Charco Azul, Hidden Caves & Waterfalls
Three separate adventures, one day, one price.
- Duration
- 5–6 hours
- Region
- Northeast karst
- Minimum age
- 10+
- Stops
- 5
This is the one people book when they only have one free day. You get a limestone cave system, a waterfall you can stand under, the blue swimming hole locals call Charco Azul, and a beach to finish — and you pay for it once.
It is not a walk. There is a stretch where the only way forward is to go completely underwater, gear and all, and come up on the other side. There is a ledge you can jump from if you want to. Nobody makes you, and plenty of people don't.
We cap it small so the group moves at one pace. Drinks for the adults are on us once the climbing is done.
5 stops, in this order.
- Load upstart
Hotel pickup
We collect you from San Juan, Condado, Isla Verde or Old San Juan and head east. Roughly 50 minutes of driving, and it's a good part of the day — the coast road changes character three times.
- Go under+1h
The cave system
Headlamps on. A limestone passage with an underground stream running through it. One section requires you to submerge fully and surface on the far side. This is the part people talk about afterwards.
- Stand under it+2h 10m
The waterfall
A short scramble up wet rock to a falls you can get directly beneath. There's a ledge above the pool at roughly twenty feet for anyone who wants to jump. Your guide goes first.
- Swim+3h 20m
Charco Azul
The blue hole. Deep, cold, startlingly clear, and ringed by jungle. This is where the cameras come out — your guide shoots for you so you can leave your phone in the van.
- Cool down+4h 20m
Beach + drinks
Salt water to rinse off the river, a stretch of sand that is almost never busy, and cold drinks for the adults. We get you back to your hotel before dinner.
What it looks like.
Included
- Round-trip hotel pickup and drop-off in the San Juan metro area
- Licensed local guide for the whole day
- Headlamps and safety gear for the cave
- Cold drinks, including alcoholic drinks for guests 18+
- Fresh fruit and snacks
- Photos and video of your group, sent the same evening
Not included
- Water shoes
- Gratuities
- Lunch (we stop where you can buy it)
Bring with you
- Water shoes with a closed toe and real grip
- Swimwear worn under your clothes
- A towel and a full change of dry clothes
- Reef-safe sunscreen
- A dry bag if you want your phone with you
The honest version of this day.
- Flip-flops and sandals will not work. Every guide has watched somebody's sandal float away.
- You will be fully underwater with your gear at one point in the cave. If that's a no, take the El Yunque tour instead.
- The jump is optional. The climbing and swimming are not.
- Ten and up. Younger kids have a better day on the waterslide tour.
Hold a spot on this one.
Tell us your date and how many are coming. We confirm by message within a few hours, and you pay nothing until we do.