hike up is VERY hot, so make sure to wear sunscreen, wear a hat, bring along plenty of water and snacks! Even if the lighthouse doesn’t interest you, the vistas are worth it! And as always, leave no trace.
Tidal Pools
What was our favorite thing on Culebrita? The baths of course! Locally known as the Jacuzzi, the baths are just a short walk from Playa Tortuga. These large tidal pools provide the ideal opportunity to cool off after a hot day on the beach! We timed it perfectly and found ourselves all alone except for the sea life left in the pools after low tide! We even saw a small baby octopus hiding in the pools (but sadly, we had no GoPro to capture him). 😢
After our dip in the pools, we explored the rocky peninsula. Hermit crabs dot the landscape and keep an eye out for goat scat!
To witness the power of the large northern waves crashing against the rock is always a humbling experience, especially from the safety of the pools! As the tidal pools are natural, make sure to wear some sort of foot protection. Those rocky ledges are sharp!
6 Responses
How do you get the aerial shots? Do you have a drone of some kind?
Yea! We have a DJI drone. I picked it up from Craiglist just before we moved onto the boat full time. It’s great!
Gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing that which few people will have be able to see on their own. Question: what did you do to discourage the bees from making hives on your boat? XO
Thanks! For the bees we used vinegar in a spray bottle. It really only worked if we hit them directly… Even if i saturated the area they were landing, it only discouraged them for a short bit. However if i hit them directly they didn’t come back…. But we had heard about other boats where the queen landed (assuming) and the WHOLE HIVE followed… ouf.
I clearly understand not wanting a hive on your boat, but is there possibly a less harmful
solution than vinegar? The planet is losing pollinators at an alarming rate and vinegar is toxic to bees from what I understand.
O’ absolutely! We LOVE our bees!! We tried about 4 different solutions (from online research) and even a humane trap (where they can fly in but not out) before moving onto a water diluted vinegar… At first it worked, but then it didn’t. It made us sad and was actually a catalyst for moving on.