Bioluminescent Bay Questions

[CruisinChic]

We are staying 1 extra night in San Juan post-cruise and want to visit one of the bioluminescent bays.  I keep reading that Mosquito Bay on Vieques is better than Laguna Grande in Fajardo.  I understand that Fajardo is a bit of a drive from San Juan, but we dock in the morning and have all day.  We are trying to figure out logistics and have some questions:

 

1. Is is worth the extra trouble to go all the way to Vieques?

2.  If so, is there an excursion from San Juan that takes you there and back?

3.  Is it better to rent a car and drive to Fajardo on your own or take an excursion from San Juan? 

4.  Are there excursions from Fajardo to Vieques?

5.  What tour companies are recommended for these excursions?

 

Thank you!

 

[pf778c]

When I visited the BioBay on Vieques I used Puerto Rico Tour Desk.  I don't think anyone else is currently offering a tour to the BioBay there where you will not have to spend the night.  Make sure you check the lunar calendar.  If your date is not during a new moon or close to one, it make it much more difficult to see the dinoflagellates.  The darker it is the better!

 

Have fun!

[CruisinChic]

Thanks, that is exactly what I needed!  I did check the lunar calendar and we will be 2 days after a new moon so I am hopeful the weather cooperates and we can see them well.  Last time I was in PR, they did not run tours due to weather and I was bummed.

[Stinger-pr]

On 1/17/2019 at 12:02 PM, CruisinChic said:

We are staying 1 extra night in San Juan post-cruise and want to visit one of the bioluminescent bays.  I keep reading that Mosquito Bay on Vieques is better than Laguna Grande in Fajardo.  I understand that Fajardo is a bit of a drive from San Juan, but we dock in the morning and have all day.  We are trying to figure out logistics and have some questions:

 

1. Is is worth the extra trouble to go all the way to Vieques?

2.  If so, is there an excursion from San Juan that takes you there and back?

3.  Is it better to rent a car and drive to Fajardo on your own or take an excursion from San Juan? 

4.  Are there excursions from Fajardo to Vieques?

5.  What tour companies are recommended for these excursions?

 

Thank you!

 

Can't recommend excursions directly but to get to Vieques you have but two options:

Drive to Ceiba (a bit farther than Fajardo) and take a ferry there and spend the night or take a small plane to Vieques and back from the Isla Grande airport (not SJU) in San Juan. Not sure if they have night flights back, though. So you might want to check on that "no spending the night in Vieques" thing.

 

If you're spending just one night in San Juan, I'd say just go to the one in Fajardo. It won't feel like a "consolation price" if you do.

[mvaughn11]

I can't say about Vieques but we went to Laguna Grande a few years ago and it was absolutely magnificent. The only problem we had was that when we were kayaking back, it was so dark and there were so many other kayakers trying to traverse then mangroves trees that it seemed rather dangerous but we all made it back and looking back made it even more exciting...

Edited January 29, 2019 by mvaughn11