Trip Planning
The TakeYourBackpack guidebooks are your all-in-one travel companion, featuring the best cities, national parks, hikes, beaches, and unique sites, along with essential tips on when to go, how to get around, exchanging money, and even local phrases to get you started — everything you need for a smooth, unforgettable backpacking adventure.
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Planning a backpacking route through Puerto Rico can be tricky — you need to balance must-see places, travel times, budget, and how long to stay in each destination. Our free personalized Puerto Rico itinerary planner creates a route based on your travel style, trip duration, and interests, so you can spend less time researching and more time exploring.
Personal tip: I normally search on good rating for atmosphere (for meeting people) and location (for easy exploring). Cleanliness as a bonus.
Travel Essentials
Puerto Rico has no required vaccinations for entry, but you should be up to date on routine vaccines (MMR, tetanus, flu and COVID-19), and the CDC recommends hepatitis A and B for most travelers. The bigger health risk is dengue, which is endemic on the island and spiked sharply in 2024. No travel vaccine is available for adults, so use DEET or picaridin repellent and cover up at dawn and dusk. Zika and chikungunya spread through the same mosquitoes.
vaccination requirementsWhen I first started traveling, I often spent part of my first day in a new country hunting for a local SIM card. While this can still be slightly cheaper, it also takes time and planning.
These days, it's much simpler to install an eSIM before leaving home. Once you arrive in Puerto Rico, you can activate it immediately and have mobile data from the moment you land — which is especially useful for ordering transport or navigating away from busy airports.
There are many providers nowadays, and price differences are usually small. I personally go with
Holafly, as it offers excellent network coverage throughout the country and strong global coverage, so you can manage multiple countries from a single app.
HolaFly eSimCulture & Customs
In Puerto Rico, locals dress up more than visitors expect, so save swimwear and bare chests for the beach and cover up in restaurants, churches and shops in Old San Juan. Do treat Puerto Ricans as US citizens: asking whether they need a passport to fly to Miami lands badly, and so does calling the island a third-world country. Political status (statehood, independence or the current commonwealth) is a heated topic, so listen more than you opine. Expect social timing to be relaxed and music to be loud, especially on weekends, and go with it rather than complaining. Don’t touch coral, chase sea turtles or take sand and shells from protected beaches. Same-sex couples can hold hands comfortably in San Juan, though more discretion is wise in rural towns. Women may get loud compliments on the street, which are best ignored.
Trying traditional food is always a great way to experience the culture. Here are some must-try dishes for Puerto Rico.
- Mofongo: Green plantains fried, then mashed in a wooden pilón with garlic and chicharrón, often stuffed with shrimp or skirt steak and served with broth. It is the island’s signature plate and descends from West African mashed plantain traditions.
- Lechón asado: Whole pig slow-roasted over wood until the skin turns glassy and crisp. The roadside lechoneras along the “Ruta del Lechón” in Guavate, in the hills above Cayey, are the weekend pilgrimage for it.
- Arroz con gandules: Rice cooked with pigeon peas, sofrito, olives and pork. It is considered the national dish and appears at every holiday table, with the crusty bottom layer (“pegao”) the most fought-over part.
- Alcapurrias: Fritters of grated green banana and yautía (taro) filled with seasoned ground beef or crab. They are the star of beachside kioskos, especially at Piñones and Luquillo.
- Pasteles: Masa of green banana and root vegetables wrapped around pork, folded into a plantain leaf and boiled. Families make them by the hundreds at Christmas, so they taste like the holidays to most Puerto Ricans.
- Tostones: Plantain slices fried twice and smashed flat, served with mayo-ketchup. They are the default side with almost everything.
- Tembleque: A wobbly coconut milk pudding dusted with cinnamon, the classic dessert of the Christmas season, often eaten alongside a glass of coquito, the island’s spiced coconut rum eggnog.
Tap water from Puerto Rico’s public utility (AAA) is treated to US EPA standards and is generally safe to drink in San Juan and other cities. Many locals still prefer filtered or bottled water because of taste and older pipes. Travelers should do the same in rural areas served by small community systems and after hurricanes or heavy storms, when boil-water advisories are common.
The main language in Puerto Rico is
Spanish. Backpacking is way more rewarding if you know a bit of the local language, so I'd suggest brushing up on the basics just in case your Spanish skills have become a bit rusty.
Want to understand locals better?The complete Travel Guide for Puerto Rico includes 52 essential words and phrases — greetings, thank-yous, ordering food, transport, numbers, and common local expressions you'll actually hear.
Get your local basic phrases 👉
Get the Travel Guide - is co-official with Spanish in Puerto Rico, and in San Juan’s tourist zones you can get through hotels, restaurants and tours without a word of Spanish. Younger Puerto Ricans and hostel staff usually switch to English easily. Many people learned it at school or spent years on the mainland. In mountain towns and small colmados (corner shops), Spanish is the everyday language, so a few phrases such as “¿Cuánto cuesta?” and “una más, por favor” plus the Google Translate offline Spanish pack will cover most gaps.
Money & Payments
The local currency of Puerto Rico is USD ($).
Puerto Rico uses the US dollar, and ATMs are everywhere in towns, malls, supermarkets and gas stations. Most belong to the local ATH network or banks like Banco Popular, and they typically charge US$2.50 to 4 per withdrawal on top of your home bank’s fees. Credit and debit cards work almost everywhere in San Juan, including chain stores, restaurants and hotels, and contactless payment is common. Carry cash for públicos, beach kioskos, piragua carts, small colmados and some guesthouses on Vieques and Culebra, where card machines can go down. Bring US dollars or simply withdraw on arrival rather than carrying euros, since exchange counters are limited to the airport and a few bank branches, with poor rates. If you must change foreign cash, do it at a bank, not with individuals.
Tipping in Puerto Rico follows US norms: 15 to 20 percent at sit-down restaurants, US$1 to 2 per drink at bars and around 15 percent for taxi drivers and tour guides. Some tourist-area restaurants add a service charge, labeled “servicio” or “propina incluida”, so check the bill before tipping twice. Leave housekeeping US$2 to 5 a night.
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Over the years, I've learned the importance of packing minimally. It's so much easier to jump on the back of a truck or squeeze yourself into the last spot of a minibus without that supersized backpack. If you're headed to a warm destination, leave your winter jacket at home; for colder regions, opt for thin thermal underlayers. Instead of packing your entire wardrobe, bring just three sets of clothes, as laundry facilities are available everywhere.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.