The only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest System, and the brightest bioluminescent bay on record.
1 expedition across coasts & islands. Windows on offer: Dec–Apr.
El Yunque takes over 4,000 mm of rain a year on its upper slopes, and four forest types stack up the mountain ending in dwarf cloud forest — trees waist-high at the ridge because of wind and saturation. The coquí is the sound of the place: seventeen species of Eleutherodactylus, most endemic, calling from dusk onward. The Puerto Rican parrot, one of the rarest birds in the world, is being brought back here from a low of around thirteen wild individuals.
On the coast, the bioluminescent bays are the other draw. Mosquito Bay on Vieques is the brightest recorded anywhere and Laguna Grande at Fajardo is the accessible one, both driven by dinoflagellates that flash when disturbed. Moon phase decides everything. A full moon washes it out completely, which is why we book to the new moon when it matters to you.
Country-level constraints that decide whether a date is possible.
Puerto Rico
Coasts & Islands
El Yunque & Northeast Coast
Rainforest waterfalls run cold under the canopy by day. After dark, a separate mangrove lagoon on the coast lights up when you disturb it, and the coquí do not stop.
$5,200–$7,900
Details →Something else
Most private journeys cross a border — the Atacama to Uyuni crossing, Copán into Guatemala, Iguazú from both sides. Tell us the shape you want and we will say whether the logistics hold together.
Private & custom