Things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico: Beach Thursday photo essay

This week’s Beach Thursday post is a photo essay about the things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico. One of my favorite beach towns, I love its narrow roads that hug the ocean and the many hidden beaches to choose from. Also, it happens to be the doorway to the outlaying islands of Vieques and Culebra, which I will talk about in the coming weeks. Let’s discover Fajardo’s great food and spectacular scenery!

The Governor’s House Reserve

This claims the top spot of things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico! Now legal to enter, the sign is battered and the policemen that actually found my friends and I while there were simply checking us girls out whilst telling us to not pass a certain mark. Oh, yes, because we walked so far into the reserve that we actually found the secret Governor’s Beach House — as of the “Camp David” of the Governor of Puerto Rico…

This is the reason why I have personally named this “unidentified” natural spot as “The Governor’s House Reserve” XD 😛 Ha! What an adventure. Only way of reaching this beauty is by walking for 30-40 mins. through the coast (from Seven Seas Beach). Water, rocks, bushes, and narrow dirt paths. This is how your trail should look like (read the photo captions for detailed instructions, by the way!)

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, Seven Seas hidden beach

1. Walk toward the left of the entrance to the Seven Seas beach, until you see the rocky part. head that way (and take some photos with your friends on the way)

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, Seven Seas hidden beach path

2. After the ocean rock path, you go through a path like this…for like 30-40 minutes…

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, hidden beach

3. After ocean, rock, and bushy path, you encounter this…but there are some people here already. Thus, keep walking, toward the left side of that beach

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, hidden beach waters

(this is the “oleaje peligroso” or “dangerous shorebreak” the sign warns you about, by the way)

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, hidden beach reserve

4. Walk 15 minutes more…aaand here! Hope you made it!! 😀

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, hidden beach reserve 2

Ahhh, the beauty of my Puerto Rico, la Isla Del Encanto

Walk a little further and you won’t see any bathers. At all. Enjoy! 😉

Bioluminescent Bay or Lagoon

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, Bioluminescent bay

!!!

There are only 5 bioluminescent bays or lagoons in the world, from which a whooping 3 are located in Puerto Rico. One of them is in Fajardo and you can kayak there at night. My advice, of course, is for you to book a tour in order to reach the best area to see the bioluminescence. It is a truly magical experience.

I believe Vieques’ Mosquito Bay has healthier organisms, making the glow stronger, so you should head there if you can only visit one of the bays. You may reach La Isla Nena by a short flight or simply pay the $4.00-round-trip ferry ride.

Icacos, Palomino and Palominito Cays

things to do in Fajardo Puerto-Rico, Icacos

View from a beach in Icacos (Photo: Jeff Gunn, Flickr)

Speaking of boat rides, you should ither befriend some Puerto Ricans and/or hitch a boat ride to the islets (or cays) of Icacos, Palomino or Palominito. If you seek an isolated beach (other than the “Governor’s Reserve”! 😉 haha), Icacos is the least crowded of the 3, as you can only get there via private boat.

Conversely, Palomino and Palominito are so well known that too many locals and now even tourists on tours from the nearby 5-Star El Conquistador Resort flood their tiny coasts daily. Still, if you like a good vibe, the latter have gorgeous beaches and offer more activities. Icacos is better suited for those seeking to just drink with locals and be lazy at a beach with few visitors. The choice is yours!

Fajardo Town Square

Last days in town and just wish to unwind? Plaza de Fajardo (Town Square) is a perfect place to read a book, look at colonial Spanish architecture (i.e. the Santiago Apostol Cathedral) and/or simply people watch. The characters of el pueblo are interesting and very photogenic, so be sure to drop by, photographers! 😉

Las Cabezas de San Juan Lighthouse and Reserve

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, Las Cabezas Lighthouse

“View of the Northeast Ecological Corridor and El Yunque National Forest as seen from the Lighthouse at the Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve” (Wiki Commons)

A natural reserve with mangroves that happens to be the home of one of the oldest lighthouses of Puerto Rico. Enough said? 🙂

La Estación Restaurant

things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico, La Estacion restaurant

Red snapper with all things homemade. Yum! (Photo: Tripadvisor)

Eating the street food and/or dropping by a local restaurant right in front of the sea whilst visiting Seven Seas beach is a given. However, after a long day sun baking, do yourself a favor by eating at La Estación in order to close the night with broche de oro.

This amazing restaurant cooks homemade BBQ and seafood that is to die for. They use some traditional cooking methods as well, in addition to making their own salad dressings and sauces. Please try the Lobster or Mahi Mahi Mofongo — and go right up to Puerto Rican food heaven.

What are your favorite things to do in Fajardo Puerto Rico now? 😉

Best beaches of Curacao, a photo essay (part 2!)

Beach Thursday this week translates to The Best Beaches of Curacao! In the past couple of posts, you’ve learned (and seen) some of Curacao‘s exotic offerings: Eating iguana for lunch, fake beaches and nice resorts. Finally though, it is down to the best of the best. While I will be talking about gorgeous Punda center in a future post, we are beach hopping today!

Best beaches of Curacao: On the way…

Curacao beach hopping tour

beach hopping road trips are the best

Before I talk about the best of the best beaches of Curacao, I must at least mention others we found on the way. As you already know, I visited all these beaches during a Beach Hopping tour offered by Irie Tours. They were absolutely fantastic the whole way, the driver was great, and we even got free Venezuelan beer during the entire trip. Awesome double-whammy for a budget traveler like myself 😀 so! That being said, beaches we visited were Santa Cruz, Porti Mari, Kenepa Chiki, and another one I can’t quite remember the name of (Lola, please help me out!). I have included gorgeous photos below. Albeit the cloudy weather, views were great!

unknown Curacao beach

Beach I can’t remember the name of – help me out Mrs Lola!

best beaches of Curacao, unknown Curacao beach

me at the “unknown” Curacao beach – found out it’s named Westpunt!

best beaches of Curacao, Playa Santa Cruz

loved these signs to identify most beaches in Curacao

Kenepa Chiki

too bad the weather was cloudy–I’m sure these beaches are even more spectacular than my photos show!

Fortunately though, Mother Nature graced us with a bit of sunshine sprinkled throughout the day — enough to allow us to enjoy two beaches in their full gorgeous selves! 😀 Maybe, then, I am a bit bias when I describe the following as the beast beaches of Curacao IMHO. But how can you blame me after seeing these?!

Playa Kalki

best beaches of Curacao, Playa Kalki

Playa Kalki – one of the best beaches of Curacao? I think so!

Playa Kalki was the very first beach we visited during our beach hopping tour. We arrived while it was raining, but later on the clouds revealed a hot sun — and many iguanas! I took the time to snap some great photos and tell my boyfriend at home how much I missed him (story to follow soon! That’s some news I haven’t shared with you yet…).

best beaches of Curacao, Playa Kalki

look at that water!

Messages to habibi back in America…

wish you were here, Playa Kalki

I love jou!

Kalki beach, Curacao

=)

After Playa Kalki, we drove by the beaches I previously mentioned and spend a couple of minutes walking on the sand and snapping photos. We only really got to enjoy sun bathing and relaxation at about 3 beaches, as that’s what our time allowed. Still, we covered a lot in 6 hours!

Kenepa Grandi

Playa Kenepa Grandi

my favorite!

Kenepa Grandi arguably tops the list of the best beaches of Curacao by many accounts — and was definitely my favorite! The gorgeous views afforded from the cliff/terrace overlooking the Caribbean Sea in the horizon and beach below are simply breathtaking.

best beaches of Curacao, Kenepa Grandi

what a view!

best beaches of Curacao, Kenepa Grande

uff!

Playa Kenip Grande

our tour group was nothing but ladies!

That’s it for this week’s Beach Thursday! In the coming month I will unveil the last spot in my list of the Best Beaches of Curacao. The chosen one? Cas Abou beach!

Are these the best beaches of Curacao to you or not? Comment below?

Beaches of Curacao, a photo essay of my break adventures

While eating iguana was a feast indeed, hopping the beautiful beaches of Curacao was my favorite thing to do in the Dutch Caribbean. Thus, this week’s Beach Thursday feature are the magical waters of this south Caribbean island!

The Tourist Trap…

beaches of Curacao, Mambo beach sign

Unfortunately, the first beach I went to was a tourist trap called Mambo Beach. Not only is it a man-made beach, but I felt I was overcharged for everything. Moreover, I didn’t think the vibe was any special to deserve such pricing. but hey, some people are into these type of beaches, so if you are willing to fork out some money to pay for beach entrance & additional fee to sit on a chair at an artificial beach full of tourists and not real Curacaoans, be my guest 😉

beaches of Curacao, Mambo Beach

beaches of Curacao, Mambo beach

Wherever there’s water and sand though, I always find some fun. Typically in the form of posing for pictures (I wanted to be a model in a previous life, apparently)…

beaches of Curacao, Mambo modeling

beaches of Curacao, Mambo beach

beaches of Curacao, Mambo beach modeling

Bottom line: As a budget traveler, it would be counterproductive to pay for the relatively-long bus ride here to then have to pay for everything — on an artificial beach. Sorry, but I can’t stress that enough, I felt cheated… 😛

The “Passable” Resort

Blue Bay, Curacao

The second beach I visited in Curacao was Blue Bay. It is located inside a gorgeous, massive resort and the drive to the beach itself was great. Some of the houses were beautiful and seeing the mountains reminded me of home!

beaches of Curacao, Blue Bay

This trip, of course, was possible thanks to a Curacaoan young man that some Dutch-Latinos I met in Punda knew. He picked us up and took us to Blue Bay. His words are still clear in my head: “If my business keeps doing well, I am buying a house here. It is one of the most beautiful resorts in Curacao. Plus, I like to live the good life!” Funny, charming young man 🙂

Curacao beaches, Blue Bay

me with our young Curacaoan entrepreneur!

beaches of Curacao, Blue Bay view

chillaxing on a cloudy day is still done better at the beach!

Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy for most of my stay in Curacao. In turn, my photos don’t do justice to the beautiful waters! Still though, we had a great time at Blue Bay and was one of my favorite places to hang out, especially with the locals (and many visiting Latinos). Hearing Spanish frequently made me feel at home once more 🙂

smiling in Curacao

being at a beach always makes me smile

Long enough of a photo essay for today! Stay tuned though, as I will continue this Beaches of Curacao mini series next Beach Thursday. Some of the best beaches are yet to be featured, so come back next week for more eye candy! 😉

Curacao beach

Can you name this beach!? Come back for the full scope and more photos next Thursday!

Have you ever been to any of the beaches of Curacao?