787daily Guide
Things to do across Puerto Rico: hiking and the outdoors, beaches, on the water, eating & drinking, nightlife, and culture. Start with a category, then browse the full local directory when you want more.
By town
A guide to any Puerto Rico town: what to do there plus its latest local news. Twelve towns for visiting or living. Star = popular with visitors.
Beach
Playa del Caribe Hilton, also known as Caribe Hilton Beach, is a beach in San Juan with nearby amenities including parking, a playground, and various eateries. Several rental shops and places to eat or drink are within walking distance.
Public beach access
Playa Ocean Park is a large public beach in the residential Santurce district of San Juan, near Dr. José Celso Barbosa Park. It was once called Último Trolley Beach, after the old San Juan–Condado streetcar line that ended there.
Beach resort
Balneario Puerto Nuevo, also known as Playa Puerto Nuevo, is a public balneario in Vega Baja, offering a beach resort experience with managed bathing facilities. It has nearby amenities like parking, a place to eat or drink, and a boat slipway. The beach has been awarded the Blue Flag for the 2025-26 season, indicating its good water quality.
Natural pool
Swimming not advised
La Poza de las Mujeres is a beach with a natural pool protected from the Atlantic waves by a cove and limestone breakwater. It has a parking area nearby. The beach is considered to have dangerous conditions.
Big wave surfing
Playa Domes is a beach in Rincón known for big wave surfing during the winter, with facilities including parking, restrooms, and a place to eat or drink. It offers multiple viewpoints and is also known as Lighthouse Beach.
Public beach resort
Balneario Caña Gorda, also known as Playa Caña Gorda, is a public beach resort in Guánica, offering basic facilities like parking and restrooms. It is managed by the Departamento de Recreación y Deportes. Note that there are no lifeguards on duty.
Surf breaks at La Ocho, Pine Grove and Condado face the open Atlantic and are at their best from November to March. The calmer inside spots are where surf schools start beginners.
Reef and beach breaks along Dorado's resort coast. The sheltered bays are calmer for beginners; the open points catch winter swell from the north and northeast.
Mar Chiquita is a horseshoe-shaped cove behind a gap in the rock, calm enough to swim in. Nearby Punta Palmas has reef breaks when swell comes from the north and northeast.
Surf all year at a string of beach and reef breaks. Crash Boat, in the bay, is a favorite shore dive and snorkel when the sea is calm, with 40–60 ft of visibility.
A remote, uninhabited island in the Mona Passage, protected as a nature reserve by Puerto Rico's natural resources department (DRNA), with 100–150 ft of visibility, sharks, sea turtles and untouched coral. You get there by private boat or on a licensed trip from Cabo Rojo; landing and camping need a DRNA permit, and camping is allowed May to November.
Calm, clear snorkeling around the mangrove cays of Guánica's protected bay. Gilligan's Island (Cayo Aurora) has shallow reefs; travel guides report its public ferry has not run since the 2020 earthquakes, so people reach it by kayak rented along PR-333. Check before you go.
Contemporary tasting-style dining and a Wine Spectator-recognized list at the Condado Vanderbilt
The fine-dining restaurant inside the historic Condado Vanderbilt hotel, named for the year the hotel opened. Focuses on contemporary, seasonally driven cuisine with an awarded wine program.
Carefully prepared espresso and a rotating lineup of guest coffee roasters
A specialty coffee shop on Ponce de León Avenue in Santurce founded by barista Abner Roldán, serving espresso drinks with a rotating selection of roasters. Minimalist, daytime-focused café.
New in the guide
Bakery-café and custom cakes
A bakery-café on Calle Antonio R. Barceló in Toa Alta's town center that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch beside a case of pastries. It also bakes custom cakes, runs baking classes and keeps treats for dogs and cats.
New in the guide
Specialty espresso
Specialty coffee in the middle of Levittown since 2021: espresso drinks and matcha alongside baked empanadas, croissants and deli sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. The same crew brings a coffee cart to events.
Wood-fire, family-style menus built around its own farm's harvest
A farm-to-table restaurant in the countryside of Juncos from chefs Raúl Correa, Xavier Pacheco and René Marichal, centered on wood-fire cooking and estate-grown produce. Served family style.
New in the guide
Bavarian cuisine
Casa Bavaria serves Bavarian, German and Puerto Rican food and drinks, offering stunning mountain views. It is a popular stop for tour buses. The restaurant features a variety of cuisine, including sausage and local dishes.
Craft, technique-driven cocktails and gourmet bites in an intimate Calle Cerra setting
A speakeasy-inspired cocktail bar and gastrobar on Avenida Fernández Juncos in Santurce, by Calle Cerra. A technique-driven mixology program paired with small plates, served across intimate, design-forward rooms. 23-and-over with a dress code.
Decades of graffiti-covered walls and a vinyl jukebox in a 1960s-era dive
A long-standing dive bar on Calle del Cristo, established in 1961, with graffiti-covered walls and a focus on beer and simple drinks. Cash-oriented, informal, and historic.
New in the guide
Live shows under a roof that rises
An open-air music venue in Dorado's Paseo del Plata, assembled from 24 shipping containers under a roof that can be raised and lowered. It opens on show nights only, booking touring acts across many genres, with cocktails and VIP tables.
150+ craft beers under the mango tree at the Caguas Food Park
An open-air beer garden and cocktail bar at the Caguas Food Park with more than 150 craft beers (16 on draft) under a central mango tree. Live music on weekends, tap takeovers, and a pet-friendly patio; a second location operates in Guaynabo.
16 taps of largely local Puerto Rican beer on the downtown Rincón plaza
A small brewery and taproom on Rincón's town plaza, pouring its own beers alongside other local Puerto Rican brews. Also serves casual food.
Caddy's Calypso Café is a pub on PR-4413 in Rincón.
The iconic clifftop Spanish fort over San Juan Bay
The 16th-century citadel guarding the entrance to San Juan Bay, with six levels of ramparts, tunnels, and a lighthouse. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and Puerto Rico's most iconic landmark, run by the U.S. National Park Service.
The first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico (1508)
A National Historic Landmark on the site where Juan Ponce de León first settled in 1508 (Puerto Rico's first Spanish settlement). The stone foundation of De León's house remains, with a small on-site museum of artifacts.
Historic sugarcane plantation
Hacienda La Esperanza is a historic sugarcane plantation from the 19th century. It was once the largest sugarcane plantation in Puerto Rico.
Ceremonial ball courts
The Centro Ceremonial Indígena de Caguana is an archaeological site with well-preserved ceremonial ball courts and petroglyph-carved monoliths. It is one of the largest and most important Pre-Columbian sites in the West Indies, built by the Taíno people. The site features ancient ball courts estimated to be over 700 years old.
Taíno Petroglyphs
La Piedra Escrita is a historic rock art site featuring pictographs on a granite boulder, associated with the Taíno people and a popular tourist attraction. Located in Jayuya, it showcases prehistoric rock art in Puerto Rico. The site is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.
Decommissioned Nuclear Power Plant
The Museo Tecnológico BONUS Dr. Modesto Iriarte is a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Rincón, Puerto Rico, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is also known locally as the 'Domes'. The facility now serves as a museum.