I was looking to Travel to Puerto Rico in late September and was wondering if anyone knew anything about Luquillo, PR? Planning on taking a trip with the wifey and when I get to pick the destination...of course it's going to be somewhere with surf. I was looking at all areas of PR, but I'm curious about Luquillo. Has anyone ever been there, if so, do you have any info on the surf, places to stay, eat, safety issues, fun (other than surfing), surf shops/board rentals (not planning on taking boards on this trip), or anything else a traveler might need to know at this destination? Thanks in advance for any help.
I have been there but it was about 10 years ago as I now focus on Rincon and Isabela. I surfed the break call la pared(which means the wall i was told). The surf shop was la selva surf shop right by the break. I dont really think Luquillo is a destination for staying though. It is close to San Juan and the better break near that would be Aviones. Its really shallow on the paddle out. I know because I hit bottom duck diving and broke a fin out of my box. Anyway there is a website called wannasurf.com that lists over 100 breaks on the island. It has all the locations, how to get to the breaks and the vibe of each break. Pretty good stuff. You will want to focus on the North side of the island this time of year because you will mainly get trade swells. That should help I hope. Have fun!
Luquillo is a solid break, good snorkeling reef when its flat but solid when there is swell. Definitely not a place to stay, though. It's a pretty sketchy little town but you can park right next to the beach and see your car from the water to keep an eye on anything shady that may be going on. You're better off staying somewhere else and driving over to Luquillo. If you do head over there and you're driving from San Juan on highway 3 there's a pull off right before Luquillo with a bunch of little shops. Grab some lunch at El Jefe Burger Shack in that plaza, super good. I've stayed on the North side of PR a handful of times so feel free to PM me and I can help you out and give you some ideas about where to stay.
aguidilla would be my choice for u if u want different types of waves,whether ur a beginner,intermediate,or pro.never been to the east side in pr.iv only been there once and i stayed with some friends of mine who live there,many puerto rican friends where im from.its a complete ripoff to go on one of those surfari thingymagigs unless ur loaded with cash,but if ur like me and u can only afford so much,pr is the place to go.i go from ewr to san juan international,have your friend pick u up,if u know people down there.there are sketchy places everywhere,dont walk around like everyone is out to get u,because then they will know ur a tourist and will be out to get u.dont do stupid things,treat the locals with respect,if u speak a little spanish,thats always good because u show them u have an interest in their culture,not just their beaches and women lol....gas chambers is super fun,gets pretty hollow,good tube riding..tres palmas in rincon is a nice reef break that can hold in size,like the puerto rican pipeline we like to call it..good luck hope u have fun!
i went to pr last october and stayed in rio grande. its just wet of loquillo. surfed two days there. ther was no swell hitting the west side of the island. there was ene wind swell in the chest high range all. week. theres a beach right in the center of town. and a point break about a half mile east of the beach. i think there is a point/reef break in reo grande. loquillo looked like kinda sketchy town. theres nice resorts in rio grande and fajardo. you could also take a ferry from fajardo to culebra theres surf there not sure how good it gets.
Luquillo has one very good break, La Selva. You will need to get directions on how to get there as we used to park on a country rode and hike in about a kilometer through cow pastures and bull rings, etc. Pack your water. La Pared is in town -- one of the beginner breaks I learned to surf at along with spots in Isla Verde and Condado and Old San Juan. La Pared doesn't seem to break as well compared to decades ago but La Selva is simply a beautiful place and wave. There are some other breaks in the NE coastal point. Along with the SE coast (nice lefts, fire coral but worth it if you know how to kick out of a wave). As mentioned above there are some nice tourist hotels in the Fajardo area but some of the paradores might be just as good for you. El Yunque is worth at least a half day hiking and exploring.
get a rental car fly into san juan hit piniones then travel the north coast "los tubos" is illy real localized places then "los jobos" hit "middles" if your good enough "real sketch" love it. then after that your getting close to rincon which will have gas chambers etc....have a great time!
