The rainforest, the old city and a bay that lights up. All within an hour of San Juan.
Which El Yunque trip actually stops at the waterslide. What a Fajardo bio bay paddle costs on a dark-moon night. Whether Culebra is worth the early boat. Reviews of every tour you can book in Puerto Rico.
El Yunque, a dark-moon bay, Culebra sand, the old city on foot.
The four bookings a first week in Puerto Rico gets built around. What each one costs, and what the people who took it say.
01The rainforest morningTop Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup TourWaterfalls, a natural waterslide and a rope swing, with the driving done for you. Book the early departure and you are ahead of the coach parties.
02The night paddleBio Bay Kayak Tour in FajardoMangrove channel out to the Fajardo lagoon, where the water flashes under every stroke. Aim for the nights either side of a new moon.
03The boat to CulebraCulebra Snorkeling Tour by Catamaran from FajardoFlamenco Beach and the reef off Culebrita, sailed from Fajardo instead of queued for at the ferry terminal.
04The old city on footOld San Juan Walking TourTwo hours through the blue cobbles, the forts and the plazas, with the stories that make the walls make sense.
In Puerto Rico the good day usually starts at a Fajardo dock.
Turtles on the reef ten minutes off the San Juan shore, catamarans out to Icacos and Palomino, and a mangrove channel that lights up under the paddle after dark. Four kinds of day on the water, and what it costs to get on board.
San Juan first, then the road east until the mountains run out.
A walled capital on one side, a rainforest an hour from it, a marina town that runs the boats, a beach strip famous for its kiosks, and two islands out in the channel. Six places to base a day on, and the best thing to book in each.
The days out most travellers to Puerto Rico take.
Every Puerto Rico tour we have reviewed →More people book these than anything else on the island, and each one earns the slot for a different reason.
1
San Juan Guided Snorkel With Turtles Tour and Videos
Enter the warm Caribbean from Escambrón Beach for a 1 to 1.5-hour guided snorkel with a certified diver. You’ll get a mask, fins, life jacket, instruction, and a GoPro video. Guides such as Lily, Jill, Rey, and Anthony are praised for helping beginners and spotting turtles.
From · $42
Read our review →
2
Top Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup Tour
from $45
3
Half-Day Yunque Rainforest Waterslide & rope swing Guided Tour
from $25
4
El Yunque Rainforest Waterslides and Luquillo Beach w/ Transport
from $49
5
Night Kayak – Condado City Lights Tour
from $75
6
Luquillo Beach Horse Ride from Carabalí Rainforest Adventure Park
from $164
7
Authentic Flavors of San Juan Food Tour
from $165
8
Small-Group El Yunque Rainforest Vivid Day Tour with Transport
from $75
El Yunque makes its own weather, and everything under it is a waterslide.
Four hundred inches of rain a year land on the sierra and come back down as pools, chutes and rope swings. The guided runs handle the timed entry and the parking, which is most of the problem solved.
Old San Juan is seven blocks of blue cobble. Here is what to do with them.
Two forts on the headland, painted houses stacked between them, and a food scene that starts at a fritter counter and ends with rum. Everything inside the walls is walkable, so the only real choice is who tells you the story.
What a day out in Puerto Rico actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. The cheapest end of the island is not the worst of it: a waterslide morning costs less than lunch in Condado.
Old-city walks, rum tastings, the guided waterslide mornings and the short paddles on the lagoon.
The standard full days: bio bay paddles, catamarans out to Icacos, El Yunque with transport from your hotel.
Culebra by boat, private drivers, horse rides on Luquillo sand and the once-a-trip charters.
Three things that only happen in Puerto Rico.
Beaches and rum bars exist all over the Caribbean. A bay that flashes blue under your hand, a rainforest inside a national forest system, and the distillery that made the daiquiri do not.
The bays that glow
Single-celled dinoflagellates crowd three bays here in numbers found almost nowhere else, and they flash when the water moves. Mosquito Bay off Vieques is the brightest, Laguna Grande in Fajardo the easiest to reach, La Parguera the only one you can still swim in. Go on the darkest nights of the month: a full moon washes the whole effect out.
- 1Bio Bay Kayak Tour in Fajardo★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,762 reviews
- 2Puerto Rico Bio Bay Kayak Adventure Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,581 reviews
- 3Bio Bay Kayak Tour in Fajardo★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,438 reviews
El Yunque
The only tropical rainforest in the United States forest system sits half an hour from a capital city, and it rains on it most afternoons. Trails run to towers and waterfalls; the river tracks run to smooth rock chutes the local families have used as slides for generations. Entry to the main road is timed and capped, which is why so many people let a guide handle it.
- 1Top Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 12,789 reviews
- 2Half-Day Yunque Rainforest Waterslide & rope swing Guided Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 6,534 reviews
- 3El Yunque Rainforest Waterslides and Luquillo Beach w/ Transport★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 5,098 reviews
Casa BACARDI
The largest premium rum distillery in the world sits across the bay in Catano, reached by a two-dollar ferry and a short ride. Sessions split into three: the history tour through the family story, the tasting flight, and the mixology class where you build your own daiquiri. Book the session, not the day, because they run to a fixed clock.
- 1Mixology Class at Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto Rico★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,469 reviews
- 2Rum Tasting Tour at Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto Rico★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,095 reviews
- 3Legacy Tour at Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto Rico★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 737 reviews
Four Puerto Rico bookings that will not wait.
Most of this island can be sorted over breakfast the day before. These four run on moon phases, timed entry slots and boat manifests that take no interest in when your flight lands.
- 01Bio Bay Kayak Tour in FajardoThe glow depends on the moon. The dark nights either side of a new moon are the good ones, and they are spoken for weeks ahead.
- 02Top Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup TourEntry to the main forest road runs on timed, capped reservations. Guided trips hold their own slots, which is the simplest way through it.
- 03Culebra Snorkeling Tour by Catamaran from FajardoCulebra is a boat ride away and the day trips run on fixed sailings. Miss the manifest and the next one is tomorrow.
- 04Mixology Class at Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto RicoCasa BACARDI runs scheduled sessions with limited seats, and the mixology class is the first of them to sell out.
The sierra pulls rain down most afternoons. Have a plan for it.
A tropical shower here is heavy, short and almost always over by the time you have found cover. That still costs you an afternoon, so keep something indoors in reserve: a distillery across the bay, a fritter counter with a roof, a story about the forts, a dance floor with a teacher on it.
By place, from the walled city to the outer cays
San Juan, El Yunque, Fajardo, Culebra: the run most first trips make.
The newest Puerto Rico tour reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Island Hopping and Snorkeling Sailing and Boat Tours Fajardo
Read our review →
Half-Day Private Boat Experience – Appetizers & Drinks Included
Read our review →
Full-Day Kayak Adventure – Explore Fajardo’s Crystal-Clear Waters
Read our review →
Janise Sailing Afternoon Charter in Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Read our review →
Private Janise Sailing Full Day Charter in Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Read our review →
Fajardo Puerto Rico Island Adventure Private Boat Tour
Read our review →
Half-Day El Yunque and Waterslides Adventure from Fajardo
Read our review →
Authentic El Yunque Rainforest Adventure — Waterfalls & Slides
Read our review →
Fajardo Ceiba Ferry Marina Taxi to San Juan Taxi Transportation
Read our review →
Famous Natural Waterslide in El Yunque Rainforest
Read our review →