Punta Soldado Culebra Snorkeling: the Southern Point Beyond Dewey

Where Punta Soldado beach is and how you get there

Punta Soldado is the point at the southern end of the island, south of Dewey at the end of Calle Fulladoza. The road out is PR-253, which breaks off PR-250 at the drawbridge over the Ensenada canal and covers about 2.8 km (1.7 mi) heading south, past Playa Sardinas II, before Calle Punta Soldado takes over for the last stretch. It starts climbing as soon as the houses stop and it keeps climbing, which means the walk back up from the water, in wet gear and carrying everything you brought, is the real work of the visit.

A mainland rental car cannot come with you: the public ferry loads vehicles only when they belong to a Vieques or Culebra resident, so drivers leave the car in the Ceiba terminal lot at about $15 per day and ride the shuttle that runs continuously to the gate. On the island, a golf cart or a jeep gets you down the southern road. Carlos Jeep Rental keeps its main office on Carr. #250 and a second by the airport on PR-251, takes reservations on (787) 742-3514 and opens seven days a week. Públicos and taxis work out of the dock as well.

The entry over cobble, and what sits just offshore

The shore at the point is coarse stone rather than sand, and that changes how you get in. Put something on your feet; beach shoes are the standard recommendation for the rocky ground at Flamenco's west end and they are worth more here. Carry your fins down, wade until the loose cobble is behind you and the stones underfoot stop shifting, then put the fins on in water deep enough to float in. Line up your exit with something on land before you swim off, and come out at that spot.

Reef comes in close at Punta Soldado and the bottom falls away beyond the stones, which is what makes the snorkeling here worth the drive and also what makes it unforgiving. Treat current as present until you have watched the water prove otherwise. Reporting on Culebra's unguarded shore reefs is consistent that currents can run strong in places, and this coast faces south, away from the shelter that the southwest beaches get from Cayo Luis Peña, about 342 acres of refuge land lying off the leeward side.

Stand on the rocks for a few minutes before you commit. Watch which way floating weed travels, how far the surface is being pushed around and whether you could swim back against it with a mask fogging and fins full of effort. If the answer is uncertain, do not get in.

Punta Soldado Culebra snorkeling: who should get in the water

This is a point for people who already snorkel without thinking about it. Borrow the three conditions the Dewey dive shop applies before it takes anyone out on its own boat: unassisted swimming ability, six as the floor age for snorkeling, and a parent or guardian present with written consent for anyone under 18. At the top of a stony slope with nobody on duty below, those conditions decide who puts gear on and who stays dry.

Nobody is watching the water for you. Punta Soldado is one of the five snorkel beaches on the island with no lifeguard, along with Melones, Tamarindo, Carlos Rosario and Zoni; Flamenco is the only one where they are on duty. Facilities on the island are concentrated at Flamenco too, where restrooms, changing rooms, showers and kiosks sit behind the sand, so plan the southern point as a carry-in, carry-out stop with your own water and no shade you can count on.

Keep Punta Soldado off the first day of the trip. Swim the sheltered southwest coast or spend a day on a crewed boat first, see how the group handles reef and depth, and come down here only if the morning is calm and everyone was comfortable.

Reef etiquette at the southern point

The rules in the water hold on a quiet beach exactly as they do at Flamenco. The published coastal boundary of the Canal de Luis Peña Natural Reserve is not something you can check from a rock at the end of Calle Fulladoza, so apply the reserve's standard everywhere you get in on this island.

• Any contact harms coral. Reef guidance for Culebra is that the lightest touch of a hand, foot or fin can damage it, so nothing gets stood on, held or steadied against.
• Seagrass runs in patches along this coast, and every seagrass bed on Culebra is designated critical habitat for endangered species and legally protected, so standing on it or dragging fins across it is prohibited.
• Nothing leaves the water with you, shells, coral and fish included. Puerto Rico's first no-take marine protected area came out of an 18-year local campaign and was designated on 11 June 1999, and the law that protects its flora and fauna from removal is the standard to carry to every entry point on the island.
• Fishing inside the Luis Peña channel was banned by DNER administrative order in the same year the reserve was designated.
• Turtles come up for air along this shore. NOAA's viewing guidance for U.S. waters sets the distance at 50 yards from a sea turtle in the water, and it rules out touching one, riding it, petting it or any attempt to interact.
• Arriving at the point by boat, the request is a mooring buoy rather than an anchor, with speed down close to shore and over the shallows.

If you would rather have a crew and a boat

Flamenco, at the end of PR-251 and about 2.5 miles out of Dewey, is where to put the day if nobody in the group wants an unguarded point. Lifeguards work the mile-long horseshoe, and restrooms, changing rooms, showers, picnic tables under the pines along the tree line and food kiosks are all on site. The parking area runs 7:30 AM to sunset and the restrooms and showers 7 AM to 6 PM, while one local source puts the gate at 7am to 5:30pm, closing promptly, so read the sign on the day and build the drive out around it. ACDEC, the municipality's conservation and development authority, collects admission and parking at the entrance, and since no current rate page exists, carry small bills.

For reef without the cobble and the climb, a boat is the better buy. Six hours, from $168, 4.7 across 1083 reviews: that is the all-inclusive beach and snorkel day listed on this site, and it hands you snorkel gear, non-alcoholic drinks, rum drinks and a light lunch of cold-cut sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips and dips. The 8:00am meeting at the gray gazebo with the orange roof in front of the parking lot has you over reef well before the wind that makes the southern point awkward. Gratuities are not included.

The 7-hour snorkel and beach day with lunch and drinks is from $162, rated 4.6 from 430 reviews, and is the lowest boat starting price listed here. Gear is on board, along with bottled water, rum drinks, piña colada and soft drinks, a deli buffet you assemble yourself, vegetarian pasta salad, a fruit platter, chips and cookies; check-in is at the dive shop suite before boarding, where there is parking. Two things to sort in advance: $3 in cash for the marine fee taken at check-in, and a phone call for the vegan or gluten-free option, priced at $6 per person. Cancellation works the same way on either boat day, with the full amount returned when you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Eating gluten-free or vegan, take the 7-hour deli-buffet day and request the option in advance. Otherwise take the 6-hour all-inclusive with the 8:00am start, and save Punta Soldado for a flat morning later in the week.

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