We love to kayak because it allows us to get out, get wet, and get a workout too. We can go places that are too wavy and windy for a paddleboard. We don’t go out in the deep blue sea, but in our kayaks we can handle the bigger bodies of water like Ensenada Honda, Esperanza Bay, and Puerto Ferro Bay as long as the winds aren’t blowing too much.
We have launched at La Plata, Playa Esperanza, Starfish Beach, and others. La Plata gives you access to the bay of Ensenada Honda with a few small beaches, beautiful reefs, and mangroves to explore. In Esperanza, you can launch at the sand bridge to the cayo, by the Sugar Pier, or by the Fisherman’s Pier – any of these are very easy. Although it can get a little windy, the paddling is relatively easy, and you can cruise around the boats at anchor in the harbor, go out by the cayos, or even go west and explore the next cove over if the seas aren’t too rough. From Starfish Beach you can paddle west over to the pilings and maybe see a ray, or up the causeway road out to the pier to catch a turtle or two.
Those are all fun days, but our best day by far was launching at Tres Palmitas in the wildlife preserve and exploring Puerto Ferro Bay. You can paddle with dolphins, go to Playa Corcho, or if the wind and waves are calm enough, go out to the rock cut on the point at the east side of Puerto Ferro Bay. For less excitement (that can be a challenge out there), you can find calm waters around the Tres Palmitas point and the bay area closest to it. You don’t launch from Playa Corcho, but you go there so we’re calling it our Favorite Beach in Vieques, for kayaking.