How Much Is A Trip to Puerto Rico? Our Family Vacation Cost
Puerto Rico is an incredible family vacation destination, but you might be wondering what the travel costs are.
We spent spring break in Puerto Rico with our 4 kids exploring the San Juan area, visiting the beautiful beaches, wandering through the only tropical rainforest in the United States Forest System, and road-tripping along the West Coast.
I'm sharing our Puerto Rico Travel Budget as a family of 6 so you can get an idea of what the price range is for a trip to Puerto Rico.
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How Much We Spent for 1 Week in Puerto Rico as A Family of 6
The total cost of our Puerto Rico spring break was $3,081.75 US dollars. That works out to just $500 per person.
It's important to note that this number comes with an asterisk. The only way we were able to keep our Puerto Rico trip cost this low was by using points and miles to get a very steep discount on flights, and 3 nights for free at one of our hotels.
I'll explain more about how we accomplished this later on in the post. Without using points and miles, my best estimate of what our trip would cost is $6,282.75 US dollars.
Our travel style is somewhere in between budget and luxury. We don't book the cheapest hotels, but we don't want to break the bank. We're willing to splurge on activities, but we try to cut costs on food by purchasing groceries.
Flights to Puerto Rico
Normally we like to let the flight deals choose our destination. However, we have specific dates for spring break, and we knew we wanted to go somewhere warm. So for this trip, the cost of flights would have been our biggest expense.
When we saw how much flights cost for our spring break in 2023, we decided to get the Southwest Companion Pass for our spring break trip in 2024.
The Southwest Companion Pass allows the pass holder to book one companion for free (except for taxes and fees which usually come out to 11.20 per person within the United States) for the entirety of the year they earned the pass, plus the entire next year. For example, I earned the pass in August of 2023, so I can book a companion through the end of 2024.
You receive the pass when you earn 135,000 Southwest Rapid Reward Points in one year. You can accomplish this through purchasing flights, or by signing up for Southwest Credit Cards and earning the signup bonus.
I earned the pass by signing up for the Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card and the Southwest Performance Business Card and hitting the minimum spend in the first 3 months for both of those cards to earn the sign-up bonuses, which put me at just over 135,000 points. (These are my personal referral links. If you use them I may receive bonus Southwest Rapid Reward points for referring you).
Also, you can use the points you've earned for the companion pass to book flights! We used our points to book 4 of our tickets at 34,445 points per person round trip. One of our flights was free since I designated one of my kids as my companion. Then we paid for my husband's ticket in cash, which came out to $486.40.
If we had paid for all of the tickets in cash, we would have spent $2918.40. I believe those are the average cost of flights to Puerto Rico during high season.
Transportation Costs
Public transportation is not widely available around the island, and since we knew we wanted to get out of San Juan for part of our trip, we decided to look into car rentals.
We rented a small SUV through Budget, and the total cost for a week-long rental was $660.75.
I really appreciated having a rental car to explore more of Puerto Rico than just San Juan. It's such a beautiful island. If you're worried about driving, rest assured that for most of Puerto Rico, the driving experience is very similar to driving in the USA. (Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, so it makes sense). As you get to more remote areas of the island, you may deal with some winding and narrow roads, but for the most part we had no issues.
If you only plan on staying around San Juan, some hotels have shuttles to and from the hotel and Old San Juan. In addition, Uber is widely available, so that would be another option for getting around the San Juan area.
Hotels and Accommodation Costs
Puerto Rico has a wide range of hotel options, from luxury beach resorts to mid-range and budget hotels. Vacation rentals are also very popular around the island, so if you have a bigger family, like us, you might prefer to spread out in an apartment or house and make your own meals to save money.
Puerto Rico does not have any true all inclusive resorts, so if you're looking for an all-inclusive resort, you might be better off searching in places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Hotel in San Juan
We stayed at the Hyatt Place San Juan, which is a great option for mid-range travelers. We transferred Chase Ultimate Reward points (which I earned through my Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card) to Hyatt where we booked a 2 Queen Bed Room with Sofa Bed which sleeps a family of 6 for 12,000 points per night. We stayed for 3 nights, so we used 36,000 points. Not a bad deal at all!
I do want to note that if you are booking for a family of 5 or 6, you might notice that anytime you enter the number of people in your family in the search on the Hyatt website, the search results will come up empty. I emailed customer service at the Hyatt Place San Juan about this, and she did confirm that the room can sleep 6 people. She had me book the room with 2 adults and 2 kids, then I emailed her to manually add the other 2 kids to our reservation. We had no issues after that.
The Hyatt Place San Juan was a family-friendly hotel near San Juan because it comes with free breakfast, which is such a money-saver when you have 4 kids!
They also have a free shuttle that goes to District T-Mobile, Old San Juan, and Escambron Beach.
For a slightly more upscale hotel, the Caribe Hilton is a great choice. I had the opportunity to stay at the Caribe Hilton for a travel blogging conference, so unfortunately my kids were not along for the fun. However, it was a beautiful property with a pool specifically for kids and its own private beach.
The Caribe Hilton also has suites that sleep a family of 6, which is good news for big families! It can be so hard to find hotels that fit more than 4 people. Search for the Wave Wing Bayview Suite 1 King / 2 Double 2 Bedroom Suite, the Wave Wing Ocean VW 1 King 2 Double 2 Bdrm Suite, or the Presidential 2 King / 2 Bedroom Suite for spacious family rooms!
Airbnb on the West Coast
For the next 3 nights of our stay, we decided to rent an Airbnb near Rincon in a small town called Moca. The vacation rental was quite remote but was just what we needed to unwind and relax after the hustle and bustle of San Juan.
The house was called Hacienda Mayaluga and had one bedroom with 2 queen beds, plus a pull-out sofa in the living room. We booked Hacienda Mayaluga because the back patio had incredible views, hammocks, beautiful patio furniture, and our own private pool. There is also an outdoor kitchen and outdoor dining area, making it a great place to relax for a few days.
This Airbnb property cost $799.38 for 3 nights.
Airport Hotel
For our last night in the Airport Hotel inside the San Juan Airport. Our flight the next morning was very early, and by staying in the Airport Hotel we could turn in our rental car the night before, sleep in a little longer in the morning, and get a free breakfast. The breakfast at the airport hotel opens at 5:00 a.m.
I called and asked what the best setup for our family of 6 would be, since they didn't seem to have any suites or connecting rooms. They said it was ok for us to all squeeze in a 2 Queen Bed room. It was a tight squeeze, but it worked for us since our kids are still pretty young and small.
If you have older kids, you may need to book 2 separate rooms.
The cost of the Airport Hotel for one night was $351.91.
Activities
Old San Juan - $0
Wandering around Old San Juan is free, especially if you use the free shuttle from your hotel. You can stop in souvenir shops, get some paletas from Señor Paleta, take photos of the colorful buildings, and admire the historic plazas.
If you are curious about the history of Old San Juan, you could sign up for a walking tour with a knowledgeable tour guide.
El Yunque National Forest - $16
El Yunque is free to visit. If you stop at the El Portal Visitor Center, the cost is $8 per adult, but kids are free. We stopped at the Visitor Center for a map and to pick up the Junior Ranger program for our kids to complete. It's a good idea to have a map in case you can't get reception inside the National Forest.
Castillo San Felipe del Morro - $20
El Morro is located in Old San Juan and is a San Juan National Historic Site. It costs $10 per adult, and kids are free.
Going to the Beach - $0
Puerto Rico has an abundance of beautiful sandy beaches around the island. We enjoyed Escambron Beach near San Juan, and it was the best place to go for sunset!
The West Coast also has stunning beaches with dramatic landscapes, and we liked Sandy Beach in Rincon, which had free parking!
Cabo Rojo Lighthouse - $0
We took a day trip from Rincon to Cabo Rojo to hike up to the famous lighthouse and see the dramatic rock formations jutting out into the sea. It's free to visit!
Bioluminescent Bays
We did not visit any bioluminescent bays this time around, since our kids are still a little young for that experience. However, if you wanted to take a kayaking tour in a bio bay, you could try a tour like this for $65 per person.
Cost of Food in Puerto Rico
The cost of food in Puerto Rico is on par with the cost of food in the continental US. It adds up quickly, especially if you're adding alcoholic beverages to your bill, like the piña colada which was invented in Puerto Rico!
A good way to save money on food is to shop at the grocery store and cook your own food. We found plenty of Walmart and Walgreens stores. You can also try street food, like empanadas, to cut costs.
We enjoyed some local restaurants like Barrachina in San Juan, and Villa Cofesi in Rincon, and enjoyed some local cuisine like mofongo, a Puerto Rican dish with plantains, garlic, and different types of meat.
The total cost of food on our Puerto Rico Vacation was $691.31.
Miscellaneous Costs
We had a few miscellaneous costs like souvenirs for the kids, or $5 parking at the beach since the shuttle stopped running at 5 p.m. We also filled up the rental with gas one time. I didn't keep track of these miscellaneous expenses, so you could probably add an extra $100-$150 to our total.
Time of Year to Visit
Various factors will determine the best time of year to visit Puerto Rico. Summer is the rainy season and hurricane season typically goes from August to November, making these the cheapest dates to book your Puerto Rico trip. Because of the weather's unpredictability, you may get lucky with cheap flights and more affordable options for accommodation.
Winter and spring are the most popular time of year to visit, with March being the busiest month, so expect prices to reflect that. On the plus side, the weather will be warm and sunny with a smaller chance of rain.
What I Would Change
I think our trip was a great itinerary for a first-timer's trip to the Island of Enchantment. Renting a car was a great way to see the island, and I'm glad we got to visit the West Coast!
On our next trip, I would love to visit some of the nearby islands like Vieques and Culebra, or head down to the South Coast to see Ponce.
Average Price of A 7-Day Trip - How Much Does Puerto Rico Cost Per Person?
The Average price of a one-week vacation to Puerto Rico seems to be around $1000-$1500 per person.
This will, of course, depend on different factors like what type of accommodation you choose, average worldwide flight costs, and how much money you spend on food.
While the cost of a trip will vary with your personal preferences, one thing doesn't change, and that's how much Puerto Rico has to offer! With historic sites, beautiful beaches, and delicious food, the Caribbean Island makes a great family vacation destination.
You can find more of my blog posts about visiting Puerto Rico with kids below!
And if you want to find out what some of our other family vacations cost, check out these posts!
Tips for Traveling with a Toddler
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Emily Krause is a Wisconsin-based travel content creator who writes about exploring the world with kids.
On A Mom Explores you’ll find the best family travel destinations, Disney World tips, and how to make travel with babies and toddlers a little easier.
Emily believes that exploring starts in our own backyards, and adventure can happen anywhere with the right mindset.
