The Best Beaches of Puerto Rico?

Being an island, there are, of course, lots of beaches in Puerto Rico. Quality varies, but the geographical location is the greatest determining factor. North and east-side beaches touch the Atlantic. Most of these beaches are decent, but in general are nothing particularly special. The most outstanding include Luquillo, Loíza (so I've heard), and a few around the city of Fajardo. Also in Fajardo are ferries to Culebra and Vieques, both tiny islands known for the beautiful beaches. On the other hand, tourists will be disappointed with the beaches in San Juan--most are small, overcrowded, ugly, and even dangerous. There are some where swimming is prohibited because currents have caused various deaths. My suggestion is to head outside of the city if you want to find a nice one.

The west and south of the island touch the Caribbean Sea and thus are known for the better beaches. Anywhere from Mayagüez to Aguadilla have pleasant beaches, probably the best in the island. Of note is Rincón, not only an ex-pat hangout but a popular surfing spot as well.

I personally don't have much experience with beaches on the island--while this may be a surprise for some, Puerto Ricans don't go to the beach every day, or even at all. Each time I've been it's a special trip and I gather that it's the same for many other families. However, you've probably noticed that I do have a photo of the beach as a header for the blog. If you've ever wondered, it's a picture of the beach Seven Seas in Fajardo, which I visited a year or two ago. I would highly recommend this beach, since the water is slow, shallow, and crystal clear, and the beach in general is beautiful. It does, however, cost 3 dollars to park there (I don't know about entering in general, though... I'm pretty sure you could at least sneak in for free).

Anyways, for those who have spent more time on the beaches, which ones are your favorites? Any secret gems?

The island

Sorry if I update kind of sporadically. This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend though, so I'm sure I'll post a bit.

I thought that a quick guide to Puerto Rico's geography would also serve as a good introduction to the island (and really, is kind of important). I hope in some future posts to expand on different parts of each region and what there is to do in each.

This is Puerto Rico:

Sorry for the... low quality map, I was looking for one with all the regions divided up and this was all I could really find for the moment. I also think the "Metro" area is too big (Caguas is in it! Seriously?).

Anyways, a brief introduction to each...

"Metro" is (obviously) San Juan and the surrounding municipalities ("municipios"... it doesn't quite roll off the tongue in English but it's not so bad in Spanish). Big cities besides SJ include (well, at least in this map) Carolina, which is where the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and Isla Verde are located, Río Piedras, where the University of Puerto Rico's main campus is, and apparently Caguas. I'm not really sure how to explain Caguas except that they have a web site talking about how great they are even though Caguas is in the middle of nowhere. I understand that they have a lot of industry going on there. I'm not sure. The only time I was in Caguas it was about 1 in the morning on Three Kings' Day (to be explained later) and we drove completely out of our way to try to see some house that supposedly was decorated with Christmas lights to some kind of record-breaking extreme. Of course, by the time we got there, there was nothing to see. I wish I were making that story up.

"Este" (East) includes cities like Loíza, the center of Black culture for the island, Luquillo, which has a nice beach (haven't been but I've seen it), Fajardo and Puerto Rico's smaller islands, Culebra and Vieques, and Humacao. There's also the famous park el Yunque here (in the Río Grande municipality).

"Sur" (South) is known for Ponce, the second largest city in Puerto Rico after San Juan. It's drier and hotter here in comparison to the rest of the island.

"Centro" (Center) is mostly mountains. It includes Utuado, Lares, where Puerto Rico's failed revolution, el Grito de Lares (the Shout of Lares), took place, and a few other smaller cities like Jayuya and Aibonito. It still hangs onto its Taíno and jíbaro roots.

"Oeste" (West) is a popular spot for tourists, particularly in Rincón, a gringo enclave and a surfing spot. It also has Mayagüez, a fairly large and pretty city, Cabo Rojo, which has a lot of beaches and the "Los Morrillos" lighthouse, and Aguadilla, which has some more nice beaches.

"Norte" (North) has Arecibo with its famous observatory and the world's largest radio telescope.

Keep in mind that this is just a very rough guide to the major cities. Puerto Rico, with a population of 4 million people in a tiny island, has a lot of interesting suburbs and rural areas that should be seen as well.

Culebra Blog

Since I got a comment from the blogger of Culebra Blog I thought I'd return the favor and get him some promotion.

For those of you who don't know, Culebra is a tiny island belonging to Puerto Rico. It's only a short ferry ride from Fajardo on the eastern side of the island (or plane ride from San Juan, if that's preferable for you). The author of this blog, Mark, has moved to Culebra and is running the Palmetto Guesthouse, I believe, which seems to be a nice deal, I wish I were living there.

I recommend his blog since it describes Culebra and tourist things you can do there. Really useful if you're planning on stopping through Puerto Rico sometime and want to go somewhere quieter (perhaps recover from a hangover? Well... getting there might not be good though). I have to say though I don't know much about Culebra... the one time we were going to go, we got there at 6 in the morning to get tickets for the 9 o'clock ferry but they sold out before we got one! So instead we went to Seven Seas beach in Fajardo (coincidentally, that's where the picture in the banner is from). I've been meaning to try to get there again but no one has the time, usually. But I'll get there someday.

Anyways, check out Culebra Blog!