Flamenco Beach(Playa Flamenco)

Located in the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico, Flamenco Beach – also known as Playa Flamenco – is a popular one-mile-long curve-shaped Blue Flag beach with white sand and a nearby reef. This beach was repeatedly listed as one of the world’s best beaches by TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice awards between 2014 and 2017. This beach was also listed as one of the "10 Best Beaches in Puerto Rico" by Travel+Leisure magazine, and is a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Flamenco Beach offers many amenities including lifeguards, restrooms, showers, changing rooms, picnic areas, rental facilities for beach chairs, snorkel gear, and beach umbrellas, and concession stands. Please note that some of the amenities here may be available after 3:30 pm.

Flamenco Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, picnicking, fishing, paddleboarding, swimming, surfing, kitesurfing, camping, windsurfing, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, jet-skiing, boating, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching. 

This beach is popular with beginner swimmers because the water here is mostly shallow, calm, and clear – the beach’s western and eastern ends are especially known to have calm water. In addition, this beach is also popular with snorkelers because the water here has a vibrant marine biodiversity – there is a snorkeling site at the beach’s eastern end named “Shark’s Cage” or “El Muellecito” which is very famous. In addition, the beach’s western end is also a popular snorkeling site.  

If you are planning to swim, snorkel, or canoe here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents – the water near this beach’s middle part is sometimes known to be turbulent. Drowning deaths have also been reported at the beach. 

If you like camping, there is a tent campground at Flamenco Beach that offers a memorable oceanfront camping experience. This campground has many amenities including restrooms, showers, and drinking water facilities – if you want to camp here, you can contact the officials posted at the campground for more information regarding the camping charges and rules. If you like birdwatching, you can see many kinds of resident and migratory birds here. If you like taking pictures with amazing views, Flamenco Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Caribbean Sea and the northern Culebra shoreline.

Flamenco Beach offers wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities.

Getting to Flamenco Beach can be slightly difficult – although the main access path for this beach is located near the end of Puerto Rico Highway 251, the road leading to this beach can be winding. This beach is two and eight-tenths of a mile away from the nearby town of Dewey, which is also known as Culebra Pueblo. 

There is a paid parking lot near the beach that charges $5 per car. In addition, there is an additional entrance fee of $2 per visitor here. 

As an alternate access option, you can also visit Flamenco Beach’s eastern end by turning towards another unnamed and extremely rugged road from Puerto Rico Highway 251. The turn for this road is located near a kilometer marker sign and this road will eventually lead you to the beach’s eastern end. We recommend traveling on this road only if you have a 4x4 car because of its rugged nature.

We recommend visiting Flamenco Beach early during summers because this beach can get crowded during this time.

The name of the beach – Flamenco – comes from the Spanish word for flamingo birds – this beach received this name because Caribbean flamingos earlier used to be common in the nearby Flamenco Lagoon. There is an interesting World War Two-era painted tank at Flamenco Beach, along with another nearby tank – these two rusted and derelict graffiti-covered tanks were placed here by the United States Navy, which used this site as a gunnery and bombing practice range until 1975.

There are many attractions near Flamenco Beach.  Museo Historico de Culebra "El Polvorin" offers many interesting exhibitions on local history including archeological artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia. Canal de Luis Pena Natural Reserve – also called Reserva Natural Canal de Luis Pena – is a natural reserve that has a variety of aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial habitats including coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds. This reserve offers a unique insight into the local biodiversity. Culebrita Lighthouse – also called Faro Culebrita – is a historic lighthouse that is on the nearby island of Culebrita. This lighthouse was built by Colonial Spanish authorities in 1886 and it offers a unique insight into local history.  Culebra National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge that offers many habitats including mangroves, dry forests, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. This refuge offers many fun activities including hiking, wildlife watching, and sunbathing. If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Hector El Protector is a sculpture made by artist Thomas Dambos by using scrap material from junkyards – this sculpture depicts a man throwing stones and it symbolizes protection of Culebra from malevolent people.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Flamenco Beach within a 20-minute-drive. Come & Vete offers amazing Puerto Rican and mainland American dishes including pastelitos, empanadas, chuletas fritas, and chicken nuggets.  Dinghy Dock Restaurant offers a variety of amazing Caribbean-inspired dishes including barbecued chicken, steaks, seafood, and fried plantains - this restaurant also offers refreshing cocktails. Heather’s Pizzeria offers delicious pizzas and it also offers a variety of other delicious dishes including submarine sandwiches, pastas, calzones, meatballs, and salads. Zaco’s Tacos offers many amazing fusion dishes with Mexican and Caribbean influences including tacos, nachos, quesadillas, and burritos. If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Restaurante La Pista offers a variety of amazing dishes including sandwiches, pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal.

If you are looking for a hotel near the beach, there are many great nearby Flamenco Beach hotels and nearby Flamenco Beach villas.  El Navegante de Culebra offers amazing views of the nearby Ensenada Honda Bay and it is also located conveniently close to some of the major landmarks in Culebra. Mamacitas Guest House is another moderately-priced hotel that offers many amenities including a sundeck, a bar, and a nearby restaurant. Another great accommodation option is Aleli Cottages that offers a communal kitchen and beach chair loaner facilities. Another great moderately-priced hotel is the Villa Flamenco Beach that offers communal outdoor areas and a lawn – it also offers amazing views of the Caribbean Sea. If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, Posada La Hamaca is conveniently located close to the major attractions in Culebra’s Dewey area.