Top 10 Places to Visit in Puerto Rico by Boat (or Car!)

Throughout my 15 years aboard Guiding Light I have hauled out in Fajardo, Puerto Rico at least half those years and Puerto Rico has become one of my favorite places in the Caribbean. Besides hauling out each year I have done a couple road trips around the island and taken several groups on island tours. You could spend a couple of weeks exploring this wonderful island and that does not include the vast amount of beautiful beaches the Caribbean is known for. Below are my top ten Puerto Rican spots.

10. Ponce – The second largest city in Puerto Rico was founded by Ponce de Leon’s grandson in 1692. Ponce has some great sites including the red and black striped Parque de Bombas (firehouse), the Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Tibes (historical and cultural site about the Tainos), the cathedral, a great art museum, and more. The biggest drawback for Ponce is the lack of ways to get ashore for cruisers.

9. Interior – Many people are surprised to find out the interior of Puerto Rico is quite mountainous and there are many places I have been to in the interior, where you would think you are in Colorado. Besides the mountains (where it can get quite chilly), waterfalls, meadows, and other beautiful scenes, this is a good coffee growing area. I found the historic plantation of Hacienda Buena Vista very cool with the way coffee was done in the past and Hacienda Pomarrosa is an active and current look at the process today.

8. East Coast – Having run charters in the Virgin Islands and hauling out in Fajardo for many years, I have spent a considerable amount of time on the east coast and there are some cool islands each with something unique. Palmintoes has a great beach and day crowd, Isla Santiago has over 700 monkeys used for research, la Cordillera is a string of rocks and islets, and Isla Piñeros is a nice little hidey hole. Plus, you can find just about anything you need in the town of Fajardo.

Yacht Club of the Month: Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club

7. Rio Camuy Caverns – This is a large cavern area that houses the 3rd largest underground river. The tour includes a 45-minute walk through the forest, going into the largest of the caverns, and seeing a huge sinkhole.

6. South Coast – While I already talked about the east coast, I think the south coast is even cooler to cruise. This is because you have more protected areas and in fact there are huge bays inside the barrier reefs connected to each other giving most of the entire south side to explore. Many of the islands on this coast are mangrove, which can be pretty cool to explore.There are sandy islands as you get farther west. Caja De Muertos (Coffin Island) is a great one with beaches, reefs, and hiking. At the far west end you will find Cabo Rojo with a pretty typical Spanish lighthouse and some cool pink salt pans.

Discovering Puerto Rico’s Best Marinas and Anchorages

5. Arecibo – Ever since I saw the movie “Contact,” I have been fascinated with the Arecibo Observatory. I was able to go several times before Hurricane Maria destroyed the largest radio telescope on the planet, but even today the visitor center has some great exhibits and is worth a visit.

4. Bioluminescent bays – Let me tell you that floating at night in water that sparkles with glow-in-the-dark creatures is quite the experience and Puerto Rico has more than its share of bays where this is possible. The one in Vieques is famous and the one in the northeast corner of the island is convenient, but in my opinion the bay just east of the town La Parguera is by far the best as far as the bioluminescence and the lack of crowds.

3. Old San Juan – Founded in 1509 and the second oldest European city in the New World, Old San Juan is by far my favorite Spanish colonial town in the entire Spanish Main. The town remained completely walled until around 1897. Besides simply walking around and enjoying the architecture you can see the blue cobblestone streets, the city gate (as seen in “Captain Ron” when they get to the boat after being in jail), La Fortaleza (the governor’s residence), the Casa Blanca (Ponce de Leon’s house), museums, the cathedral, the massive cemetery, and more.

2. El Yunque – Set aside in 1876 by the Spanish Crown, this is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System and one of the oldest reserves in the Western Hemisphere. It gets its name from the Taino spirit Yuquiyu (which means “Forest of Clouds”). The rainforest gets an average of three quarters of an inch of water each day. It is easy to spend an entire day at El Yunque just driving up the mountain, taking a few short hikes, visiting the observation towers, and seeing the waterfalls. For the more adventurous you can go on much long hikes and go kayaking. 

1. Fortification – One of the things that makes San Juan so awesome is so cool that I put it into its own category. The fortifications around the small island (although it looks like a peninsula now) include the city walls, Castillo San Felipe del Morro (the main fort is six levels high guarding the harbor entrance), Castillo San Cristóbal (almost as cool of a fort guarding the western land approach), La Fortaleza (now the governor’s residence), and Fortín San Juan de la Cruz (small fort across the harbor). The reason for all these forts is that San Juan’s importance lay in the fact it was the first good port with fresh water when coming from Europe. The Spanish Empire continued to grow the fortifications for 400 years, but by the Spanish American War in 1898 they were out of date and quickly conquered. This is the reason Puerto Rico is a territory of the USA.

 

Captain Shane and 1st Mate Lily just got married and are in the process of selling Guiding Light to move into the next chapter of life. Check out svGuidingLight on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to see what that will entail.

Shane McClellan has written for ALL AT SEA since 2016.