my wife and I just returned from our anniversary trip to a couple small islands off the eastern coast of Purerto Rico. Vieques and Culebra offer some fantasic salt-water kayaking. beautifully calm bays, mangroves, powder white sand beaches, and fantastic snorkeling abound.

One highlight was a night paddle in "Bio Bay" or Bahia Mosquito where the bio luminescence glowed with every paddle stroke or swim. it was amazing!  in the deepest part of the bay - where the highest concentration of dinoflagettes exist - the glow appeared to be a cluster of stars in the water and could even be seen dripping from our hands and paddle blades. after swimming we ventured into the mangroves where we could see the fish and the lighted trials they left behind as they escaped the sound of our paddling. the Balihoo skitted across the top of the water in schools and lit up the night. It was a real treat.

They say this location is one of the most concentrated and spectacular bays in which to encounter bioluminescence.

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thebutcher

we had never been to either of the islands before. we tend to experience a place just one time and let the memories fill our minds. It always seems that things, especially places, change over time. ever lasting impressions a location conjers up never dissapoint the way "oh the way it used to be" sometimes do.

for the bio bay tour we hired a guide for practicality reasons - not familiar with the location, renting and transporting the kayaks, entering a mangrove in the dark is not something we are that comfortable with, etc. With that said, I think you could do it yourself if you were especially adventurous. several outfitters exist in Vieques and the bio bay tour is a common draw. IM me for specific companies, phone numbers, etc.

there were many different options to see the bay at night but the private tour by kayak was more our speed. We didnt want to go out on a large pontoon boat for obvious reasons and the thought of heading out in a pod of 12+ more kayaks seemed to be a little less about the sublime journey and more about a social experience . we think the extra money spent on getting a local guide for the just the two of us was well worth it!

when we rented kayaks on culebra one day we did that on our own. we paddled shallow, reef lined bays and tipped cocktails on lonely white sand beaches. some of the snorkeling was fantastic. We consider ourselves pretty experienced snorkelers, I am a diver too, and thought that some of the spots were some of the finest we have visited. large purple fan corals, yellow brain coral, orange branch coral, and vase coral were present in large numbers. Fish were very common as were stingrays, sea urchins, star fish and a couple turtles. Most of the fish were small to mid size but a few large parrot fish, yellow fin, baracuda, snapper and tarpon were spotted. good snorkeling existed from the shores of drive to beaches as well.

We did not fish although the area off Culebra is reported to be decent bonefishing. The cost with a private guide was $300 for a half day.

it was a fantastic way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.

thebutcher

That sounds awesome!  Any pics to post?