Best Time to Visit Puerto Rico

Geographical location

Puerto Rico is an island state in the Caribbean, consisting of the main island Puerto Rico, several small side islands and the so-called Spanish Virgin Islands.

Puerto Rico is a so-called non-incorporated territory of the USA, so it does not form a federal state of its own and is not part of any other US state. Nevertheless, the inhabitants, who call themselves Boricua, have American citizenship and all foreign policy is administered by the government in Washington.

The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is one of the Great Antilles and lies between Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the British Virgin Islands.

The relief of the island is quite hilly, the mountain Cerro La Punta represents with 1338 meters the highest point. The Rio de la Plata is with 60 miles the longest river on Puerto Rico.

About 3.8 million people live on an area of 5600 square miles. The capital San Juan is located on the north coast and is a metropolitan region with about 2.5 million inhabitants.

Climate in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has a tropical climate, with the south of the island state remaining very dry. The maximum temperatures are around 32 °C in the months of June to October. From November to May temperatures can drop to 28 °C. At night the values reach between 21 °C to 25 °C, so it remains very warm all year round. In the higher altitudes of the island it is usually about 4 °C to 5 °C cooler.

Puerto Rico can rain all year round. Although there is no classical rainy season (months with more than 6.89 in) from a meteorological point of view, however, the period from April to November is described as a humid period and can be called a rainy season in colloquial terms. Especially in the north, among other places also in the capital San Juan, heavy rainfalls occur during this travel season.

Puerto Rico is a potential risk area for hurricanes, with around twenty hurricanes actually crossing the island in the last 150 years. The biggest risk is in August and September, officially the hurricane season lasts from the beginning of June to November.