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    Black Sand Beach

    4.4 (20 reviews)

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    Playa Negra
    Mollie W.

    Worth the drive and totally worth the hike to get here! Beautiful terrain and cool spider webs, complete with huge spiders! This secluded spot is incredibly cool. The water is warm, the sands are black, the high rocks are beautiful, and the black pebbles and seashells are abundant.

    Huge hermit crab.
    Guy K.

    In A Nutshell: -The Black Sand Beach does have black sand, just not as much as you would have imagined as you walk down the trail towards it. -As a matter of fact, I enjoyed the walk towards the beach more than the black sand itself. -I was able to see a huge hermit crab walking along and a couple of iguana's partaking in some adult activities ;) -Parking was very, very minimal, but luckily I was on a scooter so space wasn't an issue. Overall, I guess if you really want to see some black sand then SURE go ahead and check it out. It takes about 15 minutes to get to it.

    Cynthia L.

    Vieques (island) is awesome. The equivalent to escaping the city at home and heading to the San Juan Islands. Black Sand Beach is a little hard to find since google maps takes you to the incorrect entrance. Luckily, a fed-up local has put up a sign on their property that says NO ENTRY TO BLACK SAND BEACH. Just wish they had put an arrow about which way to go. Vieques is FULL of free-roaming horses. They cross the roads willy-nilly, and will even meet you on the path heading to Black Sand! The short hike through the trees to the beach was beautiful too. Though the section we ended up at didn't have a ton of black sand so it sounds like we didn't go far enough to get the seaweedy, black sand-side since our views were of clear water and breathtaking views...until we met an errant nude sunbather...ellipses ellipses ellipses... Worth seeing if you like horses, short hikes, and great scenery! (Sans nude sunbathers.)

    Tanya D.

    So different! Gorgeous to take in but not for swimming. A lot of seaweed wrapped up in the break to wade through. Anyways, when you arrive, the magnetic black sand is to the right side. It Super Super soft and I read that you should treat this beach like a spa. Exfoliate yourself with it and even bury your body in it for 40 minutes bc the naturally occurring magnetite is known for aligning the body. Or do what I did and have yourself a photoshoot! The beach takes beautiful photos. These with my cell phone! Located on the south side of Vieques. Rt 996 mile marker 7.0. Just before the galleria. 10 minute walk down a trail to the beach.

    Brandy M.

    Quiet beach with not a lot of bells and whistles. The beach is gorgeous with clear bright blue waters. You can rent a cabana for $20 a day or camp there. There is love rock that attracts fish. The beach is pretty clean.

    Black Sand!
    R P.

    Black Sand Beach - Playa Negra This place isn't the easiest to get to & kind of off the beaten path for beaches in Vieques but it's worth the time to come out and have a look. To find it, head to the Gallery Galleon (you can find it on the Vieques tourist map that the rental car companies give you) The entrance is just before the gallery. The only real marking is a spray painted light pole to indicate the entrance. You have to walk maybe a 1/2 mile down creek/drainage slough to get there. The path is flat wide and very easy. I wouldn't suggest being Indiana Jones and try 4 wheeling your rental jeep down there because in more than one place trees are in the way. When you get closer to the ocean and if you look ahead there are dozens of crabs that hide out in their little holes. Once you get even kind of close they dart back into the hole. So for your 15 minute walk you are rewarded with a very cool beach that has both normal sand and areas of black sand. I don't know what the sand is made of but it's heavy. The beach portion is pretty short/small. We didn't stick around and try to snorkel or swim, just check it out, take some pictures and head out. Once you're back at the car, you can wander over to check out the Gallery Galleon or if you want to try another beach that doesn't have a lot of people just continue down route 201 until you reach Playa Grande.

    The hike into Black sand beach is a SOLID 10.5 min walk. Be careful with the wet sandal walk on the way out.
    Ryan K.

    This is a must see! It is a solid 10.5 min walk in. Be careful walking out with wet sandals the last up hill to the road is steeper than you think. You walk on a sandy riverbed that twists and turns something out of Indiana jones. Check the tides of you can, high tied doesn't leave much beach space. We arrived at 09:30 with enough beach to walk a little but no place to lay out. This was something I have never seen before and glad we went! Park just up the street across from the gallery plenty of dirt space to leave a jeep

    Pete M.

    Visited here this past week. It is not a beach to spend time at. It's more a place to see. There isn't room to put down a towel and hang out as the beach is smaller now after he hurricane. The trail there is a bit of a hike/walk. But it is BEAUTIFUL! so glad we got to see it.

    10 min walk wear tennis shoes. Waves are too strong to get in the water. Ton of seaweed beach isn't on to relax on.
    Ginger G.

    Beautiful and hidden. 15 min walk wear tennis shoes. The waves are to strong to get in the water. The beach isn't groomed so tons of seaweed. Itsy beach area. We took a few pics and left.

    John O.

    Truly a hidden gem. The hike is not that bad. It was a brisk 10 minute walk down hill and a 15 minute walk up hill. You won't find to many people on this beach as most people do not want to actually have to walk/drive to this location.

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    4 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    4 years ago

    A pretty overlook, but not a place to play in the water. Waves are breaking right on the rocky shore.

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

    We had to walk like 15 minutes to get to this gorgeous place but it was worth it , it was so peaceful and clean !!

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Good public beach, but certainly not like Flamenco beach on the island of Culebra next door, or the beach of Culebrita.

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    Review Highlights - Black Sand Beach

    Once you arrive at the "Playa Negra" sign, there is a short hike through a swampy region to get to the actual beach.

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    Tropical Reef Watersport - Un noche única.  Recomiendo esta compañía y a su grupo de guías

    Tropical Reef Watersport

    3.0(2 reviews)
    2.2 km

    best experience hands down, we are fully in love with Vieques. we did kayaks and Jetski and it was…read morea great experience, we feel so secure! vamos a volver

    DO NOT COME HERE!! TERRIBLE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE…read more I did the jet ski tour and it started off great--I really enjoyed riding and jumping over the waves. Unfortunately, my jet ski broke down midway through. While I understand that things happen, the way this was handled was disappointing. I was hoping someone from the company would bring another jet ski, but instead I was left waiting about 20 minutes while the guide tried to fix it. Eventually, he had to use a rope to tow my jet ski back to shore. Because the back of his jet ski sprays water, I was getting soaked the entire time. I was offered either a partial refund or an extra 30 minutes, and I chose the additional time. However, instead of continuing the tour experience, the extra 30 minutes consisted of riding in circles near the coastline. Why would I need a tour guide to ride in circles? That does not make up for the portion of the tour I missed. The tour also did not match what was advertised. We were supposed to visit three beaches, but only went to the black sand beach. The photos and videos listed on the website were never provided. Communication was another major issue. The guide spoke almost entirely in Spanish with another group, making it difficult to follow instructions or feel included. I called the owner simply to explain my frustration. I said i didnt see the three beaches as advertised, the owner said: because the jet ski broke down there's nothing we can do. I then said i was expecting the 30mins to cover the part of the tour i missed instead of riding in circles, the owner said: the jet ski broke down, there's nothing we can do, you chose to do the 30mins, what else do you want me to do. I said the tour guide was speaking Spanish the entire time and i couldnt understand a thing, the owner said: this is puerto rico everyone speaks spanish, it is what it is. ALL ORIGINAL WORDS FROM THE OWNER. MIND YOU THIS IS A TOUR COMPANY. For a business that clearly serves tourists, the response was dismissive and unprofessional. IF YOU ARE A TOURIST AND DO NOT SPEAK SPANISH, AVOID THIS PLACE. This experience fell short due to misleading advertising, poor communication, and a lack of accountability when problems occurred. I would not recommend this tour if you expect the full experience as advertised or if you do not speak Spanish.

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    Tropical Reef Watersport
    Tropical Reef Watersport
    Tropical Reef Watersport

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    Black Sand Beach - beaches - Updated May 2026

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