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Honeymoon!

Author: sproulls (---.nmci.navy.mil)
Date: 11-10-08 10:42

Hola!

First off, thanks for making this forum such a great resource for those planning to visit Culebra. Lots of great info. I discovered this little island a few weeks ago and have been day-dreaming about its beautiful beaches ever since.

Although my fiance and I will not be getting married until Spring 2010, I want to do as much planning as possible to have a great honeymoon. When is the best time to go in March or April? I definitely want to avoid Spring Break and any other highly traveled times, but I don't want to miss the "open" season. I remember reading that lots of places are closed during certain parts of the year and I don't want that to be the case.

We want to fly to San Juan, stay a couple of nights and then stay on Culebra for several nights (for pure relaxation).

It's long ways off, but I can't wait!!!

Thank you for your help and advice. It's much appreciated.

Steve

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Elaine Margarett (---.dca.untd.com)
Date: 11-10-08 12:22

Our first visit to Culebra was March of '08 for our 25th wedding aniversery. ;-)

We started our visit with a stay in Old San Juan at Da'House, a wonderful bohemian hotel in the heart of the old city. I highly recommend it! From there you can book a taxi to take you to Fajardo (about $65.00).

We didn't have many crowds and the weather of course was wonderful.

God lucK and congratulations!
EM

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Mort (---.tampabay.res.rr.com)
Date: 11-10-08 12:23

Steve, you kind of answered your own question.

Avoid spring break. And definitely avoid weeks around Easter.

As for things being closed... I don't think that anyone has posted concerns about that EXCEPT maybe in September. And even in September there are plenty of things open.

Remember that there are locals who live on the island. They need grocery stores, restaurants, etc... Just like anywhere else. Otherwise they couldn't live there.

I was there in mid January for 10 days and nothing was closed with the possible exception of a few tourist-only types of shops, and even they were open sometimes.

Your problem is going to be crowds, not things being closed.

Evaluate this as if you were going to Disneyland. When would you go there if you were trying to avoid crowds?

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: sproulls (---.nmci.navy.mil)
Date: 11-10-08 13:40

Thanks guys! We really want to have our honeymoon over the low season, but don't want to risk a nasty hurricane (few people on beaches, etc...). It looks like the probability of a hurricane in November is rather low and folks are getting ready for the upswing of tourists. So we just might plan our trip then.

I look forward to spending several LAZY days on the beaches of Culebra!

Thanks again!

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Mort (---.tampabay.res.rr.com)
Date: 11-10-08 14:57

November is a great time to go (avoiding Thanksgiving week of course!).

The first half of December is also a great time to travel and is a personal favorite of mine.

Mid Jan to mid March is also a good time (avoiding holiday weekends).

Sept and Oct are possibly the least crowded time to go. There is an increased risk of hurricanes, but the odds are greatly against one happening while you're there. And trust me on this... If you do happen to be on an island during a hurricane, it will be an adventure, a lasting memory, and a story you'll tell for decades.

So don't rule out Sept and Oct. (Though Sept seems to be when many commercial establishments choose to take a break.)

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Candy Foster (---.hsd1.va.comcast.net)
Date: 11-10-08 20:16

My daughter and stayed visited last spring over Easter break and had a fantastic time. We stayed at Da House in Old San Juan and had a great room with a shared patio on the third or fourth floor. We spent four nights on Flamenco Beach in Culebra. While the island was somewhat busy, we were always able to get a great meal without much of a wait and find our own quiet spot on the beach. We had a lovely time and plan to return over Christmas with our entire family. If you plan ahead, you shouldn't have any trouble finding what you want as far as lodging goes. Plus all the restaurants, etc. are open. Best of luck and congratulations!

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Mort (---.tampabay.res.rr.com)
Date: 11-10-08 22:03

Candy, you illustrate a great point. It's all relative as to what is considered crowded or not.

To me, the holiday periods are unbearably crowded, but I'm someone who loves being on a beach with almost no one else there.

Culebra in its most crowded is nothing like, say, Disneyland on the day after Thanksgiving. You'd never catch me there at that time in a million years... but lots of other people seem to be okay with the idea! LOL.

If you have lodging and plane reservations to/in Culebra, you will have a good time no matter when you go... As long as you're not averse to having people around you. Just don't count on getting on the first ferry during holiday periods (there are plenty of other threads on that subject).

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: sproulls (---.nmci.navy.mil)
Date: 11-14-08 08:40

Thanks again for the responses...

One more issue that I'm facing. We plan on staying at Culebra the night before our flight back to Indiana. Is this a bad idea or is it doable? What would you recommend? I prefer to take the ferry which may take too long depending on what time our flight is scheduled to leave.

Thanks,

Steve

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Jeannie G3 (---.asm.bellsouth.net)
Date: 11-14-08 17:32

Hola! This would depend on how early in the day your flight is and what day of the week. If you stick with your plans of traveling in November, there are quite a few holidays within the month, 11, 19 and Thanksgiving week, when some locals sometimes take the entire week off to celebrate Thanksgiving and kick off Christmas holidays. Time goes very slow on the island meaning there is no rush to go anywhere or do anything. Plan for delays, traffic, and laid back island attitude. My recommendation would be to stay in San Juan the day before departure and not risk missing your flight home. My family is on the other end of the island (Cabo Rojo) and we are always with our family in San Juan by the end of our trip so it's a convenient short trip to the airport. This way, you can enjoy you last hours in Puerto Rico with no worries and no rush.

On the other hand, if your flight is before or around 1 PM, you can make it back. Take the first ferry out, 7 AM, publico form Fajardo to Isla Verde Airport , 1 1/2 hours maybe more due to traffic. Remember, you have to clear Aduana, Department of Agriculture, Security, etc. You do the math for the amount of time you need. A bit rushed but, maybe doable.
Happy travels! J

supergarcia3

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Re: Honeymoon!

Author: Culebra MJ (---.prtc.net)
Date: 11-14-08 18:19

What locals do: if your flight is early, ie before 3 o'clock - if you can get a flight out before 11, then fine. If not, it's either the early thirty ferry, or go the night before. The WORST thing to do on a happy holiday is worry you won't make your flight out of SJ. Best to do it easy. If your flight is at 5 or 6 pm, and you can get a flight out by 11 or so, you can hang out in Old San Juan and get to the airport in plenty of time. That time of year planes are pretty much flying all the time out of here...my advice is, make your time cushion big so you can just enjoy all of it. An earlier departure out of Culebra is just a ticket to enjoy Old San Juan a bit more...

Save What's Left!

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