Hey guys! I recently visited Puerto Rico for the first time and wanted to recap a little bit of what I learned while I was there!
First things first – Puerto Rico is a US territory. This means you do NOT need a passport to visit. It also wasn’t required to be vaccinated to visit, but just about everything we did and every restaurant we ate at required a vaccine card to enter/participate. I’ll be honest – if you aren’t vaccinated I don’t think it’s worth a visit right now in terms of getting your money’s worth.
Puerto Rico is a very small island (you can drive around the whole island in about 6 hours) so you really don’t need much time there! We stayed Thursday to Monday and that was perfect – I even think Friday to Monday would be good!
If you’re visiting and aren’t sure where to start, here’s 5 things to do in Puerto Rico to make the most of your trip!
Hike the Rain Forest
The El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico is the only rain forest in the US National Park system. This is a MUST-DO if you visit – it was absolutely my favorite part of the trip! We booked this excursion through a tour company called Island Journeys. In places that I’ve never been and really have no idea what to expect, it’s worth it in my opinion to leave it to the professionals.
In this case, we absolutely made the right choice because the terrain was ROUGH. It was not a casual hike where you just take it easy and enjoy the scenery. There were points in the hike where we were on all fours climbing ropes, jumping off cliffs, etc. That being said, the staff was very good about communicating what was coming and there was always an option to stay behind and wait for the group to circle back if you didn’t feel comfortable with what was coming. It was SO much fun and I truly can’t recommend it enough.
We paid $179 for the full day tour package and here’s what it included:
- The company picked us up from a location close to our AirBnb and drove us everywhere we needed to go in a company bus
- We stopped at a local fruit stand on the way and got to try fresh fruit smoothies (literally the best smoothie I’ve ever had)
- Hiked El Yunque (spent probably 4 hours there) – the staff also picked up lots of fruits at the fruit stand when we stopped, so they cut it up for us and we got a mid-hike snack in the rain forest!
- Left the rain forest and stopped at a local restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner (if you go to Puerto Rico, Mofongo is a MUST TRY local food! I got this for dinner at the restaurant we stopped at and it was amazing).
- They took us to kayak in the Bioluminescent Bay (see the next item on our list!) – this took another 3 hours or so.
- Lastly, they dropped us off at our designated spot at the end of the night
The only additional cost we incurred was the fruit smoothie (about $5) and our dinner (about $15) – it was a FULL day of activities though as we were gone from our AirBnb for about 12 hours.
Kayak to the Bioluminescent Bay
Like I said – we got a package tour of the rain forest and the bay, but you do have the option to do one or the other! Let’s start with the basics (because I had no idea what a bioluminescent bay was before we went): the bio bay is a body of water that has algae at the bottom that glows in the dark. You can google it for a more scientific explanation, but really all you need to know is that the glow in the dark algae works its way up the food chain – the little bottom feeders eat the algae and begin to glow in the dark, and then the bottom feeders get eaten, etc.
The result is that on calm, dark nights you can see the water glowing! We met the tour guides at the beach, and they made sure we all had kayaks, etc. Fair warning: it was over 2 miles of round-trip kayaking. It was at a very manageable pace, but if you aren’t in somewhat decent physical shape, it might be a little taxing. Something worth noting – it had rained for almost a week straight before our arrival to San Juan. This means that there was a hefty layer of fresh water on top of the bay with very little sunlight, and it made it really hard to see the bioluminescence.
We waited until it was pitch black dark, and then the guides provided the group with a huge tarp. We passed it around and put the tarp over our kayaks (this was to block out the last light from the moon and stars) and then we could see the glowing! They said on a night following clear skies (no rain or clouds) you would absolutely not need the tarps to see the glowing.
I wish we had been able to see it better, but overall it was worth the money! It was an amazing part of our trip.
Visit Old San Juan
Old San Juan is exactly what is sounds like – the old “historic” part of the island. It’s absolutely picturesque with cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and some the most amazing views on the island. Noteworthy things to do in Old San Juan include:
- Visit El Morro (an old Spanish fort once used to protect the island)
- Visit Catedral de San Juan Bautista (the second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere)
- Visit Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery (it’s located on the oceanfront and provides some of the prettiest views on the island)
- Visit Casa Blanca (now a museum, but is considered the oldest residence in Old San Juan)
I highly recommend taking a guided walking tour of this part of the island – the guides are so knowledgeable and will make sure you see and learn about all of the noteworthy locations!
Spend an Evening in La Placita
Let me start by saying – La Placita is a very local experience and NOT what I would consider family friendly. If you’re traveling with children you could definitely visit during the day, but at night it is quite the party spot. If you’re traveling with friends and want a true Puerto Rican experience, you absolutely can’t miss this!
We wanted the most authentic experience possible, so we stayed in an AirBnb right above a bar in La Placita. Fair warning – Puerto Ricans like to party and they don’t get tired! The bars stay open until roughly 5am and then it will start to die down.
A couple of things to know in advance:
- While we were there (October 2021) EVERY bar required a vaccine card to enter. This is important to note because you do not need to be vaccinated to visit PR.
- Be a smart tourist – keep your purse/wallet/valuables close to you and ideally somewhere on the front of your body in a zipped compartment (this is not unique to PR – just a friendly reminder for anywhere you travel with large groups of people!).
- Puerto Ricans love to DANCE! Make sure you wear your best (aka, most comfy) dancing shoes!
Go to the Beach
It is an island after all! The beaches in San Juan are beautiful. Going to the beach is an easy way to save some money on your trip to Puerto Rico as they’re all public beaches with free access. You’ll just need towels and beach chairs – otherwise, there are chair stands every so often along the shore that you can rent chairs from. We chose this option and it was only $5 per chair for an unlimited amount of time. The water in San Juan was pleasant and a lot of people were swimming. We didn’t go to the other side of the island of Puerto Rico, but I’ve heard it has some amazing surfing!
