Playa Flamenco. The Bioluminescent Bay. The wild horses. El Blok. These are some of the memories you capture when you stay on the tiny islands of Culebra and Vieques off the coast of Puerto Rico. 

While both islands have long been on the minds of travelers, getting to either of them has never been particularly easy: fly to San Juan, get your bag, change terminal, hop on a puddle jumper. 

But there’s one way to do it that removes all the extra baggage: flying JetBlue and Cape Air. 

The two airlines have had a codeshare agreement since 2007, and that means you can jump on any JetBlue flight from the mainland US to San Juan. 

That means you can check in on a JetBlue flight in the mainland US with one ticket and check your bag all the way through to Vieques or Culebra, hopping on a Cape Air flight when you land in San Juan. 

JetBlue is actually adding more flights to San Juan this winter, with new routes from Westchester and Providence to San Juan. 

This week, JetBlue announced that you can actually earn and redeem loyalty points on Cape Air flights if you book on the JetBlue app or site. 

So what do you need to know about the two islands? Vieques, while still laid back and beachy, is the more developed to the two; with that said, the hotel product is anchored by smaller, boutique hotels, like the aforementioned El Blok (one of the Caribbean’s most striking architectural designs) and one of our favorites, the wellness-focused Finca Victoria, which is also the Caribbean’s only Ayurvedic hotel. 

On Culebra, the story is usually villas and Airbnbs, with Club Seabourne, the island’s only true hotel, being an exception. But it’s worth the trip to see Playa Flamenco — one of the best beaches on earth. 

In other good news for travelers to these Caribbean islands, Cape Air just launched another new route from St Croix direct to Vieques, with two weekly flights on Mondays and Thursdays, timed for easy connections. 

If you want to learn more, visit Cape Air and JetBlue.