SAN JUAN · PUERTO RICO
Blue cobblestones, old fortress walls and the only rainforest in the US.
Old San Juan walks, El Yunque waterfalls, bioluminescent bays at night, sunset sails on the Atlantic. The Caribbean side of America, with the Spanish bones still showing.
Only in Puerto Rico
Three things you can’t do anywhere else.
Walking tours and beach days exist all over the Caribbean. These three don’t. The only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system, the brightest bioluminescent bay on record, and a 16th-century fortified city you can walk in a morning. Build the rest of the trip around them.
The only US tropical rainforest
El Yunque
No other US national forest is a tropical rainforest. El Yunque sits 45 minutes east of Old San Juan: waterfalls you can swim under, natural rock slides, jungle pools, and tree frogs calling all night. Most tours pair the rainforest with a beach stop, so the day reads as forest in the morning, Atlantic in the afternoon.
- 1 Top Rated El Yunque Rainforest & Waterslide – SmallGroup Tour
- 2 Small-Group El Yunque Rainforest Vivid Day Tour with Transport
- 3 Small-Group El Yunque Waterslide Adventure & transportation
When the water glows
The Bioluminescent Bays
Puerto Rico has three of the world's brightest bioluminescent bays. Paddle a kayak after sundown and the water lights up electric blue around the paddle, the hull, the fish flicking past. Mosquito Bay on Vieques is the brightest on record. Laguna Grande in Fajardo is the closest to San Juan and runs nightly.
- 1 Hike El Yunque Rainforest and Kayak Bio Bay Combo Tour
- 2 La Parguera Bio Bay Boat Ride and Swimming w/ San Juan Transport
- 3 La Parguera Glowing Bioluminescent Bay Boat Tour from San Juan
On foot through the old town
Old San Juan & El Morro
The original 16th-century walled city: the bastions, the cathedral, the blue cobblestones (adoquines) shipped over as ballast. El Morro fort sits at the north tip facing the Atlantic. A UNESCO-listed grid you walk in a morning, with the bay and the fortress lines visible from almost every street.
- 1 Old San Juan Walking Tour
- 2 Old San Juan City Walking Tour
- 3 Historic Old San Juan Sunset Walking Tour
Where San Juan starts
Start with the one that everyone books.
If it’s your first day in San Juan, start here. The old town, the fortress walls, the blue stones, all in one.
The classics
San Juan’s Most Popular Tours
Old San Juan, El Yunque, the bio bays, Bacardi and the sunset sails. The Puerto Rico every traveller wants to see on a first visit.
By place
Pick a corner of San Juan.
Each one is its own day. Old San Juan for the forts and the blue stones. El Yunque for the waterfalls. The bay for the boats. The bio bays for after dark. Luquillo for the strand. Bacardi for the rum.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
On foot for the old town. Into the rainforest for the waterfalls. By catamaran for the north coast. By kayak for the bio glow. By ATV through the karst. Rum tastings, salsa nights and a turtle snorkel in between.
Into the rainforest
El Yunque waterfalls and pools.
Waterfalls you can stand under, natural rock slides polished smooth by centuries of jungle water, and the karst caves at Charco Azul. Three picks for a half-day or full-day into the rainforest, all bookable with door-to-door transfers from San Juan.
Out on the water
San Juan by boat.
Catamaran sails along the north coast, snorkelling with green turtles at Escambrón, bay tours that loop the old fort lines. Three picks for a half-day on the water, all leaving from the city.
Why everyone leaves with a bottle
Bacardi, rum and the food walks.
Casa Bacardi is the original distillery, just across the bay. Smaller producers like Ron del Barrilito have their own followings. Pair it with a food walk through the old town and you’ve eaten your way through half of Puerto Rican cuisine in an afternoon.
When the bay starts to glow
San Juan after dark.
Kayak through electric-blue bioluminescent water at Laguna Grande, walk the lit-up bastions at El Morro, learn the salsa basics in a 1920s ballroom. Three picks for after the sun drops.
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