I went to Puerto Rico with four friends earlier this month. We spent the last day of our trip with…read moreRaul from Natural Wonders PR. I have only positive things to say about Raul--he is an amazing person and helped us end our vacation on a lively and memorable note! He also took many photos for us and even joined in on some of them. Raul was on time picking us up in the morning and was very pleasant and professional. Our destinations during the day included the rainforest, a natural waterslide, a delicious food kiosk, the beach and a bio bay tour. Raul has a wealth of knowledge about Puerto Rico and its culture and was very enthusiastic and energetic throughout the tour. It was evident he truly loves what he does. He also has a great sense of pride in his home and its history. While I most definitely enjoyed the delicious food and wonderful sights and experiences, Raul himself left a profound impression on me. He is one of the most genuine, humble and hardworking people I have ever met. He has a terrific sense of humor and was very easy to get along with. After spending a few hours with him, I felt like he was part of our group of friends. At the end of the tour when he was officially "off shift," we invited him to join us at a small neighborhood bar near the condo at which we were staying. After a long day, he could have chosen to decline and go home; instead, we shared a few drinks and stories and lots of laughs. It was a fabulous ending to an epic day!!

My husband and I recently went on a tour to with Natural Wonders to El Yunque, the rain forest, in…read morePuerto Rico. Fifty people from our community went on a cruise together and we used Natural Wonders for an excursion. The tour was excellent. They easily handled a large group. We had Alicia as our tour guide. She was extremely knowledgeable about the rain forest and Puerto Rico in general. We used 2 buses and the 2nd driver was equally as knowledgeable. The tour was punctual, very comfortable conditions and the price was reasonable. I would highly recommend using their services.

Island Venture is the one and only ferry that takes the public to and from Caja de Muertos. Only…read moreone ferry sets sail each day. The only other way to get there is by private boat. Launching from La Guancha, the dock was easy to get to and there was plenty of parking. For $28 roundtrip (as of 12/16), it was a value excursion! On this uninhabited island, there are no stores or vendors. Bring your own food, drinks, and beach comfort items. The ferry does sell drinks, some alcoholic beverages, snacks, and food (hot dogs and kebabs). You have to preorder the food in the morning and they'll cook it up fresh while you go play on the island, serving lunch at noon. For $60, you get roundtrip transportation and twelve meal and drink tickets (two tickets for food items, one ticket for snacks and drinks, including beer). The prices onboard are actually quite reasonable, so the meal tickets really aren't that much of a deal, in my opinion. You can also rent beach chairs and snorkeling gear from Island Ventures at very affordable prices. On this gorgeous island, we wanted to do it all! We wanted to hike to the lighthouse, explore the caves, play at the beach...everything! But we somehow couldn't get away from the water. We played at the beach, snorkeled, and then beached again. Snorkeling gear was only ten bucks to rent (as of 12/16), but because I can't swim and needed a life vest, I paid another two bucks for the whole shebang. While we were close to coral along the shore, it wasn't the best snorkeling environment. Not a lot of wildlife around all those human types that lined the shores. There were many fish under the dock, so we carefully explored that area. The water is a brilliant turquoise, but not very clear (it wasn't dirty, it just wasn't crystal clear), so it was often times difficult to see, even from a short distance away. Ferry leaves La Guancha at 8:30 AM on the dot, so get there early to check in and grab a seat. The forty-five minute ride each way is pretty smooth. Ferry leaves the island at 3:30 PM. That's almost six hours on the island! For us, it was just right. A perfect day on a gorgeous island with an attentive ferry staff.

We had an AMAZING day at Isla Caja de Muertos aka Coffin Island (which annoys me because it's not a…read moreword for word translation and Box of the Dead Island sounds way better). The Island itself is 5 + stars, but one of the only ways to get there (Island Ventures) knocks it down a star. Island Venture Ferry Basics -- $25 per person which includes two drink tickets (can be claimed for Medalla Light, Coors Light, or soda). You can also upgrade your ticket for $10 and get 15 drink tickets (!) --Boat leaves from La Guancha at 8:30am (but you must arrive by 7:40am) and from the island at 3:30 (boards at 3). Ride takes about 45 minutes and has a lower level with shade. --They also sell hot dogs and kebabs and rent umbrellas on the ship and the ship stays docked there so you can continue to purchase drinks/food while you're on the island. Caveats: --The company holds weird hours and are hard to get a hold of, especially if you don't speak Spanish. --Their online booking system can be glitchy, my friend's reservation got mixed up for the wrong day. --Spots book up fast, book early! --They charge a fee for coolers (although we had soft/bag style coolers and were not charged). --We shared the boat with a school trip...so yea, there's that. ISLAND --AWESOME. --Walk up (down? into?) the cave. --Walk up to the lighthouse for some AMAZING views (30 minutes, bring water, we did it in flip flops but prob shouldn't have). --Love life on the beach. Watch out for jellyfish though! --Snorkel! (Not the best I've seen, but still cool). --Admire cacti and wildlife (hermit crabs and lizards everywhere!) During some seasons there are apparently sea turtles nesting! --Pack a picnic and enjoy it on the picnic tables! They also have compost "bathrooms." They smell and don't have soap, but there's TP! --Avoid the small beach to the left of the dock (if you're facing the island)-loaded with bugs! --Perfect day trip and one of my favorite activities from our Puerto Rico trip! ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND. Must go!

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!

Best vacation trip ever. Guide was very knowledgeable and very pleasant to talk to. My family of 4…read moregirls thought it was the best trip ever. From snorkeling, island tour and the night kayaking was out of this world

Had the most amazing intimate sailboat / mini catamaran tour from Puerto Rico Boat Trips. Jimbo our…read moreguide/Captain was awesome. He was super knowledgeable, friendly, funny and kept us safe. I highly recommend Puerto Rico Boat Trip to anyone who is looking for a great time on the water with an excellent guide.

This is a review of the food tour. The company offers other tours like rum tour and history tour…read more Our guide Pablo was super nice and knowledgeable. You'd get a text message reminder a day before the tour and they would ask if you have food restrictions or allergies. You'd also get a reminder where the meeting spot is. We met at Banco Popular, introduced ourselves and went our merry way to the 5 different food spots. Pablo ordered the food before hand so that when the group arrived at the different restaurants/places, the food was ready and we did not have to wait that long. Our first stop was Cafe Cuatro Sombras where we had coffee and croissant ham/provolone cheese/guava butter. I liked this croissant with a hint of tanginess/sweetness from the guava. Noncoffee drinkers had options of lemonade and tea. Second stop was Señor Paleta. There's no indoor seating here so we had the delicious parcha (passion fruit) popsicle. Yum! Very refreshing, great for this warm weather! Third stop was Cafe El Punto. This place has a lot of artwork by local artists. We had ceviche de pescado and alcapurrias de la casa which were nice. Fourth stop was El Patio de Sam where we "made" our own mofongo. We had fried plantains and garlic butter, mashed them in a mortar and pestle, and added the chicken before turning the mortar upside down to get the mofongo. This was flavorful and had more moisture compared to another mofongo we had. Last stop for dessert was Vaca Brava. We had flan which was nice. We enjoyed the food, the tour, and the conversations. Great experience here.

The tour guides were friendly amd knowledgable, the food was delicious. We have been on over ten…read morefood tours around the world and this was up there with the best.

Booked the Arecibo Observatory tour and was the only group for the day so we had the whole van to…read moreourselves. Carlos, our tour guide, was well-versed with local knowledge of the area. He was courteous and patience since we had our 10-month old son with us. He drove with ease around the tricky roads of Puerto Rico and not once did we feel our life was in danger. He was a great tour guide that he pointed out local attractions and even showed us La Boca (where the ocean enters the river system.) We will definitely use them again in the future. Thanks J*Star Tours for a wonderful day at Arecibo Observatory.

So I travel often and all over the world but I've never experienced such terrible customer service…read moreas I did today with this company. Do yourself a favor and stay away because they will place a dent in your vacation. Ahora en español por que este servicio es horrible. Para el dueño si están leyendo, tienen que entrenar a quien atiende las llamadas por que es horrible para su negocio.

Amazing customer service! We weren't booked for a tour this time, but Melina saw us in another city…read moreand made the effort to stop, greet us, and reconnect. It's clear Isla Caribe Tours really cares about their guests and building lasting relationships. Exceptional attention to detail and customer care -- highly recommend.

I was in Ponce for my wedding in February and I wanted to do something special with my groomsmen…read more We settled on a coffee tour and we booked a tour with Isla Caribe. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and really helped make the tour memorable. We learned about the history of agriculture on Puerto Rico, about the coffee growing region we visited, and the process of producing coffee. We only had time to visit a single hacienda but there were opportunities to see others. I'd recommend a tour with Isla Caribe to anyone visiting Puerto Rico in the future!

We had Carlos take four of us on his suggested tour on Dec 5th 2019 and it ranks as…read more one of the best things we've ever done from a cruise ship excursion. Here is something that is outstanding and rare during any excursion. He took a lot of pictures for us and he sends you a link to download all of them for FREE! I have never had an excursion do that before. If you do a dolphin or stingray type of excursion you know you will have to pay to get the pictures they take. The insult is they often also don't allow you to bring your own camera so you are forced to buy their pictures. Not this guy. How do you not love him for the fact he not only doesn't charge you but he takes so many for you and with you that it basically is a recap of the day with him. We had over 120 pictures alone that he took for us. It's awesome not to be gouged on an excursion.This was an unexpected add on for us. The walking portion in Old San Juan is fascinating and colorful and thrilling all at the same time. I can't say enough how great a place Puerto Rico is. Such diversity on the island. Historic Old San Juan, forts, stunning beaches, rain forest, night life, luminescence tours etc. Puerto Rico offers so much and the people are so nice and accommodating. We've been there twice and will be back again and will insist on spending a day with Carlos again. He is that good. I asked to stop and have some pastelillos and rellenas and we got an authentic experience that was tasty for lunch. Of course he had the cooler stocked and a nice big tv screen at the front of the van so anyone in the back has a clear view of what's ahead while we are driving. A very nice touch that is really useful and was very much appreciated. The narrative Carlos provides is educational and delivered in such a nice friendly casual style. He had all of us at ease immediately when he greeted us right across the street from where the ship is in port. He had me at ease nearly a year ago when I booked our time with him. His email replies and phone calls for any questions are always helpful and he does respond to questions in a timely manner. Keep in mind he could be on tour and he can't reply immediately. Carlos is so warm and personable it's great for this gringo to now have an hombre in lovely Puerto Rico. Sincerely, Carlos, from the four of us, thank you for giving us a memory that will last a lifetime! Oh and one last thing for Carlos, you need to buy a new van so I know you will continue to do this for another ten years!! See you again friend!

We began our day around 9:30 AM - Charlie was early which was great since we were ready to roll! We…read moremet with Carlos and hopped aboard the comfortable, climate controlled awesomely decked out luxury van "Charlie". Our customized tour began in Old San Juan. I knew my husband and I would not venture past the resort unless we had a tour guide - but we really dislike overcrowded hot buses and predetermined times of departure & locations. Sometimes you just want to walk around and stay a little longer etc. We loved touring old San Juan and traveling into the mountains. We ate at the popular Pork Highway in Guavate. Sampling a buffet of the local offerings was so much fun and of course delicious! The pork was seasoned to perfection and we really fell in love with the yucca. After eating we visited two very interesting art galleries. Jenny and Santos. Please check out our pics - Carlos took all the pictures and made sure we had wonderful memories of our excursion! Highly recommend and worth every penny!

We were there several years ago and these guys were amazing. They took our family (including a…read morelittle girl!) up the rainforest near Ponce, and had us rappel down the waterfall. Never for a moment did we feel nervous about the safety of our kids (or ourselves) in their hands. A completely private and unique experience that we still remember fondly years later!

From the owner: We specialized in canyoneeribg, rappeling, zipline , hiking , rock climbing eco tours in ponce…read moreporta caribe puerto rico.

Received a confirmation email when I signed up a month before the tour date (guessing now it was an…read moreauto-reply). No follow-up email. On tour day, waited at the Christopher Columbus statue in Plaza Colon until 15 minutes past the 2pm meet time - no one showed up. Disappointing. Don't waste your time!

I don't know where to start ! But this tour was…read moreAMAAAAAAZING! I didn't want it to finish that's how much fun I was having . The tour guide took us to all the small corners that local people go to and it was such a nice experience. She was also excellent at giving out historical facts and was nice enough to stop and take pictures of us . Of course tips are welcome so don't skimp out . This was the highlight of our trip to Puerto Rico