We decided on our last day in San Juan, before going on a cruise, to see the rainforest. We booked Holiday Tours through the hotel. We were in a van with 3 other couples, 2 older ones and 1 young couple.
The driver wouldn't stop talking (not about the rainforest)about other clients in the past, etc. We would rather he point out sights we were passing or talk about the forest. He took us to the tower which we climbed. The view was great but the 2 older couples couldn't do it. Then he drove us to the path in the rainforest leading to the waterfalls. The 2 older couples couldn't do it. The driver said it would take an hour and he would wait for us and the younger couple. An hour was not enough time. The path is steep, both up and downhill, and quite slippery at times. You have to be very careful. We did enjoy the walk but needed more time to do it leisurely. I would not advise anyone to take the path unless they are healthy and surefooted. My husband and I are in our fifties and had no problem. I would recommend the trip but not with this company. Also the drive back was very long since traffic in Puerto Rico is very heavy. So a trip that was supposed to arrive back at the hotel by 1 pm didn't arrive until 2:30.

We enjoyed our visit to El Yunque but have two recommendations. Go early and allow time to enjoy the Portal visitors center before touring futher. We didn't arrive till late morning and our teenagers rushed us through the visitors center. The parking was relatively tight for the trails and the trails somewhat crowded. I think it would have been much less crowded earlier in the morning. Is worth the trip in any case and one of the least expensive experiences on the whole island.

While staying at Fajardo, my husband and I took a day trip to El Yunque. The rainforest was lush, green, and wonderful. After a small lunch at the main visitor's center, we drove along Rte 191 (which goes all thru' the forest), making stops at attraction points marked on the trail map that we obtained from the visitor's center. We did one trail - the Big Tree/La Mina Trail, that lead us to the La Mina falls. This trail tooks us about 2 hours overall (including time spent at the falls and reading all the eco-information plates on the trail). The pathway was a single-person, dense, green, quiet forest trail and you only hear nature's sounds when on the trail. It started raining hard when we were on the trail, but the tree canopy above us was so thick that not even a drop got to us. Towards evening, the forest turned foggy and we weren't able to do any of the mountain trails further into the forest. On the way back, we stopped at a local shack in the forest for some very tasty hot tacos and coconut water.
Overall, the experiance was amazing. If you are a green-lover, don't miss a chance to visit El Yunque.

Four friends and I were staying at Holiday Inn in San Juan, but rented a car for the day and got directions from the hotel staff, and off we went. The drive to El Yunque was beautiful, and we stopped at a roadside stand for lunch. However, once inside, it was unbelievable. We were told not to swim in the stream due to the rising water level, as it was pouring rain (sunny until you got into the forest). We hardly noticed the rain, though, since it was so warm. We bought a humongous bushel of bananas for $2 from a guy on the side of the road. Then we continued into the Rainforest. We didn't see that much wildlife due to the rain, but that was ok..it was beautiful enough without it. At one point, we parked the car and just started hiking. Inside, we climbed waterfalls, took pictures of coqui, and, as would be expected with a group of 4 guys, we went against locals suggestions and swam in the water. It was AMAZING. One of our guys did, actually, get swept over the rapids by the rising current, but we got him back. It was a tense few minutes, however, as we were an hour hike into the rainforest with no cell phones and no one around. We left as it started getting dark, and wow..there really are no words. You have to see it.