Fajardo Bioluminescent Bay

When we went, there was a full moon and the clouds had dissapated, so thankfully the guide was honest and told us we wouldn’t be able to see anything. Plan your trip accordingly. A new moon or cloudy night would be best!

Worst experience ever! I cannot comprehend how they can continue to market this excursion and make money. We paid $ 100/​person. We did the 8:30 excursion on a pitch black night with zero moon (optimum conditions to view the glow) and it was nothing more than what it looks like if the moon were reflecting off the water with maybe some pin sized blue glowing that lasts half a second or so. To get the same experience go to any body of water on a night with a full moon and look at the light reflected off the water and that’s what it looks like.
Also you get grouped with about 15 other kayaks all of which are inexperienced kayakers. Even if you are good at kayaking there is no rythym– it is stop and go in pitch black. The mangroves are low enough that you bang your head off of them, other kayakers bang into you (one t-​boned us from the side with such force that my husband’s ribs were bruised), I almost caught an oar to the side of my face. Our backs were sore the next day to the point we thought the rest of our trip would be ruined. By the way we’re in our mid 30s and okay shape. Also the mangroves have iguanas, bats, spiders, bugs (and your head is banging into them). Something fell from the branches onto my head and I was totally freaking out and almost capsized us. All of this agony for NO real glow and we were there at the best viewing conditions possible, so if you go on a night with a full moon I guess you just see black water. Once we got out to the bay and weren’t seeing much glow the tour guides told us there was an algae bloom about 5 months ago that killed a lot of the Dino flagellates that cause the water to glow and that they were only at 40 percent of what they were before the algae bloom.
I cannot say enough bad things about this trip. Absolutely horrible. Oh, and we only had 2 tour guides for our 15 kayaks. We were told that directions would be passed from one kayak to the next (like telephone) until you get into the pitch black mangroves and people are crashing and aren’t passing correct directions and you are banging your head off branches. We were told if we got out there and were having troubles to call out for our guides and they would come to our aid. About 5 kayaks from our group got lost in the mangroves for about 5 minutes we were yelling for the guides before anyone showed up.
Then when everyone was underwhelmed by the lack of glow in the water the tour guide told us that there are jelly fish in the water that glow, if you hit them with your oar or pick them up and squeeze them they will glow, but they don’t sting. A guy from our group found a jelly fish and picked it up and right away started yelling that it hurt/​stung and then the guide said, «Oh there are two types of jelly fish, the one you picked up stings» — geez, it sure would have been nice to tell people that before hand. Then people kept pointing out jelly fish and every single one we found was the type that stings, not the type that glows which makes me wonder where all the magical glowing jelly fish are, they certainly aren’t in this bay.
Worst excursion ever. Don’t go! The one positive I have to say about it is that it was such a horrible experience that we both were just in shock by how bad it was thst it will be something we remember forever. Like, «remember that time we paid $ 200 bus to be strand in a pitch black mangrove with creatures falling on our heads and kayaks running into us only to get to a bay thst doesn’t really glow? Man, that was stupid!»

Did this in October 2014, and have been wanting to go back since. One of the best experiences. We were a group of 3, so we did it as a 3 person kayak. It is difficult to maneuver in the dark through narrow mangroves and often bumped into someone else. Whether it was our own tour group or another’s. But it’s about your own prospective. Don’t worry, there were plenty of first timers to kayaking and people that were not able to swim. They told us the water was not deep but would keep an eye out for those non swimmer.
We had fun with kayaking. And booked 24 hours in advance. We were told it was the best time to go as it was near end of the season. As we go closer to the bay, we could see the water glow with the movement of our oars. And from there we were able to see the glow from movement of our oars in the bay and our kayaks, underneath the water glowing from movement from the occasional rays. We dipped our hands in and even the water that got into our kayak sparkled with green. Beautiful. And a wonder of life.
After, they even offer you a drink. A margarita. Fantastic way to end that hard work! Not bad for the price, drink included!

We saw all the advertisements for a bay where the algae glows blue with every stroke of our oar with romantic trails from our kayak.
The reality was the total opposite. We had no idea how much effort was involved in kayaking and we hardly saw anything more than a few gold sparkles in the water!!!
We had no kayaking experience and we were expected to paddle ourselves through a half mile pitch black tunnel of trees! We constantly crashed and exhausted ourselves just to get to the bay!
Once in the bay, we were told the interesting story of the bay and other areas of interest. We were then provided a tarp to put over our heads in order to see the «glow» — again, nothing more than a few sparkles. Then back for another agonizing half mile through another dark smelly tunnel.
Thanks to guide Cliff who towed us when we ran out of gas. However, we never would’ve done it if the experience was represented as it was.
If you like kayaking — great. If not, don’t bother.

I had been looking forward to the bioluminescent kayaking tour for months, but it was the biggest disappointment of my Puerto Rico trip. The group was a lot bigger than I expected and there were so many other kayakers out at the same time that everyone was running into each other. When we got to the main bay, our tour guides gave out a tarp in order to see the bioluminescence.
My group was expecting for the water to be lighting up and our paddles to be lighting up in the water, but it was more like tiny sparkles in the water. I brought my waterproof camera to take pictures, but it was almost impossible to see anything. This whole experience seemed like a huge scam to me.
If you do plan on going this trip, I would definitely lower your expectations because it’s nothing special.

We were staying at LaConcha in Condado and all the bio bay tours were booked. I had hoped to get out to Mosquito Bay, Vieques, PR, for the bio tour there, but could not find a company who would bring us back to San Juan that night– would have to stay on Vieques. So, I was pleased to learn there’s a bio bay on the main island of Puerto Rico (Fajardo). By that time, all tours were booked and we were there from Christmas to New Years– prime time. Lucky for my family, there was a cancellation by another party of 4 while I was at the concierge and I immediately took those slots. So glad I did. 12÷30÷15 was five days after the full moon so the the sky was sufficiently dark, and in some cases pitch black in the mangroves. What an extraordinary experience to be paddling (in 2 person kayak) with my teenage son. Both my boys LOVED the trip and I was ecstatic to be out in nature with them. My husband also thought it was a great adventure. Stargazing alone was fantastic. So peaceful. Yes, there were a lot of kayaks coming and going through the mangrove. We were there at 9:00 at night, so not a lot of little kids– and the neon sticks used to identify other kayaks were reassuring, particularly when it was pitch black. Not difficult to paddle at all, but I had a strong teenage boy, happy to be working out and fooling around on the water. The hotel booked us through Tortuga Kayaks. On our trip, they were well organized and friendly. This is not rocket science and they managed the crowds well. I would definitely do this again, BUT beware of mosquitos. Although I had long sleeves and repellent on AND I did not hear or see one mosquito (it was windy when we went), Puerto Rico just got hit with a notice regarding a neurological disorder one can get from mosquitos that have been causing great damage down in Brazil (and now one case in PR)… no cure, no vaccine and no remedy to deal with the neurological problems resulting. So, TAKE repellent, even though you may not see one mosquito, and use it no matter where you are in PR.
The bio bay was not particularly glowing when the paddles hit the water. Yes, we did see the glow when we splashed around with our hands and really worked the paddles deep in the Grand Lagoon. Our guides brought along a tarp we could crawl under to create a «black out» to get a better peak at the glowing plankton. No matter, just being calm, in the night sky, laying back in the kayak, with my family, and navigating the mangroves was so much fun! I would do it in the day, just to see it from a different perspective (and in hopes of seeing an iguana, snake, frogs and birds, but I enjoyed the dark… a little «Pirate of the Caribbean» feel to it… an unusual experience not readily available in other parts of the world! Apparently there is a glass bottom boat option with another tour company that may be more suitable to those who don’t want to navigate the kayaks; and the boat may allow for more bottom dwelling viewing. I just enjoyed being out in the quiet with my family on the water!

Fun kayaking, but not a lot of bioluminescence when we went. Think they oversell that part of it before you leave (but they have no pictures to show you the true state). Kayaking in the dark through mangroves was fun, and the laser point constellation show by the guide was also good. Fun but probably not worth the price.

This is a must while in Puerto Rico! I traveled around the entire country and this was the best part.
While you kayak you will place your paddle into the water. The water will then change color!
During my tour we stopped at one point to swim. That evening the water was extremely cold but i did not care. Swimming in glowing water is incredible. I remember seeing orange and green!

I had so much fun kayaking my way to the bio-​luminescent bay. It was super dark and creepy getting to the main spot but our tour guides made the experience fun and so much better. You kayak a bit on the ocean then you form a single line making way to the destination… in complete darkness crashing w/​other kayakers but making the experience more fun lol. Fyi I sucked at kayaking i ran into large tree trunks, crashed w/​other kayakers more than once so don’t let that discourage you lol Once you make way to the bio-​bay you see how incredible the water glows w/​your paddles or when you touch the water… A must if you come to P.R.

A MUST DO!
Even if you don’t do anything else in Puerto Rico, do a midnight kayak through Bio Bay! Basically there are a ton of bioluminescent micro-​organisms in the water so the bay literally glows in the dark. So when you stick your paddle into the water and push you can see light! The darker the night the better. But don’t worry, even if you go on a full moon night they give you a tarp to cover your kayak with so that you get a better view!
The experience of getting to «Bio Bay» is just as fun as seeing the glow in the dark water itself! You kayak out into the ocean for a bit in your group (go Tortugas!!) and then through a canopy in a single file line until it opens up into Bio Bay! Everyone wears glow sticks and there are lights attached to the kayaks which makes it a very fun, safe experience.
My favorite part of the trip was when our guide stopped on the side of the river to shine his flashlight on a giant Iguana resting in the trees!
This is a great trip to bring your wife or girlfriend on because it can be extremely romantic and a great bonding experience as you fight over whose fault it was that you crashed into the low hanging branches on the sides of the river!
TLDR: Just do it. You won’t regret it! Even though it looks scary it’s not!

We did the walking tour with the government run tour service
It cost about $ 20 per person and lasted a couple of hours total.
They open the gates maybe ten or twenty mins before the tour, so when you get there you may find cars parked or lined up near the entrance, and at first it looks like you will end up leaving your car in the street, but they have guards and safe parking.
The tour itself is in three parts, the lighthouse, bio bay and the dry forest. you get ferried around from point to point, in shuttles like the type used for Disney.
each part was well worth doing, the lighthouse gives a stunning night view and a nice talk about light pollution that did not get too preachy.
the Bio bay was a short easy walk and it was fun to stir up the waters, we had plenty of time and left when everyone was ready.
the dry forest is going to be hit and miss, we saw a few very cool things but I am sure there are nights when people see little to nothing.
each member of our family really enjoyed it, our expectations were not too high and it very much surprised us how fun and relaxed it was.
I strongly suggest anyone looking for a novel activity might wish to consider this one.

I gotta say the whole Bay itself is pretty freaking cool. Seeing the bio-​luminescent is unreal. When you pick up the water and drop it just glows like crazy! As you paddle each stroke it glows! If you’re lucky and there are fish feeding below the water goes nuts!
But the smell due to the sulfur is awful! The moment you exit your vehicle you’ll want to vomit!
Also, once you’re in the canal leading to the big bay, it’s super packed! Meaning lots and lots of kayak jams! Be careful to avoid other kayakers and the mangroves. Beyond that it is a must do in my opinion.

You can probably jump on a kayaking tour at the last minute, but you’ll need to pay cash.
Highly recommend the glass bottom boats. They’re only $ 10 more and you can see so much more, plus the boat itself makes the creatures light up. The staff were hilarious and, even though you know they tell the same jokes twice a day, they acted like they just thought of it.
It is best when the day has been really sunny and the night isn’t going to be, but since most people book in advance it’s hard to know what you’ll be getting. When you’re in the forested part it will be super dark anyway, so you don’t’ need to worry much about the night.
If you’re not good at kayaking, don’t worry! My friend and I both had done it once or twice before and we were some of the fastest people there.

UPDATE: I had several inquiries as to which tour company I went with so I thought I’d update my review. I went with EcoTour Kayak Rental (the second one listed), but below is contact info for the other tour groups in Fajardo which I hear are also very good.
Other Bio Bay Options
Pure Adventures 787.202.6551
The Kayak Rental 787.616.9594
Island Kayaking 787.444.0059
Eco Adventures 787.206.0290
Yokahu Kayaks 787.604.7375
Enchanted Island 787.550.4630
Las Tortugas Adventures 787.809.0253
Baby Bay (electrical boat) 787.655.2739
Bio Island (electrical boat) 787.422.7857
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Loved it! Made the drive from San Juan and it was so worth it. I got there a bit early and enjoyed shopping the local handmade goods and eating fresh ceviche from a food stand.
I went later in the evening with a glass-​bottom kayak company. Once we got into the water, we kayaked 15 – 20 minutes through a mangrove forest. Our tour guide was great and made the trip really fun, telling us about the science behind the biobay and answering questions. Once you get 5 minutes or so into the mangrove forest, you start seeing some light flecks in the water. I initially thought my eyes were tricking me, but the flecks started getting brighter the closer I got to the actual bay. It was so fun cupping my hands in the water and seeing the bioluminesence hitting the side of the banks and swirling around the tree roots. The glass-​bottom was awesome because the faster I went, the more light I generated! Once we got out to the bay, we were the only ones out there (I think the tours work together to create alone time in the bay) and gathered around to hear more about the bay. On the way back, it started raining and it was magical watching the water droplets get illuminated once they hit the water. I felt as if I was in the movie Avatar. This was one of my favorite memories at Puerto Rico.
Pro Tips:
1. Don’t try to bring a camera or video recording device. I brought an HD DSLR, iphone, and a GoPro and none were able to capture any of the bioluminesence. The guides will advise you to leave these in your car — just do it.
2. Be prepared to run into another kayak in the crowded mangrove forest on the way to and back from the bay
3. Don’t fret so much about going on the «perfect» moon day. As long as it’s Good or Great, you should go! Use this link to help you plan the best day:
4. There are about 11 tours, I recommend the kayaks with the glass-​bottoms
5. There are some articles floating around the web about how the biobays have gone dim. This was a while back and the biobays have returned to their usual luminesence.

This review is for the area itself, not necessarily for any of the companies that provide trips into the bay.
If you’re Unilocaling this, you’ve obviously seen the pictures of beautiful sparkling waters under a dark night sky. «Oh my gosh, that’s so pretty! OMG OMG OMG! BABE, CAN WE GO?», your girlfriend asked you. Or maybe you’re some kind of girly man who decided he wants to go for himself. Whatever, I ain’t judging. Do ya thang, boy. Anyway, let me assure you that those pictures have been tweaked to the point of being completely fake. Contrast taken up to the max to really bring out how brilliantly bright the lights are. In reality, the lights are more of a soft glow that follows your hand/​paddle as you agitate the water. If you aren’t looking right at it, you’ll barely even notice. Even on a very dark night like the one we went on. It’s kinda like when you see those girls with the SUPER-​BRIGHT-​HOLY-​CRAP-​CONTRAST profile pictures that make them look less fat (of course, you later find out that they’re fat after some more Facebook stalking). Quite a disappointment.
That said, if you choose a kayaking trip, it’s sort of fun for the kayaking alone. But here’s a little hint: you actually don’t need to pay anybody to do the tour. If you walk northeast along Seven Seas Beach (which you most likely drove past to get here), you’ll eventually be at a point where you can walk right through the brush (for like 10 seconds, don’t worry) and end up standing on the shore of Laguna Grande. Then you can play with the water a bit, see it light up, and go back on your way. I don’t know how legal or safe it is, but having done exactly that earlier during the day time, I can tell you that it’s definitely easy. Coordinates for the easiest spot to walk inland: 18°22’41.7“N 65°37’35.4“W. Simply walk across the little road (there’s a tour bus or something that drives by every so often, though probably not at night) and you’re standing on the shore of Laguna Grande. You’re welcome. Unless you get arrested, in which case don’t blame me.

Puerto Rico has 3 natural Bioluminescent Bay’s and Fajardo is the best of them all this is a natural reserve and to see it is to believe it here you can take a guided 2 hr guided kayak tour and experience nature at it’s finest …

Think of this excursion as more of a kayaking experience at night– through a mangrove canal. The bay was a bit of a let down, we did not see what the online pictures displayed. Although the company was disorganized (turtle company), there was tons of kayak traffic in the narrow canal, and we did not see a luminescent bay, I thought it was fun.
I think all the companies run about the same, I’d look for the least expensive. $ 75 per person is overpriced for what we got.

We were dropped in the middle of Fajardo with little more guidance then «Look for the orange truck». Around 5:30 we headed over and sure enough found the orange truck.
After some confusion over paying (we’d paid for the combo and it was not documented that we’d paid already — not the Eco Adventures guys’ fault), we were ushered into a group to put on our life jackets. It was one size fits all and it was hilarious to see that they thought any buoyancy would be achieved with some of the people they put them on. For $ 85 a person I was a little peeved to see we were all going to be put in two person kayaks.
When we took off, all that got wet was up to our ankles which was nice. They tied little glow-​in-​the-​dark bracelets on the front and back of the kayaks (green in front red in back) and the front lead had two red flashing lights on his shoulders.
We had to hold our breath going through the lake leading to the mangroves — it smelled so bad that I had to wonder if we were paddling through solid waste. Once we were in the canal the stench was much more bearable, and it was absent in the lagoon.
We entered at dusk so we were able to spot the numerous iguanas in the trees, the tree frogs were talking and we could see slithering something-​or-​others in the water. The trees were beautiful and it seemed like we were kayaking through a real life «tunnel of love». Once in the lagoon there were dozens and dozens of other kayaking groups. Everyone was hollering over each other, and it was difficult to decipher what our guide was saying. Once we were all close enough to hear, he (Danny) was very knowledgeable and set us up with some solid facts about the trees, the lagoon and the glowy friends.
Unfortunately the glowing was minimal and scarce. Cool, yeah — but not AT ALL as advertised.
The main issue here for me was the advertising and the price — so much money for about an hour in a two person kayak pitch black running into all the dozens of other people just to return to the stench bog. It just wasn’t worth the money to me.

We rented one kayak (seats two people) for two hours for $ 85 from Zumbate Rentals (no tour guide included, pretty overpriced and would not recommend company unless you know everything about the bay already and do not need a guide).
Some of the kayaks they offered were better than others. Unfortunately, I had one that had two large holes in my seat so the water just seeps to your butt and no back support so my pants were wet the entire time and my back hurt sitting in the kayak for two hours. The girl next to me had no holes in their seat and nice cushion for back support.
The rental shack down the street sat the small group down for 5-​minute safety and lagoon orientation and we were told to meet at the entrance to the lagoon (literally behind the Suenos del Mar boutique air bnb/​motel) where a third-​party helped set us up on the kayaks. The rental shack gave the «leader» of our group a walkie-​talkie and told us to walkie-​talkie him if anything went wrong. We were basically without a tour guide as a group of 8 brave kayakers independently kayaked into the lagoon.
We left at 630pm and the sun was still out. We saw pretty big lizards hanging out by the mangroves as we kayaked towards our destination — the lagoon. Supposedly lagoon grande is one of the five luminescent bay in the world (two in Puerto Rico, some in Jamaica, etc). We sat in the silent lagoon in the evening waiting for the sun to set.
When the sun set, we waited and waited. Nothing happened. Where was the light? The entire group was confused. Looking back, it was pretty hilarious we were just expecting the entire lagoon to light up or something magical to happen. This would not have happen if we had had a tour guide to tell us what we were doing.
[[Caveat: We kayaked right next to where the Nature Reserve dock where you could also reserve a walking tour to the lagoon if you reserve A LOT IN advance. We had originally called to see if we could get a nature reserve, but the site was terrible and nobody picked up their phone, and when they finally did, we were told we were unable to get a tour til next month.]]
Anyways, back to the story. We were in the lagoon when the sun set, and one smart kayaker realized that it was actually motion-​activated! You need to move your paddle in order to a small glisten of light. However, the light was so unnoticeable that we had thought it was just a reflection from the moon. If you kayak closer to the mosquito-​ridden trees in the shadows, the light becomes a tiny bit more apparent. The glow was so minimal I still feel like I saw nothing.
Perhaps had we gone on a day with no moon, we could have seen the glowing water better. But instead, I think our group was mostly disappointed because all the internet pictures and Fodors guide books made it seem like it was super bright.
If you want a good experience, I suggest:
–RESERVE/​PLAN IN ADVANCE WITH A BETTER TOUR GROUP (fail to plan, plan to fail)
–GO WHEN THERE IS NO MOON.
–Wear swim bottoms under your pants/​shorts. You bottom half will get wet.

Bio Bay Tour with Captain Suarez (electric boat): After a tiring day of hiking El Yunque, the last thing my boyfriend & I wanted to do was kayak around the bay. We wanted a leisurely boat ride where we wouldn’t have to get tangled up in mangroves and bump into people. I’m so glad we found Captain Suarez!
It seems like it’s best to call and make a reservation ahead of time. Our hotel called Captain Suarez who originally said that he didn’t have an opening, but we could try back later in case of cancellation. We arrived at the bio bay area early (around 5pm) which is when the tour companies are arriving and setting up shop. As soon as we saw Captain Suarez arrive, we went right over to his table. Luckily he had an opening for us for the 7pm boat ride.
Captain Suarez and his wife have snacks and water on hand for you, and our guide was very knowledgeable throughout the ride. He told us all about the bio bay and the surrounding areas. The boat is a small electric boat and our group had 9 people total (including the captain & guide). We were given sticks to put into the water to agitate it and see the glow. We could also reach our hands in and see the glittery sparkles on our hands.
Now, for the bay itself. It doesn’t glow like crazy like you might see in the brochures. What you will see is a blue-​white glow where you agitate the water that kind of looks like flames. The bio bay is definitely something worth seeing.