What do you do when you get tired of lying on a beach on Vieques? You go for a hike! There aren’t that many places for hiking on the island, but Cayo de Tierra, at the western end of Playa Sun Bay, offers a challenging uphill walk that has some great views at the top.

Did you know that Vieques has been a favorite stop for travelers to the Caribbean for thousands of years? Seriously … there is archaeological evidence. The skeletal remains of a 4000 year old man, El Hombre de Puerto Ferro, were found on Vieques in 1991, surrounded by large boulders.

Sea glass or beach glass collecting has been a long tradition in my family. I have many fond memories of going to the beach with my grandmother and hunting for sea glass with her. I enjoy continuing this tradition whenever I go to a beach. Some beaches in Puerto Rico are better than others for finding these sea-tumbled treasures, and Vieques has some really nice sea glass beaches.

Vieques is most popular for its bright biobay, and for its many lovely, unspoiled beaches. But there are other less-visited sites that are interesting. The ruins of the Central Playa Grande Sugar Mill is one of those sites.

Vieques is probably most well known for its beaches, many of which have beautiful white sand. But there is one little beach that has black sand, called Playa Negra. Now, if you have read a few other of my blog articles, you know this little oddity would require a looks-see! This beach is a hidden site, so it takes some time and effort to get there to see it. It’s a cute beach, once you find it.

When I was looking for non-beach things to do during a recent trip to Vieques, I came across the Puerto Ferro Lighthouse ruins. Commissioned in 1896, and abandoned in 1926, these ruins are perched atop dramatic cliffs, offering a spectacular view of beaches and the southern coast of Vieques.

What do you get when you cross scavenger hunts with GPS technology? The "sport" called Geocaching. You can grab your GPS unit and try to find one of the 350 treasures hidden around Puerto Rico. You may be pleasantly surprised by what else you discover about the island during your hunt.

Being an island, Puerto Rico has more than 300 miles of beaches, including the out-islands and cays. That’s one beach to explore and enjoy for each day of the year. There is a perfect beach for everyone – it all depends your idea of the perfect beach. Luckily, almost all the beaches in Puerto Rico are open to the general public.

Many visitors to Puerto Rico get the bright idea that they want to take their rental car on the ferry from Fajardo to Culebra or Vieques. Not only is that not recommended, it’s difficult to do and doing so may void your rental car contract.

Visiting Vieques is usually best done as a multi-day trip — when you have time to rent a car and explore the most remote beaches. But what do you do if your vacation schedule only allows time to spend one day on Vieques? Head on over to Vieques and spend the day at Sun Bay, one of the many beautiful beaches on the island.

If you can tear yourself away from the beautiful beaches on Vieques, and want to explore, you can make a quick stop at the wonderfully restored Count Mirasol Fort (or Fortin Conde de Mirasol in Spanish) high above the town of Isabel II. In addition to the view, it offers art exhibits and a nice museum of Vieques artifacts. The view alone is well worth the admission price!

If you are looking for some nice diving, head over to Vieques. Good visibility and a plethora of sea life, you are sure to have a great day underwater.

If you are planning a trip to Vieques, you need to plan on renting a car or jeep while you’re there. This may seem odd because it is such a small island, but be forewarned — things you want to do can be spread out across there island. There are limited routes servied by the local public transportation, and many things of interest to tourists are not on these routes.

The Ceiba International Airport (RVR) opened at the end of November 2008. Located at the old Roosevelt Roads Naval Base, this airport replaces the recently closed Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (FAJ) in Fajardo.

East Island Excursions offers trips from Fajardo to Vieques so you can experience the bioluminescence in Mosquito Bay.