Carolina, PR
Balneario de Carolina
A large, well-run public beach five minutes from the San Juan airport, with lifeguards, palm shade, showers, a playground and food kiosks.
- Swimming
- Ages 2+
- ~4h
- Paid
Adventures in Puerto Rico
23 adventures found
Luquillo, PR
Balneario de Luquillo
A palm-lined crescent protected by a reef, with calm shallow water, lifeguards, and sixty food kiosks along the road behind it.
- Swimming
- Ages 1+
- ~4h
- Paid
San Juan, PR
Balneario El Escambron
A reef-protected cove minutes from Old San Juan with genuinely good snorkelling, lifeguards, showers and calm shallow water for young children.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 4+
- ~3h
- Paid
Fajardo, PR
Balneario Seven Seas
A sheltered public beach on Puerto Rico's north-east corner with warm shallow water, full facilities and a trail to two wilder coves.
- Swimming
- Ages 1+
- ~4h
- Paid
Guanica, PR
Bosque Estatal de Guanica
A UN biosphere reserve of subtropical dry forest - cactus, thorn scrub and rare birds - with hot coastal trails leading down to empty beaches.
- Hiking
- Ages 6+
- ~4h
- Free
San Juan, PR
Castillo San Cristobal
The largest Spanish fort built in the Americas, with a tunnel system, a dungeon and centuries-old ship drawings scratched into the walls.
- Nature
- Ages 5+
- ~2h
- Paid
San Juan, PR
Castillo San Felipe del Morro
A six-level Spanish fortress on the headland, with tunnels, sentry boxes and the best kite-flying lawn in the Caribbean.
- Nature
- Ages 4+
- ~3h
- Paid
Luquillo, PR
Charco Frio, Rio Sabana
A cold, clear river pool on the edge of El Yunque, reached by a short forest walk - a local swimming hole rather than a sight.
- Swimming
- Ages 5+
- ~3h
- Free
Aguadilla, PR
Crash Boat Beach
Submerged pier pilings have grown coral and sponge into an artificial reef, making this the easiest genuinely good snorkel on the west coast.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 5+
- ~3h
- Free
Rincon, PR
Domes Beach
Puerto Rico's best-known surf break, with beginner lessons when the summer swell drops and humpback whales passing offshore in winter.
- Surfing
- Ages 8+
- ~3h
- Free
Rio Grande, PR
El Yunque National Forest
The only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system, with roadside waterfalls and a canopy tower a short walk from the car.
- Hiking
- Ages 4+
- ~5h
- Free
Culebra, PR
Flamenco Beach
Routinely called one of the best beaches in the world: a horseshoe bay of white sand and impossibly clear shallow water.
- Swimming
- Ages 2+
- ~5h
- Paid
Guanica, PR
Gilligan's Island (Cayo Aurora)
A tiny mangrove cay a short ferry hop off Guanica, where shallow turquoise channels between the roots work like natural swimming pools for kids.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 4+
- ~4h
- Paid
Fajardo, PR
Laguna Grande Bioluminescent Bay
Paddle a mangrove channel after dark into a Fajardo lagoon where every stroke of the blade lights up blue-green with living microorganisms.
- Kayaking
- Ages 6+
- ~3h
- Paid
Vieques, PR
Mosquito Bay
The brightest recorded bioluminescent bay in the world - on a dark night, fish leave visible glowing trails under the kayak.
- Kayaking
- Ages 6+
- ~3h
- Paid
Camuy, PR
Parque Nacional Cavernas del Rio Camuy
One of the largest cave systems in the world, entered by trolley down into a sinkhole, with a subterranean river running far below the walkway.
- Nature
- Ages 5+
- ~3h
- Paid
Arecibo, PR
Parque Nacional Cueva Ventana
Walk through a bat cave on a guided tour to a window-shaped opening in a cliff, framing a green view over the Rio Grande de Arecibo valley.
- Hiking
- Ages 6+
- ~2h
- Paid
Loiza, PR
Pinones
A coastal boardwalk and bike path through mangrove and palm, lined with kiosks frying the best street food on the island.
- Biking
- Ages 4+
- ~4h
- Free
Cabo Rojo, PR
Playa Buye
A calm, shallow, palm-shaded cove on Puerto Rico's west coast, and one of the gentlest beaches on the island for toddlers and nervous swimmers.
- Swimming
- Ages 1+
- ~4h
- Free
Isabela, PR
Playa Jobos
A limestone-framed bay on the north-west coast with a reliable surf break at one end and sheltered tide pools for children at the other.
- Surfing
- Ages 6+
- ~3h
- Free
Cabo Rojo, PR
Playa Sucia (La Playuela)
A curved bay under limestone cliffs at the island's south-west tip, with the 1882 Los Morrillos lighthouse on the headland above.
- Swimming
- Ages 4+
- ~4h
- Free
Vieques, PR
Sun Bay (Balneario Sun Bay)
A mile-long public crescent of calm turquoise water with picnic shelters, wild horses on the grass, and almost nobody on it.
- Swimming
- Ages 1+
- ~4h
- Paid
Culebra, PR
Tamarindo Beach
Swim out a short way from a quiet Culebra shore and you are over turtle grass where green sea turtles graze most mornings. No facilities at all.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 5+
- ~3h
- Free