San Juan Day Trips

Two words: Mosquito Bay. The bay’s waters are filled with microscopic organisms (dinoflagellates) that light up like fireflies when agitated. Swimming through the phosphorescent waters after dark is sublimely surreal.

Visit Culebra Island, off Puerto Rico’s western coast, for its pristine beaches (make Flamenco Beach a must), coral reefs and wildlife (spot endangered species like Hawksbill turtles and Brown Pelicans).

Ramps, bridges and trams allow visitors to explore these spectacular, illuminated underground caves, including 170-foot high Cueva Clara and the 400-foot-deep Tres Pueblos Sinkhole.

Delve into Puerto Rico’s 28,000-acre rainforest to see wildlife (tree frogs, endangered parrots) against a natural backdrop of waterfalls, ponds and 240+ species of tropical trees.

See how coffee plantations operated in the 19th century at this 87-acre hacienda. Tour the coffee mill as well as the manor, carriage and caretaker’s houses.