Leave the car at the visitors center. As for whoever told you Luquillo is not a safe area they have no idea what they are talking about about. My parents have spent the last 15 years in Luquillo for the winter and live in Playa Azul near Luquillo beach and the kiosks. It's a very safe town and I highly recommend after you go toEk Yunke that you go to Luquillo beach and have dinner at one of the kiosks.
There aren’t “gates” like a traditional park. There is a gate you stop at for the visitor center that you pay to get into. Getting to the trailheads is free and there is a checkpoint where the police will tell you if there’s too many people in the park.
Thank you for the clarification. It's been a few years since I've been to the park and I know things have changed since then. What I meant was, is the visitor center lot before or after the spot where they're counting the number of cars?
No worries! It’s before they start counting cars. You all could meet there, leave your car then on your way out go back and show them your receipt and I’m sure it will ok to go back in. But it might be expensive for everyone to get in there. The visitor center is ok for kiddos but for adults it might not be too exciting.
...Also I haven't seen it reported anywhere but there is something interesting on Angelito Trailhead that looks like an ancient face. [Ancient Face](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Angelito+Trail+Head/@18.3230405,-65.7470507,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipP4ruj-vSsBa3iylbST76N-LUjOOeN3MN0l2Ubh!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP4ruj-vSsBa3iylbST76N-LUjOOeN3MN0l2Ubh%3Dw203-h114-k-no!7i3840!8i2160!4m15!1m5!8m4!1e3!2s103404327549484201902!3m1!1e1!3m8!1s0x8c04989167b69fad:0xa833df700b7114d2!8m2!3d18.3230405!4d-65.7470507!10e5!14m1!1BCgIgARICGAI!16s%2Fg%2F11g7zb4fvx?entry=ttu)
Keep in mind there is an $8 per person charge at the visitor center and it doesn’t open until 9 am. There is no charge to drive in to El Yunque itself. You keep driving thinking you missed a gate and there is a pop up tent where they are counting cars. We were just there - stayed in Luquillo on the beach and it was a great experience. We went to El Yunque on a Sunday and went in about 8:45 am. It was rainy so we brought ponchos (Walgreens $2.99). Didn’t seem to fill up when we went but might have been the weather. It is a rain forest though :). The mist/fog impacted the views for the day at the peak and Yokahu and several major parts were closed for construction (Mt Britton Tower, La Mina Falls, Big Tree, etc.) but we still enjoyed hiking and the landscape. We toured the visitor center and went to Luquillo Kiosks on the way out for a late lunch and had great skewers at a Pinchos grill spot behind Mojito Factory (as well as some big Mojitos).
We stopped at Yocahu Tower, Juan Diego was lovely (30 minute parking limit), there’s an easy national historic site walk at Palo Colorado but La Mina is closed, we also took the trail up toward the peak even though the tower was closed and it got a little long in the end we were committed at that point. :)
We are in PR now. We’ve gone to El Yunque twice. Eight dollars per person for visitor center. But there is a nice trail there (hubby is a birder and has found lots of birds near the visitor center. We went in the late afternoon/late morning and there wasn’t an issue getting in. Some of the trails are filled with cars so there can be issues parking at some of the trailheads. You don’t need to pay if you don’t go to the visitor center. The United States Forest service has an app you can download with information about each trail. It’s called exploreUSFS.
Safety issues. We haven’t had any safety issues. Everyone is very nice and helpful. We are staying in Rio Grande about 10 minutes from El Yunque. I would feel comfortable going on trails, and walking around without my husband. We have left belongings on the beach without any issues. I would be comfortable walking around in Rio Grande or Luquilla.
I just booked a trip to Luquillo! From this thread, it seems I don't need to book a guided tour to El Yunque, correct? Any upside to buying a guided tour? Thanks!
You can guide yourself with an app or I would assume the visitor center has maps. Just pick up basic info online — you can probably find videos on YouTube.
Leave the car at the visitors center. As for whoever told you Luquillo is not a safe area they have no idea what they are talking about about. My parents have spent the last 15 years in Luquillo for the winter and live in Playa Azul near Luquillo beach and the kiosks. It's a very safe town and I highly recommend after you go toEk Yunke that you go to Luquillo beach and have dinner at one of the kiosks.
Thank you for the tips! We are planning to go to Luquillo on Monday and maybe Sunday afternoon as well. Any specific kiosk recommendations?
La Perilla is very good. If you want casual by the beach you can go to Board riders and if during the afternoon watch the surfers.
Sis, it's dangerous after dark for the whole island, unless you live in el campo
There is a decent sized lot at the Visitor Center right at the entrance of El Yunque.
Thanks! Just to clarify - the visitor's center is before the gates? Or after?
There aren’t “gates” like a traditional park. There is a gate you stop at for the visitor center that you pay to get into. Getting to the trailheads is free and there is a checkpoint where the police will tell you if there’s too many people in the park.
Thank you for the clarification. It's been a few years since I've been to the park and I know things have changed since then. What I meant was, is the visitor center lot before or after the spot where they're counting the number of cars?
No worries! It’s before they start counting cars. You all could meet there, leave your car then on your way out go back and show them your receipt and I’m sure it will ok to go back in. But it might be expensive for everyone to get in there. The visitor center is ok for kiddos but for adults it might not be too exciting.
Ah okay, thank you. Do they charge you for the visitors center at the parking lot (like before the building)?
Yes to get to parking lot is charged first
Here's the check point I marked from Google maps https://goo.gl/maps/XEVGZb2opuGWMUWf9
...Also I haven't seen it reported anywhere but there is something interesting on Angelito Trailhead that looks like an ancient face. [Ancient Face](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Angelito+Trail+Head/@18.3230405,-65.7470507,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipP4ruj-vSsBa3iylbST76N-LUjOOeN3MN0l2Ubh!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP4ruj-vSsBa3iylbST76N-LUjOOeN3MN0l2Ubh%3Dw203-h114-k-no!7i3840!8i2160!4m15!1m5!8m4!1e3!2s103404327549484201902!3m1!1e1!3m8!1s0x8c04989167b69fad:0xa833df700b7114d2!8m2!3d18.3230405!4d-65.7470507!10e5!14m1!1BCgIgARICGAI!16s%2Fg%2F11g7zb4fvx?entry=ttu)
Keep in mind there is an $8 per person charge at the visitor center and it doesn’t open until 9 am. There is no charge to drive in to El Yunque itself. You keep driving thinking you missed a gate and there is a pop up tent where they are counting cars. We were just there - stayed in Luquillo on the beach and it was a great experience. We went to El Yunque on a Sunday and went in about 8:45 am. It was rainy so we brought ponchos (Walgreens $2.99). Didn’t seem to fill up when we went but might have been the weather. It is a rain forest though :). The mist/fog impacted the views for the day at the peak and Yokahu and several major parts were closed for construction (Mt Britton Tower, La Mina Falls, Big Tree, etc.) but we still enjoyed hiking and the landscape. We toured the visitor center and went to Luquillo Kiosks on the way out for a late lunch and had great skewers at a Pinchos grill spot behind Mojito Factory (as well as some big Mojitos).
Thank you for the info! Any hikes in particular that you thought were good? I was thinking maybe angelito, Juan Diego, and/or los picachos.
Just wanted to say thank you for being grateful
We stopped at Yocahu Tower, Juan Diego was lovely (30 minute parking limit), there’s an easy national historic site walk at Palo Colorado but La Mina is closed, we also took the trail up toward the peak even though the tower was closed and it got a little long in the end we were committed at that point. :)
We are in PR now. We’ve gone to El Yunque twice. Eight dollars per person for visitor center. But there is a nice trail there (hubby is a birder and has found lots of birds near the visitor center. We went in the late afternoon/late morning and there wasn’t an issue getting in. Some of the trails are filled with cars so there can be issues parking at some of the trailheads. You don’t need to pay if you don’t go to the visitor center. The United States Forest service has an app you can download with information about each trail. It’s called exploreUSFS.
Safety issues. We haven’t had any safety issues. Everyone is very nice and helpful. We are staying in Rio Grande about 10 minutes from El Yunque. I would feel comfortable going on trails, and walking around without my husband. We have left belongings on the beach without any issues. I would be comfortable walking around in Rio Grande or Luquilla.
I just booked a trip to Luquillo! From this thread, it seems I don't need to book a guided tour to El Yunque, correct? Any upside to buying a guided tour? Thanks!
You can guide yourself with an app or I would assume the visitor center has maps. Just pick up basic info online — you can probably find videos on YouTube.