Laguna Tortuguero

North Coast

LoginSave

This lagoon is one of only two natural lakes in Puerto Rico, making its protection extra precious. It is also one of the most ecologically diverse areas on the island, listing 717 species of plant and 23 different types of fish. Hiking around this pretty spot yields ocean views, and you can also fish and kayak in the lake – though you’ll have to bring your own equipment.

The lake also has picnic areas, an observation tower and a mountain-bike route.

To get to Tortuguero from Hwy 22, take Exit 41, take a right on Hwy 2, then left on Rte 687 until you see a big sign for the lagoon on your left.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • CW2P43 PUERTO RICO - CORDILLERA CENTRAL SAN CRISTOBAL CANYON Cañón de San Cristóbal

    Cañón de San Cristóbal

    21.77 MILES

    The St Christopher canyon is so unexpected – both in location and appearance – that it takes many a breath away. The deep green chasm seemingly drops out…

  • Puerto Rico, Old San Juan, section of El Morro Fortress

    Castillo San Felipe del Morro

    19.82 MILES

    A star of Old San Juan, brooding El Morro sits atop a headland, deterring would-be attackers. The 140ft walls (some up to 15ft thick) date to 1539 and it…

  • Worlds largest single-dish radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. (Photo by: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Observatorio de Arecibo

    22.77 MILES

    Puerto Ricans reverently refer to it as ‘El Radar’; to everyone else it is simply the largest radio telescope in the world. Resembling a spaceship…

  • Castillo de San Cristobal, San Juan, Puerto Rico. america, american, antelles, architectural, architecture, attraction, building, capital, carib, caribbean, castillo, castle, city, cristobal, espana, felipe, fort, fortress, greater, guard, heritage, historic, historical, history, house, island, juan, landmark, latin, morro, old, puerto, rico, san, sea, site, spain, spanish, state, style, tour, tourism, tourist, travel, unesco, united, usa, viejo, wall, world

    Castillo San Cristóbal

    20.67 MILES

    The city's second major fort is one of the largest Spanish-built military installations in the Americas. In its prime, it covered 27 acres with a maze of…

  • Plaza del Cuartel, in front of Museo de las Americas, near Galeria Nacional/National Gallery, and Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena

    Museo de las Américas

    20.06 MILES

    This museum presents an impressive overview of cultural development in the Americas, including indigenous, African and European influences. Four permanent…

  • SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - JUNE 04: The entrance of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican Museum of Art) on June 4, 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Alfredo Sosa/The Christian Science Monitort

    Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

    23.59 MILES

    San Juan boasts one of the largest and most celebrated art museums in the Caribbean. Housed in a splendid neoclassical building that was once the city’s…

  • Freshly Harvested Raw Coffee Beans

    Hacienda San Pedro

    19.1 MILES

    San Pedro is a small working coffee farm with an attached museum and cafe/tasting room where you can get a fascinating insight into the coffee-making…

  • Isla Verde Beach, San Juan, Puerto Rico

    Playa Isla Verde

    26.33 MILES

    With countless tanned bodies lounging or flexing their biceps around the volleyball net, this urban beach basks in its reputation as the Copacabana of…

View more attractions

Nearby North Coast attractions

1. Playa Tortuguero

2.16 MILES

A narrow road (Hwy 6671) squeezes between Laguna Tortuguero and the Atlantic, passing through coastal forest a few kilometers northeast of Manatí. Here is…

2. Playa Mar Chiquita

4.07 MILES

An anomaly among Puerto Rican beaches, Playa Mar Chiquita isn’t alongside a main thoroughfare, has no long strand and isn’t good for swimming or surfing…

3. Playa de Cerro Gordo

5.89 MILES

Lying at the end of Hwy 690, this charming palm-dotted expanse of sand has had several million dollars pumped into the expansion of its tourist facilities…

4. Balneario Manuel Morales

9.44 MILES

This is a little-advertised public beach in Dorado where you can swim. At the end of Rte 697, it’s an OK bit of sand surrounded by rocky outcrops, but it…

5. Museo de Arte e Historia de Dorado

10.79 MILES

This neatly renovated museum gives you the rundown on local history and archaeology, including findings from excavations at the nearby Ojo del Buey beach.

6. Museo y Centro Cultural Casa del Rey

10.84 MILES

This museum is set in an old Spanish garrison dating from 1823, making it the town's oldest surviving building. It was also once the home of Puerto Rican…

7. Balneario el Ojo del Buey

11.1 MILES

Calle 13 on the eastern side of Dorado terminates in a tan-colored stretch of tree-backed sand, and is freer from beachgoers than Balneario Manuel Morales…

8. Bosque Estatal de Cambalache

11.35 MILES

The state forest of Cambalache covers an area of just 1000 acres, making it smaller than a lot of Puerto Rican resort hotels. Almost halfway between…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "puerto-rico/manati-and-around/attractions/laguna-tortuguero/a/poi-sig/499712/358128",
  "destination": "North-Coast",
  "continent": "Caribbean",
  "country": "Puerto-Rico",
  "region": "North-Coast",
  "position": "superzone"
}