4 Days in Puerto Rico – History, Beaches, Bio Bay, and Rainforest

Puerto Rico is an amazing destination and worth more than four nights, but what do you do if that’s all you have on the island? This blog post will help you make some difficult decisions about how to spend your time in Puerto Rico.

Why Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico is both an amazing destination and an easy one to reach for those coming from the United States. It has a Latin flavor, great cuisine, a rich history, and beautiful beaches. You can get all that without leaving the United States. It is a domestic flight. While many on the island speak Spanish you can probably get by fine in English. You don’t need a passport but you will feel like you have gone to another country. I find it easy to fall in love with Puerto Rico.

Day One – Exploring Old San Juan

Old San Juan is the historic center of the island. It was founded in 1521, 86 years before anyone arrived in Jamestown. Because your time is limited, I would recommend staying in or near Old San Juan which is a quick Uber ride from the airport. 

There are lots of things to do in Old San Juan, but for a shorter trip I recommend a tour for Old San Juan and will give you two options:

Option 1 – Historic Walking Tour

One of the best ways to start a visit to any city is with a walking tour. You will need to wear sun protection and bring good walking shoes and a water bottle because Old San Juan is not flat and can get quite warm. 

On my last trip to the island, I booked a tour through Get Your Guide called, San Juan: El Morro Fort and Old Town Walking Tour. This tour starts in front of the cruise ship ports and proceeds up the hill into the older parts of Old San Juan, like the Cathedral, and ends at El Morro. 

The cathedral in Old San Juan is the second oldest church in the Americas and the oldest church in the United States. The cathedral is not an imposing building on the outside, but it does contain the body of the only Puerto Rican saint (Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago) and the tomb of Spanish explorer Ponce de León who was the first governor of the island.

If you only see one thing in Old San Juan, it should be the El Morro fortress which was built to guard the entrance to the protected harbor of San Juan. The fort was attacked unsuccessfully by the Dutch in the Eighty Years War in 1625 and taken briefly by the English in 1598.

El Morro is now part of the San Juan National Historic Site and is managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Admission is $10 for a 24-hour pass that will also work at Castillo San Cristóbal and Fort San Juan de la Cruz across the entrance of the bay.

Option 2 – Food Walking Tour

On a short trip to Old San Juan, I personally would opt for the history-based walking tour above, but I know that some of you would enjoy the food of the city more than the history. For you, I would suggest a food walking tour.  I personally like the Flavors of San Juan food walking tour.  This food tour has 4 different stops which change from day to day.

When I took the tour we stopped at:

• First Stop: Cuatro Sombras (a farm-to-cup coffee house)
• Second Stop: Patio de Sam (main course)
• Third Stop: Casa Luna Rest. (another main course and make your own mofongo)
• Fourth Stop: Anita’s Gelato (enough said)

But the guide will point out many other places you might want to eat along the way.

If you spend the night in Old San Juan I have a guide to some of my favorite restaurants in Old San Juan.

Day Two – West Puerto Rico

I am going to suggest spending the second day on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Here you can find beaches like the famous Crash Boat Beach, surfing lessons, and other water-based activities. To get there you will have to drive much of the way across the island. It is not hard to drive in Puerto Rico but if you are going to have a full day in the west then you should either get up early or stay nearer to the west coast. 

On my last trip to the island, I visited the west coast with Discover Puerto Rico. They had us stay for two nights in La Parguera which is near one of Puerto Rico’s 3 bio bays (more on that later). We stayed at the Parguera Plaza Hotel (See my review of the Parguera Plaza Hotel) which is a good option… unless you are traveling with children as the hotel is for adults only. There are other highly rated options for families like the Casa Bonita Inn.

Parguera Plaza Hotel is a beach hotel in a party town on the weekends with dancing in the plaza. The restaurant at the hotel has some good options so there is no need to explore further afield.

Watersports

We took a jet ski tour and a jet boat tour with Aguadilla Water Sports. The original plan was for the people on the jet boat to switch with those on the jet ski halfway through our tour but everyone was having a good time with their original choice. 

Jet Ski price: $130 for one jet ski, one person, for one hour, extra $25 for a second person. The weight limit per Jet Ski is 300 lbs for 2 people. You must be 18 years of age to drive, and 10 years old, and over to be a passenger.

I had never driven a jet ski before and the first 15 minutes was a bit white knuckle for me, but it was not that hard to learn. 

For the Jet boat, the price is Two Hours: $495 up to 4 People 

• Weight Capacity max. 225lbs PP – Total 900lbs,
• 21 to Drive, Passenger 10+

photo of the author in the bio bay shot with an iPhone

Bio Bay

Whatever you do during the day on your day on the west of the island, I recommend you stay in Parguera so that you can book a bio bay experience. Let me be up-front with you that this will be the highlight of your trip… but it won’t look great on Instagram unless you have a very professional camera that can take better low-light photos than a camera phone.

In a bio bay or a bioluminescent bay, there are a large number of dinoflagellates which are microscopic organisms that glow-in-the-dark when disturbed. The brightest of the bio bays in Puerto Rico is on the island of Vieques. But it is hard to fit Vieques into a 4-day itinerary. Also in Vieques, you will be in a clear kayak but in Parguera you will be able to swim in the bay.

When you tread water you will see a glow where you are moving your hands and your feet. When you take your hand out of the water and let the water drip from your fingers, you will see points of light drip down your arms. It is magical! Some things are worth doing even if you can’t capture them on your camera.

San Juan beach in front of Royal Sonesta San Juan

Day Three – Beach

You will need to get back to San Juan today so this day is lightly scheduled. It is a great day to stay in a beach hotel in the Condado area of San Juan between Old San Juan and the airport.

Royal Sonesta San Juan

On my last trip when I was a guest of Discover Puerto Rico, I stayed in the Royal Sonesta San Juan which is right next to the airport on the beach. Wherever you stay I recommend staying for 2 nights and doing the day trip to El Yunque on the 4th day.

If you are not a beach person, you can use today to re-visit Old San Juan, visit the Bacardi Rum Distillery, or take a ride on the Chiliboats in Old San Juan. The Chiliboats were new to me in my most recent visit. They are an easy way to get out on the water and see El Morro and Old San Juan from the water. You pedal them like a bike and steer them like a bike so they don’t require any skills you don’t already have. This would be a great activity for families or couples.

Day Four – El Yunque

If you want to visit a tropical rainforest in the United States… and you don’t want to fly all the way to Hawaii to do it, then I would recommend visiting El Yunque National Forest on your last day. This forest was protected by the Spanish in 1876, making it one of the oldest protected areas in the United States. El Yunque is best known for its hikes, views, waterfalls, and birds.

You can visit the area independently or you can get an El Yunque day tour from San Juan. These tours cover a variety of activities. Some are as simple as sightseeing and some include more adventure activities like rope swings, natural waterslides, ATVs, or zip lines. However you experience El Yunque, it is a beautiful and unique national forest.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How to get to Puerto Rico without flying?
• Is there a ferry from Florida to Puerto Rico?
• Can you drive to Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico is an island so you can’t drive there. There is also no ferry service to Puerto Rico from Miami or any other mainland destination. There is a ferry service from the Dominican Republic.

• Is Puerto Rico in Central America?
• I Puerto Rico in Mexico?

There is some confusion about Puerto Rico’s location but it is an island in the Caribbean. It is east of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and west of the Virgin Islands.

• Is Puerto Rico considered international?
• Is Puerto Rico a foreign country?
• Can I travel to Puerto Rico with a work permit?
• Do I need a passport or visa to visit Puerto Rico from the United States?

While it is a territory rather than a state, Puerto Rico is part of the United States. Flying there from the United States is a domestic flight. If you have TSA Pre in the USA, you can get that status on your flight back from Puerto Rico to the mainland. You don’t need a visa or a passport to travel to Puerto Rico. You also don’t need a special work permit to work in Puerto Rico if you have permission to work in the United States.

• How long does it take to drive across Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico is only 100 miles wide and has good roads. You can drive from one end to the other in 2-3 hours.

Discover Puerto Rico sponsored portions of my stay but all the opinions stated are my own.