Adventures in Puerto Rico

Visiting la isla del Encanto and overwhelmed with amazing things to do? Well, here's a list of things we've liked -- it will continue to be updated as we continue to explore. To find videos and tips for each location, check out our Instagram page.

(more pictures and in depth descriptions to come)

Content: Beaches, Islands, Waterfalls & Hikes, Other Adventures, Food

Beaches

Balneario de Dorado


Survival Beach


Playa Blanca


Jobos Beach

Restaurants, beautiful beach, surfing, snorkeling, start/end of boardwalk


Poza de las Mujeres

Beautiful beach with a calm pool or open ocean, next to cueva de las Golondrinas (hike can be difficult to find, but fun), $7 parking or free street parking, Obispo warned us of naked people (we didn’t see any)


Shore Island Beach

Bomb beach, clear blue water, not crowded in morning, turtle nests, Pozo Teodoro is a walkable distance

"This is the perfect beach" -Sarah


Playa Montones

Large bathing pool, snorkelers present, no shade 


Playa los Aviones

Beautiful, small waves, Puerto Rican food close by, small pool for kids to snorkel and swim, awesome shells, pay $3 to park where we like to go ($5 on weekends)


Crash Boat Beach

Super clear water, great for kids and adults, jumping from a dock and snorkeling, pay for parking $3.90 cash or find a spot on the road


Playa Sucia

Beautiful, lighthouse, little hikes/walks up to lighthouse and around, cliffs with beautiful views, LOTS of hermit crabs, apparently closes at 5pm, very bumpy road on the way in


Playita Rosada

The swimming pool/dock area is closed (but we snuck in), very cool, mangroves


Playa Puerto Nuevo

Beautiful, calm, sunsets


Cueva de las golondrinas

Hike from Poza de Las Mujeres (stay right-ish), gorgeous colorful rocks/coral -- bring snorkel stuff (at least goggles), watch for sea urchins (bring water shoes)


Isla Verde Beach

Ordinary (for the Caribbean), buggy at night


Ocean Park West

Lots of active locals, beautiful, turtle nest


Ocean Park

Ordinary (for the Caribbean), across the street from soccer fields


Playa Escambron

Near old San Juan, no waves, snorkeling is great, rumor says turtles come sometimes (featuring Nana and Papa Joe)


Playa Mar Chiquita

Small pool with big waves and some rocks, very cool, bring goggles (I wish we had them)



Condado Beach

LOTS of tourists, dangerous rip currents, lots of hotels with pools that look easy enough to sneak into, Spikeball Tuesdays at 5pm behind La Concha


Playa Carolina

Beautiful, less tourists, a favorite


Cerro Gordo

Kinda “eh” for us, rocky, camping available


Playa Fortuna

Spongy, orange sand; big waves (feat. Anna and Mary)


Playa Azul

Lovely -- where we took Christmas photos (obviously), not too crowded


Luquillo Beach

Classic Caribbean beach


7 seas beach (Fajardo)

Rocky but nice -- camping and snorkeling available


Poza del Obispo

Very fun, big waves crash against rocks, pool with waves or beach, lighthouse (Anna's favorite beach)


Parchola Beach

We see people partying but are unsure if you should swim, black sand but not sure why


Los Tubos Surf Beach

Cute animal sculptures/playground, rocky area, beautiful beach area, free parking


Culebra, Vieques, y other islands

Mosquito Bay (Vieques) 

Bio-luminescent bay, book a tour when the moon is smallest (we went full moon and it was still fun for Sarah -- “pure magic”), you have to stay overnight on the island, to get around you pay big white vans/buses in cash, one of the best in the world (Don't be fooled by pictures, they're all photo shopped. This is an in-person experience!)


Sun bay beach (Vieques)

Clear, turquoise, beautiful water


Flamenco Beach (Culebra)

Gorgeous beach, we've heard there is good snorkeling as well, in 2014 it was the ranked the 3rd best beach in the world with a TripAdvisor's Travelor's Choice Award


Waterfalls & Hikes

Charco Azul


Los Pilones


Cascada Rio Espiritu Santo


Cerró Mime

0.9 mile hike, very steep, breathtaking views, (featuring Clark)


Charco el Ataúd

Triple waterfall, we didn’t jump in but probably can, walk from the highway


Salto Collazo

Right next to the highway, lovely views of PR, double waterfall, no swimming hole


Charco Prieto

Huge waterfall, not a swimming hole, beautiful mile hike in, at one point you have to hold onto a rope


San Cristóbal Canyon

Huge waterfall, the entrance appears to be locked --park on the street and push the gate open, steep hike to a beautiful waterfall (there are more but we just stopped at this one), there is a large swimming hole


El Hippie

Cliff jumping, swing under flamboyan (great for photo ops), beautiful hike, drive all the way up the bumpy road, water is usually clear -- don’t go the day after a flash flood


Angelito Trail

Short trail to a swimming hole -- cool if you can't get into El Yunque (Featuring Anna and Mary), great for kids


El Último Brinco

Small waterfall, small jump, small swimming hole, turtles, possible mango trees (not in season when we were there)

(parking details: This waterfall is easy to access off of route 411 KM marker 17.9. Once at this marker park your car (lock it up)  and walk approximately 5 minutes  down the dirt road -- GPS coordinates aren’t super accurate)


Cascada las Delicias

Lovely, double waterfall, lots of bananas, right off the road


Charco Frio

Hike in (muddy), swimming hole, rope swing, cliff jump, natural water slide further in, we’ve been here the most


Charco Gozolandia

beautiful big waterfall and hiking, pay for parking -- $10, you can climb and jump from the waterfall, another waterfall and rope swing further up


El Yunque National Forest

Free, you have to RSVP because of Covid (most hikes are very short/easy), some waterfalls (Juan Diego)


Cueva del Indio

Small hikes to see arches, spelunk down to see petroglyphs, $5 per person

Other Adventures

Torroverde Adventure Zipline

"el monstruo" is the biggest zipline of the Americas, other zipline/adventure options/packages, we just did the monster -- 100% would recommend! Here is a link to their website. 


La Cueva Iluminada


Condado Lagoon

Paddle board, kayak, or snorkel: lots of cool wildlife (manatee family right now!, sometimes sea turtles, stingrays, fish, etc.) surrounded by mangroves, very beautiful


Bahia de Jobos

Call before you go, a little center/museum, hike/walk, possible manatees -- dock was broken when we went


El tortuguero (natural pools)

Amazing, beautiful, clear, natural springs, very short hike in, careful where you park (our car was broken into) -- probably best to park somewhere else and uber in


Tunel de Guajataca

Local artisans (we expected more), quick walk (we thought it’d be longer), beautiful beach, swings and murals -- photo ops


Rio de Guajataca (recreation area of Rio Guajataca)

Next to the tunnel, where the river meets the sea, cool kayak/paddleboard spot, place to jump in, swimming, camping, gorgeous, “best place ever” - Alex

(Picture pending)


Salinas del Cabo Rojo

Cool walk around, salt flat


Castillo San Felipe del Morro

UNESCO world heritage site, cool to walk around, kites in the field in front, beautiful sunsets


Old San Juan

Lots of photo ops, bright houses, expensive restaurants

Food

Rubens Café

Great Puerto Rican food (our favorite place to take people for Puerto Rican food), kind of expensive

We recommend: mofongo (de pulpo is very good), carne frita, amarillos, tostones, chuleta


King's Cream (Ponce or Caguas)

Best ice cream we've ever had, natural flavors


Spicy people

Our favorite place to eat on the island, food truck, cash only (check Facebook or Instagram for their hours and menu), great service

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