Flamenco Beach

Flamenco Beach appears on virtually every global best-beach list for good reason. From the moment you look down from the hilltop at Flamenco Bay, the horseshoe of white sand and impossibly turquoise water makes the ranking immediately credible. The beach curves around a reef-sheltered lagoon with water so calm and shallow that young children can wade far from shore, and the sand is fine and pale as powdered limestone.

The bay is backed by a small green hill that completes the composition. From the Culebra Ferry terminal in the village, it is a short drive or taxi ride to the beach. Renting a golf cart or jeep in Culebra town opens up the rest of the island's coastline and several other beaches, but Flamenco is the acknowledged first destination and most visitors make it their first stop.

There is a decommissioned United States military tank near the shore at Flamenco, a remnant of when this end of Culebra served as a US Navy target range before the land was returned to the municipality. The tank has become so identified with the beach that many visitors photograph it as a landmark, though its presence is a reminder of a complicated history of military occupation and subsequent environmental remediation on Culebra.

On weekdays Flamenco is quieter than at weekends, when day-trippers arrive on the ferry from Fajardo. The beach has changing rooms, showers and a snack bar. Swimming is safe in the lagoon area; the outer edge of the bay has some wave action and currents for snorkellers. Flamenco is consistently ranked in the top three of global beach lists because once you are there, every element — the colour of the water, the quality of the sand, the curve of the bay — earns the ranking.

The approach road to Flamenco passes through dry scrubland and then drops into the bay, and the first sight of the lagoon from the parking area is genuinely stunning. The water in the lagoon is sheltered by the reef from the open Atlantic, which keeps it warm year-round and calm even when the swell is running outside the bay. The reef itself, visible from the shore in the shallow water, supports a small coral ecosystem with colourful fish that rewards a brief snorkel.

Culebra itself is small enough to explore in a day by golf cart, and other beaches such as Zoni Beach on the east side offer different experiences of the island's coastline. The ferry crossing from Fajardo takes about 1.5 hours in the car ferry or 45 minutes in the faster catamaran, and the effort of getting to Culebra is part of what keeps the island less developed than more accessible Caribbean destinations.

Consistently ranked among the top three beaches in the world by multiple international travel publications.

A horseshoe reef-sheltered bay with exceptionally calm, shallow water ideal for families and snorkellers.

Accessible by ferry from Fajardo or small plane from Ceiba; a rewarding combination of effort and reward.