El Yunque Rainforest and Luquillo Beach from San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Enjoy the best of both worlds - Luquillo Beach is a huge crescent of white sand lined with coconut palms with the mountains of El Yunque as the backdrop. Then explore the cool, mountainous and semi tropical El Yunque Rain Forest, home to unique plant and animal species. Perfect for families!

Departing from San Juan, you can combine a visit to the rainforest with an afternoon at one of the world's most beautiful beaches. On the Northeast coast of Puerto Rico, Luquillo Beach is the island's best and most popular public stretch of tranquil waters and golden sand. Offshore are coral formations and spectacular sea life and tropical fish. The water is calm and comfortable - the perfect place for families!

From here, you'll explore the cool, mountainous and semi tropical El Yunque rainforest. The abundant rainfall is shed through rocky rivers, creating many cascades of waterfalls and pools. El Yunque hosts a number of unique plant and animal species such as the endangered Puerto Rican parrot and the tiny coquis, an indigenous tree frog.

According to ancient Indian legend, the good spirit 'Yuquiyu' reigned on his mighty mountain-top throne, protecting Puerto Rico and its people. The name Luquillo is derived from this god's spirit's Indian name.

USD $74.99

Review by: Beth K	March 2012
We enjoyed the beauty of El Yunque but wish the tour allowed time to see the 15 minute film at the visitor center. It alternates in Spanish and English, so a 30 minute stop would be better to allow time for exhibits, restrooms and film. Guide should explain this option. The local lunch stop was interesting and we very much enjoyed the two hours at Luquillo Beach. Nice swimming and sunning. The guide could have explained the location of changing/restrooms and fees so we knew how to proceed more efficiently._br/_ Overall it was a fun day. Ricky had a sense of humor but we had trouble understanding his English and thus he was less informative than other guides we have encountered.

Review by: Ricardo S	January 2012
We went on a tour of the rain forest (El Yunque) and Luquillo beach. The whole tour we were entertained by our tour guide, Robert. Robert gave me the impression of being someone who likes what he does. He was very gregarious as well as knowledgeable about all the spots we were visiting as well as the island in general. We were glad that we took this tour, it was a positive experience.

Review by: Carlos B	January 2012
The rainforest is worth seeing for the view of the island. The tour is not physically challenging. the ride to the site was much longer than the tour. The beach was a nice change, but was more of a park site. Still it was very good.

Review by: Elizabeth P	January 2012
Excellent trip!

Review by: Chris S	December 2011
Tour was great , Ricky the tour guide was vey informative , when I go back to Puerto Rico I will definitly use Viator Tours again... Thank you so much..

Review by: Henry H	December 2011
This was a great tour and good value for the money. Our guide was Tony. he was very knowledgeable and took his time to show us and explain everything we had questions on. The beach was a perfect way to end the tour.

Review by: Lara T	December 2011
Rainforest walk and info from the guide during the bus trip was great! But the beach was awful...dirty, homeless dogs everywhere, no stops for food except beach take away window. Not worth the money.

Review by: Lillian R S	November 2011
Our trip to El Yunque was fabulous. Our guide was Robert. Robert was very knowledgeable about Puerto Rico history. El Yunque is beautiful and we wished we could have spent more time sightseeing.

Review by: lizajasmin	November 2011
The yungue Rainforest was beautiful but I could have done without the Luquillo Beach. Did you know locals dump their unwanted dogs at this beach what cruelity! I saw over 10 abandoned dogs at this beach. The grounds keepers told me they feed them until the ASPCA comes to pick them up. The last thing I want to see on my vacation are abandoned animals!

Review by: Arthur M	August 2011
The beach is really nice but personally, I'd like to have more time for the rain forest. Maybe, it would be good to add one hour to the tour for a better acquaintance with the forest.

Review by: Susan B	August 2011
The tour to El Yunque and Luquillo was an enjoyable day out for us. There were a couple things that could've made it better. First, the bus wasn't in the greatest working condition. Our tour guide, Ricardo, had bus difficulties. This was nothing new, as I had read reviews before reserving our trip, about similar difficulties. Also, the vibrations of the bus on some of the roads made it very difficult for those passengers beyond the front seats to hear what Ricardo was saying. He needs to be equipped with a microphone. The second thing that made the trip a bit less enjoyable than it could have been was wherre we ate for lunch. The food wasn't so bad, however the appearance of the roadside restaurant and its kitchen were not so "palatable". I heard one couple on our bus gasp and say, "NO", when they saw where we were stopping for lunch.

Review by: David W	June 2011
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable of history, flora and fauna. The Rainforest portion of the trip was our favorite. Remember to pack ponchos, snack and gatorade.

Review by: Marc V	May 2011
Great tour. It rained for most of the day, but hey, you make the best of it. Robert was informative and knowledgeable. We had an awesome day. Thanks.

Review by: Kourtney T	April 2011
Our guide was great. I would've liked a longer hike in the rainforest but everything we did was awesome.

Review by: Janice	April 2011
Our guide, Robert, was interesting, friendly, and talented. Try the Puerto Rican lunch at the small rainforest hut--it was delicious.

Review by: John G	March 2011
good tour had a good time

Review by: thomas a	February 2011
We were lucky and had a great guide, Robert, and a small group of nine. Got to the rainforest on a sunny day before the hordes arrived. Interesting and informative rainforest trip. The beach was worth the trip alone and since we were there in low season it was very quiet.

Review by: Mark N	January 2011
Tour guide was knowledge about way more than just the tour content. He was able to provide us with contemporary and historical information about Puerto Rico and its culture. The rainforest was nice, and there enough walking to explore the rainforest but not so much to leave us exhausted. Luquillo Beach was very pretty, with calm water and fish that swim right up to you. There is not a large selection of food for lunch, especially for vegetarians, but the food available was good. The only issue with the beach is that you have to pay to use the restrooms. Overall, I was very satisfied with this trip. I learned a lot, experienced a lot, and even got to relax a lot. Totally worth the money, and I would even consider booking the same trip again.

Review by: Jamie S	January 2011
We ended up on the half day rainforest tour, but I would say it's a great introduction to a beautiful place! Would have loved to spend more time there, but I suppose that's always the case with places I go. If you're looking for a nice tour that will show you around, but isn't too strenuous, then this is for you. Don't expect a lot of hiking!

Review by: Helen T	September 2010
Thank you very much for a great tour! The guide was very professional, knowledgeable, and friendly.

Review by: Ferrell Travis T	August 2010
Would have given it a higher rating except for two things. First, this particular trip was canceled, thus I opted for the half-day rainforest tour alone. Second, I waited for the driver ten minutes prior to pick-up and we missed one another as I was at the other end of the block, despite of my repeated calls to the telephone number given. This number finally did answer some thirty minutes later and there seemed to be some confusion as to whether the driver would or would not return to pick me up at a specified location. The drive did return to retrieve me an hour after said time. Nonetheless, he was an excellent guide and I am very glad to have been on his excursion. There just seems to be a problem with specific instructions as to the meeting point, as well as communications on a Sunday morning.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	July 2010
The rain forrest part of the trip was great. Our guide was awesome. Luquillo beach was just ok, not as good as I thought it would be.

Review by: Alejandro I	July 2010
Great trip to the rain forest. Our tour guide Ricky Ricardo made it extra fun and gave a lot of facts about Puerto Rico.

Review by: Wendy T, United States of America	May 2010
The tour was wonderful and our guide made it extraordinary and memorable. He was extremely knowledgable of Puerto Rico and personable. I would highly recommend the tour.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	March 2010
The tour guide was personable, knowledgeable and quite humorous at times. He was a bit of a crazy driver, but nothing too bad. Unfortunately for us it rained the entire day, but it did not take away from the beauty of the rainforest and the experience. I would recommend this trip to anyone going to Puerto Rico. The lunch place our driver suggested was delicious, by far the best meal I had the whole trip and they were even nice enough to accommodate the vegetarians in our tour group.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	February 2010
This was a fun tour! El Yunque Rainforest was awesome and the waterfalls and tower were a pleasant surprise to see. It was so beautiful to look across at the other islands from the tower. The tour bus driver was helpful and informative. He went with us on our trail and wanted us to learn all types of things about the trees and bushes. He pointed out several unique things about the rainforest. Luquillo Beach was also pretty. Several people were there just enjoying the water and beautiful weather. There was even an attendant present that would rent lounge chairs and umbrellas. The gift shop was cute and quaint. The concession stands had a variety of food to choose from. Some of the items were pricey. I thought seeing people selling concessions from rolling carts was neat. The locker area, dressing rooms, showers, and restroom areas could be cleaner for tourists. The only drawback was that our tour bus broke down. Then we were at the mercy of other drivers to get us to our destinations. I wish that the company had a standby person to work in emergency situations. However, it did not stop us from having a great time.

Review by: Jason B, United States of America	September 2009
The tour was perfect and the food in the little shack in the rainforest was terrific! I say order 1 of everything it was great and the food is cheap.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2009
Unbelievable! Our tour guide was the best, and the trip was unreal! Unforgettable!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2009
So much fun! Our guide was fantastic and knew lots of interesting facts!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2009
This tour was incredible! The driver we had made the tour special. His knowledge about Puerto Rico was a tremendous asset! He accommodated all our needs and really went above and beyond his duties making the entire trip even more enjoyable. The driver picked our family up at our hotel. We made our rounds picking up an additional seven passengers. At the rain forest, we went on a quick hike where the driver pointed out various vegetation, insects, snails, etc. He took us to the visitor area where we saw a movie then back to the van driving up to another area of the rain forest where we went on a longer hike and quite fittingly it rained several times. We stopped at Yokahu Tower on the way back down and made a special stop where the driver bought us a bunch of bananas from a local who lived along the road. We stopped for lunch adjacent to Luquillo Beach. You could chose from many stalls, however we all took the suggestion of the driver and chose the restaurant La Parrilla. Lunch took about an hour. What a great place for lunch, plenty of food and the driver made sure that restaurant staff took good care of us. Then off to the beach where we spent about an hour and a half. A nice beach area with calm water and life guards. Showers and changing facilities are available for 1.00. On our way home we passed eatery stalls and people were talking about food so we made a special stop for coconut water. What a wonderful trip and opportunity to really experience Puerto Rico!

Review by: Lynn R, United States of America	July 2009
We absolutely loved our tour! We had the best tour guide ever. He was very informative and showed us every little detail. We plan to go back again and will definitely take this tour again!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	July 2009
It was very informative and fun. I really enjoyed the tour of the Yunque and loved Luquillo beach.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2009
We had a great guide! Only problem was that we had a flat while in El Yunque and didn't get to go on to Luquillo Beach.

Review by: Shandira L, United States of America	May 2009
This tour was unforgettable. It was an amazing experience. It rained, but that didn't stop us from taking the tour and making it the best we could. The tour guy we had was awesome! I commend him on his knowledge.

Review by: SHANDIRA L	May 2009
This tour was unforgettable. It was an amazing experience. It rained, but that didn't stop us from taking the tour and making it the best we could. The tour guy we had was awesome! I commend him on his knowledge.

Review by: Lauren W, United States of America	March 2009
The experience was fantastic! I would have paid much more money than I did for the experience. The hour long walk on the trail in the rain forest was great, as was the time spent at the beautiful Luquillo beach. I honestly think that one of the best parts was the ride to and from on the trip with our tour guide. He was wonderful! He had a very positive attitude, was people friendly, and had so much wisdom of Puerto Rican culture and history. I learned more from him on the trip than from my experiences combined in the country.

Review by: Heather S, United States of America	March 2009
The rainforest and the beach were both beautiful. It was fun and very informational to have a sort of riding tour on the way there. Our tour guide made the trip extra special and even more fun!! We loved him!

Review by: Anonymous	March 2009
We had a great time. Our guide/driver arrived on time and had a nice cheerful attitude. His knowledge about the area's flora and fauna was exceptional. His lively and patient manner made our trip all the more enjoyable. Did not like the beach so much - tangle of seaweed as we entered the water. El Yunque was great!

Review by: Ginger D, United States of America	October 2008
Great tour guide with lots of fun!

Review by: Patrick T	October 2008
Our guide was great. Very pleasant, knowledgeable and a good, safe driver as well. I'm certainly glad I went with him rather than try to do it on my own. El Yunque was great. I was a bit disappointed with Luquillo, though. There was only one food concession open, and all they had was a limited selection of fried foods. Then again, I"m not a big beach person. Nevertheless, a good excursion and well worth doing. Thank you.

Review by: Earl M	September 2008
Due to the rain we were unable to get to Luquillo Beach but we really enjoyed the rain forest...and boy did it rain.

Review by: Melvin H, United States of America	April 2008
Excellent tour guide. Very knowledgeable.

Review by: Douglas G, United States of America	January 2008
Simply put, it was great! El Yunque Rainforest and Luquillo Beach are just amazing and beautiful. My family and I had a lot of fun. What really made the difference was the tour guide. He was friendly and very knowledgeable. He accommodated all our needs and wants and really went above and beyond his duties making the entire trip even more enjoyable.