PUERTO RICO ACCESS TOURS — Local services in Canóvanas

Bottom line, book from a better company! But, if you enjoy being bitten by ants on the tour bus and getting dirty water dumped on your head from the bus air conditioner, this tour could be for you!! And, if you like dealing with a company that doesn't stand behind their product, this is especially the one to choose!! -We booked this tour because we liked the 5 hour time frame as we weren't looking for an all day excursion. Well, SURPRISE, it actually took 7 1/2 hours!! So, be warned that you will not be back on time. Bus did not leave on time First stop was at a smoothie shop for a bathroom break and purchases. This was not on the itinerary and took quite a long time since other tour buses were also there and it's a pretty small place. The smoothie was tasty. Drove to the rainforest next to walk to the river. Did not see a single insect, bird, or animal. -Swimming in the river was refreshing after the walk. Bring a towel! Made our way back to the bus to drive to the tower. -On the bus, we realized we were being bitten by little ants on the seats. At least 6 of us were bitten, maybe more. At the tower stop I spent the whole time picking little ants off the towel I was sitting on and removing them from my beach bag that I had left on the bus. To be clear, I did NOT have any food in the bag that could have attracted them. The guide did spray the bus with bug spray at this point but it was too late. We were supposed to stop for 20 minutes at the waterfall, the whole reason I booked this tour. We only did a 1 minute drive by and had to take a picture FROM THE BUS. Ridiculous. -The drive to Luquillo beach was very uncomfortable because you could still feel some ants. -Also, on the drive to the beach, the bus took a turn and a bucket of water dumped on my friend's head because she was sitting in the back close to the air conditioner. She was totally soaked. We have photo proof. -Luquillo beach was fine. At this point our moods were already shaky from the ants/water incident. We had a nice lunch there. The beach itself was very crowded- it was a Sunday. We were thankfully picked up in a different bus. We arrived back at 4:30. It was supposed to end at 2pm. Our tour guide, Angel, was very nice and none of this was his fault. We reached out to Viator after the tour to give them a chance to makes things right. They were condescending and did not offer any compensation. -I will be happy to update my review if Viator or their parent company would like to make...

I would recommend the Bioluminescent Bay with Transportation from San Juan with Puerto Rico Access Tours if you are staying in Old San Juan without a car but still want to experience the gorgeous Laguna Grande. Be prepared to kayak for at least an hour round trip, plus travel time. Leave your cameras behind because the only way to see the glowing algae is to touch the water. You will kayak through dark tunnels created by overhanging mangrove trees in to a wide open bay where the guides will explain the ecosystem. It may not look exactly like the photos, but the guides bring helpful tents to cover the kayaks and block out surrounding light pollution. Make sure you watch your paddles as they touch the water too because your paddles will activate the glowing algae!

If you're a beginner kayaker, I would recommend going with someone who has a least a little experience; their intro to kayaking was minimally useful. Since the bioluminescent bay is in a protected nature preserve, kayaking is a way (the only way I found for tourists) to see the glowing algae without destroying the delicate ecosystem. I still recommend going in by kayak even if everyone in your group is a beginner!

As for transportation: They did not pick us up from Old San Juan in order to avoid the evening traffic. Instead, they set a meeting point outside downtown. That made sense because it was already a long ride to Laguna Grande without the old city traffic. On the return trip, they dropped us off directly in Old San Juan. It was all worth it and we were glad to find an option that provided round-trip...

This experience had the potential to be 5 stars, but unfortunately, a few key issues brought it down for us.

Pros: The guides were incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Their energy and enthusiasm made the initial part of the day enjoyable.

Cons: Parking & Pickup: We had to pay over $50 for parking since hotel pickup is only offered to those staying in San Juan. It would have been helpful to know this more clearly in advance.

Tour Duration Balance: The rainforestportion of the tour lasted only about an hour, while we were unexpectedly left at the beach for nearly 5 hours without any structured activity. We didn’t realize we’d be on our own for that long, which felt a bit unbalanced for a 12-hour "tour."

Snacks: The included snack was just a small bag of chips—which felt underwhelming considering the length of the tour. Other shorter tours we took provided more substantial and satisfying meals.

Return Bus Ride: The ride back to our hotel (around 10 p.m.) was uncomfortable due to loud music with explicit lyrics (profanity, sexual content, etc.). After a long day, that was the last thing we wanted to hear.

Final Thoughts:

If future guests are made aware of these aspects ahead of time, they might better set their expectations—or choose a different tour. We hope the organizers take this feedback into account to improve the experience, because with a few adjustments, this could easily become a...