Icacos Beach

 5/5

Getting there: From San Juan, drive 1 hour to Fajardo. From there, take a water taxi to the nearby key. The boat ride should take 20-30 minutes and cost $50 – $100 per person. You’ll have five hours on the key. Alternatively you can take a “mini-boat” tour where you captain your own dinghy to the island. I thought it was fun, but scarier than expected with the size of the swell in the small boats. Do this only if that kind of adventure sounds fun to you, the journey takes much longer to get there so you won’t have nearly as much time to enjoy the beach.

Things to do: Relax in the shallows – This is by far the most popular and best thing to do here. The water is shallow, calm, and a brilliant aquamarine color. Snorkel – Around the ruined remains of a pier offers some mediocre snorkeling. There is also snorkeling at a nearby reef many tours will take you to. Hike – you can traverse the small key, though there isn’t much to see.

Heads up: If you snorkel at any reef, avoid touching the coral. This is even more important at this reef because fire coral is abundant. As the name suggests, touching it doesn’t feel good. I also saw a mean-looking jellyfish in addition to dozens of the more benign moon jelly. A swim shirt wouldn’t be a bad idea. Bring water and sun screen, there is no shade so you’ll be in the sun all day.

Pros

Calm water near the shallows to relax in.
Experience lounging on a small island in the middle of the Caribbean.

Cons

The cost is lower if your group is big enough, but $50 per person is the cheapest you’ll find.
No shade.
Crowded on the weekend.
Many boats, including large catamarans full of people anchor here and blast music while everyone drinks and screams loudly to be able to hear each other.