Activities Near El Yunque

Casa Picaflores' unique setting is in the foothills of the El Yunque mountains on the southern slopes. Our gardens are filled with rainforest flowers from Puerto Rico and Central America. Whether on the property or nearby you can bird watch and listen to the magic of the coqui frogs' melody at night. Our location provides wonderful opportunities for hiking practically in your own backyard. On top of all of this, we are within an easy drive of a number of picturesque beaches, surfing and windsurfing, snorkeling, fishing, hang-gliding, skydiving, and the ferries, launches and air transportation out to the smaller islands of Vieques and Culebra.

Casa Picaflores is located in the municipality of Naguabo, just off road #191. This road was closed permanently, at the top, by a series of landslides. With travel between the two ends of the park cut off, the two entrances have evolved quite differently. The north side of the rain forest is closer to the airport and cruise ships, and thus has been developed for mass tourism (more than one million visitors per year). The southern side of El Yunque has escaped the tour buses and hordes, t-shirt and beach towel vendors, that characterize the northern side of the rainforest. Trails on our side of El Yunque are unpaved, signage is nonexistent, and one can hike for hours without seeing another soul. As a result of these factors, the rainforest hiking around Casa Picaflores is some of the best in Puerto Rico.

Up the mountain are the waterfall hikes through El Yunque, crossing four rivers and ending at a stunning, secluded rain forest pool and waterfall on the Prieto River. Local trail guide, fruit farmer and forester Robin Phillips (787) 874-2138) leads all-day tours with running lectures on area history, botany and ecology. It's highly recommended that you bring your bathing suit so you can swim in the pool at the end of the hike. Less dexterous visitors delight in walking along the closed portion of Route 191, which stays very flat for about two miles along the side of the mountain. Orchids, ferns, bromeliads and small waterfalls line the road along this walk, and there are frequent views out across the island of Vieques and the Caribbean. Just down the road from us are a number of Taino petroglyphs, ideographic drawings etched by pre-Columbian Taino Indians in the massive boulders along the Rio Icaco.

A fifteen-minute drive north on the scenic coastal highway (53) brings our visitors to the town of Fajardo, the jumping-off point for transportation to the cays and islands off the eastern end of Puerto Rico. Three cays lie between one and three miles off of Fajardo; Icacos, Palomino, and Palominito. A little further out is Cayo Diablo, a bird nesting refuge. These cays are prime destinations for snorkeling or scuba on coral reefs in the clear waters.

Icacos is the nearest cay to the harbor in Las Croabas, Fajardo. The beach area is just about perfect; white sand, crystal-clear turquoise waters, and almost no one around ( except on weekends). When we go to Icacos we leave early in the morning, and enjoy a few hours of being the sole inhabitants of the island. We tell the boat captain who takes us out to Icacos what time we want to picked up (at about 3 p.m. sandflies usually start biting, and it's better to be off the island by then or move to the windy corner). You'll need to take everything along that you might need; food, water, snorkeling equipment, bug spray, loose-fitting, light clothing, because there's nothing out there.

It's a Robinson Crusoe experience for independent travelers. We almost always go with Captain Mingo Nieves Tel. (787) 383-6509]. The water taxi price is $100 (up to 4 people) or $25 per person with a maximum of 6 people. You could arrange for him to bring you back by way of an hours stop at Palominitos Island, which gives you another tropical paradise to walk around on ($60 additional fee). One hour is perfect for this little island paradise.

Palominito is just off of Palomino, and is hardly more than a sandbar. A bright-white, picture-perfect sandbar, with a few palms and seagrapes in the center. One hour in the afternoon is a wonderful experience. A whole day here would be hard as it is tiny and has NO shade.

Visitors can also go out on the various catamarans that cruise the shallow seas around Fajardo: Prices for the catamarans are generally around $70/person, and include lunch buffet and boat drinks (and 50 other guests).

Fajardo Nature Preserve
(787) 722-5882 - Reservations required. Wed-Sun 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. (English)

The tour at Las Cabezas de San Juan is not particularly interesting because you are not allowed any exploration on your own. The park encompasses the entire headlands at the extreme northeastern tip of Puerto Rico (Las Cabezas de San Juan). Atop the tallest point in the park sits the Fajardo Lighthouse, with fantastic views out across the cays, Vieques, Culebra, and St. Thomas.

Tours are given by reservation only, and the only English-language tour is given at 2 p.m. You must call for reservations. Each tour rides on a long, boardwalk-style tram through the preserve, and disembarks at various points around the park for lecture and exploration. The tour takes approximately two hours.

The Fajardo bioluminescent lagoon, or "Biobay" to locals, is a premier tourist attraction of Puerto Rico. Dinoflagellates -- tiny marine organisms, millions of them per gallon of water -- emit light when the water around them is disturbed. The result is something like millions of twinkling stars in each drop of water! It's a must-see for just about any visitor to the eastern end of the island.

There is another biobay on Vieques, which is reputed to be a little bit better than the one in Fajardo. We don't recommend it to our guests only because if you do that tour you have to spend the night on Vieques. If you're going to be out on Vieques for a night or two anyway, it might be worth doing the biobay there instead.

A number of different companies run nightly kayak tours out into the Biobay; we recommend Kayaking in Puerto Rico Tel. 787-435-1665, make your reservations well ahead. During the busy season they send out two groups; one at 6:30, and another at 9 p.m. Groups leave from Las Croabas, Fajardo, paddling two-seater, sit-on-top, can not sink, easy to balance ocean kayaks. Groups paddle down a narrow channel with mangroves on both sides until they reach the lagoon. Swimming is no longer allowed in the Fajardo biobay. Unfortunately there is no present provision for handicap people. We hope the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources will reconsider prohibiting the only motorboat trip that offered that needed service. It did not hurt the biobay in any way.

The current ferry schedule for travel between Fajardo and the islands is provided below. We make no guarantee regarding the accuracy of this schedule, other than a cast-iron guarantee that it will be inaccurate. Murphy's Law is much more powerful in and around the ferries and ferry terminals than anywhere else in the known universe. We recommend calling to confirm that the schedule is valid for whatever dates you are considering, and arriving early for your voyage. It is now possible to buy round-trip tickets, and we recommend doing so.

Mon - Fri:
Fajardo - Vieques : 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 8 p.m.
Vieques - Fajardo : 6:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Fajardo - Culebra : 9 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.
Culebra - Fajardo : 6:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m.

Sat, Sun, Holidays:
Fajardo - Vieques : 9 a.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m.
Fajardo - Culebra : 9 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.
Vieques - Fajardo : 6:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Culebra - Fajardo : 6:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m.

Tickets to Vieques are $2 each way, and $3 to Culebra. You can also fly to Vieques or Culebra from the airport in Fajardo; tickets are between $20-25 per person one-way, and flights are generally on-time. It takes fifteen minutes to fly to Culebra, or two hours by boat. The trip to Vieques by air is about the same, fifteen minutes, and about an hour and a half by ferry.

There are a number of distinct beaches in and around the town of Luquillo; the Balneario (public beach with facilities), convenient food, bath, and changing facilities. Worth the $4 parking fee.

Playa Azul, one of the beaches in town and pictured here, has clear water and good coral reefs for snorkeling if the weather is particularly calm. Best beach for body surfing.

The other city beach, La Pared ("the Wall") is both a favorite surfing beach and a good place for children to pick up the sport. But, if it's rough it is very dangerous to swim here without a surfboad to hold onto.

It's worthwhile to check out the different beaches; the balneario for its conveniences, the beaches in town for their beauty. Check out the local food in the kiosks!

Please note: after heavy rains the beaches of Luquillo are dirty from the rivers dumping into them.

Seven Seas Beach, just north of Fajardo:

Seven Seas is a beach you can always count on to be safe to swim in. Even after heavy rains - because there is no large river dumping contamination into this beautiful bay. Pay the $4 parking and go through the facility buildings and to the left. At the far left of this beach you can continue on a 20 minute walk on a dirt path in the woods to two gorgeous beaches. Playa Colorado is at the end of the right fork, gorgeously scenic, but if rough don't swim here. Taking the left fork you come out on the El Convento Beach, usually quite calm and beautiful with some nice snorkeling just offshore.

Please note: Seven Seas Beach is surrounded by nature reserve so the bugs can be fierce after 3 PM. be sure to leave this beach by then!

Humacao offers a Nature Preserve [(787) 852-6088], Monday - Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; weekends and holidays until 5:30 p.m.

This nature preserve might be more interesting as you can explore on your own. Lovely walks by the lagoons and to the beaches ( not good swimming - rip tides). Overlook the Atlantic and Caribbean from a seaside hilltop, as well as kayaking in the marshlands. It's popular with birdwatchers. You will see many many iguanas here.

Horseback Riding: At Palmas del Mar, an enormous resort and villsa in Humacao, there is a well-respected horseback riding outfit, Rancho Buena Vista Tel (787) 479-7479 , www.ranchobuenavistapr.com .