Vieques Air Link delivers short, sweet island hop from Isla Grande

A recent trip to the Caribbean offered my travel partner and me a chance to visit the island of Vieques, located off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. Vieques is known for its stunning, isolated beaches and laid back vibe, which sounded perfect as we were badly in need of some R&R.

The tricky part was how to get there. Ferries of course serve the main town, but I don’t do well with boats, and the logistics were more involved than you’d think, which left flying.

Flying is always my preference, which is shocking, I know! Two airlines serve the island: Cape Air from San Juan SJU and Vieques Air Link (VAL) from Isla Grande Airport (SIG). The latter, VAL, was easily half the cost of Cape Air, with a slightly better schedule to boot. Plus, SIG airport was much closer to our accommodations in the city. It was an easy decision.

Tickets, bookable on VAL’s website, start at $109 each way for a non-refundable fare, or $149 for partially refundable. My travel partner and I went with the former, booking a roundtrip for $218 each. (The booking function has a drop-down for class of service, despite the airline being all-economy.)

The morning of the flight was not encouraging. A stiff wind blew through Old Town, and clouds hung low over the city. I wasn’t feeling optimistic.

Unfortunately, that foreboding bore fruit not long after, as our Uber pulled up to the tiny terminal an hour beforehand. A gaggle of people had gathered outside, and even more inside — far too many for what should’ve been just a few flights’ worth of passengers.

Sure enough, the departures board was a sea of yellow and red. An agent at the VAL desk quickly explained that the winds were too high in Vieques, and nothing had yet flown in or out. They recommended we hold off on checking in and stay nearby.

Alas, the options for food and diversion are sparse. The airport is effectively in the middle of the port itself, surrounded by shipping containers and big trucks. There aren’t any concessions to browse in the terminal or even a cafe to grab a coffee. In theory you shouldn’t need any. Most folks probably spend an hour here at most. But today it was just a drab space filled with bored and anxious passengers hoping for a break in the weather.

A few hours later, the winds must have let up enough in Vieques to make a try for it. The first flight of the day, which had been listed as cancelled, abruptly ‘uncancelled’ (yes, really), and noisily climbed into the dark skies. The VAL desk considered that good enough for us, and called our flight for check-in.

Due to the petite size of the aircraft, a Britten-Norman Islander, virtually everything except for small shoulder bags or backpacks had to be checked. The airline has a total bag weight limit of 25lbs, charging $2 for every pound beyond that. My travel partner and I were over, and got hit with a $16 charge, collected at the counter.

Curiously, the return flight several days later charged us $30, even though our bags hadn’t changed weight at all. Go figure.

An agent called the flight number shortly after that, referencing our names against the manifest, and walked us out in spitting rain to the waiting airplane.

The Britten-Norman Islander is a mainstay of island flying, with its robust build and ability to fly into and out of short, remote runways. It is also one of the longest-running commercial aircraft programs, having been in continuous production since 1965.

The aircraft seats nine passengers plus a pilot for ten total in a tight 1-1, five-row configuration. Don’t confuse the 1-1 to mean there’s an aisle because there isn’t. Instead you pile in awkwardly through the nearest door to your row.

The best seats are right behind the pilot, which have a clear view of the action on all sides in addition to the cockpit. While technically seating is open, the aircraft is small enough that weight and balance dictate the arrangement.

Unfortunately, my partner and I were placed at the back of the plane, in row three. A bit of a bummer, but the windows are still quite large and make for great viewing.

The interior is spartan, with bench style seating that was at least well padded. Reading lights and air nozzles were the high water marks of the passenger amenities on board, unless you also count the safety equipment.

Several minutes later we were lined up on the runway and hurtling off toward Vieques. Despite the strong winds the ride was much smoother than I’d anticipated, though not without its bumps. Due to the low clouds our altitude was also quite low, cruising around 300 or 400 feet (if not lower). At least it made for some really nice sightseeing.

As you might expect the noise levels on board are rather high. My Apple Watch pinged a decibel warning on takeoff at around 110, which settled down to 100 or so after hitting cruise.

Ear plugs are recommended. The flight is short, and 25 minutes after leaving Isla Grande our pilot greased the runway in a partly sunny Vieques.

Staff unloaded bags and passengers quickly, and we were at the curb, hanging out with an airport cat, just a few minutes later. It was an altogether pleasant experience that I’d gladly repeat.

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