WITHOUT A PADDLE…read more Kayaking during the day proving too easy?  How about kayaking at night...through a mangrove forest. As my wife and I planned our second trip to Puerto Rico, we agreed that a bio bay kayak tour should be on the list.  Only 5 biobays exist in the world, 3 of which are in PR (in Vieques, La Parguera, and here on the far northeast corner of the island).  There's a few kayaking tour companies in the area, each offering a similar bioluminescent excursion. Hang on, biolu-what?  I'll skip the TED talk--all you need to know is that a certain kind of marine plankton makes the water in extra salty lagoons glow blue.  It's the same science that gives jellyfish, fireflies, and deep-sea anglerfish their special ability to produce light. When we arrived around 8pm, tour guides gave our group of 15-20 life vests and provided instructions, like what to do if your ass falls out of the kayak.  Our goal was Laguna Grande (literally "big lagoon"), roughly 1 mile from our starting point on the shores of Fajardo. So......getting to Laguna Grande is not easy.  Along with a partner, you'll paddle your way through a narrow channel surrounded on all sides by thick mangroves, including an overhead canopy.  This is tricky during daylight hours, but at night the difficulty ramps up.  Keep in mind that visibility in these thick mangrove patches drops to near-zero at times. You might (probably will) have to avoid other kayak groups and (possibly) motorboats as you make your way to the lagoon, all while trying not to crash into the person in front of you, fall too far behind, or be knocked unconscious/impaled by low branches.  The outbound trip was not super chill, thankfully coming back was less stressful. Having an experienced partner is CRUCIAL. Bio bay tours are very much like whale watching, in that your visit is based almost entirely on luck.  A lot needs to go right in order to see magic stuff in the water, like the moon being in its 'new' phase (full moon casts too bright of a reflection) and no recent rainfall (rain comes down as fresh water, decreasing the lagoon's salinity). Under ideal circumstances, the microorganisms appear as florescent blue swirls when you move your hand/paddle through the water.  What we saw were closer to electrical 'sparks', still cool but not vibrant.  Capturing what little bio-presence we saw on camera would've been impossible, so we smartly kept our phones in the car. Oddly enough, mosquitos weren't a problem. * TL;DR * For me, this was more about the journey than the destination. If I'd hung all of my hopes on seeing tons of bioluminescent activity, I would've been disappointed.  I was focused more on trying not to capsize while also listening to the symphony of 'coqui' (the local island tree frog). It can be romantic with a spouse/partner, assuming they're not yelling at you the whole time. Wear comfy clothes (swim trunks aren't a bad idea) and be aware that parts of your outfit will be crunchy the next day, due to the lagoon water being twice as salty as the ocean. Mangroves play a critical role in the tropical ecosystem, but they stink! Would definitely recommend this to anyone over the age of 18; it's an awesome late-night adventure and one of the most unique things you can do while in Puerto Rico.

What a beautiful experience. Had great guides during our Bio Bay tour. Our guide told us all about…read morethe science and history of the bay. Very cool, don't miss this magic!

I booked the zipline tour with Ecoquest Experiences & Tours via Carnival Cruise Lines while in San…read moreJuan. There was a lengthy but smooth bus ride over to the location. Once on site, we had a few minutes in the Margarita Bar to take a bathroom break, grab water or snack, etc. Then we went to another area to get our gear put on and then headed to the first line. Before getting started one of the guides gave instructions on what not to do with the gear, how to hold on and how to pull yourself in if you don't make it all of the way to the next platform. Next the adventure began. I don't recall the description saying that there were open-slated wooden bridges to cross or slightly steep and possibly slippery hills to climb. I can say that my nerves, glutes and hamstrings got an intense workout. lol. The last line ends back at the Margarita Bar, perfect for if you need a shot after. The guides help you get all of the gear off. The views were great, and I really did enjoy myself. I made it across successfully on all 5 lines. It was more work than I bargained for but I'm glad that I went and would consider doing it again. All of the tour guides assisting us were great and everyone in our tour survived the experience.

This was an excursion offered through Carnival Cruise Line while in San Juan…read more My fiancée and I did the ziplining thru ecoquest. The grounds were gorgeous - it was great walking / hiking thru the natural landscape to get to the 5 lines. The lines were shorter than I had hoped, but we still very much enjoyed ourselves. It was great learning more about the area - our guides were very informative!

My husband I had an excellent experience! We booked a 4-hour excursion on Viator for $135 per…read moreperson, which is a great deal for everything that was included! Check in was at 12:30. Easy to find location with plenty of parking. We embarked at 1pm and returned at 5pm. The capitán, bartender and staff took such great care of everyone on the clean catamaran. The lunch was fresh and delicious and the drinks flowed the entire time. Plenty of time to snorkel and relax on the beautiful Cayo Icacos. It was perfect!

Highly do not recommend. We recently chartered a boat with…read morethis company in San Juan. I have been on many excursions over the years and have never experienced treatment like this. I fully understand and respect that the vessel has a no-smoking and no-vaping policy. I complied. However, the manner in which the policy was communicated was unnecessarily rude and confrontational. Professional leadership sets the tone onboard, and unfortunately that tone created an uncomfortable atmosphere from the start. At one point, I was also threatened by a crew member, which was completely disproportionate to the situation. That escalation appeared to stem from poor leadership and communication from the captain. The most disappointing moment occurred as I was disembarking the vessel when the captain said, "Can you walk straight?" implying that I was intoxicated or unstable. This comment was especially inappropriate given that I have visible scarring on my femur from a serious injury. I worked very hard to recover from that injury, and being mocked in that manner was unprofessional and disrespectful. I have always respected crew authority and vessel policies on prior charters. Rules are understandable. Disrespect and intimidation are not. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and ensures future guests are treated with courtesy, professionalism, and respect.

What a fun nighttime outing with the family! We had the pleasure of having Marcos as our guide, and…read moreeven though we didn't get to see the bioluminescent water due to conditions beyond anyone's control, we had a blast! We got to learn about the mangroves, constellations, biodiversity of the area and have our 1000 questions answered. I loved seeing the firefly like bugs flying and the glowing scorpions! We even got to hold a little crab. We will definitely book with this company again and hope to get luckier next time with the bioluminescence.

We did a bioluminescence boat tour on a Saturday evening in March. The communication leading up to…read morethe tour was excellent and ensured we had all of our questions answered. The tour itself was phenomenal. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and the boat staff did a great job. This was a highlight of our trip, and we would all highly recommend adding this to any visit to Puerto Rico.

My wife and I procrastinated to the last minute on taking a tour to El Yunque. I called the number…read morefor Pandora Tour at 9:45pm on a Monday, expecting to get a recording that I was out of luck. Instead, Eddie of Pandora tours answered the phone as cheerfully as could be and then proceeded to tell him that he could do a tour for the following morning. Eddie staying in touch with me via text and was waiting for me and my wife and kids in a very nice van the next morning outside my hotel. Eddie had water and bananas for us and was an incredible wealth of knowledge about Puerto Rico, it's history, geography, and especially it's ecology. My son and daughter were a challenge for Eddie as my son has a hard time focusing and my daughter is very shy. Eddie was able to get through and interact with both of them during the course of the tour. Eddie took us the the El Yunque rainforest, first to the visitor center to see a few things in the museum and watch a great video about El Yunque. We then proceeded down the most popular trail and down to La Mina falls, which was in a word, "awesome." The water was so fresh, it actually felt like it gave me energy. The trail was a bit of a challenge, but we all handled it well, especially the kids. We also went to the Yocahu Tower to get a breathtaking view of the forest and we were able to see all the way down to the coast. Finally, we stopped at La Coca waterfall for a great photo op! On the way back to the hotel, Eddie must have read my mind, because he answered a question right as I was about to ask it, and took my family to the best locals BBQ joint in San Juan for a quick bite to eat. He certainly didn't need to do that, but he took the extra time, since he could tell we were hungry. All in all, Eddie is a class act, incredibly knowledgeable, and I came away feeling like we made a new friend here in Puerto Rico. Skip anyone else for this tour...go with Eddie and Pandora Tour Puerto Rico. You will not be disappointed.

**This is a fairly long review - but highly informative!**…read more I booked an El Yunque hike with Pandora a few months ago based on some reviews I had read - and my wife and I are glad that we did! Our driver (and owner of the company) was Eddie. I got a couple of follow up texts and emails from Eddie confirming our pick-up time and a text 20 mins before we were supposed to get picked up...gotta love that follow up! We started out for the hike about 10 mins earlier than expected. We were supplied with water, soda and fruit for the trip. Along the way, we were given a lot of information - current and historical - on the areas we were driving through and the island in general. Once we got there, we watched a video on the rainforest that really tied together the information we had received on the ride in. We then trekked it up the mountain in the van until we hit the trailhead. The hike from the La Mina trail was amazing! So many photo-ops, plus there's a waterfall (wear shoes good for hiking and water of you're going to swim). The trail was mostly down-hill and paved....but it was closed at the waterfall, so the walk back was uphill and a little rough. Don't let that deter you ....We wouldn't have traded the experience for anything! After the hike and more photos on the way down the mountain (which lasted about 90 mins total), Eddie took us over to a local eatery near the airport...the food was great and cheap (even if we got the world's worst waitress! LOL). After lunch, we headed back to the hotel. Eddie asked us what we were getting into the rest of the day, so we told him we were headed to Old San Juan for the afternoon. Eddie offered to give us a ride down there (which we gladly accepted). He allowed us time to go up to our room and change before we left. He picked it's up in his personal car and drive us over...still giving us great information about the island, and also life - advice we will surely cherish. He left us near the docks - and I must say, it was a little sad ending our time with him. It was like being with an Uncle you haven't seen in a while. He really takes care of people, and seems to genuinely enjoy what he does. He puts a lot of hard-work into perfecting his craft as an excursionist and it really shows. I know it has already been said in another review, but we honestly do feel like we have made a friend in Puerto Rico, and will definitely be calling WHEN we come back! Thank you very much for your time today, Eddie...We thoroughly enjoyed it - you made our vacation extremely memorable and special!

The plan was to visit Culebra…read more We had a great 40 minute bus ride from Condado to the Fajardo Safe Harbor for a pleasure boat ride for 20 post wedding guests. We arrived on time and we were warmly greeted by the captain and 2 crew. After a basic safety briefing we charted out towards Culebra in overcast weather. Instead of Culebra we settled on the uninhabited beach of Caya Luis Pena before Culebra with crystal clear waters in about 20 minutes. The waters were translucent clear turquoise and beach sand was pristine. Water temp was around 79-80F. Weather was overcast and comfortably cool. They laid out a simple light sandwich buffet for lunch with beers and tropical cocktails. Snorkeling, swimming and relaxing for a few hours, we spotted small schools of fish and a very cool bachelor Stingray circling looking for scraps. Crew was incredibly friendly and helpful and everyone enjoyed the short beach visit. The return trip was much smoother and after jumping back on the bus we were able to stop by a bbq joint for coconuts and fried stuffed empanadas.

Rented the zodiac style inflatable motor boat for 90 minutes with my son. They require a guide in a…read moreseparate zodiac who was a cool guy and a good idea as this area has some boat traffic including cruise ships and large yachts including Amazon Boss, Jeff Bezos. We enjoyed the zip around San Juan harbor and stop to swim. $165 for 90 minutes. Boats are in pretty good shape. They have organized departure times in this Sunday we're 10:30am 1pm and 3:30pm.

We had previously taken a paddle boarding trip with Little Boat Sailing's sister company, SUP…read moreVieques, on a former trip to Vieques, but poor weather conditions prevented us from trying another one of the paddle boarding tours. Instead, Little Boat Sailing was recommended and my husband and I IMMEDIATELY jumped on the opportunity to go. It was definitely the best/most fun thing we did on our whole vacation.The tour guides/sailers are fantastic people who are extremely well-educated on the local ecology and who are genuinely passionate about what they do. They create a super comfortable atmosphere on a tiny boat with strangers. They bring along an underwater camera to document your trip, which is a super nice touch. I got the pictures on my first day back to work from vacation and it really made my day. The trip its self is extremely fun - the boat can get up to a pretty swift clip (especially when it's windy) and the snorkeling is fantastic. I would TOTALLY go on this trip again and whole heartedly recommend it AND SUP Vieques.

Went out sailing with Jorge of Little Boat Sailing and it was the highlight of our trip to Vieques…read more First, we had never sailed before so just going out on the Hobie Cat and learning about it was terrific fun. Jorge took us out to an offshore reef to go snorkeling, (he provides all the gear) and it was the best snorkeling of our vacation - lots of different kinds of coral, lots of fish and a couple of rays - a spotted eagle ray and southern stingray. We finished the morning sailing over to some of the mangrove channels. Jorge was on time, friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and open to our questions. Communication was clear about everything from the first time we contacted him to the end of the tour. He offered to tailor the morning sail to our interests, and we could also have explored another secluded beach or gone for further snorkeling. Jorge also takes pictures with his camera so you have a souvenir of your trip as well. I can't recommend this highly enough. If you are on the island you will love the boat, the tour, and Jorge. Go do it!

Best Excursion Experience - Highly Recommend Castillo Tours!…read more Our day with Castillo Tours was absolutely incredible! Huge shoutout to Captain Tito, Eli, Adrian, Mathew, and Brian--this crew went above and beyond to make our experience unforgettable. From the moment we stepped on the boat, they made sure my family and I were well taken care of. I never had an empty cup, lunch was delicious and on point, and they even took the time to teach guests the basics of snorkeling. You could tell they genuinely cared about making sure everyone was comfortable, safe, and having a great time. The boat was super clean, and the whole vibe was fun, welcoming, and relaxing. I 100% recommend anyone on vacation to try this tour--you won't regret it! And if you can, request this exact crew. I'll definitely be coming back for another round.

Amazing experience! The highlight of our vacation in Puerto Rico. The catamaran was in great shape!…read moreHowever the captain and his crew made the difference, courteous, attentive, hospitable and fun! Every single passenger had a great time! They are great ambassadors of Puerto Rican Hospitality and Castillo Tours quality of service. I highly recommend this experience!