There are no crowds at Shacks Beach because there is almost nowhere to park that we could see. Seems like the crowds go to Crashboat Beach to the north. However, since we visited Tropical Trail Rides for horse riding, who are located right by the beach, we were able to remain parked in their lot and go down to Shacks for some snorkeling. See the separate review for Tropical Trail Rides — if you like horse riding you should not miss that experience. The reef at Shacks Beach is about 50 yards out, and we saw some colorful coral and fish, and some underwater caverns. The Blue Hole is just that. A steady current pushed us north, but nothing we couldn’t easily handle in our fins. A good beach for kids but don’t let ‘em get sucked out to sea. Great for snorkeling, diving, swimming and surfing IF you can find a park. It’s supposed to be a great windsurfing spot, but we didn’t see that going on. Nice sand, and nice clear water with a turquoise and blue tint. You see almost no structures from the beach, but there is a nice restaurant for beach views. Thick forest behind the beach, and not unlike Big Beach in Maui. We enjoyed Shacks Beach better than any other in PR. This is just like a beach should be. Five stars.
