FREE Guide
Top 10 Things To Do in Puerto Rico
The following list is made up of our Trip Designer's recommendations from the 20+ years of expertise in Puerto Rico tourism.
If you have any questions about these locations,
check out our live chat or email tripdesigner@cloudgetaways.com
Congratulations on your upcoming trip to Puerto Rico!
El Yunque Rainforest
Info: The El Yunque National Forest is Puerto Rico's only tropical rainforest. Although small in size, it's one of the most biologically rich rainforests, at roughly 29,000 acres. The rainforest is open year-round with incredible hiking trails, waterfalls, and sightseeing stops ready for you to explore. There is no cost to enter the rainforest area, but driving can be challenging on the small, windy roads in the rainforest, so keep that in mind during your trip and when picking your method of transporation. We recommend to bring water, bug spray, and sunscreen. For food, there are local restaurants in Rio Grande right outside the rainforest that definitely deserve visitors.
What To See: A great place to start exploring is La Coca Falls, aka Catarata Coca which is the go-to open spot that has parking, some stores on the way, and bathrooms nearby. There's rocks near the waterfall that many people climb on, but not jump into the water. Depending on weather conditions, and park conditions some trails and waterfalls are closed, so we recommend starting at La Coca Falls, which is usually open.
There's Yokahú Tower, which has an epic view, but requires several flights of stairs. Another place to check out is Cascada La Mina where many people do hiking trails, along with accessing the natural pool for swimming.
Photo Ops: For the best photo op recommendations, check out Scratch Your Mapa's blog about Visiting El Yunque Puerto Rico.
Top photo ops spots in El Yunque include Juan Diego Falls, La Coca Falls, and on top of the Yokahú Tower.
Location: El Yunque National Forest, Catarata Coca, Yokahú Tower, and Juan Diego Falls.
Our top tour recommendation include:
Gozalandia Waterfalls
Info: Gozalandia Falls is a popular spot for locals to explore. This waterfall is 60 feet high located in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. There's an upper-part of the waterfall area that has swimming and a rope swing. The parking usually costs around $5, sometimes there's an attendant and other times you may have to go inside the restaurant at the entrance to pay. Getting to the waterfall requires a short hike, so we recommend bringing lunch, water, sunscreen, bug spray, bathing suits, an extra change of clothes, watershoes, towels, and water.
What To See: There are three main things to do at the Gozalandia Waterfall. You can jump from the 30 foot ledge into the water like the locals do, jump into the water from one of the big rocks, hang out in the shallow end of the water, use the rope swing, or just chill on the side of the waterfalls relaxing. There is no lifeguard at this location, so if you plan on jumping into the water keep that in mind.
Photo Ops: There's really no bad place to take a picture at the Gozalandia Waterfall, it's all green with the magical waterfall in the back.
Bioluminescent Bay
Info: Bioluminescent bays have a beautiful glow to them due to the concentration of dinoflagellates which increased after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. Guiness Records recognized one of the most famous bioluminescent bays in Vieques, Puerto Rico as the brightest bio bay in the world.
Adventures touring these locations usually include kayaking, so we recommend wearing water-friendly attire including water shoes and waterproof cameras or phones. It's crucial to avoid wearing any lotion or bug spray that would harm the wildlife in the water. Swimming and motorboats are strictly prohibited to converse the area. To get the best lighting, we recommend choosing a bioluminescent bay tour that occurs after sunset.
What To See: There are several bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico including Bahía Bioluminiscente, Laguna Grande, and La Parguera.
Laguna Grande,
in Farjardo, Puerto Rico.
Mosquito Bay, aka Bahía Bioluminiscente
in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Bahía Bioluminiscente,
in La Parguera, Puerto Rico.
Photo Ops: Keep in mind that bioluminescence is very difficult to capture on camera, so either professional photographers have the best shots or visitors use photoshop to enhance the colors in photos. Although you can see the glow in person, the glow is notoriously difficult to capture on camera (and often doesn't do it justice compared to in person).
For the best picture we recommend using a high-quality camera taken from another kayak and playing with the settings to make it look as similar as possible to what it looked like in person.
Locations:
1) Laguna Grande in Farjardo
2) Mosquito Bay, aka Bahía Bioluminiscentein Vieques
3) Bahía Bioluminiscente,in La Parguera
Jet Ski Adventures
Info: Jet skiing is one of the most adventurous ways to explore the waters of Puerto Rico!
When choosing a company to work with to do your jet ski tour, consider the:
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location you want to see
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pre-tour training and instructions for operating the jet ski
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time length of the tour
Be sure to bring proper water-friendly attire including water shoes, sunscreen, a water-resistant camera, and sunglasses. Jet ski tour operators will provide you with life jackets, so no need to worry about renting your own.
Tours: We have many Jet Ski companies whose availability changes week to week, depending on the time of year and location.
If you're looking to include a Jet Ski adventure that fits in perfectly with your upcoming vacation, request a custom travel plan and we'll chat about exactly what you're looking for.
Info: When choosing a company to work with to do catamaran boat charters, consider the:
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locations you want to see
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what's included in your boat charter (food, refreshments, etc)
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time length of the boat charter
Our top tour recommendation include:
ATV Offroading
Info: ATV is short for an all-terrain vehicle, which requires a helmet and age-limit to operate. There is some training involved that usually takes 10-15 minutes, followed by a group ATV tour where you operate an ATV to different locations within a property.
For safety reasons, many ATVs have a total weight limit, age restriction, height restrictions. There are usually two different types of ATVs including 4-person vehicles and 2-person vehicles.
We recommend bringing water/mud-friendly attire including a water bottle, bug spray, sunscreen, and water-friendly sneakers for example. Some tours include waterfall stops or natural swimming pool breaks, which can be a great way to cool off from the heat of Puerto Rico.
Tours: If you're looking to include a ATV adventure that fits in perfectly with your upcoming vacation, request a custom travel plan and we'll chat about exactly what you're looking for.
Zipline Explorations
Info: Zipline adventures are all over the island of Puerto Rico, so depending on where you are exploring or staying on the island you're likely to find a local place to explore.
For those without transportation, you may want to choose something close to San Juan such as Hacienda Campo Rico and Toro Verde Urban Park in Districto T-Mobile.
It's common for zipline tour operators to require age, height, and weight restrictions for safety reasons. Be sure to bring activity-friendly clothes as if you were going for a hike.
Our top tour recommendation include:
Loíza Bomba & Culture
What To See: The first thing to see in Loíza is Piñones, which is a coastal part of town filled with local shacks selling food, coconuts, drinks, and snacks.
These shacks are called kiosks, also known as kioskos, where fried food is often sold such as bacalaito and alcapurrias.
The second incredible sight to see is Parque Histórico Cueva María de la Cruz, which includes a historical and archaeological cave where rustic pottery, archaic human bone fossils, marine fossils, ancient fruit seeds, and more have been discovered, dating back as far as 4000 BC.
Today, this park is home to a beekeeping, bomba workshops, plena workshops, music, dancing, of course the ancient cave, and much more. Check out our recommendations below for which tour operators we recommend.
The third place to explore is the incredible art studio of Samuel Lind and see the cultural masks and artwork of Los Hermanos Ayala.
Photo Ops: There are incredible sights to see in Loíza including many Puerto Rican flags.
There are iconic Puerto Rican flag chairs at the entrance to Piñones, along with many local murals and restaurants with awesome Puerto Rican flags.
When you go with a tour guide, they know where the local spots to take pictures are, but when traveling on your own, it's often a "OH I see a Puerto Rican flag! Pull over!" situation.
Location: For visiting Piñones, a good place to start is by either eating at a restaurant and parking there, or visiting the beach first and eating at the kioskos. For beach access, check out where the locals park along the side of the road or use this as a GPS location.
For participating in Bomba dance workshops, visiting Samuel Lind's art exhibit, and visiting the artistic mask studio of Batey De Los Hermanos Ayala, and more, we recommend opting into local tours that can set everything up for you in advance including providing transportation.
Our top tour recommendation include:
Info: Loíza is a pueblo of Puerto Rico with deep roots in african heritage. Loíza was settled in the 1500's from members of the Yoruba tribe, and today this town celebrates the African heritage with dancing, music, colorful attire, cultural masks, along with iconic art and culinary traditions.
Ron del Barrilito
Info: Ron del Barrilito is the home of local Puerto Rican rum since 1880, located in Hacienda Santa Ana, Bayamon, Puerto Rico. If you like rum and are interested in rum tasting and learning about the history behind it all, Ron del Barrilito is where it's at.
Locations: Ron del Barrilito - Hacienda Santa Ana
Tours: If you're looking to include a ATV adventure that fits in perfectly with your upcoming vacation, request a custom travel plan and we'll chat about exactly what you're looking for.
Old San Juan
What To See: There are tons to see in every corner of Old San Juan, for the full list we recommend Discover Puerto Rico's list of landmarks not to miss when you visit Viejo San Juan.
Our top picks include Fort El Morro (Castillo San Felipe del Morro) and Calle Fortaleza.
Photo Ops: Calle Fortaleza is a great photo op to take advantage of, but it's often full of fellow travelers trying to get the perfect picture with whichever umbrellas are displayed. If you're looking for an empty street try going in the morning, otherwise you'll have people in the background of your picture. (Still an awesome photo op! We think it's worth it!)
Along where the cruise ships dock in Viejo San Juan, there's a huge I ♥ PR sign which is another great picture. Fort El Morro has an incredible front lawn, which is a great photo op, and inside the fort there are many cool, historic sights to take pictures in front of.
Locations: I ♥ PR sign, Calle Fortaleza, and Fort El Morro. A good place to find parking is the parking garage Estacionamiento Paseo Portuario San Juan, because street parking is very difficult and often for residents.
Our top tour recommendation include: