Fajardo Bioluminescent Bay Night Kayak Adventure From San Juan

The staff were wonderful and the experience was amazing! Highly recommend putting this on your list of adventures!

Great time. Our guide, AJ, not only was extremely knowledgeable about the subject, but went above and beyond to make sure we had an enjoyable experience. Also, the entire staff was professional and informative about the tour. Just expect to get a little wet. Well worth the experience.

Professional staff, reached out one day earlier, FUP some time before pickup, and a safe travel there and back. Be prepared for the mosquitos and eventual crashes with other kayaks, not everyone knows how to paddle, and the dark+narrow canal also does not help a lot hahahah

Great tour! Smooth transport, good communication, and helpful guides. Note that the bio glow wasn’t super visible, it was more like little specks but that seems to be the way it is in this area.

The staff was amazing. They really did a great job with safety and explaining everything. I can’t overstate that enough. They really did a great job. But there was no glowing marine life. I would’ve liked to have been warned when I booked the trip. It’s a lot of work and not cheap. And it’s really disappointing to come all this way not to see anything. I know they can’t control that, but it should’ve been ok big bold letters on the website. May not see anything. That being said the kayaking was still an incredible experience. Just a better heads up would’ve been helpful as far as our expectations.

Unfortunately it was canceled because of bad weather, but the team was friendly and professional. The immediately apologized and offered either a refund or to reschedule.

Skip this one. The kayak village smelled awful, there was zero bioluminescence to be seen, and it felt more like bumper boats in the dark than a magical experience. We spent most of the time blindly paddling, getting whacked by branches, and eaten alive by mosquitoes. Not worth the time or money.

It was VERY crowded. There were 28 in our group and at least 3, if not 4, other groups there. They were not coordinated as well as they could have been. To add to the semi organized chaos, the bay where you meet SMELLED awful. It may have revived all of the negatives if there was some bioluminescent to be seen hiding under a dirty old tarp that 3 kayaks put over our heads to make it darker, but the vmgeneral consensus was that there was maybe a slight flicker, vut nothing breath taking as expected. My biggest fuss was wirh the smell and lack of coordination. I understand the environment cannot be controlled. However, there ate probably better spots without as much light pollution to view this. For reference, we went out the day after a new room, so moonlight wasn't the inhibitor. The guides were nice and did the best work what they had to work with, bug there is some high level restructuring needed to make this a more pleasant experience. The best part was the ride there with Angel - he oozed positivity

Very cool experience! Always felt safe and paddle wasn't hard. Definitely something cool to see if you've never had the chance.

This was a nice tour. Definitely do this when there is no moon, it's more difficult to see if there's any light. Navigating through the mangroves can be challenging, especially when youre going against the current. It helps to have kayaking experience but they do keep a close eye on the group to make sure everyone gets to the cove and back. Definitely bring bug spray.

It was a struggle to paddle but it was all worth it to see them glow so much. They say it's not a guarantee to see them plankton's but we were very fortunate. Ps. Don't forget to bring a change of clothes.

Communication was awful. Signed up for 6:30. Did not receive communication until 5:30 the day off when they told me the tour starts when they pick you up, which meant we wouldn’t get on the kayak until about 8 and be out there for two hours. Unfortunately, we had an early flight out the next morning and were not able to do the excursion at all. No refund, complete waste of money. If there was any communication, this wouldn’t have happened. Very disappointed.

Amazing experience kayaking through the mangroves to the bioluminescent lagoon during the early tour. The guides were very helpful and knowledgeable. We were able to make the water glow using our hands and paddles. The ride back was very dark but the guides had lights to guide us as needed. A truly magical experience. There are food and drink areas to enjoy before and after the ride if you have time. Transportation to and from the hotel was included.

The night kayak alone was super fun! Even with low bioluminescence! AJ and Emily (and one more!) were super nice as well and Angel’s pick up was professional, kind and timely! Great experience!

Tour guides on this tour were great, very personable and super helpful if you are an inexperienced kayaker. The bay and canal are absolutely beautiful. The Bioluminescence isn’t super bright (that’s the only reason for 4 stars instead of 5) in this bay, but Fajardo is more convenient than the other two bays if you are staying near San Juan and the experience was well worth it!

The actual ride thru the mangroves out to the bay was not well described. More time should have been spent explaining how we were going to move thru and lights should be on every kayak

If you're expecting a quiet night time paddle through the mangroves and an opportunity to commune with nature, you'll be very disappointed. Our group was about 30 people and there were many other groups out there. In the narrow portions of the paddle path there were collisions with returning groups and people getting hit with other people's paddles. The bioluminescence was cool, but I wouldn't do this experience again.

Tour guides were great. It was a clear night and the stars were amazing, the mangroves exciting with the glowing jelly fish, but the bioluminescence wasn’t as brilliant or exciting as we anticipated.

The experience itself is unique and the kayak guides were very conscientious and helpful. Their “business” operations not helpful. I received no contact or feedback as to what time they were to pick us up. This lack of communication was despite numerous attempts to call (no answer & mailbox full); did manage to leave one voice mail; numerous text requests through their website and through Viator who I booked through. It resulted in a very fretful day as to know what I needed to be at agreed pick up point. The original reservation had it at 6:30 However there was a review from the day before about a miscommunication regarding pick up time and that client missed the whole tour due to it. That was the reason why I continued to try and contact business. The Viator rep said they would contact vendor and then let me know….but I NEVER heard back from Viator either. I finally reached the business at about 5:00PM and was told they already confirmed with me a 6:15 pick up. That was NOT true; they NEVER contacted me that day or any day before. There was no accountavikti On their part which was extremely disturbing. They advertised they kept small groups of 12 for the experience which was appealing. Yes there were only 12 of us in our little group but we were combined with more people, resulting in over 20 some people in the kayak group. That was crowded!!! And with all levels of kayakers which made it somewhat chaotic at times. Plus it was very loud with many voices and annoying flash picture taking. It really disturbed the tranquility a night kayak experience should be. So I would not recommend this company unless you can get personal information from them in a timely fashion. And I would want a much smaller kayaking cohort.

The tour was really nice, the pickup was well planned and our guide was super fun. It was a very bright night but we were still able to see some bioluminescence thanks to our captains. They also took great care of us, the activity was a bit tiring but definitely worth it!

I took a photo of the inside of my hotel room because, due to the unprofessional tour company Viator contracts, Puerto Rico Access Eco Tours, that’s exactly where l ended up. They gave a different hotel meeting point than what was on my booking, which was a further walk. Then asked me to arrive 15 minutes early to the original hotel on my booking, with 7 minutes notice , then 8 minutes later changed it back to the different hotel meeting point without calling me, they sent an email without notifying me. Sounds confusing to you, reader? Well it was to me. As a result, l got to the hotel 2 minutes late. I tried to call the driver, who hung up on me and refused to answer the phone. The tour owner then called 1 minute later and berated me, saying l was rude to the driver when l told the driver l would be to the location at 4:15 instead of 4:00, because my booking and confirmation call said 4:15pm from the day before. Mind you, the driver called me at 3:51 pm to tell me he was told to pick me up at a different hotel for 4pm. The company sent an email (which l didn’t see until later) at 4pm saying l needed to be at a different hotel for 4:15 pm. Though THEY caused all of the confusion, the tour company and driver refused to give me a 1-2 min grace period to walk to the updated hotel. They wouldn’t let me get an uber to catch up with the tour in Fajardo, refusing to provide me with the address. I begged the owner to allow me to catch up with the tour because it was my birthday and l had traveled to Puerto Rico alone and that l had booked this excursion months before. He didn’t care. I wasn’t rude, l was confused. I have used TripAdvisor’s Viator division to book loads of tours in different countries over the years and have never had a bad experience or been treated this way. It ruined my birthday. No one should have to spend an hour crying on customer service phone calls waiting for a Viator supervisor only to be sent an email from Viator customer service saying l need to “work it out with the tour operator.” The same tour operator hung up in my face and refused to answer any calls or try and accommodate me at all. Shame on you, Puerto Rico Access Eco Tours, and shame on you, Viator.

The Bioluminescence is awesome. But you have to kayak to the bay in complete darkness. I was crashing against the mangrove, I panicked and screamed for light as the guides have lights… only to be laughed at and told that “it is part of the experience”. Well, panicking, feeling that I am lost in the darkness and not getting help shouldn’t be part of any experience in my opinion. A little compassion maybe? I cannot believe anyone truly enjoys that part of the tour.

Seeing the glow in the water, it was spectacular. It’s fun when you go with your partner of friends or family.

For my first time experience It was nice the biobay was beautiful and the instructors were great. Definitely an experience to remember and share with others

Of everything we've done in Puerto Rico this has been my favorite excursion. Kayaking through the mangrove was such a cool experience. We all got soaked from the waist down so I was glad our driver told us that so we could bring a change of clothes. Make sure you bring bug spray. Incredible experience

First, the two hour tour lasted from 6:30pm to almost midnight, which would have been good information before hand given we had other evening plans. That being said, the ride out to the mangrove area was pleasant. Once we got there, we were surprised at the number of other tours running simultaneously. Our group was about 30 people, but when you add that to the other groups kayaking at the same time, it became quite crowded and you couldn't tell which group was yours at times. About 80 percent of the tour involved paddling through the canal to and from the lagoon in the pitch black conditions. This wouldn't have been a big deal but the lights on the back of the kayaks we were directed to follow were very hard to see, if they were even working. As far as the bioluminescence, it was underwhelming and we felt the juice wasn't worth the squeeze or the price. I am an experienced kayaker and was frustrated at the lack of control the guides exhibited on the way back to the start point. However, the guides were friendly, ensured everyone had vests on, and were knowledgeable about the nature preserve. All in all, not a terrible experience but we wouldn't do it again.

Everyone was incredible! From the driver to the boat captains. I mean truly it was all a great experience. I wish we drove ourselves only bc we stayed in Loiza, so we added unnecessary time for our pick up in San Juan just to backtrack to bio bay. But our driver Angel was great! Music wasn’t too loud, a/c was perfect, a few bumps but that’s PR Lol. For the tour itself, it was magical. Very informative, I felt very safe with my teenage son and 9 year old daughter. They even found us a kayak so my daughter could sit between me and my husband. My teenage son paddled with my father and didn’t complain! Truly amazing!! But seriously I have never kayaked and I am definitely not “in shape” and I was perfectly fine. Great tour for beginners!! Very organized and we all left happy. Don’t hesitate, Book this tour!

The tour guides were really nice and entertaining! The tour had an informational portion, which I did not expect, but found interesting. I will warn you that the appearance of the luminescence depends on the moon and other factors, so they may not be as visible the day you go. If so, a tarp is used to create darkness. I will also say that kayaking in complete darkness (at times) was a little difficult.

This was a wonderful tour. We got picked up at 4:30 in Condado in June and were a little unsure about whether it would actually be dark when we got there, but by the time we arrived and paddled up to the lagoon, the sun had just gone down and it was a perfect time to start seeing the bioluminescence. This tour makes you feel like a jungle explorer, taking your boat in between the mangroves, fish jumping out from the water all around you! We are experienced kayakers so we really splashed around with our paddles after dark, every big splash made a blue glow in the water below us. It was so cool! The tour is accommodating to all experience levels though. One of the couples had a hard time navigating the river, especially the first leg when you're going against the current, they kept bumping against the sides and couldn't get pointed straight. But the one of the tour guides was really nice and gave them more attention and guidance, and when they were really struggling he hooked up his boat to theirs and towed them so that they could get all the way up. Captain Emily was the leader of our group and she was awesome. Entertaining, funny, and informative. We were also pretty lucky because it was near the new moon so it was dark everywhere -- if you go near the full moon it'll be harder to see the bioluminescence. But they give you a tarp anyway so you can see it under your boat. (And you can splash some of the water into your boat and see it underneath your legs!) This tour was the highlight of our trip! I definitely recommend it to anyone who is comfortable with the idea of steering and paddling their own boat, or who is up for the adventure of trying it out!

Bio Bay kayaking was a beautiful experience. All of the tour guides were very friendly and helpful. Our tour guide Joe was the best!

These tour left San Juan at 4:10 pm and after an hour and half bus ride arrived at the stopping point. After a 30 minute briefing we loaded into two man kayaks for a mile and a half kayak trip through a very narrow channel loaded with fallen trees and tree roots. Finally arriving at the bay we saw nothing for almost 2 hours; just out looking looking for the "bugs". Finally the guides gathered all the kayaks together and threw a tarp over everyone's head so we could see the bugs. I waved my have in the water and am still not sure if it was a small number of "bugs" or my watch dial I was seeing. THIS IS NOT A BAY FULL OF THE "BLUE BUGS". The worst part of the tour was the trip back in the pitch black dark with no lights; you constantly collided with fallen trees and other objects during the mile and half back. You had best be in excellent shape for this tour. After another hour+ bus ride we arrived back at our hotel in San Juan. We had planned our whole trip to Puerto Rico around this tour, making certain we would be here for the best viewing with no moon. If I saw the "blue Bugs"; it was less than tea cup full and not very bright.

It was a fun kayaking experience! The team is phenomenal! Before you go make sure to check the weather. We weren’t able to see the bioluminescent algae without the help of a darkening tarp due to the light pollution from the moon and the clouds spreading the light. But the overall experience was good!

Really fantastic experience! The staff was amazing. We learned so much about the ecosystem, and loved seeing the stars as much as the bioluminescence. Excellent for families.

Great experience. Emily and her staff were very helpful and made the journey fun. The Bioluminesce was nice but I do wish we had been able to see it in a larger area. Overall it was still a great experience

It was a lot of kayaking, but I very cool experience. You do get wet! Tour guides were very fun! Definitely good for a group activity.

Going through the bay was magical. A true beauty. The staff was very professional and made the experience so much fun.

Such an amazing tour. Recommend to anyone. The guides were fun and personable - especially Emily and AJ. Thanks for the once in a lifetime experience!

Great experience with safety, beautiful, fun times and professional, awesome guides (Emily, AJ, Nichi).

The employees were great! Very helpful and made the trip fun. The water was beautiful and they made sure everyone was safe

The company that provided this experience are top notch. From the knowledge to the courtesy of others (some other tours were really rude and aggressive), to having lights on their boats so you don't crash into others (yes some other providers didn't) to simple things like snacks and water at the end it really was great beginning to end. Some important tips/notes: 1) don't bother bringing a camera. You can't use flash photography anyway and can't see anyway in a picture 2) bring a towel you will be set afterwards 3) it's not easy. There is a lot of paddling but as a complete novice it was completely doable and the guides helped. 4) make sure you put on bug spray. We are bit up EVERYWHERE

The guides were great and it was a ton of fun. Going through the mangroves in the dark was amazing. If we had planned better, we would have tried to go when the moon wasn’t up, but the guides had dark tarps to put over the kayaks so we could still see the bioluminescence.

It was so peaceful on the water. The views were amazing. I would highly recommend to anyone visiting the area.

It is amazing to see the bioluminescent water. Its also a lot of work. Kayaking is not easy. It takes a lot effort especially In he dark. Must do once. My teen sons was fine. My wife and I are in late 50’s and mildly active and it took a effort. Suggestion who wish to this. Choose a later start time. The darker the night the more you see. Bring mosquito spray.

From start to finish, Rafael was courteous, attentive, and friendly! The tour was organized and Ashley was like the Discovery Channel, full of knowledge.

About an hour away from San Juan. It is very family friendly, my 6 yr old did it and loved it. They give you life jackets and a kayak and guide you through a small little forest into the bay. The bioluminescence was amazing to see in person but you can’t really see it if you record with your phone. 10/10 would do it again. Also the water for us was warm. It was pitch black night and I wasn’t cold nor my child.

guides were informative and helpful....excellent experience. fascinating interaction with nature...a definite must experience. Be ready to work a bit though.

Most amazing and magical evening. The peaceful ride to the lagoon, the brilliant stars above and the luminescent creatures in the water. Seeing illuminates schools of fish swim by as we paddled back through the mangroves was amazing. The guides were wonderful as well.

It was a great experience! Our guides AJ and Ashley were fantastic! Highly recommend. Definitely wear bug spray and your swimsuit.

I love exposing my kids to this type of adventures. We loved kayaking at night although they were concerned with dark/night light not being enough to see and maneuver through the canal. The staff were wonderful, assisting with a warm smile and informing. The info. Of the bioluminescent it's fun educational science in it self. We enjoyed every bit of the tour. I wished someone had responded to my messages and questions before booking. I booked for 7 of us and paid for transportation I did not need and no partial refund was offered and provided cause we were self transported. This is info that needs to be clarify for future tourist. We also enjoyed being in the open lagoon and experiencing first hand the sparkly/glowing bio water and seeing above the beautiful starry night. The experience for myself and inexperienced kayaking kids was wonderful.