We spent our time in the southeastern corner of the island searching for beaches. Since the one at Palmas del Mar was covered with seaweed and had dangerous waves, we headed west, and discovered El Cocal and Punta Santiago.
Puerto Rico Must-Do Experiences and Adventures
We’ve lived in Puerto Rico for only two months, and already a number of friends, and friends of friends, have reached out to us looking for recommendations or advice for visiting the island. I realize no one has time to go through our whole travel blog in search of ideas on what to do or see on La Isla del Encanto.
So if you’re coming to Puerto Rico and staying around the capital San Juan, here are a few of our favorite things to do, see and experience!
Urban Beaches
If you’re staying in San Juan, you will enjoy Isla Verde Beach, with its wide swath of sand and crashing waves. Ocean Park Beach is quirky and fun, but difficult to access unless you’re staying close by. We also recommend Balneario Carolina, or Carolina Public Beach, just east of Isla Verde, which features bathrooms, showers, shade trees, and beach bars. Admission is free, and parking is just $4. The sand is soft, the waves are gentle, and you can while away an afternoon in a beach chair with a mojito in hand while watching jets take off from and land at San Juan International Airport, right behind you.
Stroll west down the sand and enjoy lunch or dinner at Ocean Lab Brewing Company, which serves up really good pub food and a variety of craft brews on a large open balcony facing the ocean and the beach club below. (Make sure you enter from the street side; the beachside door is for members only.) Don’t miss the gift shop!
Balneario de Carolina: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/profile/balneario-de-carolina/7704
Ocean Lab Brewing: https://oceanlabbrewery.com/
Urban Snorkeling
You can snorkel for sea turtles at Escambron Beach on Puerto de Tierra in San Juan. It’s not the best snorkeling on the island by any stretch, but it’s convenient if you’re staying in San Juan. And the chances of seeing a sea turtle are high!
Scuba Dogs Dive Shop (for renting snorkel gear): https://scubadogs.net/
For some truly spectacular snorkeling, go on a snorkeling day trip on a catamaran to Icacos Island, embarking from Fajardo. We did the Catamaran Spread Eagle II, and it was a blast. https://g.co/kgs/ZwRNd2
Viejo (Old) San Juan
Old San Juan is worth a day trip just to experience 500 years of history mingled with today’s rhythm of life. Enjoy strolling around the old city while you soak up the beautifully preserved Spanish Colonial architecture, shop for local crafts, and eat and drink Puerto Rican fare. Take in the historic sights, especially the iconic fort San Felipe El Morro, the governor’s residence La Fortaleza, and the Museum of the Americas. Definitely spend at least a day!
Here are some links to get you started in OSJ.
- Exploring Old San Juan: https://notaboutthemiles.com/things-to-do-in-old-san-juan/
- El Morro: https://www.nps.gov/saju/index.htm
- La Fortaleza: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/266/
- Museo de las Américas: https://www.museolasamericas.org/
- Doña Fela Parking Garage: https://g.co/kgs/adbVtk
Arts and Culture
The Puerto Rico Art Museum in Santurce is excellent, if you want to spend a day away from the beach and out of the sun. https://www.mapr.org/es
Centro de Bellas Artes has world-class cultural offerings. https://www.cba.pr.gov/
If you’re a Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights, Tick Tick Boom) fan, take a trip to his family’s hometown of Vega Alta, less than an hour’s drive from San Juan, and spend a couple of hours in the Galería de Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin used to fly down from New York to spend summers visiting his abuelos (grandparents) here when he was a kid. In fact, his grandfather was a local celebrity decades before Lin started winning awards! https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/galeria-lin-manuel-miranda?tab=visit
Rum and Spirits
If you fancy rum or just a good time on vacation, we recommend taking the Mixology Class at the Bacardí Rum Factory. Take the ferry to Cataño from Old San Juan (Park at Doña Fela) for a spectacular experience. https://www.bacardi.com/casa-bacardi/tickets/
Another rum option is to take the tasting tour at Ron Barrilito, the original Puerto Rican rum. https://rondelbarrilito.com/
These are splurges, about $80 each. Both are worth it!
If you decide not to spend the time or money on a rum tour, we recommend at least having a piña colada at El Caribe Hilton, which claims to be the birthplace of the piña colada, or Barachina in Old San Juan (https://g.co/kgs/nP36j6), which makes the same claim. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chelseadavis/2019/07/10/this-is-where-the-pia-colada-was-born/
Hiking the Rain Forest El Yunque
If you want to hike in El Yunque, the rain forest, you need to buy your tickets in advance on the first day of the month, from the US National Park Service website. They get snapped up fast. However, the site doesn’t work well, so be prepared for Plan B. If you fail, which is likely, you can always book a guided tour.
National Park Service website: https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300017
A zipline tour of El Yunque is also awesome. https://www.junglequipr.com
Luquillo and the Kioskos
Afterward, relax at Balneario (Public Beach) Luquillo (closed Monday and Tuesday). Again, free entry, $4 parking, bathrooms, gentle surf, and golden sand. (Note that this is NOT the beach behind the Kioskos. That one is also called Luquillo, NOT Balneario Luquillo, and is interesting, but with a gritty locals vibe. Be prepared to encounter lots of trash) https://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/balneario-monserrate-luquillo/
Then have a meal at the famous Luquillo kioskos. https://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/luquillo-kiosks/
And So Much More…
Drink a passion fruit mojito! Try red snapper (chillo) with criollo sauce!
If you’ll have a car and are willing to explore a little, visit the Pork Highway, a coffee plantation, or Gozalandia Falls. If you have more time, come to our lovely southwest corner of the island, Cabo Rojo, which has clear, calm beaches facing the gentle turquoise waters of the Mona Passage. It’s 2 and 1/2 hours from San Juan.
Our Favorite Tour Guides
If you want someone with energy, knowledge, and enthusiasm to create a tour for you and show you the island, consider Rosario and Chan’s Adventures. Julio and Chan are fantastic! Tell them Bob and Lisa sent you! https://m.facebook.com/100082685624263/
More Great Sources of Info
- Discoverpuertorico.com
- Puertoricodaytrips.com
- Messysuitcase.com
- Youtube.com/messysuitcase
This should get you started. Enjoy this wonderful island!
Messy Suitcase Mini Tour: Playa Montones
Playa Montones is a beautiful family-friendly beach in Isabela, Puerto Rico. It has sand dunes as well as rock formations, though not a lot of shade, so bring your umbrella.
Its shallow water make this natural pool the family-preferred beach in Isabela, a safe environment for kids and toddlers to play around. A natural wall prevents the strong surf from rushing in.
The beach is also right next to the jogging/biking trail in Isabela, so you can add a nice walk to your day out.
Watch where you park, though! We got a ticket for facing the wrong way on the street.
Messy Suitcase Mini-Tour: Playa Santa in Guanica, Puerto Rico
After indulging ourselves on pinchos (kebabs) at a little food truck park on the way, we spent a peaceful weekday afternoon at Playa Santa, a quiet neighborhood beach in Guanica on the south coast of Puerto Rico.
There were no restrooms, though it looks like on weekends it’s quite lively, and you can take advantage of food kioskos and kayak rentals. The surf is calm and the kids are plentiful.
INFO
Pelican Feeding Time at Palmas del Mar
We wandered down to the coastal area of Palmas del Mar and discovered pelicans having a feeding frenzy on fish in the Atlantic Ocean. It was an amazing sight! Thought we’d share.
Palmas del Mar is a lush golf course/tennis resort development on the southeast end of the island of Puerto Rico. We spent 12 nights there. The beach is largely inaccessible, except by golf cart or walking over to this stretch. There was a lot of sargassum, and it stunk. But the views were gorgeous and clearly the fish — and thus, the seabirds — loved it!
We own a House in Puerto Rico!
We are spending the day enjoying Playa Almendros in Rincón after yesterday’s house closing.
That’s right, we now own a house in Cabo Rojo!
There’s a sea turtle swimming around out there, poking his head up now and then. A sea turtle greeted us at a different beach, Playa Ostiones, the day our offer was accepted a month and a half ago! Do you think it’s the same turtle, welcoming us to the island?
I feel a new sense of belonging here now that I own a home, even though I don’t live in it yet!
Sneaking into Vivo Beach Club on Carolina Beach
While trying to enter Ocean Lab Brewing Company from the beach at Carolina, Puerto Rico, we were stopped by a burly security guard. He told us we couldn’t walk through this private club named Vivo, and pointed us around the building to the street side to enter the restaurant from the parking lot with the rest of the lowly non-members.
Well, exc-u-u-u-u-se me! (Fellow Boomers will recognize that reference.)
Our table on the third-floor balcony at Ocean Lab gave us a bird’s eye view of the Vivo Beach Club, so we googled it. It calls itself “the hottest private beach club in town.” You can join, or pay $40 for a day pass. This video shows you what you get.
After lunch, Bob tried to sneak through the club again to get out to the beach. Despite putting on his very best I-belong-here-don’t-mess-with-me act, he was stopped by the alert security guards and rerouted to the pedestrian exit. Foiled again!
Links
Playa de Guayanés
We’re starting to explore beaches on Puerto Rico’s southeast coast, beginning with Playa de Guayanés in Yabucoa. The warmest water my tootsies have ever been dipped in! It’s a popular local beach, but still very quiet. The sand offered up magnificent seashells in various shades of brown.
But watch out for the red ants that sting in the grassy sand under the palm trees!
Coral-Covered Piers and Undersea Wrecks: Snorkeling Crashboat Beach
Crashboat Beach has something for everyone — a gentle surf that beckons children in donut floats as much as adults drinking piña coladas, shady areas for relaxing, warm sand for sunbathing, a fascinating old pier jutting out into the water that teens love to jump off, food trucks with pinchos (kebabs) and smoothies, and amazing sunset views. But what Lisa found most interesting was UNDER the water!
Help Save Tres Palmas Marine Reserve!
Please sign this petition to help preserve the wonderful Tres Palmas Marine Reserve in Rincon, Puerto Rico. It was created in 2004 to protect Puerto Rico’s rich marine biodiversity, especially its elkhorn corals. It is now threatened by development in the watershed.
Sign This Petition!
Please sign this petition. It only takes five seconds. But it will help save one of the world’s last great spaces.
Here are some images of this glorious place.
Photos provided by 413 Dive Shop.
