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Vacation in Puerto Rico has so much to offer to so many people!! Forts and colonial buildings for the history buff, rainforests and caves for the adventurer and of course beaches for the relaxed vacationer. This Puerto Rico guide has it all and by the end you’ll be ready to book the next flight out!

I’ll be honest, we booked flights here because we were looking for flights to Hawaii and they were so expensive! We saw an amazing deal to Puerto Rico (~$200 per person round trip) and figured it would be a similar style of vacation and jumped on it.

Once I started researching the island territory I started getting really excited, it looked AWESOME. Puerto Rico blew me away with what it has to offer, it is highly underrated and should be on everyones bucket list!

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What You Need to Know

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. They use the dollar, they have modern medicine and you do NOT need a passport to travel there. Puerto Ricans have a lot of pride in their own unique culture. They speak spanish and their flag is very important to them. A very blend of American, Latin and Spanish roots.

I was impressed by the number of places that took credit cards. In Italy everyone wanted cash but I think we only paid cash a handful of times in Puerto Rico over an entire week.

Renting a car is a good idea if you are planning on leaving San Juan (which I highly recommend you do). There is no public transportation and things are more spread out than you might initially think. They do have Uber but that adds up very quickly when you are traveling around such long distances.

Food in restaurants was much more expensive than I expected. Make sure you budget more for food than you do on most vacations. Alright, let’s get into this Puerto Rico guide.

1. Visit Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan is most likely the part of Puerto Rico you are flying into but double check, there are other airports. We flew into Ponce on the other side of the island. You can make that work too, like we did.

Old San Juan is an old Spanish Colonial Town that is bright, colorful and fun. It actually reminded me a lot of New Orleans because they are from the same time period and have similar styles of buildings.

This is the most touristy part of the island but it is a great place to eat or go out for drinks because there are so many options! This is also where I would recommend doing any souvenir shopping you plan on doing. It is all in one place and very convenient. There is plenty to do in San Juan so I decided to write a guide to Old San Juan, PR.

It is dead until the cruise ships start rolling in. To beat the crowds, go before 8:30 am or after 5-6 pm.

2. Hike in El Yunque Rainforest

Roughly 45 minutes to an hour away is El Yunque Rainforest! This lush green national forest has multiple hikes and waterfalls and even a couple of old towers. It is a great place to spend a day hiking and swimming.

I recommend stopping at the visitors center (just before the entrance) first. They have maps you can take pictures of and they have tons of knowledge and helpful tips.

After the visitors center, head into the forest and take your pick on what to do. We did Mt Britton Trail and loved it! You get an amazing view from the top. We also did Juan Diego Falls which was so pretty and the water felt really refreshing. Plus it has only a 5 minute “hike” to get to it. Stay and swim a while, just remember to bring a towel. We were going to do Yokahu Tower as well but forgot that it closed at 4:30 even though the rest of the park is open till 6 pm. So, next time.

After you are done hiking head over to Kioskos De Luquillo for dinner. There are so many shops to choose from that all sell traditional puerto rican foods. Then you can walk right over to Luquillo Beach and eat on the sand watching the sunset.

3. Go Back in Time in Colonial Forts

So technically in Old San Juan, I think these forts deserve their own section. There are two forts San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal, they are about a 20 min walk apart and well worth the visit. There is a 7 dollar entry fee that gets you into both forts and they have lots of signs that teach you so much about daily life in the forts as well as what different areas of the forts were used for.

These are popular for school field trips and get busier when the cruise ships come in. We went at opening (9am) and had the place almost entirely to ourselves for a good 30-40 minutes.

This is the only place on this Puerto Rico guide that made me feel like a princess!

4. Experience Magic at a Bioluminescent Bay

Ok, this ranks in the top 5 things I have ever done in my life! It is mixing Disney with travel and adventure. There are 5 bioluminescent bays in the world and 3 of them are in Puerto Rico. All 3 of which are accessible from San Juan. Two are on the main island and one is on a neighboring small island called Vieques. A bioluminescent bay occurs because of microorganisms that glow upon movement. So when you touch the water, or a fish swims through it then you see the glow.

Fajardo is closest and easiest to get to and that is the one we went to for convenience. Rumor has it though that Vieques is the best one. You have to go with a tour group, we used ” and we loved them. They were friendly, efficient, and they had snacks after. It costs $59 per person and you are going to want to go on the later time slot because it is darker and you’ll see the glow better.

The glow varies for so many reasons like water temperature, moon phase (light pollution), and so much more. To increase your chance of seeing a brighter glow try to visit when there is a new moon or cloud cover. We went just after a full moon but got lucky with a cloudy night.

Related Posts:

• The Ultimate Guide to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
• The Ultimate Cruise Packing List
• 24 Hours in Miami, Florida

5. Relax on a Beach

Puerto Rico has over 400 miles of beach or something crazy like that. Finding one to post up on is easy. They are very diverse though and finding the perfect one is not as easy. Some beaches have huge waves and others are really rocky. Here are some of the beaches we visited (or heard great things about) and my thoughts.

Mar Chiquita: a natural cove type beach in a present shape. It was not very crowded and had soft sand. However the beach is very rocky especially as you enter the water and the waves were HUGE. Fun to stop by but not the best for swimming or small children.

Playa ojo de Agua: on your way to Mar Chiquita you’ll pass this huge stretch of beach. It is less rocky than Mar Chiquita but still not completely smooth. It also had decently large waves but is a great place to stop and sunbath or watch the sunset.

Loquillo: Near the kiosks I mentioned earlier is a beach with much calmer waves. the beach had no rocks and seemed like a great place to go swimming and play for the day.

6. See an Amazing View at Cueva Ventana

Only about an hour and a half west of San Juan are some awesome caves. This one translates to Window Cave because of the large opening at the end of the cave that gives you the most incredible view of the Rio Grande and the valley below. The caves are also sites to old aboriginal living spaces and are filled with petroglyphs that have been authenticated.

To go into the caves you have to have a guide, it takes about and hour and a half and costs $20. You can buy tickets in person (like us) or call to reserve a spot. While we were waiting for our start time we got caught in a huge rainstorm! They were great, and instead of calling it off they waited it out with us and then took as down. As well as guiding you through the dark caves the guides also tell you about local fauna and animal life plus a little history about the native people that used to live in the area.

They are open from 9-4:30 and there is parking available on site.

7. Go Chasing Waterfalls

The island is filled with many beautiful waterfalls you can access. We of course talked about the waterfalls in El Yunque which are worth a visit. About 2 and a half hour from San Juan or an hour further than Cueva Ventana is a set of waterfalls called “Gozalandia Waterfalls”. We were going to go but because of the rain delay at Cueva Ventana we would have gotten there too late to have sunlight.

If you get the chance to go I want to see your photos. I was disappointed not to make it so I had to include it here anyway.

8. Feel Patriotic in Utuado, Puerto Rico

Only 10-15 minutes away from Cueva Ventana is one of my favorite stops in this Puerto Rico guide, a town called Utuado. It is fairly small but is home to the coolest flag mural I have ever seen. It is painted across an entire building as you can see from the photos. To find it simply type in the name of this church “Iglasia La Roca” and it will take you right there. There is plenty of street parking around.

There are also some colorful stairs right up the street that are completely Instagram worthy!

You can head through here on your way to Cabo Rojo (next on the list) and I highly advise it. They do not have the high tourist volume that other parts of the island due and its recovery from Hurricane Maria in 2017 has been slow. By stopping here to eat or shop you can help them recover! Not to mention the drive is stunning! It is winding mountain driving but through a lush green tropical environment.

9. Explore in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

Cabo Rojo is a region just outside of Ponce, the second largest town in Puerto Rico and located in the south western part of the island. I suggest staying the night in Ponce to best explore Cabo Rojo although you can make it a day trip from San Juan. Even though it is out of the way I think it is worth the visit, which is why it made my Puerto Rico guide. Bring sunscreen here though because there is not a lot of shade.

De Salines

There are three sights you MUST see in Cabo Rojo. The first are the pink salt flats. Thats right they are pink, a beautiful blush pink that is so much more pink in person than I thought was possible in nature. They are completely free, just search “de Salines“.

The Lighthouse

Next is Faro Los Morrillos, a gorgeous light purple lighthouse with turquoise windows. This is just 10 minutes or so further down the road from the salt flats. It is situated right next to some cliffs that some have said remind them of the cliffs of Portugal. I’ve never been there but if I make it i’ll let you know what I think! Just don’t get too close to the edge because it is WINDY up there. It costs $3 to go to the top and is closed every Wednesday so keep that in mind.

Natural Stone Arch (Destroyed in an Earthquake)

Unfortunately this natural landmark was destroyed in an earthquake in 2019. Third up is a gorgeous natural arch called Puenta de Piedra that is about a ten minute walk from the light house. There is a trail to the right of the lighthouse, you walk along it, and it follows the coast. You’ll see the arch on your left. (It will also show up in google maps!) This is free and such a pretty area! to get back to the parking lot keep following the trail you used to get here (the opposite way of the lighthouse) and the trail meets up with the main road back to the parking lot.

A ten minute drive away from this area is a great place to stop and eat called Annie’s Place. It has great food, traditional and American. Just keep in mind it is a little on the pricey side in my opinion.

Bonus: Visit Rincon and Aguadilla

We were in Puerto Rico for 6 days total, we did everything I have highlighted on this Puerto Rico guide (except the one waterfall I mentioned the rainstorm delayed us). We did not have time to do everything Puerto Rico has to offer. One place of notable mention are the two towns of Rincon and Aguadilla. They are on the north west coast and are known as surfer towns. There is an abandoned airplane you can explore in Aguadilla, a beach swing in Rincon and they are both supposed to have great beaches.

Practical Information for Visiting Puerto Rico

Find accommodation, sign up for a local tour or buy your Puerto Rico Travel Guide.

Puerto Rico Guide

Well this got long! If you made it this far you are a champ! Thank you for reading this Puerto Rico guide. It has everything you need for an awesome experience in Puerto Rico although I am sure there is so much more we could’ve done. Is there anything you did that you think should have made the cut??

We paid less than $400 dollars out of pocket for this trip of 6 days for two people, including flights! And none of this was hosted. I will have a post coming soon explaining how so make sure you sign up for emails so you are notified as soon as that post goes live!

Until then I think you will find this post on saving money on travel very helpful when planning your own trips. Happy traveling!