Sun Bay Beach

Need camping information? Here’s a guide– sun bay beach is the main beach with two smaller beaches down the road. When you walk into sun bay there is a main road that follows the beach. If you follow if to the end and keep going you’ll find media Luna and navio beach. Sun bay is the largest and most beautiful and only the entrance has a real bathroom, media Luna has a porta-​potty. I believe media Luna is the only place with campgrounds and that’s where we stayed. We did hammock camping and did not pay on the way in and no one checked on us so paying is up to you. There are decent picnic benches under awnings at media Luna. I found navio beach to be underwhelming so we didnt spend much time there. It is about a 30 minute walk from the entrance down the road to media Luna. Walk along the water barefoot if it’s really hot to avoid being miserable (it was very hot when I went and I had about 45 lbs in my pack. The bugs were only bad around dusk but they were BRUTAL. bring bug spray or long pants and shirts. Or both. We didn’t have any problems I with animals. There are a lot of ants so just tie your food up in a tree and you won’t have a problem. also bring whatever food and water you need with you as the shop has weird hours so do not rely on there being food. There is a fountain to fill water bottles. We really enjoyed our experience and I hope you enjoy yours!

Beach is OK, no one maintains anything here. The bathrooms have no toilet paper, no paper towels. There are no chairs or umbrellas to rent, no music. nothing. Thank god for the guy selling coconuts filled with rum.

Good public beach, but certainly not like Flamenco beach on the island of Culebra next door, or the beach of Culebrita. But this was the best of several we visited on Vieques. It is not the most secluded, but seeing people around on the long beach was nice. There were food & drink stalls as well. It was clean. Sand was nice.

hammock camping on the beach. need i say more?

I seem to be a bit in the minority, but Sun Bay was my husband and my favorite beach that we visited in Vieques. We went to Playa Caracas first and hadn’t expected to really like Sun Bay because the reviews make it sound more commercial/​built up/​crowded, and that’s not really our thing. However, when we went on a Monday afternoon, it was pretty empty and there were lots of perfect spots to spread out a towel under a palm tree and listen to the waves, read a book, and just enjoy being in paradise. I really liked the expansiveness of this beach, and it was great for taking a long walk from end to end. Having the area with restrooms and refreshments is also a nice plus — my husband got an ice cream bar that really hit the spot, and I enjoyed being able to sip a pretty good virgin piña colada while sitting on the beach. We didn’t try any of the more substantial food options, but they looked a bit better than typical beach kiosk food. It also looked like there was an outdoor shower available to rinse off, which could be a plus. All in all, a really lovely, perfect beach!

Navio/​Media Luna are the beaches to go to here. We spent about 5 minutes at the main beach before moving on.
NAVIO
We were here ALONE for about 3 hours. Lots of waves, neat caves off to the side. You will take a road that is a little rough to get here, but it’s totally worth it for the seclusion.
MEDIA LUNA
Calm water beach, crystal clear water and like bath water! We did a little bit of snorkeling here and saw some fish in the grass, but nothing crazy.

The best part about this beach is it’s location — reachable by foot if you are in Esperanza, and easily reached via cab/​publico if you are anywhere else. It is a beautiful beach, no doubt, but not the greatest on the island, or even the greatest on the south side of Vieques. Like most of the beaches on Vieques, it is very quiet, secluded & non-​commercial (i.e. bring coolers & anything else you’ll want/​need for the day). The abundance of wild horses is a huge plus on this beach.

This is our favorite beach on the island. Like most of the other beaches on the island the sand is smooth and the water is warm and clear. What makes this beach great is the abundance of palm trees — with other beach-​goers tucked between trees it feels as if you are the only ones on the island.

Sooo many beautiful horses.

When in the village of Esperanza, this is the beach to go to. It’s just a short walk from the Malecon (Esperanza waterfront), but the bay is set in a way that your view to the sea is away from town.
When we were here, the beach of Sun Bay (and many other beaches) were carpeted in dried seaweed. Other than that, the beach was nice. There are trees fairly close to the water, so if you need shelter from the pounding tropical sun, you can lounge under a palm.
There are also some stands up from the beach which might be selling some delicacies. I saw coconut and had to have one. They used a machete to crack open a coconut. And for a tiny bit extra you can have a wee dram of rum dropped in — this is what I opted for, and I was feeling lovely in no time.
All in all, convenient, beautifully blue, and be sure to have a coconut (with rum in it, matey!).

I am not sure to understand the two 2-​star ratings this gorgeous beach received because in my books — it doesn’t get much better than that.
We stayed in Esperanza and chose not to rent a car — pedestrians all the way!!! It’s totally doable and when you have this little piece of heaven a mere 15-​minute walk from the Malecon — you really don’t need anything else than your two legs, sunglasses, a swimsuit, a towel and sun lotion (yeah, yeah… I know. But you don’t want your white ass to get burned, believe me! I missed a spot on my foot and it looked like a boiled lobster after about 20 minutes. Word to the wise).
You can walk on the beach all along, following Playa Esperanza and cutting through.
It’s beautiful, and totally worth it.
You’ll find that most of the time (even on busy weekends) you’ll have the beach basically to yourself. Such a fantastic feeling of Robinson — without having to build a hut and with the convenience of civilization right around the corner.
I loved it.
Random facts:
— there are a lot of crabs!!! the crustacean type, mind you. They are super cute and shy and really fun to watch.
— lay your towel after/​East of the rocks; the beach is more leveled and the sand, softer.
— don’t forget water, drinks, whatever you want to munch on because I didn’t see any vendors when I was there. Better be safe than sorry.
— there is a HUGE parking lot outside if you choose to drive
— wild horses are everywhere, and they might run on the beach. Beautiful.
— don’t litter. There are bins everywhere: you have NO EXCUSE.
— turtles come sometimes to lay their eggs. Be careful, sensitive and cautious.
— there is natural shade, provided by coconut trees. But still — lather up (we have an ozone problem, remember??? a little hole? not good for the interaction skin/​sun rays)
— the water is not very choppy and is perfect for swimming
— it’s clean — except for the occasional beached algae. Guess what? it’s natural.
— you can access other beaches from this one if you really want to but after having a look at the others I found that Sun Bay was my thing.
Happy tanning!

REALLY beautiful beach.
Bring a cooler though because it gets hot and there’s nothing close by.
Also, if you’re downwind from the horsies… it smells a little like poo.
Otherwise, aqua-​blue water that’s so clean and clear I can see fishies and calm waves so I can float on my back! Winner winner!

IF YOU GOT DROPPED OFF HERE AND ARE FREAKING OUT, STOP. This island’s most beautiful beaches are just down the dirt road, and can be walked to.
The 5-​stars is for Navio beach, which is just down the dirt road from the main Sun Bay Beach and parking lot. You have to pay to park in this lot if you want the better beaches just down the road.

5:00 AM — Getting up from the Hotel
5:30 AM — Leaving the Hotel to go to El Fajardo to Catch The Ferry.
6:45 AM — Arrived to El Fajardo, Standing in line to get tickets to Culebra Island
8:30 AM — Line Started to Move.
8:45 AM — Tickets are sold out (WTF!!!)
8:50 AM — Another Option is to fly there, but $ 32.00 instead of $ 2.50. HELLS NO!!!
9:00 AM — Went to next door to buy tickets to Vieques ($ 4.00 round trip) Island for 9:15 AM Ride
9:15 AM — At the Ferry, departing.
10:10 AM — Arrived to Vieques
10:20 AM — Take a cab to go to «SUN BAY» Beach (10 – 15 minute ride)
10:35 AM — Arrive to Sun Bay Beach.
BEAUUUUUUUTTTTIIIFFFFFUUUULLLLL!!! and there was only less than 20 people in the beach island. Clear water and Peaceful.
There’s only one restaurant with restroom, so don’t expcet more than that!
NOTE: Just make sure you get the cab guy’s number to pick you up and take the ferry back… Otherwise you’ll get stuck overnight.

i loved this beach. it was quiet and nice waves. there are roosters and horse running around. very peaceful place to go, wish i could of spent more time there.
they have a little shop that sells empanatas and beer, a huge plus

Sun Bay is probably the most publicized beach, and it’s beautiful — but other beaches on the island do not even compare. YOU MUST check out the other beaches! Navio has great waves and is gorgious, Media Luna is shallow, picturesque and great for kids. If you have transportation, trek out to the other beaches. Caracas (Red Beach) is mind blowingly beautiful. Spend the day there and just thank the gods something so perfect exists in the world.

this beach blows, its dirty and the water isnt very clear (however there were alot of wild horses around, which was kind of neat, but one of them was dead).
Bus drivers will try to drop you off here cause its cheap. Make them take you somewhere else. Navio is the place to go.

After a disappointing start at Esperanza Beach and an extremely unsatisfying lunch at Bananas, the SO and I trekked about 15 – 20 minutes in a determined search of a real beach on the island of Vieques. We found out on the Blackberry that Sun Bay Beach is the biggest public beach on Vieques (aka «balneario» = a public beach with lifeguards, food, water sports rental, bathrooms, etc.). As we walked along the dirt roads, I couldn’t help but feel like a hitchhiker as cars zoomed by us and their passengers kept staring. But that feeling passed quickly and excitement ensued when we saw the humongous «Balneario Public Sun Bay» sign. We walked the long road in to find an empty parking lot and practically no signs of human existence. This was probably due to the fact that it was a Thursday afternoon in late June (i.e., weekday during the low traveling season). Not to fret about transportation though. Because Sun Bay Beach is a popular public beach, there will always be publicos to take you back to the ferry building to catch the last ferry back to Fajardo.
The beach itself wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful, but it was nice and definitely a big upgrade from Esperanza Beach. We found a couple palm trees to set up our blankets and enjoyed the sounds of waves breaking against the shore while tanning under the intermittent sunshine. We bought a couple cans of Medalla Light and spent the afternoon in and out of naps. It was exactly what we had imagined when planning our Puerto Rican getaway. And thankfully Sun Bay Beach allowed us to live out our imagination.