Puerto Rico 6 Day Trip Itinerary

I am so excited to write this post, as I just returned from a trip to Puerto Rico! I did not know much about this U.S territory before visiting, so I can’t wait to share our amazing itinerary and some need-to-know facts when visiting this island!

Know Before You Go

Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory located in the Caribbean. Therefore, U.S. citizens do not need a passport to travel to the island! While it is a U.S. territory, most of the island speaks Spanish as its first language. The island is small. Driving around the whole island takes only about 3-4 hours! San Juan is where most hotels and resorts are located, but you will find the hidden gems of Puerto Rico in the small towns away from San Juan. The Caribbean sea is located on the south of the island, and the north is where the Atlantic Ocean is located. Puerto Rico is on the east coast time zone. I would recommend renting a car so you can explore the island. Driving in Puerto Rico is similar to driving in the U.S. No crazy changes there! Puerto Rico is the birthplace of my favorite drink, the Pina Colada, so be sure to have a few while you are there!

The Itinerary

Now onto the fun part- planning your trip! I would recommend at least a week in Puerto Rico to see the whole Island. With this itinerary though, you will get a good taste of the island in just 6 days!

Where to Stay

My friend and I stayed at the Royal Sonesta San Juan as our home base for the trip and I highly recommend the resort. It is located on Isla Verde Beach, which is a beautiful, large stretch of beach that sits along the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the resorts are located on this beach. The hotel had a huge pool with a swim up bar and large rooms with a kitchenette. While my friend and I stayed here all five nights, I would recommend spending 3 nights in San Juan and 2 nights in the Rincon/Cabo Rojo area!

Day 1: San Juan

For your first day on the island, I recommend taking an early flight to maximize the day! You can use this day as a day to explore the hotel and Isla Verde Beach! At night head into Old San Juan for dinner and walk along the colorful, cobblestone streets.

Day 2: El Yunque

Today you will get to experience one of my favorite activities- exploring El Yunque! El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. national forest system. It is about an hour’s drive from San Juan. There are so many amazing hiking trails and swimmable waterfalls here! My friend and I spent the whole day here! On the way back stop at Kiosk De Luquillo. There are over 60 family-ownded kiosks that sell a variety of food! Think of this like the food court of a shopping mall!

Day 3: Surfing in Rincon

On day 3 it’s time to make the 2.5-hour trek to the west side of the Island to the surf town of Rincon. My friend and I had booked a surfing lesson, but unfortunately, the waves were too small for surfing. We ended up changing plans and went to Steps Beach for snorkeling. We then had dinner at The Beach House and had a beautiful view of the sunset!

I recommend staying in Rincon or another small town on the west side like Cabo Rojo or Mayaguez for the night. On this side of the island, you will find beaches with beautiful turquoise water, so I recommend a couple of good beach days here.

Day 4: Bioluminescent Bay Tour

This was one of my favorite days! Today you will head down to the South side of the Island to the small coastal town of La Parguera. This town is unique because there aren’t luxury accommodations or chain hotels. You also won’t find any beaches here. Instead, you will find mangroves and cays. Some boats will take you out to the cays in the middle of the ocean, where you can stand and spend the afternoon. We spent our time driving to the west side to sit on a white sand beach called Buye Beach. The water was so calm and crystal clear. We headed back to La Parguera at night to do a bioluminescent bay tour.

Day 5: Chill day and explore Old San Juan

Take time today to enjoy the hot humid weather by relaxing at the beach and the hotel pool! Then in the afternoon head into Old San Juan to explore!

Day 6: Head Home

The Activities:

El Yunque

El Yunque rainforest was probably my favorite activity of the whole trip. It is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. The rainforest is located on the north side of the island about 1 hour away from San Juan. There are many different hiking trails that lead to waterfalls that you can view as well as swim in some of them! The forest is very high up in elevation gain, so the views you get while driving and hiking are amazing!

Get to the rainforest early, because parking can be difficult to find! We saw that most cars were parked alongside the road, but almost every car had a $125 ticket for being parked illegally. Make sure you find a legitimate parking spot! El Yunque can get very crowded as the day goes on. I recommend bringing hiking shoes, a swimsuit, sunscreen, bug spray, and a towel to dry off. You will want to be jumping in those waterfalls:)

We did two hikes in the rainforest: Juan Diego Falls and The Peak. Juan Diego falls was a crowded, short hike to a waterfall that you could swim in! I found the water to be nice and warm. If you keep hiking past the first falls, there is a second falls hidden up above that is less crowded and that waterfall is swimmable as well.

The Peak was a hike we found accidentally. We took a wrong turn somewhere along the trail and we ended up walking over 5 miles roundtrip to see this viewpoint. The hike was straight up a concrete road and the view was phenomenal! While we were up there we met a local who takes tourists to more local spots on the island and he was there with a tour group, so safe to say this hike is a little more off the beaten path:)

You can do different tour groups and Airbnb experiences in El Yunque, but I found it more fun to go at our own pace and explore the trails ourselves! Plus it saved us money not doing a tour:)

Bioluminescent Bay Tour:

If you do one thing in Puerto Rico it needs to be this!! Puerto Rico is one of the few places in the world that has bioluminescent bays. I had no idea what a bioluminescent bay was before visiting, but essentially a bioluminescent bay is created by microorganisms called dinoflagelletes. These organisms make their food by photsynthesis, which creates a glow in the water. You can only see the glow at night and it is best to do the tour when there is not a full moon, so you have optimal darkness. The magic happens though when you agitate the organisms by putting your hand in the water. You will see a blue glow! Puerto Rico is one fo the few places in the world where you can see this natural phenonmenon AND there are three different bioluminescent bays on the island.

I recommend going to La Parguera because it is the only bay on the island that you can jump in the water and swim! I will upload some pictures here, but it doesn’t even do it justice. It was so magical to get to swim in the bay and light up the water with every kick/paddle! We went with https://www.biobayparguera.com/tours/bioluminescent-bay-kayak-swim-tours/ and I highly recommend going with them! My friend and I had an amazing experience- definitely a highlight of the trip!

Surfing in Rincon

This small surf town is located about 2.5 hours west of San Juan. Here you will find surf camps and hotels. There are not a lot of tourists in this small town so you get the more authentic Puerto Rican feel. While we didn’t get a chance to surf, we had originally booked surfing lessons with https://www.rinconsurfschool.com and had great experience. They called me in the morning to inform my friend and I that the conditions weren’t ideal and gave us our money back. The owner of the school is from the U.S. originally and moved to Puerto Rico to run this surf school. Highly recommend checking them out if you are looking for a surfing lesson on the island!

Steps Beach: This beach isn’t the best swimming beach due to the large rocks and steep drop-off, but it is great for snorkeling. I saw so many colorful fish and there were only three other people on the beach with us. Bring your snorkel gear or just a pair of goggles and you will be all set.

Buye Beach:

This is the classic white-sand, turquoise water, Caribbean beach you probably picture in Puerto Rico. There were lots of locals and families here! I highly recommend visiting this beach.

Old San Juan:

No trip to Puerto Rico is complete without a trip to Old San Juan. Before visiting, I wasn’t too excited to go to Old San Juan, but I was blown away when I visited. The cobble stone streets lined with colorful buildings were stunning. There are so many locals out and about flying kites and enjoying the local parks. While downtown, you need to check out Castillo San Felipe Del Morro and Castillo San Cristobal. You do not need a tour to see these forts.

Restaurants:

The Beach House: This restaurant is located in the Rincon area and is sourced with local and organic ingredients. They have so much outdoor seating, which is perfect for viewing the sunset over the water. I got a burrito and a mango pina colada to drink that was so good! The Beach House also has lodging if you need a place to stay:)

Anita Gelato: This gelato shop is located in Old San Juan and is so good!! There is always a line out the door, but it is worth the wait.

El Jabarito: This restaurant is located in Old San Juan and serves authentic Puerto Rican food. I got the chicken Mofungo. Mofungo is mashed plantains with garlic and salt. it has a sweet/salty flavor combo.