11 Best, Underrated Beaches in Puerto Rico

Wooden pier leading to bushes that reveal water with waves and people on the beach. — Several beaches on Puerto Rico are ideal for getting away from it all.

If you can dream it, you can beach it in Puerto Rico. With over 300 miles of coastline between the main island and smaller islands like Vieques and Culebra, beaches here unspool in cove after crescent of sandy perfection. That means there’s surely more than one beach in Puerto Rico with your name scrawled into its sands.

Will you flop down at a natural pool shaped like a half-moon on Puerto Rico’s north coast or head instead to one of the idyllic beaches beloved by the surf set on the island’s west coast?

Read on for some of the best beaches in Puerto Rico for getting away from it all.

1. Playa Mar Chiquita

Manatí

Within 45 minutes of leaving the airport in San Juan, you can be in beautiful Manatí on Puerto Rico’s north coast, a city and municipality distinguished by looming limestone hills that peek from jungle-clad surroundings. The area is known for its blissful beaches, too, lined with lagoons and natural pools; among the best of them is Playa Mar Chiquita.

Here, a crescent-like sweep of beach is lapped by calm, protected waters a glacier-blue hue. While it’s quieter during the week, weekends bring food trucks selling empanadas and piña coladas to Playa Mar Chiquita—along with lots of local families enjoying the shallow waters. Rinse off from the beach later in one of the sublime outdoor showers in suites at the Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve just west of San Juan.

2. Playa Carlos Rosario

Culebra

This rugged sweep of white sand bookended by forested headlands on the northwest coast of Culebra appears at the end of a dirt path that winds from the parking lot at Flamenco Beach. The 20-minute hike is well worth it: After meandering along the forested fringes of the Reserva Natural de Culebra, you’ll arrive at Playa Carlos Rosario and its prime snorkeling waters, where clouds of reef fish often school in the shallows.

If you prefer to arrive by boat, it’s easy enough to find captains offering their services back in Culebra’s main town, Culebra Pueblo (Dewey). The trip takes about 20 minutes.

Rocky beach shoreline by cerulean water with palm trees in background — Playa Caracas is also known as Red Beach.

3. Playa Caracas

Vieques

Vieques’s bioluminescent lagoon tends to take the island’s spotlight, and it’s stunning, for sure. But beach lovers might be even more impressed by the powdery stretches of Playa Caracas, one of the finest examples of a quintessential Caribbean beach. Located on the island’s south coast, it’s one of the most easily accessible beaches within the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge yet rarely crowded. Dramatic rock formations surrounding the chalk white crescent of sand are carpeted with vegetation, and the surrounding waters are usually as transparent as a swimming pool.

To continue the zen theme, book a suite at the farmhouse-style boutique inn and yoga retreat, Finca Victoria, and stay surrounded by cacti and flowering gardens.

4. Cayo Aurora

Cayo Aurora

Right off Puerto Rico’s southern coast, Cayo Aurora is a tiny cay that’s part of the Cayos de Caña Gorda. They’re near the mainland and the subtropical dry forests of the Bosque Estatal de Guánica, a United Nations Biosphere Reserve.

It’s easily accessible via private boat tours (or the ferry, when it’s running) from nearby Playa de Guánica, only 10 minutes away. If you’re feeling ambitious and find someone renting kayaks, you can also use your own paddle power to reach it. How you spend your day on the cay is up to you. For most, it’s all about frolicking in the natural surrounds, snorkeling in a mangrove-lined lagoon, or relaxing on another pristine Puerto Rico beach.

Multiple stacks of small to large rocks and stones stacked on each other to form pillars on a shoreline. — Zoni Beach is 20-minute drive east of Flamenco Beach.

5. Zoni Beach

Culebra
The visual parfait of diamond-dust white sand meeting turquoise and sapphire seas awaits at Zoni Beach on the east side of Culebra Island. From April to June, leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles haul themselves ashore on a beach lined with sea caves to nest.

Far less crowded than Culebra’s other main beach, Flamenco, Zoni is an idyllic place to linger along palm-lined shores or, come summer, swim in waters that approach bathtub temperatures. The sea is usually calm, too, because the beach is sheltered by the islands of Cayo Norte and Culebrita, just offshore, which add to the impressive views.

Aerial view of islands covered in greenery in the daytime — Playa Pata Prieta is located on Vieques, an island near Puerto Rico’s eastern coast.

6. Pata Prieta Beach

Vieques

Just east of Playa Caracas and within the undeveloped setting of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge, Playa Pata Prieta is often called Secret Beach. And even if it’s not really a secret, it is one of the quieter and prettier beaches on an island brimming with them, ribboned with a thin strip of sand and backed by thick shade-providing palms and other tropical foliage. On calm days, the waters are mirror smooth and beckon beachgoers off the sand to swim among swirls of tropical reef fish. (Don’t forget your snorkeling gear.)
Continue the reef theme with a stay at El Blok Hotel, where the architecture was inspired by Puerto Rico’s coral reefs and contemporary suites overlook the mangroves.

Birds on a beach in the daytime — Between its natural beauty and killer waves, it’s no surprise Playa Punta Borinquen was declared a World Surfing Reserve by the Saves the Waves Coalition.

7. Playa Punta Borinquen

Aguadilla

“When you order a board from your local [surfboard] shaper, there is a connection. We live on the island, know our waves, and create a board tailored to your surfing style,” Puerto Rico–based surfboard shaper Mika Ramírez explains to AFAR, sharing how surf culture is intertwined with Puerto Rico.

And while many head to the waves in Aguadilla in Puerto Rico’s northwestern corner, Playa Punta Borinquen is a favorite among local families who come to spread out and enjoy its wide, golden sands. Surfers gravitate here and along beaches to the south and north, too, where strong northwest swells pump out perfect tubes from shallow reef breaks.

Buyé Beach without people — Buyé Beach beckons responsible travelers.

8. Playa Buyé

Cabo Rojo

In Cabo Rajo on Puerto Rico’s southwest coast, Playa Buyé is known for the clarity of its waters on an island lapped by them. Stretching roughly a half-mile long, it’s a favorite spot for beachgoers who enjoy a strand where they can go for a decently long stroll, too. Picnic tables shaded by almond trees and swaying palms are an ideal spot to unpack lunch with million-dollar views of the typically translucent sea. On the weekends, things can take on a party vibe, as the beach is a favorite among locals. But during the week, you can find long lonely stretches to unfurl your beach towel and breathe in the briny ocean air.

A green sea turtle swimming — Snorkel in the waters of Playa Punta Soldado and you may catch a glimpse of a turtle, among other marine creatures.

9. Playa Punta Soldado

Culebra

Another fantastic Culebra beach awaits near the southernmost tip of the island at Playa Punta Soldado, where a sweep of golden sand fronts a semi-protected bay lapped by clear waters. Be sure to bring a mask and fins: There’s excellent snorkeling just offshore from the leftmost end of the beach.

With its lush hillside setting strung with hammocks and villas overlooking Fulladoza Bay, Club Seabourne makes for a quiet boutique hotel stay a 10-minute drive from Playa Punta Soldado. Several companies in Culebra Pueblo (Dewey) rent golf carts or Jeeps to make it easy to get around and explore.

Rocks in the foreground of a yellow sand beach against turquoise waters in the daytime — The waters of Playa Escondida can be dangerous to swim in when rough—as long as things are calm, wade in and enjoy the solitude.

10. Playa Escondida

Fajardo

You reach Playa Escondida, in the northeastern corner of Puerto Rico, via an easy 25-minute hike through a forest of tangled mangroves from the western end of Fajardo’s far busier Seven Seas Beach. Along the way, you may wonder whose domain you’re in, with large holes tunneled by land crabs littering the sandy path. Once you emerge at the secluded setting of Playa Escondida, chances are you’ll have the beach to yourself or be sharing it with only a few others.

11. Playa Luquillo

Luquillo

A 45-minute drive east of San Juan is the soft shoreline of Luquillo. The waves here gently lap the beach’s sands, and palm trees provide plenty of shade for an afternoon nap. Weekdays are your best bet for a crowdless beach experience, but the weekends come with their own perks if you want to step into local culture. The town’s kioskos come alive on the weekends and are only a 20-minute walk south of the beach. This group of 60 or so kiosks offer local foods like alcapurrias and empanadillas, often with live music come nighttime.

This article was originally published in 2021 and most recently updated on October 23, 2023, to include current information.

Terry Ward

Terry Ward is a Florida-based travel writer whose work appears in CNN, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and the Washington Post, among many other outlets.

11 Puerto Rico Beaches for Getting Away From the Crowds

Step into Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent waters, white sands, and bathtub temperatures—in solitude.