40 Things to do in Northeast Puerto Rico

Map of Northeast Puerto Rico

I am the vacation planner in our family, so I know how difficult it can be to figure out where to stay or what to do when you are visiting some place for the first time. This article may help you plan some of your time here in Puerto Rico, particularly on the northeast part of the island. By "northeast", I am referring to the part of the island that you can reach by driving east from the San Juan area.

We live and have a tourist vacation rental in Río Grande next to El Yunque National Forest, so we have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time enjoying this part of the island. Fortunately, the northeast area has so much to do that one could spend many days here and still have not done it all!

Spending Time in the Northeast

It will be easy to fill up your vacation time whether you have a couple hours, a full day or many days to spend in the northeast. Of course, there are some things in the area for which you have to set aside a fixed amount of time. There are others where you can spend as much or as little time as you want, depending on your level of interest.

Let’s use El Yunque National Forest as an example. You could spend a few longs days in the forest and still not see/hike all that the forest has to offer. At the other extreme, you could just drive up the road, enjoy the greenery, waterfalls and views from the comfort of your air-conditioned car and be "done with it" in 2 hours!

Everyone has their own ideas about what they want to get out of an activity. Here is a list of things available to do in the northeast and the average time people take to enjoy them.

4 Hours or Less

These things generally take 4 or fewer hours to enjoy. We usually pick 2 of these and make a full day out of it.

More than 4 Hours

These places and activities take more than 4 hours to do — some are full-day activities — so one can usually only do one of these per day. Although, with some planning and with the understanding that you’ll have a really long day, you could do one of these during the day and then a biobay trip in the evening.

A Biobay is a must-do at Night

If you’re heading to the northeast, one thing that I really like above all others is a trip to a biobay. You need to take the moon into consideration (we have this handy biobay/moon calendar that shows the best nights) because a bright moon washes out the glow of the biobay.

If the moon is favorable, I think this is an incredible experience. And since the first tours of the biobays start after dark, you could still do something else from the list above during the day and then visit a biobay at night.

There are 3 options for visiting a biobay in the northeast. You can do the Fajardo biobay on foot at Las Cabezas or via kayak with a guided tour or via an electric motor boat,.

I think any biobay trip is a perfect ending to a great day!

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PuertoRicoDayTrips.com assumes no responsibility regarding your safety when participating in the activities described in this article. Please use common sense! If your mother or that little voice in your head tells you that you are about to do something stupid … then don't do it! Read more about Safety →

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Other Puerto Rico Resources …

Coqui's Hideaway Rainforest Villa in Rio Grande Located in the Foothills of El Yunque