It’s the Caribbean island that Americans often forget they can visit without a passport.
Welcome to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory where the locals are American citizens, but that feels like another world from the mainland.
The island boasts plenty of enticing places to visit, from showstopping landmarks to some of the dreamiest beaches in the Caribbean.
It offers the chance to walk among Jurassic-sized ferns and glimpse ultra-rare parrots, as well as to swim in waters that glow magically in the dark. Plus it boasts some of the oldest cathedrals and biggest fortresses in the Americas.
You’re also covered for buzzy bars — in fact, we’ve pinpointed where the pina colada was said to have been invented.
It also has an impressive food scene, with dishes created by Puerto Rico’s farm-to-table chefs, and there are great places to stay in the city, by the beach and in the mountains.
Wild Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is one of only a handful of places in the United States where you can explore a true tropical rainforest. Enter El Yunque National Forest, just 45 minutes by car from capital city San Juan, and you’ll find yourself in an emerald, mist-shrouded world of waterfalls, lagoons, prehistoric-looking ferns and animals found nowhere else on Earth.
The 29,000-acre forest shelters the palo colorado tree — with bark that looks like wet cork — column-like Puerto Rican sierra palms, rare orchids and bonsai-like shrubs that grow at higher elevations.
As you wander, you might also see coquí frogs — and if not, you’ll almost certainly hear their distinctive “co-kee” calls — and, if you’re very lucky, glimpse the elusive, critically endangered Puerto Rican parrot.
The forest is an enchanting, cinematic oasis, and even casual hikers can fully immerse themselves in it thanks to a trail network that includes gentle, meandering strolls.
Once you’ve absorbed the forest’s magic, swap your hiking gear for a snorkel and flippers, wait for the sun to set, and dive into a wonderfully surreal bioluminescent bay. There are only five such bays in the world — and three of them are in Puerto Rico.
These tracts of water glow thanks to microorganisms called dinoflagellates, which emit blue-white light when disturbed.
On the idyllic island of Vieques, to the east of Puerto Rico’s mainland, lies Mosquito Bay accessed only by kayak or via electric boat tours.
The bioluminescent bay at Laguna Grande, on the island’s eastern tip, also has restricted access — you reach it on guided kayak tours through mangrove channels.
Swimming is allowed, however, in the glowing waters of La Parguera, on Puerto Rico’s southwestern coast — the only bioluminescent bay where it’s permitted.
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Coastlines and beaches
Treasure islands
Take a trip to the tiny island of Culebra, just 20 miles off the mainland, and you can sink your toes into the powder-fine sand of Flamenco Beach. It’s regularly ranked among the world’s most beautiful.
Here, a crescent of white grains slopes into postcard-blue water that’s often clear to around 100 feet, and where sea turtles are regularly spotted. From Ceiba, you can fly to the island in around 12 minutes, or take a ferry across.
Similar transport options are available to Vieques, which, as well as hosting the glowing Mosquito Bay, has more than 40 beaches, hidden coves such as Playa La Chiva and Playa Caracas, and free-roaming horses. With such little development, it can feel like a private island.
Mainland must-visits
Back on the mainland, one of the dreamiest beaches is Luquillo on the northeast coast. Visitors enjoy famously tranquil water and can refuel at one of the many family-owned kiosks that sell everything from seafood to sundowners.
Over on the west coast is Rincon, Puerto Rico’s surfing capital, which put itself on the map after hosting the 1968 World Surfing Championship. The best time to go for swells that can reach 25 feet is between October and April. If you’re a novice keen to learn, there are plenty of expert teachers available to provide lessons.
For a more bustle-free beach experience, head to Playa Santa on the south coast, which lies near the fascinating, Unesco-listed Guánica Dry Forest.
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Cities and culture
San Juan
The jewel in the island’s cultural crown is Old San Juan, a living museum that’s one of the oldest European-founded cities in the Americas — it dates back to 1521, when it was officially founded by the Spanish under explorer Juan Ponce de León as San Juan Bautista.
It’s home to several not-to-be-missed landmarks, two being the colossal forts that tower above the Atlantic: Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal. The former comprises staggered terraces of barracks, dungeons, and storerooms, and was built to defend the island from an ocean attack. The latter, at the eastern gate, was designed to repel land attacks and, covering 27 acres, is the largest Spanish fortification in the New World.
The Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, resting place of Juan Ponce de León, is also highly memorable. Begun in the early 1500s, it’s the second-oldest cathedral in the Americas (after the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
Take time, as well, to walk the 2.2-mile city wall, built to shut out pirate raids, and to wander the evocative cobbled streets, which thread past pretty pastel-colored facades.
In the wider capital, there are the shopping hotspot neighborhoods of Condado and Santurce; fascinating museums, such as the Museo de las Americas and the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico — which houses more than 1,000 works — and performances to witness at the historic Teatro Tapia. Inaugurated in 1832, it’s one of the oldest theaters in continuous use in the Americas.
Last, but definitely not least, are the capital’s vibrant bars, two of which lay claim to inventing the pina colada cocktail — Barrachina and Caribe Hilton. Our advice? Visit both.
Ponce
For more cultural intrigue, and bewitching backdrops, venture to the city of Ponce on the south coast. Its beautiful, sherbet-colored houses and elegant plazas have earned it the moniker of “La Perla del Sur” (the Pearl of the South), while its abundance of museums means some also call it “Museum City.”
The Museo de Arte de Ponce and the Don Q Rum Museum — which lays out the history of Puerto Rico’s sugar cane and rum industries — are two standouts.
Coffee-country
Head inland to the lush central mountains and you’ll discover a slower rhythm, and the aroma of world-class coffee.
Stop first at Caguas, where craft workshops and small museums celebrate the island’s Creole heritage — a mix of European, African, and Indigenous peoples’ traditions.
Continue and you’ll enter coffee-country proper, with historic coffee farms (haciendas) in towns such as Jayuya and Adjuntas offering hands-on tours where you’ll wander through verdant coffee plantations and see the contrasts between traditional and modern processing techniques. At the end, you’ll have the chance to taste gourmet coffee.
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What to eat
Puerto Rico has been embracing the farm-to-table movement with enthusiasm, partly born of a need to build sustainable farming practices for residents following the 2017 hurricanes, which had a significant impact on food supply chains to the island, particularly imports from the U.S. mainland.
For top-tier local treats in the capital, head to Cocina Abierta, which means “open kitchen”. Here, local dishes, such as mashed green plantains, are reimagined in mouthwatering ways.
One of Puerto Rico’s pioneering chefs is Xavier Pacheco, who combines fresh, local ingredients with open-fire cooking. You can sample his creations at Bacoa Finca y Fogón, a farm-to-table restaurant in Juncos; Los Guapos, a taquería in San Juan; and Aldeana, a new farm-to-table gastronomic experience in the mountains of Cidra.
Popular local dishes to try as you explore the island include deep-fried fritters, spit-fired pig, pasteles (steamed parcels made from green banana and root-vegetable masa), asopao (a rice-and-broth stew, often with chicken or fish), and the aforementioned mashed green plantains, which is the island’s signature dish and can be served with chicken and beef.
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Where to stay
The best city hotel
Check into Hotel El Convento (rooms from $240) and you’ll be in the heart of San Juan’s historic quarter, and in a building that’s a slice of history itself. The hotel is a former 17th-century Carmelite convent with Spanish colonial arches framing a picturesque courtyard.
The best beach hotel
The Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico in Rio Grande (from $260) is set next to a serene slice of family-friendly, palm-fringed beach — and there’s a vast lagoon-style pool within it that ranks as one of the Caribbean’s biggest.
The rooms here are large, a minimum of 520 square feet, and come with ocean and rainforest views.
The best mountain hotel
Hacienda Juanita (from $110) is a place where you can rejuvenate. It’s perched in the peaceful mountain town of Maricao, where you might spot singing frogs and darting woodpeckers.
Coffee heritage is meshed into the experience — it’s a restored 19th-century coffee hacienda. Features include an outdoor pool, a bar, and wooden verandas for soaking up views of the surrounding tropical foliage.
The best island hotel
Hix Island House (from $260), on Vieques, is part hotel, part sculpture, with the property designed by architect John Hix as a cluster of minimalist concrete forms that offer guests uninterrupted views of the surrounding forest and sky. Most rooms include outdoor showers and kitchenettes, and there’s a shared saltwater pool.
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How to get there
Puerto Rico is an exceptionally hassle-free Caribbean destination for Americans to reach, as no passport is required and flights from the mainland count as domestic journeys for U.S. citizens.
All the major U.S. carriers — American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Southwest, Frontier and Spirit — offer non-stop services from hubs including New York, Miami, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C.
Flight times range from 2.5 hours (Miami) to over five hours from the West Coast.
Return fares are typically available from around $150.
JetBlue is the island’s largest carrier and announced recently that it will launch brand-new nonstop flights from five U.S. cities to San Juan from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jacksonville, Florida; Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia; and Buffalo, New York, from next March.
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When to visit
The best time to visit is December to April. The island’s hurricane season runs from June to November, with the highest risk of disruption in September and early October.
Storms are constantly monitored and the island is adept at dealing with bad weather, but if you do go during hurricane season, consider appropriate travel insurance that covers meteorological events and listen to National Hurricane Center updates.
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