Wondering if Puerto Rico is safe for tourists? We've got you covered! Justin and I recently spent an entire week road tripping around this Caribbean paradise. From staying in luxe beachfront resorts to wandering through hidden mountain villages, we've experienced it all firsthand. Instead of you spending hours reading outdated travel forums, we're sharing our real, no-fluff safety tips and local insights that'll help you plan with confidence.
Is Puerto Rico Safe For Tourists?
1. Overall Safety in Puerto Rico
Plain and simple, Puerto Rico turned out to be way safer than we expected, especially in the tourist hot spots. We felt totally at ease walking around most areas, though we still used the same street smarts we'd use back home. The tourist areas are well-patrolled, and we noticed police presence pretty much everywhere we went.
The locals were incredibly friendly and always ready to help if we looked lost. In fact, Puerto Ricans were among the friendliest people we've encountered in all our travels.
2. Safest Areas for Tourists
After trying out different neighborhoods, here are our absolute favorites where we felt super secure:
🛍️ Old San Juan: We spent several days wandering these colorful streets. The area is very well-monitored, and we felt safe even during our late-night ice cream runs.
☀️ Condado: We highly recommend this area! With its Miami Beach vibes but even better food scene, it's a top choice for visitors. The well-lit streets, abundance of quality hotels, and regular security patrols make it an excellent base for your stay
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🏖️ Isla Verde: This is where you’ll find the best beaches in San Juan - perfect for morning walks and sunset swims. The area is packed with resorts, and security is everywhere
🏩 Palmas del Mar & Dorado del Mar: For the ultimate luxury experience, head here. These areas boasts exclusive resorts and gated communities with impeccable security measures. You'll feel completely safe while being pampered in paradise!
Areas to Exercise More Caution
During our week-long adventure, we discovered that while most of Puerto Rico felt super safe, there were a few spots where we needed to be a bit more careful. Here's what we learned:
❌ La Perla: While famous from "Despacito," it's best visited during daylight hours and with local guidance.
❌ Remote Areas: When exploring less-touristy regions, we recommend going with a guide or in a group.
❌ Some San Juan Neighborhoods: While we felt totally safe in most of San Juan, there were a few areas outside the main tourist zones where we needed to be more alert, especially after dark. We stuck to well-lit streets and usually grabbed an Uber after dinner just to be extra careful.
Want to stick to the safe areas? Download our Puerto Rico Pinned Planning Map for all of the locations that we felt very safe.
3. Transportation Safety Tips
Getting around Puerto Rico was actually pretty straightforward once we figured out the best options. Here's what worked for us:
📲 We used Uber a ton in San Juan - super reliable and the drivers gave us amazing local recommendations
🚗 Renting a car was perfect for our day trips - we went with Avis and had zero issues. Just remember to park in well-lit areas or official parking lots
🚌 Skip the unmarked taxis or unofficial buses - we saw a few but stuck to the official services
🧗 For mountain/water adventures, we highly recommend booking organized tours.
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4. Beach and Water Safety
The beaches in Puerto Rico are absolutely gorgeous, but we learned a few important things to keep in mind:
🏖️ We always chose beaches with lifeguards - Isla Verde was our favorite for this reason. We pinned all of the beaches where we felt completely safe, both on sand and swimming in the water, in our Puerto Rico map!
🚩 Those colored flags aren't just decoration! We paid attention to them after seeing some pretty intense waves one day.
💍 After Justin's wedding ring incident in Maui (what a story - lost it in the ocean but found it two days later!), we got smart about valuables and now don’t even bring them on our trips altogether.
🌊 The designated swimming areas are marked for a reason - we saw some strong currents outside these zones.
☀️ We brought our own reef-safe sunscreen and reapplied often - that Caribbean sun is no joke!
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5. Food and Water Safety
After eating our way through Puerto Rico (seriously, we tried everything!), we learned a ton about food safety while still having amazing culinary adventures. Here's what worked for us:
🥟 We stuck to restaurants that looked busy with locals - they never steered us wrong! Our favorite spot was this tiny place in Old San Juan that specialized in craft beer and empanadas (linked in our Puerto Rico Google Map!)
👀 Street food became our guilty pleasure, but we were smart about it. We watched where the locals ate and followed their lead. The best mofongo we had was from a cart that always had a line!
💦 We mostly drank bottled water when exploring the mountains and countryside. In San Juan, tap water is totally fine to drink, but we stocked up on gallon jugs from the grocery store just in case.
🐙 Justin's adventurous spirit got the better of him with some raw octopus from a road-side vendor (let's just say we learned the phrase "¿Tienes un baño?" fairly quickly). After that, we were more careful about where we got our seafood.
🍴 We highly recommend taking a food tour in San Juan - it's a great way to learn which local dishes to try and where to find them safely. It's definitely worth the investment!
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6. Health and Emergency Preparedness
After our octopus incident, we got pretty savvy about health stuff. Here's what we recommend:
⚕️ We highly recommend getting travel insurance! We opt for SquareMouth since you can customize your insurance needs and only pay for what your need. Having that peace of mind is worth every penny. First, check to see if your current health insurance covers you in Puerto Rico (Despite being a US territory, not all insurances cover PR).
🤳🏻 Save emergency numbers in your phone - it's 911 just like back home, which made things super easy
🏥 We mapped out clinics near our hotel just in case. You can also ask your host/hotel where the nearest 24-hour pharmacies are too.
⛑️ Pack a basic first aid kit - ours came in handy for minor scrapes during our waterfall hikes
📷 We kept photos of our prescriptions and insurance cards in our phones (Google Drive saved offline) - thankfully didn't need them, but better safe than sorry!
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7. Cultural Safety Tips
During our week in Puerto Rico, we picked up some handy cultural tips that made our trip so much smoother:
📲 We downloaded Google Translate's Spanish offline pack before going - came in super handy when our phone signal was spotty in the mountains!
🗣️ The locals really appreciated when we tried speaking Spanish, even if we totally butchered it. Just saying "gracias" with a smile went a long way.
👗 We noticed people dressed pretty casually at the beaches but cleaned up nice for dinner. We packed accordingly and never felt out of place.
8. Neighborhood Safety Guidelines
After trying different areas around the island, here's what worked best for us:
🏝️ We stayed at the Wyndham Palmas in Humacao using points from a sign-on offer - totally worth it for the private beach and amazing security. Plus, the staff gave us the best local tips!
⛰️ Before booking our mountain getaway, we read through tons of reviews and even messaged the hotel a few questions ahead of time to asses their response rate. The extra research paid off big time.
🤝 Our host on Vieques was incredibly kind! Not only did he buy our ferry tickets for us at the box office when they were sold out online, he also gave us a ride from the ferry dock to his lodging when we arrived past dark. This is your sign to reach out to your host with any questions! Puerto Rican’s go above and beyond in terms of hospitality.
💡 We stuck to well-lit main streets after dark, especially in areas we weren't familiar with. Better safe than sorry!
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9. Common Sense Precautions
Here's what we learned (sometimes the hard way) about staying safe:
💳 We only used ATMs inside banks during the day - we use our free Charles Schwab debit card which eliminates ATM fees worldwide!
💵 I kept some emergency cash tucked in a separate wallet. Never needed it, but it was nice knowing it was there
🔔 We stayed alert without being paranoid - think "aware tourist" rather than "scared tourist"
👋 Our cardinal rule: if something felt off, we trusted our gut and moved on. Better to miss out on one spot than ruin the whole trip
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is San Juan safe for tourists?
A: We found San Juan to be super safe, especially in the tourist areas. Justin and I walked everywhere and noticed police officers on practically every corner. The well-lit streets and friendly locals made us feel right at home.
Q: Do I need travel insurance in Puerto Rico?
A: While it's not required, we definitely recommend getting it. Just double-check if your current insurance covers Puerto Rico - we learned that some companies treat it differently since it's a US territory.
Q: What about natural disasters?
A: Puerto Rico knows what they're doing when it comes to weather emergencies. If you're visiting during hurricane season, you may consider downloading the FEMA app and kept an eye on the weather during your trip. If you're concerned, ask the hotel staff about their safety protocols when you check in for extra reassurance.
Q: Is it safe to use public transportation?
A: The official buses and trains in tourist areas are totally fine, but we mostly stuck to Uber - it was just easier. For our day trips around the island, renting a car was perfect. Just skip those unmarked taxis - we saw a few that looked sketchy and decided it wasn't worth the risk.
Q: Are tourist areas well-policed?
A: Absolutely! We saw a number of police officers during our walks through Old San Juan. We noticed regular patrols everywhere, especially around the popular beaches and nightlife spots.
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Q: What about food safety?
A: We ate everything in sight and only had one hiccup (looking at you, Justin's sketchy octopus!). The restaurants were clean, and we had amazing experiences at local spots. Just use common sense - if a place is packed with locals, that's usually a good sign.
Q: How safe are the beaches?
A: The beaches we visited felt totally secure. We left our stuff on the sand while swimming and had no issues, though we did keep valuables in our hotel safe. Just pay attention to those warning flags - we saw some pretty intense waves on the days with red flags! Our favorite swimming beaches we encountered on our trip were Crash Boat Beach, Luquillo Beach, and Sun Bay Beach, all pinned on our Puerto Rico map!
Q: Is Vieques safe to visit?
A: Yes, Vieques is safe for tourists today. While the island was previously used as a Navy testing ground until 2003, environmental studies have shown that popular tourist areas and beaches are safe for visitors. The locals are known for being very welcoming and friendly to tourists.
The Bottom Line
Looking back, we felt way safer in Puerto Rico than we expected. Sure, we had a few moments that made us raise our eyebrows (like motorcyclists popping wheelies on the highway and not abiding by the rules of the road), but overall, it was smooth sailing. As long as you're not doing anything silly like wandering dark alleys at 3 AM or buying street food from that one suspicious cart, you'll be fine!
Ready to start planning your own Puerto Rico adventure? We've got tons more tips and stories to share! Check out our detailed guides for specific destinations, and don't forget to follow our daily mishaps and discoveries on Instagram @Noms.Brews.Views. Trust us, you won't want to miss Justin's budget airline wardrobe choices! Baggage fees? What’s that!
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