Culebra is a small Caribbean island off the coast of Puerto Rico known for its beaches. With a quick google search, you’ll definitely stumble upon Playa Flamenco. Often rated as one of the top beaches in the world, I can say from personal experience that this has been the best beach I have visited. The white sand and clear turquoise water, spreading for a mile around a beautiful bay is part of what makes this beach so highly rated. Highly rated however usually implies highly populated and Playa Flamenco is no exception. Luckily, I managed to scout out multiple beaches on this short trip. This article uncovers the hidden gem of Playa Brava.
Playa Brava
A few pointers about the beach to start:
There are no amenities (bathrooms, water fountains, vendors, etc)
Waves here are stronger (good for surfing, not great for swimming)
Need to hike to get to the beach (about 30 minutes)
This remote beach is situated on the northern part of the island. In order to get there, you need to drive to a trailhead located at 18.320507, -65.277875 (We rented a Jeep from Carlos Jeep Rentals). As you approach the forest, the drive will have you turn up the road past the museum (some maps have you turning between the cemetery and museum which is not accurate). The location is at the end of the street, and you just park on the side of the road.
Once parked, you will have about a 30-min hike downhill through a low coastal forest. Different seasons can impact how scruffy and easy of a hike it is. The trial should be relatively easy to follow with different markers laid out throughout the trail. On average, I would say it’s a moderate level with the return being way more tiring because it’s uphill. Make sure you bring lots of water.
Once you’re approaching the bottom and the smell of ocean wafts through the air, you’ll see this opening to paradise.
At the time we visited (December), there was only one other family on the entire beach who left in 20 minutes. During certain times of the year, you might also see turtles lay their eggs in the sand (not when we visited).
And there we were. An entire beach to ourselves. Once you get here yourself and step into that pristine sand with nothing but wild beach, you’ll understand. The bumpy dirt-road drive and rugged hike were all worth it. Let the smell of the slight saltiness of the ocean, breath of fresh air, and sound of waves crashing against each other be a perfect remedy to our modern connectedness to technology.
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