Our family loved this adventurous Puerto Rico itinerary because we were able to take advantage of the island’s diverse features. First, we spent time hiking and exploring the rainforest, including swimming at the waterfalls, listening to the coqui frogs, and searching for reptiles. Next, we explored some beautiful beaches and kayaked in the bioluminescent waters. Finally, we learned some history and enjoyed the culture in Old San Juan.
My kids were 5 and 7 when we took this trip, but this itinerary would easily work for families with younger kids. For older kids, I would consider adding snorkeling, ziplining, or possibly surfing.
Our families felt safe on our adventure in Puerto Rico. While the primary language is Spanish, most locals can also speak English. If you want to learn a little Espanol before your trip, I like the app Duolingo, and there is a free version that can teach you some basic phrases. I always find a warmer welcome from locals when I can say a few basic phrases in the native language.
Rainforest- Lodging for Families
Our family itinerary for Puerto Rico started with several days in the city of Rio Grande and focused on exploring El Yunque. It is the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system. Rio Grande is a smaller town with restaurants, a grocery store, and quick access to the northern and most popular entrance of El Yunque.
We usually avoid all-inclusive resorts because I like to explore the culture, and find it easier away from the big resorts. We found an adorable Airbnb house on the edge of the rainforest. This allowed us to enjoy the music of the coqui frogs at night. It also gave us easy access to search for them after dark and a place to play around a river. There were many other Airbnb and hotel options in the area.
Rainforest-El Yunque Adventure
From Rio Grande, it was easy to get to El Yunque. The Visitor Center is always the first place I stop when exploring a new park. The Rangers always have so much personalized information. We picked up a map, got our free Junior Ranger packets, and watched a short video about the park. There is an entrance fee of $8 for adults to visit the center, but kids are free. The center has educational displays, live Puerto Rican Parrots, a gift store, a restaurant, and two short trails to explore.
I asked the ranger for recommendations for a hike that was less than 3 miles. Our kids do best with “exciting” hikes. They will last much longer on a steep and curvy trail than on a flat and straight one. She recommended Mount Britton. This was the perfect hike for us. Even though it was paved, it was narrow, steep, and winding. The trail led to a lookout tower, and there were options to add mileage with more trails at the top.
To access most of the park from the popular northern entrance along Highway 191, you have to go through a gate. It closes after a certain number of people are in the park due to limited parking, and additional cars are allowed to enter as people leave. It’s a good idea to get there earlier in the day to avoid waiting for the gate to reopen.
Rainforest-More Options
If you want to explore even more parts of the rainforest, consider booking a tour. There are lots of options. Consider the minimum age, how big the group is, and whether they provide transport. Some tours are pretty big, and many of them explore parts of the rainforest adjacent to the park, which are just as pretty. We found a small private tour focused on rainforest education and finding reptiles. If your family is a bit older, there are lots of adventure tours in Puerto Rico that will take you to natural rock water slides, and there is a zip-lining place near the entrance of El Yunque. There is a list of tour guides certified in the park here. I also like looking on Airbnb or Google to find the perfect tour.
There are options to hit the beach from Rio Grande, and San Juan is less than an hour away if you prefer to see the sights there. We focused on the rainforest because I knew we would be doing a lot of beaches and the city later on our trip.
Beaches and Bioluminescence at Vieques
The second part of our trip focused on beaches and the famous bioluminescence. Have you heard of the Bioluminescent in Puerto Rico?! It’s amazing and was my number one priority while we were in Puerto Rico. I have a whole article on that coming soon, follow along for more details! Briefly, you get to paddle after dark, and anything that disturbs the water makes it glow! We did a tour with Jak Watersports. We decided to base this part of our trip in Esperanza, a small beach town on the island of Vieques, because it has lots of excellent beaches and easy access to the Bioluminescence. There is a bioluminescent bay closer to San Juan, but the highest concentration of them is on Mosquito Bay in Vieques, so that is where we went.
Beaches-Transportation and Lodging at Vieques
To get to Vieques, you have to take a ferry. Be sure to buy tickets ahead of time! You cannot take a rental car across the ferry. We found it most affordable to leave our mainland car at the parking terminal and rent a second vehicle, a Jeep, on the island. The main roads are paved and easy to drive on, but to get to some of the beaches, you need a Jeep or similar. If your kids are older, you could also consider renting a golf cart to get around Vieques or perhaps using taxis.
There are only a few car rental agencies on Vieques, and the reviews are pretty concerning. We had a good experience with Coqui, but our advice to others would be to remain in contact with the rental agency even after booking. Once you get the “confirmation,” you still have to reply to emails and provide additional information, or your reservation may not be honored. Additionally, the roads on Vieques are primitive, and you can tell that the cars have some miles on them. Expect some imperfections in your rental vehicle. The Jeep we were initially provided didn’t have functioning seatbelts in the back, which wouldn’t have worked for our family of 5. However, the company promptly upgraded us for free.
There are no large hotel chains on Vieques, but a variety of guesthouses, hostels, and Airbnb accommodations are available for lodging. Watch for any minimum ages at the guest houses. There were several options for adults or older children only. We stayed at Casa De Tortuga. The host was quite the character, and the house was an excellent base for us. Bring earplugs, no matter where you stay on the island; there are chickens everywhere, and the roosters start calling by 3 am.
Beaches- Which to Visit on Vieques
There are so many gorgeous beaches on the island of Vieques! This is one of the main attractions of the island. Check out Vieques Beaches for more information. The weather will really affect your beach day experience, and which beach is the right one, so it’s probably best to ask your host or a local for recommendations once you are there. Certain beaches are better than others depending on the direction of the wind. Another thing we learned was that the black sand beach is only black after a storm rolls through.
There are many beaches near Esperanza, and we didn’t find one we didn’t like. Better yet, despite being there during the high season in January, there were hardly any crowds. I recommend hitting the beaches first thing in the morning; if we got to the beach before 10, we were usually the ONLY ones there!
Old San Juan-History
Finally, the last section of our family itinerary in Puerto Rico was focused on Old San Juan. It is a beautiful part of the city, and walking the streets is an activity in itself. Be sure to check out El Morro and San Cristóbal; construction on these forts began nearly 500 years ago. The architecture is beautiful. Buy an entrance to one, and you gain access to the other for free for the next 24 hours. You can easily walk through the city between the two forts; it takes about 20 minutes if you don’t stop along the way. They also offer a free Junior Ranger program for the kids. We love these!
If you have flexibility on the day you visit Old San Juan, consider checking out how many cruise ships will be in port when you visit. CruiseMapper provides a lot of information about the ships’ sizes and their arrival and departure times. If there are a lot of cruise ships in port, it will affect things like wait times at restaurants for lunch.
Old San Juan- Free Parks to Visit
Our family loved El Parque de las Palomas (pigeon park). If you don’t like birds, stay outside the fence. If you love birds, buy a bag of food for a couple of dollars from the vendor and get ready for fun! The birds only flock to you if you buy the food. Cafe del Nino is just through the park and offers food, coffee, and a play area for young kids. For older kids, grab a kite or a ball and play in the expansive grassy area near El Morro.
Not far from Pigeon Park is Puerta de San Juan, the traditional gate to the city. It is big and beautiful. If you love history and your kids are up for it, consider a walking tour of Old San Juan. There is so much history, I would have loved a tour if my kids were a bit older. I found lots of options on Airbnb for tours. Be sure to check if it’s a private tour or not. Often, you can click “show all prices” and receive a price for a private tour. This can be worthwhile if you’re traveling with another family, especially if you have kids. That way, the guide can move at a pace appropriate for your group.
Old San Juan- Lodging and Parking
There are so many options for lodging in San Juan. Because we splurged in other places, I went for a more budget-friendly option in San Juan called Dreams Miramar. It is in the Miramar neighborhood. It was barebones and clean. There were rooms available with bunk beds, which our family loves. The receptionist was friendly, and there was limited free parking available. Many websites refer to this as an “up-and-coming” area and I would agree. I thought it was great. We found phenomenal coffee and food, with a toy area for the kids called Macchiato Coffee and Deli. The neighborhood didn’t feel touristy, and we felt safe.
Many resorts or beachside hotels are available if that is your preference, and you plan to spend more time at the hotel. I originally hoped to stay somewhere where we could walk or bus to Old Town. I shouldn’t have worried. Parking in Old San Juan was easy to find and reasonable. It was less than $10 for 3 hours in a covered garage right in Old Town.
San Juan-More Fun
Just 30 minutes from Old San Juan is the Caribbean Manatee Conservation Center. If you’ve followed my articles, you can probably tell that I love animals, and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The marine biologist who ran our tour was passionate and knowledgeable. He taught us about the center’s conservation efforts, how to identify different species of sea turtles, and how much lettuce a manatee can eat in one day. We got to see the “patients” too. It isn’t a zoo, and the center is not designed for optimal viewing conditions. Rather, they focus on caring for the injured animals and releasing them back into the wild. We took the general tour, which lasted an hour. If you’re excited about this, consider taking the caretaker tour instead. It is more expensive, but it is also longer, and it involves more interaction with the patients.
If we had more time, I would have brought the kids to the Children’s Museum. The webpage is in Spanish; look for the Google Translate logo in the search bar to switch to English. The museum looks pretty extensive, and admission is reasonable at $6 for kids and $10 for adults. There are a lot of add-ons for an extra charge, such as a train, mini zoo, go-karts, etc.
We also wanted to check out the Parque de las Ciencias (Science Park), but ran out of time. This place has a reasonable admission, but like the Children’s Museum, there are lots of add-ons, so it could get pricey. It includes attractions such as a small zoo, train rides, science shows, and more.
Cost for our Trip to Puerto Rico
Budgeting for a trip can be challenging. To help you plan, I’ve written an article detailing our expenses, and I’ll publish it soon. I also have ways we could have splurged or budgeted to change the final price tag. The cash price was just over $7,000 for everything for 10 days, accommodating three adults and two children. This counts flights, gas, parking, tours, food, lodging, and souvenirs. We paid over $1,000 less than that by using credit card points.
Concluding Thoughts
We had a terrific family adventure trip in Puerto Rico, and I loved the mix our itinerary provided. For such a small island, there were so many things to do! It would be easy to stay in San Juan, Vieques, or El Yunque for the whole week, but we loved the variety of spending time in each area. What is your favorite part of Puerto Rico? What should we see next time?