Best Caves to Explore in Puerto Rico – 2024 Guide

Puerto Rico Tourism ⎮ Best Things to Do in Puerto Rico ⎮ Puerto Rico Caves

Caves, Caverns, Beach Caves, Submarine Caves, & Underground River Caves

Puerto Rico was blessed with 2,000 caves and counting.  The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) has documented 211, with more to be discovered and explored.  Whether you’re a family with children, a more adventurous thrill seeker, scuba diver, or beach lover wishing to admire a beach cave that’s magazine-worthy… 

Puerto Rico offers many adventures to choose from and for visitors staying in the capital city of San Juan, most of them are about 1.5 hour drive away.

Our travel guide will introduce you to the best caves to explore in Puerto Rico including limestone caves in the Karst Region, underground river caves, beach caves and grottos, and submarine caves.  On the rugged northern coastline, you’ll be able to explore a cave with great archeological value and go sightseeing natural arches with great beauty that served as filming locations such as Pirates of the Caribbean.

You may explore some caves on your own, but most adventures are best explored with an experienced local guide for safety and to get the most out of the experiences.  There are various destinations in the Caribbean offering caves to explore, but Puerto Rico shines offering tours to breathtaking places with 5-star rated professional guides elevating the experience.

Two local guides in Puerto Rico were ranked on the coveted Traveler’s Choice Award by Trip Advisor – Top Overall Experiences in the World & Top Adventure Activities

In the verdant mountains along the north in the karst region you can explore the most impressive cave systems, combined with exciting nature activities such as river trekking, and cave tubing.  The Karst region extends from the Loiza River in the town of Loiza across the center of the island to the coastline of Aguadilla.  Caves in Puerto Rico are living caves, continuously change by nature’s geological forces.  Fauna in Puerto Rico’s caves include Trogloxenes such as bats, Troglophytes, and Troglobios. 

Following are the best and most popular caves in Puerto Rico. 

Camuy River Cave Park

Location of Cavern: Camuy, Puerto Rico   ⎮  Distance from San Juan: About an hour and 15 minutes drive from San Juan.

The Camuy River Cave Park is a world-class natural treasure, the third-largest cave network in the world, carved over a million years ago.  Formally named Parque Nacional de las Cavernas de Camuy, is certainly the most impressive cave system on the island of Puerto Rico.

Although impressive, visitors will be surprised to learn they’re only exploring the major cave and two sinkholes, Camuy River Cave has 220 subterranean caves stretching over 286 acres.  It is believed that there are more caves to be discovered yet. Underground runs the Rio Camuy, a nine-mile river, the third-largest underground river in the world, the two largest underground rivers are in Yugoslavia and Papua New Guinea.  Camuy River Cave Park is a very family-friendly attraction, average physical condition is required to explore the cave.  There are cement walkways throughout the tour, making it the most accessible for most travelers.  Children and adults will be amazed by the impressive stalactites, stalagmites, and the impressive sinkhole.  The caves expand to three towns, Camuy (entrance to the park), Lares, and Hatillo.

Visiting Tips:  The cement walkways may be a bit slippery in some spots, non-slip shoes are recommended.  Reservations are recommended but tickets may be purchased the day of visiting, just give yourself a good 2 hours to get there in case of traffic and get there in the morning to be sure you get a ticket for one of the tours.  If you don’t have your scheduled tour until the afternoon, there are more places to visit nearby.  You may book this tour, which takes care of all the details.

Cueva del Indio

Location of Cave: Arecibo, Puerto Rico  ⎮  Distance from San Juan: 1-hour drive west of San Juan

Cueva del Indio is one of the most breathtaking locations on the island of Puerto Rico.  You can easily spend a full morning here exploring the cave, the Seven Arches along the cliffs, tidal pools, and walking the shore.  Cueva del Indio was a filming location of Pirates of the Caribbean, Perfect Getaway, and other Hollywood movies.  Near the cave entrance, you’ll be able to admire columnar basalts.

Cueva Ventana – Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Location of Cavern: Arecibo, Puerto Rico   ⎮  Distance from San Juan: About a 1 hour and 10 minutes drive from San Juan.

Temporarily Closed – Prepare to be wowed at the window… Photos are a disservice to Cueva Ventana, the scene you encounter at the window after hiking through the forest and passing through the dark cave is truly rewarding.  The tour guides are bilingual and very friendly.  The best and top-rated tours include Cueva del Indio, one of the most scenic places on the north coast of Puerto Rico.

Family-friendly, good for children.  Hiking shoes are recommended, hiking level is about a 2.

Both of the following beach caves are named after the swallow birds that abound and nest in the caves.  These beach caves are accessible and safest to enter during the late summer months, we found the month of August to be the best.

Cueva Golondrinas at Playa El Pastillo

Location of Cueva Golondrinas: Isabela, Puerto Rico ⎮ Distance from San Juan:  1 hr 45 min (avoid traffic)⎮ Distance from Aguadilla Airport: 30 minutes

Time to visit the beach cave:  Late summer months, best in August.

We love the beaches of Isabela, and we honestly don’t like to share this beach much because we often go early morning during the summertime and we typically have it to ourselves, other times we may encounter a few locals fishing offshore and guests that come down from the amazing resort Royal Isabela.  Playa El Pastillo is at its best during the summer months, the tide is lower, the water is calmer, you can do a little snorkeling at the east end, float at tidal pools, and… the greatest reward is seeing Cueva Las Golondrinas, named after the swallow birds that nest on the cave which is officially a grotto.  We wait for the raging Atlantic waves to retreat after the winter months and reveal the cave once again.  If you wish to surprise your loved one with something special, get a picnic basket together, sit down really close and simply enjoy the views and sounds of the ocean together from the cave, you won’t forget the experience.

Cueva de Las Golondrinas Beach

Location of Cueva de Las Golondrinas: Manati, Puerto Rico ⎮ Distance from San Juan: 45 minutes

Best time to visit this beach cave:  Summer Months

Photos simply don’t do justice to this dreamy spot, a small beach in a protected cove where crystal clear water runs in from the more open water of the Manati coastline facing the Atlantic.  During the summer months, the water is calmer and extra clear.  The active and strong ocean waves of the winter months that come in through the entrances become calmer during the summer months, allowing beachgoers to enter and explore.  Right outside you’ll be able to sit down on shallow water, once inside you’ll find gorgeous turquoise and emerald green water filling the cave’s uneven surface creating a series of natural pools of depths from 3 to 5 – 6 feet.

Please wear water shoes, the surface may be slippery.  Most of all, please be considerate of the beautiful sea life that calls this cave home, from sea urchins to schools of fish and coral, they’re living organisms that deserve our care and respect.  Please be mindful when stepping and walking around the cave.

Top Rated Scuba Diving Charters & Tours in Puerto Rico

Blue Hole at Shacks Beach – Isabela, Puerto Rico

+  Shacks Beach – Isabela, Puerto Rico

A pit cave is a vertical cave, rather than horizontal passage or entrance, also called a pot in the UK.  The erosion from the crashing waves of the ocean create this cave, as you stand admiring it, is is literally a continuously changing work of art.

Pozo de Jacinto

Pozo de Jacinto is a pit cave about 30 feet deep, formed by the crashing waves of the Atlantic, located along the northwest coast of Puerto Rico in the town of Isabela.  With so many scenic spots along the coast of Puerto Rico, this pit cave is often missed by visitors, but in islands such as Aruba, a natural bridge that resembles Pozo de Jacinto is actually one of the top attractions.  If you enjoy rock formations, natural bridges, caves, and the ocean, Pozo de Jacinto is certainly worth a visit, and it doesn’t take up much time to admire it due to the easy access.

A perfect day trip to Pozo de Jacinto is planning a beach-hopping day to the beaches of Isabela.  From Jobos Beach, you will take the trail from the parking lot and within a few minutes you’ll be at Pozo de Jacinto, you’ll also enjoy sweeping views of the coastline.

You’ll also find interesting caves in Cabo Rojo, with famous stories from Pirata Cofresi, the real pirate of the Caribbean.  The island of Isla de Mona, Monito and Caja de Muertos also has some impressive caves.  Following are more caves worth visiting.

Cuevas Las Cabachuelas Nature Reserve

In 2012, one of the largest cave systems in Puerto Rico was declared a nature reserve, located between the municipalities of Morovis and Ciales.  This site is of great importance with both natural and cultural importance to Puerto Rico.  Roberto Martinez and Ovidio Davila were responsible for the study of this cave system and for designating it as a nature reserve.  We do not recommend you visit on your own, Proyecto Cabachuelas in Morovis offers regular guided tours (see details below).

Cueva del Viento

Location of Cueva del Viento: Isabela, Puerto Rico  ⎮ Distance from Aguadilla Airport:  50 minutes

We love hiking in Isabela, one of the unbeaten paths of Puerto Rico, where you’ll be immersed in nature with few to zero crowds.  Put on hiking boots and head to the Guajataca State Forest, offering well-marked trails, one leading to Cueva del Viento.  The trails leading to the cave are nice with interesting flora and fauna to observe along the way.  The cave is very accessible, you simply go down wooden steps to explore this beautiful cave that surprisingly gets few visitors, those of us that love it, would like to keep it that way, it is a very peaceful adventure.  Be sure to take a flashlight or lantern, there are no lights inside the cave and no organized tours so you’re on your own.  Feel free to stop at the ranger station at Km 9, where you may park your car and head to the trails from there.  The few people we encounter during the times we’ve hiked there are locals taking a morning walk.

Cueva Lucero

Location of Cueva Lucero “Star Cave”: Morovis & Ciales, PR

Cueva Lucero is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  This cave is one of the most important archeological sites in Puerto Rico, where aborigines dwelled and left hundreds of pictographs and petroglyphs.  Currently, there are no organized tours to Cueva Lucero, but locals who like to do rock climbing and spelunking are blessed to experience this historical and archeological gem.

Sources:

EnciclopediaPR.com ⎮ Primera Hora ⎮ Natural Arches  ⎮ Wikipedia – Pit Caves ⎮ Proyecto Las Cabachuelas ⎮ Wikipedia – Cueva Las Cabachuelas ⎮ Cueva Lucero