San Juan Bay: Jet Ski Tour with Forts & Bacardi Stop

4.79

(514 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the salt in the air—kind of sharp, but not unpleasant—when we climbed onto our jet ski at San Juan Bay. Our guide, Carlos, handed us a bottle of water and grinned like he knew what was coming (he probably did). I’d never driven a jet ski before, so my hands were all stiff on the handlebars at first. But once we started moving, it felt like flying over the water. The old city skyline looked almost painted on the horizon—those pastel buildings and the hulking shape of El Morro off to our left. There was this moment when a pelican skimmed right by us, so close I could hear its wings slap the surface. Weirdly calming, even with the engine noise.

Carlos pointed out the Bacardi turbines across the bay—they’re not huge, but apparently they can power the whole distillery when there’s enough wind. He told us a bit about how rum is made here (I only caught half of it because I was trying not to spray my friend in the face). We slowed down near Cataño to check out this pyramid mural that’s supposed to represent all sorts of local history. The colors were brighter than I expected—reds and blues that almost glowed against the concrete—and there were some kids waving from shore. One tried to shout something at us; I couldn’t make it out over the water but waved back anyway.

We stopped for a minute just floating near one of those old fort walls—El Morro or maybe San Cristóbal; honestly, I mixed them up—and Carlos let us just sit there while he talked about how pirates used to sneak into these channels ages ago. The sun came out full while we listened, bouncing off every ripple so you had to squint or look away. My shirt stuck to my back and I remember thinking: this is nothing like seeing San Juan from land. You feel small here in a good way.