If we conduct a survey and ask 100 locals ?where are the best beaches??, chances have it that they will say ?the southwest? and might have mentioned Boquer?n. Let us consider this beach # 10.

Seven Seas Beach

This survey will be hard to conduct, because a person from the east will say that Punta Santiago is the best, so let consider Punta Santiago # 9. If we go to Lajas, however, the people there will say Playa Santa is the best and this will be # 8. If we go back north to the town of Vega Alta, we will definitely have people saying Cerro Gordo is the best and #7 on our list. Going west to Rincon most surfers will tell you this is the best beach and #6 on our list.

Now let us go back east to the town of Fajardo and definitely Seven Seas is a work of art and # 5 on our list. From there, in the town of Manati, everyone will say that Mar Chiquita is ?n?mero uno? but it will be # 4 on our list.

If we get off the big island and go to the smaller island of Culebra, most people that have been to all the beaches will probably say Flamenco Beach is the best beach in the world and they might be right but for now its #3 on our list. Now let us jump to the other small island of Vieques and see Sun Bay. This beach is like saying, ?I went to heaven and came back? but for now this is # 2.

Luquillo Beach

So which is number one? I would have to say that it is the beach that most of the tourists know about. Not because they have been there but because of the advertising. So the # 1 beach is Luquillo Beach, located 45 minutes east of the airport.

Getting there is pretty easy. Rent a car at the airport. Go east on route # 26 which later connect to route # 66. When it ends at #3, take a right to the town of Luquillo. After you pass the #992 intersection keep your eyes open for the exit.

There is a $3 parking fee, has showers, rest rooms, and food stands, and is open everyday all year long. They rent beach chairs and umbrellas but probably won?t need them because what makes Luquillo the # 1 beach is the many palm trees.

If you go and see a guy playing guitar on a hammock and drinking coconut water, say hello cause it might be me.

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Victor Balbin is a veteran tour guide and an expert in what to see and where to go in Puerto Rico. With over 22 years of experience, Victor knows the ins and outs of the island and loves to tell others about how to enjoy their Puerto Rico vacations the most. He runs his own Tour Guide service, Country Side Tours, which offers tours and other services to travelers in Puerto Rico. For more information about Victor and Country Side Tours, visit their location listing on this site or visit his website, www.countrysidetourspr.com.

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