Cayo Icacos

Location: Icacos Key 

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.

What to look for:  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. A lot of fish come right up to any boats there, probably they are used to being fed by the tour guides. The things I saw the most of was jellyfish.

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.