The beaches in Puerto Rico are amazing! This is the view of the sunset from our private beach in front of the condo unit we stayed at. It was beautiful! We purchased some amazing microfiber towels from amazon for this trip and packed them along. We were so glad we did! Our condo had beach towels - but when we went for the other adventures, we just threw in those micro towels and took off for the beach!
Puerto Rico has the only tropical rain forest in the national forest system - El Yunque National Forest. At 29,000 acres, it is one of the smallest national forests but the most biologically diverse for sure. We started our day zip lining through the trees. It was so beautiful and green!
We joined the JungleQui Zipline Park at El Yunque National Forest through Viator. You meet at their location in the jungle and all of their zip lines are right around their main location. Their guides were awesome - we felt super safe the whole time and we had a really great experience.
After zip lining, we drove farther up into the forest and stopped at La Coca Falls for a quick selfie and then continued on about 5 more minutes to the Yokahu Tower. You climb the stairs to the top and you have 360 degree views of the jungle canopy below you. It is another breath taking view.
We stopped at the El Yunque National Forest center at the entrance to the park. We thought it was worth the small entrance fee. They had some exhibits and vendors. One of my daughter's thought their birds were incredible.
These are Puerto Rico Parrots and they are extinct. So beautiful!
Driving home we passed by my very favorite mural - there are interesting murals and mosaics made out of tiny tiles all over. It makes the island feel incredibly welcoming!
The next day we took an excursion to a neighboring island - Culebra. You drive to the Ceiba Ferry Terminal and park your car. Getting tickets are super easy - you can purchase online or in person, (but they can sell out!). We actually bought a tour through Viator (Kayaking Puerto Rico was the tour group) that included ferry tickets, a snorkeling session at the Luis Pena Cay Nature Reserve and a stop at Flamenco Beach.
There are a few difference styles of ferries - this one allowed cars and passengers. You can sit on 3 different levels at the front of the boat and seats fill up fast. We learned that if you don't want to feel too much of the rocking that you sit in the middle section in the middle of the boat. It is air conditioned - so bring a sweatshirt because at some points we were freezing. The ride to Culebra is an hour and a half and can be bumpy - but it was fine for us.
Culebra is a small island and carries on the tradition of decorating with cool tile mosaics and painted walls.
I loved these steps with the Puerto Rico flag on them! We met up with our driver who took us to the Luis Pena Cay Nature Reserve. We weren't as impressed with this snorkel spot as we have been with other locations we have traveled to. There was a good breeze and it made swimming out to the reef pretty difficult. One couple in our group couldn't do it. The fins they provided were also not very great - they were bent and so didn't propel you through the water as efficiently. Then they also warned us of jelly fish that we could encounter while in the water - we did find them on the way back - one was actually directly in front of us at the top of the water! Didn't like coming face to face with a jellyfish. We did see about 5-6 turtles which was really cool but because the current was so strong, it really wore you out. If we came to Culebra again, I would skip this part and just head to Flamanco Beach.
A cool sting ray we saw swimming around the bottom of the ocean.
Flamanco Beach lived up to the hype - it was one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever been to. Gorgeous white sand and check out that water! Framed by the gorgeous deep green of the jungle surrounding us it was absolutely beautiful.
There are kiosks there that you can purchase food (cash or card). We got shish-ka-bobs and fries. And then you walk the short distance to the beach.
I would go back to Culebra island just to go back to spend a day at this beach.
Our driver picked us up at the allotted time and brought us back to the ferry. This is the check in. Then you board the boat and ride 1 1/2 hours back to the Ceiba Ferry Terminal.
We rented our car from Alamo and had a great experience. The rental car area is right in the airport so you don't have to take a shuttle anywhere. And there are gas stations all over the place - Route 65 or Texaco were both easy and great. If you happen to go on any toll roads (Route 65 is a GREAT toll road and saves you tons of time!), then Alamo will just charge you directly for those tolls after you check the car back into the rental agency.
Keep reading in part 3 to learn about food (one of my favorite parts about traveling!) and what we learned about getting around the island.