There are a number of small islands and cays off the coast of Fajardo with beautiful white-sand beaches, fringed by reefs with abundant marine life. Imagine spending a half-day piloting a mini-boat to these beaches and snorkeling in the open ocean. You can do just that on the new Island Hop & Snorkel Guided Mini Boat Tour offered by Kayaking Puerto Rico.

Some really nice SCUBA diving and snorkeling in Puerto Rico is in the Luis Pena Reserve on Culebra. We recently went diving with Taz from Aquatic Adventures and had some great dives. An added bonus is that he is able to work around the Fajardo ferry schedule, making this an easy day-trip to do for people staying on the "big island".

A few years ago, Scuba Diving Magazine readers voted Puerto Rico as one of the Top 20 Overall Dive Destinations in the Caribbean. I have done a number of dives here over the past few years and I had yet to encounter a Top 20 -type dive. We were heading out west and I hoped to find one of those WOW dives at Desecheo Island. I was not disappointed.

Gilligan’s Island is a tiny island about a mile off the coast of Guánica. You can get to the island by kayak or ferry. It has some decent snorkeling, picnic pavilions and lots of privacy … at least during low season. I’d guess it gets pretty crazy on a July weekend!

Playita del Condado is a small, public beach located on Ashford Avenue next to the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza. Located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Condado Lagoon, it has shallow, calm water, a golden sand beach, rinse showers, and beach chairs and umbrellas available for rent.

Whether you have just a couple of hours or a couple of days, there are plenty of things to keep you busy and entertained in the northeast part of Puerto Rico. From the rain forest to beaches to biobays, we’ve put together a list of activities sorted by the amount of time you need to do each.

It’s been almost 5 years since the last time we went out on a snorkel catamaran trip. We recently had the opportunity to spend the day on the Fun Cat that sails out of Fajardo to the reefs near the island of Icacos.

Some of the best snorkeling in Puerto Rico is around the islands of Culebra and Vieques. Kayaking Puerto Rico has put together a great trip that provides snorkeling at the Luis Peña Nature Reserve that can be done easily whether your staying on the big island of Puerto Rico or on Culebra.

Playa Escondida is the perfect beach if you’re looking for a secluded spot with calm water and decent snorkeling. But you will have to do some work to get there! It’s about a 25-minute walk through the mangrove forest from Seven Seas Beach in Fajardo.

You will see many neat things in Puerto Rico, but wild animals are not usually one of them – except if you visit Monkey Island. Monkey Island is a small island off of the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, that is home to about 1200 free-roaming Rhesus monkeys. The island is not open to tourists, but you can get an up close view of the monkeys from the water.