La Poza del Obispo in Arecibo is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches on the North Coast of Puerto Rico. We wanted to know why so many people recommend it!
Here’s why: Lots of parking right by the beach. Deep, soft golden sand. A few shady palm trees perfect for hanging hammocks. Incredible views of cliffs and turquoise sea in every shade imaginable. Food trucks nearby along the road to the beach. A “poza” (pool) of calm water protected by rocks from the jaw-dropping waves, which creates a perfect pool for kiddies to safely swim.
What’s not to love?
La Poza is also located right in the shadow of the beautiful Arecibo Lighthouse, so we hiked up a small mountain into a brisk wind to get a better view. Definitely worth it!
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!
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!
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!
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
This mural in Vega Alta honors Lin and his grandfather
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/
Mixology class
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 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.
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/
Drink a passion fruit mojito! Try red snapper (chillo) with criollo sauce!
This is a passion fruit mojito
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!
Wear good, non-slippery water shoes and a bathing suit if you decide to visit Gozalandia Falls, because you will not be able to keep from jumping into the enticing pool at the foot of this huge waterfall! The main waterfall is truly amazing, at least 50 feet tall, and there are several places where you can climb up and jump in (at your own risk). Or just swim in the pool at the bottom, watching fish swim around your feet.
There is a cement sidewalk and stairs to lead you to the main falls and several above, plus you can just walk in the creekbed.
The drive to get to Gozalandia on narrow, winding mountain roads is not for the faint of heart, which is the only reason you might consider paying a guide to take you. Otherwise, just set out on your own and navigate carefully! It’s about 1 1/2 from San Juan in San Sebastien.
The gate is open from 10 AM-6 PM, and there is a $10 charge for parking. Go early to avoid the crowds, though the community feel of lots of people watching each other swim and jump has its own appeal. Make sure you take time to enjoy a drink and snack at the end of the day in the little restaurant by the parking lot, which overlooks a green pond populated by turtles.
Be aware that the falls can be dangerous if there’s a lot of rain, so use caution and common sense.
Amazingly, the actual Guajataca Tunnel (pronounced gwa-hah-TAH-kah) was the least interesting part of this hike. And the tunnel was fantastic! But, as always happens when you’re as open to new discoveries, we found so much more.
We hiked through the tunnel and westward along rocky cliffs, with dazzling turquoise sea to our right.
We forked left and crossed a butterfly meadow, filled with plants that attract and feed those lovely insects, such as calotropis procera, and oplonia spinosa, almendro (terminalia catappa), jayajbico (erithalis fruticose). Here are the ones we saw, plus a caterpillar of unknown type.
We later learned it was in fact a frangipani worm and not a caterpillar at all. They can grow up to 6 inches long, travel in hordes, do an incredible amount of damage, and eventually turn into big brown moths.
Puerto Rico does have its own species of monarch butterfly called the macho monarca, which doesn’t migrate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pose for pictures, either! But here’s one from USDA.
The macho monarca can also be found in the Virgin Islands, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, St. Lucia and Jamaica.
We found a posterboard about this butterfly and its diet when we exited the tunnel back into the park.
Hiking back along the ocean, powerful waves exploded against jagged boulders rising up from the shallow sea. We passed several remnants of wooden boats that we speculated might have carried aspiring migrants across the ocean from Haiti.
We also found wooden steps, yawning caves, a few creatures, and even a lone dead crab, perfectly preserved on the sand.
LizardRed-billed oyster catcher
The tunnel itself, which connects the towns of Quebradillas and Isabela, is a remnant of the sugar cane era, when trains were used to transport sugar cane from the farms in the area.
Local artists have given walls some color with murals, and we found local artisans and food vendors.
The white-sand PlayaGuajataca beside it, protected by a glorious grove of palm trees, stretched east to a campground and river. Settle into your beach chairs and you will enjoy a lot of shade and gorgeous cliff views.
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!
Our exciting hike into the Cueva del Viento (Cave of the Wind) took a potentially disastrous turn when we ventured too far into the pitch-black cave and couldn’t find our way out.
We found ourselves grappling with very dark thoughts as we walked in endless circles, listening to bats screech overhead and willing our flashlights not to stop working, while we looked for anything familiar to help us escape the cave.
The Cueva del Viento is found at the end of a popular trail in Guajataca State Forest on the northeastern town of Isabela, Puerto Rico. If you go, make sure you take a good flashlight, tell someone where you are going, and don’t go in too deep.
We thought the rickety stairs down into the cave were the dangerous part.
We had a magical snorkeling experience in Rincon, where we encountered a huge abundance of healthy sea coral, aquatic life, and even a couple of hawksbill turtles!
We came to see the rocks in Laguna Guaniquilla, not far from Buye Beach.
But we found so much more in Punta Guaniquilla, an amazing nature preserves full of natural wonders!
We encountered distant vistas.
Unexplained ruins.
Mangroves seen from a different angle.
Spectacular Caribbean views.
Salt flats that hosted 10,000 skittering crabs.
Jagged boulders rising from the water of Laguna Guaniquilla.
Hidden caves with signs warning of potential seismic activity.
More hidden caves.
Sleeping frogs.
Interesting plants.
Termite nests, some fallen on the ground.
You reach this hike by heading south on foot from the local favorite Buye Beach, down a puddle-mucked, narrow road through a neighborhood of ramshackle cottages that face the Caribbean Sea. Bring lots of water, and definitely bring a camera!
People go to Vieques for island life, a legendary bioluminescent bay, and fantastic snorkeling. But it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience in so many other ways, whether you’re passing a group of wild horses in the roadway, finding a secluded beach spot to call your own, or watching a tropical sunrise from a beach bar.
