Publicos on Vieques

After visiting Culebra, we were expecting a similar level of service from the publicos on Vieques.

Unfortunately, they just don't compare.

Whereas on Culebra we were given a card to call a publico whenever we needed one, when we asked our driver in Vieques for a card he told us that he didn't have one and to just wait at the publico stop.

The problem with this is that none of the publico drivers would take us where we wanted to go.

A bigger problem is getting from Esperanza to the ferry docks. We were told by the receptionist in Banana's that a line of publicos would appear 90 minutes before the ferry was due to depart and we did not need to pre-book.

We waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

When I asked someone else in Banana's I was told all the publicos would be waiting at the docks for the ferry - we should have pre-booked.

So I phoned six numbers. None of them would pick us up.

Getting desperate, we managed to hitch a lift with an American ex-pat. We bought our tickets and grabbed some lunch with just a few minutes to spare.

Best advice - always book in advance.