A rainforest before lunch. A bay that lights up after dark.
Which El Yunque tour actually stops at the waterslides. What a bio bay kayak costs out of Fajardo. Whether Culebra is worth the early boat. Reviews of every tour you can book on the island.
The four days a first trip to Puerto Rico is usually built on.
A rainforest morning, a reef with turtles grazing in it, a bay that lights up when you touch it, and the old city on foot. What each one costs, and what the people who went say.
01The rainforest dayTop Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup TourNatural granite waterslides and a rope swing in El Yunque, with transport out of San Juan. The single most booked thing on the island.
02The turtle morningSan Juan Guided Snorkel With Turtles Tour and VideosGreen turtles graze the grass beds a short swim off the San Juan shore. Guide, gear and the video are in the price.
03The glowing nightBio Bay Kayak Tour in FajardoPaddle Laguna Grande after dark and every stroke leaves a streak of light behind it. Go on the nights either side of a new moon.
04The old-city walkOld San Juan Walking TourBlue cobbles, the city walls and two forts, with somebody who knows which door in the wall leads where.
El Yunque: waterslides, a river cave or a zip line over the canopy.
The forest sits an hour east of San Juan and almost every tour leaves the city early, before the afternoon rain. What separates them is what you do once you are under the trees.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · El Yunque Small Group Tour with Luquillo Lunch Stop and Transport
Natural waterslidesGranite chutes polished by the river, and a rope swing into the pool.
Waterfalls and cavesRiver scrambles to Charco Azul, the Tanamá and the caves under the karst.
Zip lines and rappelsCanopy runs in the foothills, and a rappel down a waterfall face.
Trails on footCloud-forest paths, the ridge tower and the climb to La Mina falls.
All 64 rainforest days →
San Juan for the first nights, then east to Fajardo or west to Rincón.
The capital holds the old city, the airport and most departures. Fajardo runs the boats and the nearest glowing bay, Luquillo has the beach and the kiosks, Rincón the surf, Vieques the brightest water on record.
Three bays on this island glow. No country has more.
Dinoflagellates in the water flare when it moves, so a paddle stroke leaves a streak of cold light behind it. Laguna Grande at Fajardo is the one you can reach from San Juan and be back by midnight. Mosquito Bay on Vieques is the bright one.
The most booked days out in Puerto Rico.
Every review on the site →The tours more travellers take than anything else here, with what each one costs and how long it keeps you.
1
Half-Day Yunque Rainforest Waterslide & rope swing Guided Tour
Meet your guide in Fajardo, then drive your own car into eastern El Yunque for a muddy, active hike to two waterfall pools. Guides such as Orlando, Anthony, Xiani, and Jesus lead swimming, rope-swing, waterslide, and cliff-jump sections. Bring water, sturdy shoes, and a waterproof phone pouch.
From · $25
Read our review →
2
El Yunque Rainforest Waterslides and Luquillo Beach w/ Transport
from $49
3
Luquillo Beach Horse Ride from Carabalí Rainforest Adventure Park
from $164
4
Authentic Flavors of San Juan Food Tour
from $165
5
Small-Group El Yunque Rainforest Vivid Day Tour with Transport
from $75
6
Small-Group El Yunque Waterslide Adventure & transportation
from $41
7
Culebra Snorkeling Tour by Catamaran from Fajardo
from $180
8
ATV Single Rider Adventure Near San Juan – Hacienda Campo Rico
from $149
Reefs, cays and catamarans: most of Puerto Rico is offshore.
Turtles graze the grass beds off Condado, catamarans run out of Fajardo to Icacos and Palomino, and a boat to Culebra lands you on one of the best beaches in the Caribbean. Book the water days first. They fill before the land ones do.
Old San Juan is seven blocks of blue cobbles between two forts.
The adoquines underfoot came over as ship ballast and go cobalt in the rain. El Morro holds the point, San Cristóbal the landward side, and everything between them is walkable in a morning. Which is why a guided walk here costs less than lunch.
Every Old San Juan tour →
What a day out in Puerto Rico actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. The old-city walks and the half-day rainforest runs come in under the price of dinner in Condado.
Old-city walks, salsa classes, half-day rainforest runs and the rum tour across the bay.
The full days: bio bay kayaks, catamarans out to the cays, zip lines and the river caves.
Private charters, Culebra by catamaran, and the guides who take one group a day.
Three things Puerto Rico has that nowhere else does.
Beaches and rum bars run the length of the Caribbean. Granite waterslides inside a national forest, the brightest bay ever measured, and the distillery that made the island a household word do not.
The natural waterslides
The rivers in the forest have polished the granite into chutes smooth enough to ride sitting down, and the guides know which ones are running safely after rain. La Mina and Juan Diego get the photographs; the slides get the shouting. Almost every operator finishes at a rope swing over the pool below.
- 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
The brightest bay on record
Vieques holds the brightest bioluminescent bay ever measured, and the reason is plumbing: a narrow mouth keeps the dinoflagellates in and the mangroves around it keep them fed. Kayaks go out on the dark nights, when the wake behind the paddle reads like spilled paint. Clear-bottomed boats run for anyone who would rather not paddle.
- 1Bio Bay Kayak Tour in Fajardo★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,762 reviews
- 2Puerto Rico Bio Bay Kayak Adventure Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,581 reviews
- 3Two-in-One Day Trip: El Yunque and Bio Bay Tour with Transport★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,216 reviews
Casa BACARDÍ
The largest premium rum distillery in the world sits directly across the bay from Old San Juan, reached by a ferry that costs small change. Visits run three ways: the family history, a tasting flight, or a bench where you build your own daiquiri and take the recipe home. The bat on the gate has been the house mark since the nineteenth century.
- 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 arranged the night before from a bar stool in La Placita. These four run on reservation windows, boat manifests and the phase of the moon.
- 01Top Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup TourThe forest road runs on timed entry and the slots are released on a rolling window. A tour that carries its own reservation saves you the gate.
- 02Bioluminescent Boat Tour in Mosquito Bay, ViequesThe bay washes out around a full moon and peaks on the dark nights either side of a new one. Those dates go first, and the last boat back is early.
- 03Culebra Snorkeling Tour by Catamaran from FajardoFlamenco Beach is a day trip that depends on a hull. Catamarans leave Fajardo once each morning and the public ferry runs to a manifest that fills days ahead.
- 04Mixology Class at Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto RicoCasa BACARDÍ runs fixed tour times and the mixology bench seats a dozen at most. Weekend slots go first.
It rains on El Yunque most afternoons. Plan the wet hour.
The forest takes several metres of rain a year and most of it arrives after lunch, in bursts that pass. The island answer is not to hide all day: walk the trails early, then take the afternoon into the old city, a distillery or a dance floor.
By place, from the capital to the west coast
By kind of day, on land or in the water
San Juan, El Yunque, Fajardo, Luquillo, Culebra: the run most first trips make.
CulebraThe newest Puerto Rico tour reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Explore Cueva del Indio + La Poza del Obispo Beach
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San Juan Surfing Lessons: Ride the Waves in Puerto Rico
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Mountain Bike tour to a Pristine Spring and Cave
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Eco Friendly Farming Tour to Explore Dorado’s Most Beautiful Farm
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Walking City Tour, Entry Seralles Museum & Dinner Included
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