Located on Puerto Rico's northeastern tip, Seven Seas beach, Fajardo's most popular public beach, is known for its soft, white sand. Walk the beach, swim or take up scuba diving or snorkeling to explore the area's coral reef. Rent a boat and do some sailing, or try your hand at a number of other water sports, like water skiing. For a fee, you can even get a permit to camp on the beach. Restrooms and showers are available on site, and lifeguards are on duty during the day.
A 316-acre nature preserve, Las Cabezas de San Juan features lagoons, mangroves, cliffs and cays and is open to the public, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Take a tour, hike the preserve and travel through a number of ecosystems. At the end of the trail, stop at one of Fajardo's other tourist attractions, the Faro De Las Cabezas de San Juan, a lighthouse located within the preserve.
First officially lit on May 2, 1882, Faro De Las Cabezas De San Juan is located on the highest point of Cape San Juan and is preserved by the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico. A castle-like lighthouse with a stone lantern, Faro De Las Cabezas De San Juan was originally built by the Spanish and could light up to 18 miles of coastline, according to the National Park Service.
Just a short distance away from Fajardo, the El Yunque National Forest, or "Forest of Clouds," welcomes more than 600,000 visitors every year. A tropical rainforest, it covers approximately 28,000 miles, and it is the only rainforest of its type in the United State National Forest System. Numerous small animals and 23 of the tree species native to El Yunque have been found nowhere else on earth. Play in the waterfalls, hike the Luquillo Mountains or get a permit to camp overnight.
