3 Day Itinerary
Puerto Rico is bigger and has more to do than many realize. Often, cruisers visit for a day and only see Old San Juan. With a 3 day trip, you’ll have a little more time, but you’ll need to prioritize destinations to see the best things the island has to offer. I’m sure many would prefer to relax at a resort on a 3-day weekend. But, if you want to see and do a lot on your trip, this is the itinerary for you!
Day 1
Arrive in San Juan the night before or the morning of Day 1. For the first day, if you choose to stay in San Juan, you won’t need a car. You can get around by walking, renting a scooter, or by Uber. Take an Uber from the airport to your hotel or Airbnb. Once you’ve dropped off your stuff, take an Uber to the historic district of Old San Juan. Come prepared with plenty of water, sunscreen, and a hat, it gets hot here! It’s best to get an early start on the day and see Old San Juan while it’s still cooler in the morning.
Established in 1521, Old San Juan is one of the oldest settlements in the Americas and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rich cultural and architectural heritage. I usually spend 4-5 hours walking the walled city.
If you are renting a car, park here to start right next to El Morro, our first destination. If you’d rather walk the city streets first, park here. Either one works and both can fill up on busy days.
El Morro
Walk from the parking structure to the nearby Castillo San Felipe del Morro, or El Morro. It’s a 16th-century fortress located at the entrance of San Juan Bay and the main tourist attraction here. Entrance costs $10 per adult or free for National Park pass-holders. It was built by the Spanish to protect the city from attacks by sea and is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in Puerto Rico. Visitors can explore the fortress’s various rooms full of antiques and information plaques, and enjoy the view from the top of the fort. If you visit at night, you won’t be able to enter, but the fort is lit up and is well worth walking around.
Museum of the Americas
From El Morro, you can look back at the town and see a long yellow building three stories tall, to the left. That is the Museo de las Américas (pictured above on the left). The museum houses a collection of artifacts and exhibits that tell the story of the region from pre-Columbian times to the present day. Visitors can see everything from Taino artifacts to contemporary art from Puerto Rico and beyond. When you pay at a booth, they’ll explain the different rooms and what they contain.
Walk The City Streets
Leaving the museum, you can begin to wander. My favorite thing to do in Old San Juan is walk around the city’s charming streets. From high-end boutiques to local artisan shops, there’s something for everyone here. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, walking the blue cobblestone streets to enjoy the colonial architecture is well worth your time.
The blue cobblestones were brought to Puerto Rico from Spain in the early 16th century as ballast for ships. The stones are made of blue basalt, a type of volcanic rock, and were later used to pave the streets of Old San Juan. The blue hue is caused by the oxidation of the iron in the rock over time. The stones were initially black, but exposure to the elements caused them to turn their now emblematic shade of blue.
There’s no wrong way to go, but most of the popular attractions are located on the west side of Old San Juan.
Here are some places you should see while walking the city, some I describe in more detail below:
- The San Jose church, just a short walk from the Museum of the Americas. It was built in 1532 and has been lovingly restored.
- The San Juan Bautista Cathedral (see below).
- The Door to San Juan (see below).
- Puerto Rican Arts & Crafts is my favorite gift shop. It’s full of work from local artists. I highly recommend this shop if you’re looking for a souvenir.
- La Fortaleza (see below).
- Pigeon Park – a park with a lot of pigeons that will land on your body.
- This amazing gelato shop (see below).
Located in the heart of Old San Juan, the Catedral Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista is the second oldest cathedral in the Americas boasting an impressive history and architecture. Originally constructed in 1521, the cathedral has undergone several renovations over the centuries, resulting in a unique blend of Gothic and Baroque styles. Visitors can admire the intricately carved wooden doors, stained glass windows, and vaulted ceilings.
La Fortaleza is an iconic manor located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Built in the 16th century, it is the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas, serving as the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico (closed to all but scheduled tours). You can catch a glimpse of it from here, down a closed street that it is decorated with colorful hanging umbrellas.
The Puerta de San Juan is the main, and only remaining entrance into the walled city from colonial times. Spanish sailors would arrive at the island after sailing from Europe, they’d enter and walk directly to the cathedral just up the road to give thanks for their safe passage.
Playita Puerta de San Juan
This is a small beach outside of the Puerta de San Juan. It’s a great place to cool off from walking around Old San Juan. The view from the beach of the 300 year old walls and recently restored turrets is beautiful. You’ll have to scramble over large rocks to make it to the narrow strip of sand.
If you are looking for a place for lunch, you can never go wrong with Restaurante Raíces. Raíces offers quality, traditional Puerto rican dishes. It’ll cost more than some other places, but in this case you really get what you pay for. Every time that friends or family visit me, I take them to Raíces and it never disappoints. This may be the best place to try mofongo, and carnivores should try the enormous chuleta Kan Kan. Stay away from the fish tacos (there are better places for that).
Cool off with some quality gelato at Anita La Mamma del Gelato
Usually a long line, but so worth it! Located conveniently near attractions like Parque de las Palomas and La Fortaleza. Every flavor is good! I can’t help but get the watermelon mint as one of my flavors every time. Try some samples before settling on a couple flavors (you’ll want more than one, trust me).
Escambrón Beach
After lunch, cool off in the water. Walk or drive over to Balneario del Escambrón. It’s the best beach in the area and I go all the time. You can find a free parking spot along the perimeter of Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, or just pay $5 for the parking at the beach. Relax on the beach in the shade of a palm tree and watch the sun set. For those with some experience, rent a surfboard from La 8 Surf Shop. The owner is really helpful if you have any questions. If you have snorkel gear, there are two protected areas here where you can do some snorkeling. It won’t be the best snorkeling you’ll ever do, but it’s still fun. Or, rent a scooter to explore the surrounding area.
Alternatively, you can check out Condado. The Condado area is a main tourist hub, it has great restaurants, some of the best hotels in San Juan, and some decent, popular beaches. These beaches are more popular than Escambrón Beach, but will feel less crowded because they are much bigger. Ocean Park Beach, Condado Beach, and Isla Verde Beach are the main beaches in San Juan. They’re all similar. Condado Beach is the closest to Old San Juan. At Ocean Park, there are spots to play beach volleyball or tennis and it’s a favorite spot for windsurfers.
The Condado Lagoon is surrounded by a bustling metropolitan area. You can rent kayaks or paddle boards from multiple outfits. I own an inflatable SUP so I park and put in here. If you’re lucky, you may see manatees grazing during the day! If you’re even luckier, you may see the water illuminate with bioluminescence at night (I’ve seen each of these phenomena once). The wind can be strong on the lagoon, making paddle boarding difficult, but not impossible. If you were considering renting a paddleboard, switch it for a kayak on a windy day.
For dinner, there are many options in the Condado area for you to choose from. I can recommend Ropa Vieja and KOSAN. They are located within walking distance so you can check out the menu of both before deciding. I really like Puerto Rican Chinese food and think you should give it a try at some point during your trip! Stay the night in San Juan.
Day 2
For day 2 you’ll travel to El Yunque National Forest. It’s one of the most popular places to visit in Puerto Rico for a reason. Arrange a tour to take you or just drive a rental car there. All of the popular hikes are short and simple, you won’t get lost.
On the way, get breakfast at Panadería España – an amazing bakery with so many options. Like at any bakery, you can’t go wrong with their egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich.
Arrive at the national forest early. It opens at 8:00am and they only allow 200 cars in at a time. The gates close at 5:00pm.
The following is a list of my favorite spots in the order I typically visit them, for a more in depth guide, check out my El Yunque Itinerary.
La Coca Falls
Yokahu Tower
Juan Diego Falls
Britton Tower
If you follow my itinerary and arrive close to 8:00am, you’ll finish at around 12:30pm. As you leave El Yunque, a great stop is the natural water slide and swimming hole called Las Paylas. It costs $5 to park in front of someones property and $1 to walk through their property. The walk can be a little muddy and slippery. Walk up the rock on the right side of the slide. Careful, it is very slippery! When sliding down, sit up and run your hands over the rock as you go down for balance – like sitting in a chair with arm rests. After the slide, walk down the river a ways to find a large swimming hole where you can relax in the water.
It’s lunch time! Drive from Las Paylas to the Luquillo Kiosks – a long line of kiosks which are mostly restaurants or bars. My favorite place to eat is at La Parilla but I highly recommend walking from kiosk to kiosk sampling the different food you see on display if you want to try different traditional foods. Most of those kiosks are on the east end, opposite of La Parilla restaurant.
Luquillo Beach
The kiosks are located right on the beautiful Luquillo Beach. Walk to the beach and find some shade to set up under. The water is calm and shallow. If you walk to the far east side of the beach, near the paid parking lot and where the beach rounds a corner, you’ll have an awesome view of El Yunque. The water is calm enough for paddle boarding, and renting jet skis is popular here.
A good alternative to Luquillo Beach is the nearby Las Picuas Peninsula Beach. Beaches surround a peninsula lined with residential properties. The sandy bottom turns to seagrass after a few feet in most areas which leaves just enough room to lay in the shallow water. There are signs that say “ruta” that mark paths to the beach between the houses. The spot pictured has the most space but is also the most popular. There are umbrella holders set out in the shallows, all you need to do is pop an umbrella in, set a beach chair in the shade, and relax. During high tide, there is very little sand. There are coral reefs past the sea grass you can swim out to for some snorkeling, but there isn’t a whole lot to see. The reefs are almost completely dead.
When the sun sets and you dry off, head to a hotel or Airbnb in the area. Getting a place to stay in Luquillo, Fajardo, or Ceiba will make for a shorter drive in the morning. There are several fancy resorts nearby like the Hyatt Regency, which owns it’s own mini-Florida shaped peninsula. For those hoping to spend less than $800 a night, check Airbnb like I do. For dinner, consider trying popular Puerto rican fast food like El Mesón – a fancy subway, or Pollo Tropical, which offers cheap Puerto Rican food. If that’s not your style, Cinco Nudos is a restaurant in the Fajardo Marina with some good seafood options and has a nice ambiance.
Day 3
It’s your last full day in Puerto Rico and you need more time on the beach. Today is beach day. Head to the Ceiba Ferry Terminal. If you decided to stay the night back in San Juan, the drive will take about an hour. In advance, up to a month prior, you need to buy round trip ferry tickets. If you are not able to buy the tickets in advance, you’ll need to check online to see that there are enough ferry tickets available at the ticket booth and buy them the morning of, or better yet, the night before. If there are no tickets available consider a day trip to Vieques where you can spend the day in Esperanza, Sun Bay Beach and Caracas Beach. I suggest buying tickets to Culebra departing around 8:00am and returning around 2:00pm, 5:00pm at the latest. Bring some cash to Culebra to pay for the taxi to the beach and the entrance to the beach. Check out my Culebra Itinerary for an in-depth guide to making the trip to the best beach in Puerto Rico.
When you take the ferry back, return to San Juan, drop off your rental car, and fly out that night or the next morning. In just 3 days you will have seen some of the amazing things Puerto Rico has to offer. The good news is that there is so much more to do! You can come back for a few more 3 day trips and do something new each time. Check out the rest of my Travel Time Itineraries if you decide on staying longer! (You should.)
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