A 5-Day Itinerary in Puerto Rico for Outdoor Lovers
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Puerto Rico is one of my favorite places in the world. I benefitted heavily from being a citizen of the United States, which made travel to the island easier.
I love beaches and there’s a lot of beautiful ones here. After spending six weeks on the island, I found some of the best hikes to do if you want to get away from the resorts.
You will not find a similar 5-day Itinerary for Puerto Rico anywhere else on the internet. This is intended for those outdoor lovers who itch for an adventure.
I will outline an adventure-packed itinerary with alternative options in case it’s too much for you or you simply want other ideas.
Whether you’ve visited Puerto Rico before or simply aren’t a city person, this guide is for you.
How to Plan a Trip to Puerto Rico
Transportation
- Car Rental: The best way to get around the island is by renting a car. I suggest using Discover cars as it compares the prices of all the companies in that area.
- Buses: There isn’t much public transportation from town to town. There will be some inter-city buses in San Juan if you want to go that route.
- Uber: There are a decent amount of Ubers in the popular towns across the island.
Looking for Hikes?
If you’re interested in finding out what type of hikes Puerto Rico has to offer then I suggest checking out my best hikes in Puerto Rico article.
There you will find 13 hikes that I have personally done myself and wrote separate guides on each.
If a hike sounds interesting to you, write it down in case you want to edit this Puerto Rico itinerary to your liking.
Accommodation
Puerto Rico can be more expensive than other islands in the area. Hotels in San Juan are pricey and might not be worth it.
We used Airbnb and booking.com during our visit to the island. There were some great deals on there but you might have to compromise to get the best ones.
Best Time to Visit
Visiting Puerto Rico from December to April is the best odds at clear skies and no rain. This doesn’t mean it will be raining and cloudy all of the other months.
We visited the island from late May until the first week of July. There were some scattered rain showers but overall it was still amazing.
These rain showers help bring the rainforest alive when visiting El Yunque National Forest. Buy your El Yunque entrance tickets today!
If you want less crowds and cheaper accommodation, visiting during the summer months is the best choice for you!
5-Day Itinerary in Puerto Rico Overview
- Day 1: Arrive in San Juan, pick up your rental car, and drive to Fajardo.
- Day 2: Explore El Yunque National Forest
- Day 3: Wake up early, choose a hike, and drive to Rincon/Aguadilla
- Day 4: Hike to Charco El Pilon then go out to Rincon
- Day 5: Relax at the beaches of Rincon and/or drive back to San Juan
Day 1: Pickup Car Rental & Drive to Fajardo
My suggestion when having such a short trip planned is to get to the destination as early as possible. This helps make the first day not a completely wasted day of travel.
Pick up the rental car from San Juan and drive to Fajardo. This is a popular beach town located an hour to the East of San Juan.
I like using Discovercars.com when I’m looking for car rentals as they search and compare the prices from all the companies located on the island.
What to Do in Fajardo
There are many things to do when arriving in Fajardo. We enjoyed our time visiting beaches like Colora and Escondida.
Be careful when swimming at certain beaches for rip currents as the water can become rough depending on what time of the year you visit.
There’s also an awesome hike that takes you to the natural pool called La Zanja. This was an epic hike and a highly enjoyable experience.
Where to Stay in Fajardo
- El Conquistador Resort: Looking to soak up some sun while staying in the most beautiful location in Fajardo? Then I highly suggest checking out this resort!
- Relaxing Beach Apartment: If you want a medium-priced accommodation but not a hotel, then this is your place. This relaxing beach apartment is perfect for families!
- The International Hostel El Collage: Traveling on a budget? El Collage is only $25 a night! This is a hard deal to find when visiting Puerto Rico.
Day 2: Explore El Yunque National Forest
El Yunque is the only rainforest located in the United States and is a must when visiting the island.
Entering the park is free but you’ll need to reserve your spot by getting an entrance ticket and time slot.
We got the earliest time slot because we wanted to do multiple hikes in the park. There’s a limited amount of tickets sold per day but you shouldn’t have an issue reserving one.
Only 300 tickets will be given out each day. They become available once 30 days before and then again 24 hours before a specific date. Plan ahead!
Activities in El Yunque
There are a handful of hikes you can do inside the park and even some stuff close in the vicinity.
Most of the hikes in the park are easy and when there are clear skies, offer great views. We visited the park twice and it rained a lot during some of our hikes.
This was a unique experience but I do wish the weather was slightly better. But it is a rainforest after all right?
Below are some of the hikes and activities you can do in the park:
Day 3: Wake Up Early, Hike, & Drive to Rincon/Aguadilla
The third day on this itinerary will be the longest as you’ll take a proper road trip through Puerto Rico. There are a few hikes you can do if you don’t want to do the one I suggest.
My favorite hike in Puerto Rico is the Infinity Pool. This hike is technically inside El Yunque but it doesn’t require an entrance ticket.
Also, this hike is technically illegal. The Rio Sabana Recreation Center is closed and this hike is trespassing. With that being said, we saw others doing the hike.
This hike has become increasingly more difficult to find on Google and Alltrails. Here is the Google Maps location of where you want to drive.
I suggest following the pictures and my guide for more information on this trail.
Infinity Pool Naguabo Hiking Details
- Distance:Â This hike is a 3.7-mile out & back trail.
- Duration: On average it will take people 5 – 6 hours to finish. This depends on fitness level and time at the infinity pool.
- Difficulty: I’d rank this hike as moderate to difficult because of the wet terrain and multiple rope climbs.
- Incline: The elevation for this hike is around 744 feet or 227 meters.
- Hiking Guide:Â A guide is not needed for this hike and is easily accessible by the public.
Alternate Hikes
There are two alternate hikes that you can do on your way to either Rincon or Aguadilla. These hikes are shorter and much easier than doing the Infinity Pool.
I’d suggest doing these hikes if you don’t feel comfortable doing the Infinity Pool. or you can simply drive straight to those beach towns and enjoy Puerto Rico’s stunning beaches.
The other two hikes are:
Choosing between these two is simple. Would you rather see a waterfall or epic 360 views? Actually, that doesn’t sound so easy now that I think of it.
I will say as a heads up, when we hiked Cerro de los Cielos, there were a TON of wasps flying around at the top.
I’d suggest wearing long pants and sleeves on this hike if you can manage it. Maybe the wasps are only a summer thing but I’m still reading recent reports of them.
Remember, always watch animals along all of the trails on this island. The drive is around three hours from the east side of the island to the west.
Charco Prieto is a huge waterfall that is close to San Juan. This can be added when heading back to this area to fly out.
Having trouble deciding between staying at Rincon or Aguadilla? Rincon is one of the most popular beach towns in Puerto Rico, especially among surfers.
There’s also a lot more to do with a ton of restaurants and bars located around town. Some of the places we went to were Shipwreck and Rincon Beer Company.
The food and beer was phenomenal at Rincon Beer Company. I of course got a cheeseburger as I tend to do a lot.
You can never go wrong with a beer and burger combo.
Check out the many surf shops while you’re here too!
Aguadilla on the other hand is a slower-paced down but still with amazing beaches! The accommodations are also a little bit cheaper as well.
You can visit both towns on the same day as they are right next to each other.
Best Places to Stay in Rincon
- Rincon Beach Resort: Looking to relax during your Puerto Rico visit entirely? You won’t find a better deal for a resort on the island.
- Coconuts Palms Inn: This is one of the most stunning accommodations in Rincon it’s also a great price!
- Sunset Paradise Villas: Does a hot tub overlooking the ocean sound fun to you? Then look no further than this spectacular hotel!
Day 4: Hike Charco El Pilon
This is one of the easier hikes that we did during our visit. So if you end up drinking too much one of the nights like we did, this hike is more than doable.
It takes around 45 minutes to drive to the trailhead. I’d suggest getting here as early as possible so you can have more time alone.
We left the house around 9 am and had around 20 minutes to ourselves, which was great! The water felt so refreshing and it’s such a picturesque spot.
Supposedly there’s an upper waterfall that you have to climb up a side trail to reach. We didn’t have enough time so we didn’t try to reach it.
Along this trail, we saw three snakes rummaging in the vegetation off the trail. They won’t do anything to you if you don’t mess with them.
Alternative Hikes
There are a couple of different hikes that we went on in the area. Well one of them wasn’t really a hike at all but one of the more popular waterfalls in Puerto Rico.
Gozalandia Waterfall is around 45 minutes away from Rincon and costs $10 for parking. I don’t like huge crowds at nature spots like this.
So knowing this was going to be busy, we arrived right as the park was opening at 9 am. Even getting there that early didn’t give us as much time as I thought it would.
The Cabo Rojo Lighthouse is located on the southwestern tip of the island and is also where the famous natural bridge is located: Puente de Piedra
If you’re tired of waterfalls or just want to see something different, then you can’t go wrong here! The lighthouse is stunning and one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.
There are little beach spots you can go and hang out at and there’s even a bigger beach called Playa Sucia that is stunning.
We only saw it from a distance though but it’s added to my list of places I need to go back to.
After doing one of these hikes you can go back to Rincon and enjoy the downtown area. Grabbing a nice beer after a long day of adventuring is one of my favorite experiences.
Chat up with the locals and maybe there will be a concert downtown!
Day 5: Visit Aguadilla or Drive to San Juan
Day 5 of your Itinerary will all depend on when your flight is. I still would suggest people visit San Juan if they’ve never been to Puerto Rico before.
If your flight is on the fifth day then you have no other choice but to drive back. If you have extra time you can stay at Rincon some more or go stay in San Juan for the day.
Old San Juan has a lot of history and is worth the stop. The cobblestone streets transport you back in time when life was simpler.
There are truly unique bars and restaurants scattered throughout the city. La Factoria is a really neat bar that gets more lively as the night goes on.
Looking to Add Extra Days?
Are you looking to turn this into a 7-day Puerto Rico itinerary? I’d suggest either visiting Isabela and Playa Jobos if you want to learn how to surf.
The waves here are very beginner friendly and you can easily rent a surfboard on the beach.
The other popular spot that we enjoyed a lot was visiting the island of Culebra. Here we rented a golf cart and visited many of its famous beaches like Flamenco Beach.
You might have seen pictures of Flamenco Beach before. It’s some of the clearest water you’ll ever see and is ranked as a top beach in the world.
To get here you’ll want to head to Puerto Del Rey and buy a ferry ticket. Get here early as tickets sell out quickly!
Final Thoughts
Puerto Rico is an amazing place to visit and I’m lucky that I got the opportunity to explore it for as long as I did. All of the people I met were nice and very welcoming.
For a small island, there’s so much adventure to be had here! It’s a great mixture of hikes and beaches that will leave you wanting for more.
It might be expensive compared to other Latin countries but it’s well worth the money.
