3- Day Puerto Rico Itinerary

Notes:

• For this itinerary, I recommend staying in San Juan and from San Juan you can drive to the different destinations.
• If you are looking to stay in a hostel for accommodation, I would recommend Santurcia Hostel in San Juan. There is a grocery store and food truck park within walking distance. As for the hostel, it is very clean and well maintained. If you are in a party of 4, you are upgraded to a private room with a private bathroom at no additional charge.

Day 1: Arrival

Day 1 of this Puerto Rico itinerary is pretty relaxed and more for getting situated to the new location. The first thing I would recommend is getting a rental car since having a car will let you explore the island with ease and flexibility. After you get your rental car, you have a couple of options on how to spend the rest of the day. Here are some things you can do:

Options

• Get lunch/dinner at one of the food truck parks located throughout San Juan. Although a little pricier than local stores, you can still experience the rich flavors of Puerto Rican food.
• If you’re looking to make this trip budget-friendly, I would recommend going to a grocery store and buying some meals and/or snacks for your upcoming days. On my trip, I bought breakfast foods (bagels and jam) and some snacks. Not only did this save me money (I paid less than 10 dollars for 3 days worth of breakfast), but I also saved a lot of time because I didn’t need to find food in the morning before starting to explore the island.
• Go to a nearby beach, and relax. The next couple of days involves of driving and adventure, so you can take the time to relax and enjoy the rest of the day. There are a lot of nearby beaches to choose from.
• Explore San Juan and see some local sights.

Depending on when you land, you may have time to do all of the things I listed above.

Day 2: Cueva del Indio and Gozalandia Falls

Cueva del Indio

[If you are staying in San Juan, Cueva del Indio is about an hour drive] Cueva del Indio is a a stunning natural landmark. There is an archway that forms a bridge between limestone cliffs and you can get a beautiful view of the water beneath where you can see turtles and schools of fish swimming. In this location, there is a beach, the famous archway, and a cave you can go inside and rock climb. Needless to see, you can easily spend a couple of hours here just exploring the natural formations.

Note for when you go

There is a local who owns a stretch of land near Cueva del Indio, and charges $10 per person to go see the site. While he is allowed to charge people to park on his property, the site itself is free. To avoid paying the $10 fees, you can park at the gas station up the road and walk down the road to the official public entrance to the site.

Gozalandia Falls

[about an 1 hour and 15 minute drive from Cueva del Indio] The next stop so Gozalandia Falls which is a beautiful waterfall where you can swim and cliff jump if that’s what you’re into :). At this location, there is a parking lot ($5 per car), a restaurant, and a public bathroom that can also be used for changing after your swim. The falls itself are gorgeous and are a 3 min walk from the parking lot.

Note for when you go:

• Once you get to the falls, you have the option of just swimming or cliff jumping from one of 2 points. The lower point is on the right of the falls. Simply swim towards the falls, and on the right, there will be a rope you can grab onto and pull yourself up. From where the rope ends, you can jump for the lower cliff jumping spot. If you would like to jump even higher, you can walk up the rocks and jump from the middle of the falls. For this spot you have to be a bit careful because if you don’t jump far enough, you can seriously hurt your back. No matter what you chose to do, you’re going to have a good time.
• During peak tourist season, the parking lot can get full fast so it is best to visit during the early hours of the day or close to closing (the waterfall is open from 9am to 6pm)

San Juan Nightlife

After Gozalandia falls, there are no more destinations on the plan. The drive back to San Juan should take you about 2 hours, and if you still have energy, you can explore the city. If you are staying is Santurcia Hostel, Av. Wilson is a street that is walking distance from the hostel and has a lot of food options to check out.

Day 3: El Yunque and Las Playas

The main attraction for day 3 of the Puerto Rico itinerary is El Yunque National Rainforest.

El Yunque

[El Yunque is about a 40 minute drive from San Juan] El Yunque National Rainforest is the United State’s only rainforest and is a must-visit for any trip to Puerto Rico. There are so many activities you can do within the park including hiking, swimming, and sightseeing.. Keep in mind, El Yunque has some specifications about entering (specifically that you need a reservation to do so).

Las Playas

[About a 15 minute drive from El Yunque] If you have some time after visiting El Yunque, be sure to check out Las Playas. Las Playas is a natural rock waterslide in Puerto Rico and is such a fun time. You can hike up the rocks and slide down the waterfall into a pool below (don’t be fooled, the slide is really fast). Also, you can walk down to the lower section of the falls and swim in the natural pools that are there. I would definitely recommend, especially if you’ve never seen a natural waterslide before.

Note for when you go

While it is free to visit the waterfall, locals nearby will charge $5 to park on their property that surrounds the entrance. To avoid the fees you can park your car farther down the road, or if you would like to have peace of mind about your car’s safety, feel free to pay the $5 to the locals.

Day 4: Old San Juan and Departure

For the last day on this Puerto Rico itinerary, you can just relax or see Old San Juan. Depending on when you’re flight is, you may have little or a lot of time to spend in Puerto Rico. Since you will most likely be flying out of San Juan, if you have any time to spend, I would recommend going to Old San Juan. Since Old San Juan is a cruise port, you can see a completely different side of Puerto Rico (and maybe pick up a souvenir or two). Some places I would recommend are Castle San Felipe del Morro (free on National Holidays, so perfect for your 3 day long weekend) and Cementerio Santa María Magdalena de Pazzi. Even if you’re not looking at any place in particular, it is fun to walk around Old San Juan while admiring the colorful buildings that line the streets.