In shortSix boat trips reach Cayo Icacos from the Fajardo coast, from $100 to $250, running 3.5 to 6 hours, each with an in-person guide or crew working in English. The catamaran picnic cruise from Villa Marina fits first-timers and families, the water-taxi beach day fits people who want umbrellas and a straight 15-20 minute crossing, and the self-drive mini boat fits active pairs who want to be at the wheel. All six can be cancelled for a full refund at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
6tours compared
from $100per adult
★ 5.01969 reviews
Self-drive mini boat
3.5 h · from $250 · ★ 5.0 (1969)
For two people who want their own 13' boat with a 40hp Yamaha four-stroke and a lead boat to follow through the cays, with training, premium snorkel gear and a cooler with ice included and no licence needed.
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Snorkel and waterslide boat
5 h · from $135 · ★ 4.8 (2952)
For groups who want an open bar, lunch and a giant waterslide off the boat; the Icacos run is the afternoon departure, check-in 1:30 p.m. at Marina Puerto Chico, since the morning sailing goes to Vieques.
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Catamaran picnic cruise
5 h · from $138 · ★ 4.8 (2587)
For first-timers and families who want a bathroom on board, a sandwich buffet with cold cuts, cheeses, tuna, chicken, pasta and salads, and a boat that stays at the beach until after lunch.
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Catamaran day sail
6 h · from $155 · ★ 4.8 (1664)
For anyone who wants the longest day on the water, 6 hours out of Puerto del Rey Marina with views of the El Yunque mountains, a BBQ lunch of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and veggie burgers, and fins with the snorkel gear.
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All-inclusive beach and snorkel boat
5 h · from $150 · ★ 4.8 (810)
For travellers who want to turn up with a towel and nothing else: sandwich, pasta and bean salads, local rum, floating mattresses, free parking and a restroom on board, shared with up to 40 passengers.
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Water-taxi beach day
5 h · from $100 · ★ 4.9 (646)
For beach-first visitors who want a local guide, umbrellas, a cooler with water, soda and local beer, and a 15-minute crossing from the kayak village docks in Las Croabas.
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See this tourPhotos: the tour operator
What an Icacos island tour includes and where it leaves from
Every Icacos island tour on this page is a boat trip, because there is no public ferry to the cays. Icacos sits about 1.5 miles northeast of Fajardo and the crossing takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Boats work the southwest side, which DRNA marks as Zone B for bathers and water taxis, and that strip of sand is where day visitors come ashore.
Departure points are not interchangeable. The water taxi uses the kayak village docks off road 987 in Las Croabas, behind the blue buildings with the grey fence. The Barefoot IV catamaran checks in at Villa Marina, Carr. 987 Km 1.3, by 8:30 a.m. at the latest. The day sail boards at Puerto del Rey Marina 45 minutes before departure. The mini boats and the waterslide boat both start at Marina Puerto Chico, Carr. #987 Km 2, one at the white tent next to Sabalos Restaurant and the other on the restaurant's rooftop. Read your confirmation before you set the alarm.
Cayo Icacos is uninhabited and has nothing on it: no restrooms, no drinking water, no food service, no trash collection, no permanent shade, no lifeguards. Swimming and snorkelling there are at your own risk. What the boats carry is the difference between the options, so check the small print: a bathroom on the catamaran and on the Tortuga, umbrellas on the water-taxi day, a cooler with ice on the mini boats, lunch on four of the six. Towels are excluded everywhere.
Snorkelling happens on shallow reefs, with the usual stop in about 18 to 25 ft of water. The reefs hold 83 fish species in 33 families, 39 stony coral species and endangered staghorn coral on the shallow tour reef, plus seagrass meadows grazed by sea turtles. Do not touch coral, do not stand on the reef, and let the crew tie to the mooring buoys. DRNA watched a third of snorkellers do at least one damaging thing, mostly kicking the reef with fins, disturbing an animal or putting a hand on coral.
Go early. Across DRNA's study zones the busiest hour was 2:00 p.m., averaging about 598 people per hour, and 964 people were counted in the southwest bather zone at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday 28 May 2017. A 7:30 a.m. check-in puts you on the sand well before that curve. Since Administrative Order 2025-02 took effect on 10 March 2025, high-volume sound systems on boats and vehicles are banned in La Cordillera, with fines reaching $25,000 and the Cuerpo de Vigilantes patrolling.
Camping and hunting are prohibited on the cay, so all six trips are same-day returns to the Fajardo coast.
Which Icacos island tour fits you
First-timers and families do best on the Icacos Deserted Island Catamaran, Snorkel and Picnic Cruise, from $138 for 5 hours, ★ 4.8 (2587 reviews). The catamaran has a bathroom, lunch is a sandwich buffet with cold cuts, cheeses, tuna, chicken, pasta and green and fruit salads, drinks run from bottled water and sodas to pina coladas and rum punch, and beach toys and floats come out subject to availability. The boat stays at the beach until after lunch, then sails to a reef to snorkel. Flag food allergies with the operator at least 48 hours ahead.
If the point of the day is beach time rather than cruising, the Icacos Beach Day Package with Water Taxi Transport is from $100 for 5 hours, ★ 4.9 (646 reviews), the highest-rated and cheapest of the six. It includes a local guide, beach umbrellas, mask and snorkel without fins, and a cooler with water, soda and local beer. Lunch and snacks are not included, so pack them. When the manifest goes over 6 passengers the group crosses in two boats side by side, and there is a 45-minute hike on the cay for anyone who wants the old quarry and the views.
The self-drive mini boat tour, from $250 for 3.5 hours, ★ 5.0 (1969 reviews), hands two people their own 13' boat with a 40hp Yamaha four-stroke and a certified lead boat to follow in convoy. Beginner training and a safety briefing come first and no licence is needed. Premium snorkel gear, USCG-approved life jackets and a personal cooler with ice, light snacks and refreshments are included, and the route takes in Cabezas de San Juan and Palominitos as well as Icacos.
Sailors with a full day to spend should take the Icacos Island Catamaran Day Sail from Fajardo, from $155 for 6 hours, ★ 4.8 (1664 reviews). It leaves Puerto del Rey Marina, which has free parking near the check-in area, and the BBQ lunch covers hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and veggie burgers. Rum drinks, snorkel instruction, fins and floating devices are included; gratuities of 10 to 15% are customary and hotel pick-up is not offered.
For an open bar and a giant waterslide off the back of the boat, the all-inclusive snorkel and waterslide tour runs from $135 for 5 hours, ★ 4.8 (2952 reviews). Book the afternoon departure if Icacos is the point: check-in 1:30 p.m., start 2:00 p.m., because the morning sailing goes to Vieques instead. Free parking, marina showers and a restroom on board come with it.
The Tortuga, from $150 for 5 hours, ★ 4.8 (810 reviews), is the package for people who want to arrive with a towel and a swimsuit. Turkey and cheese sandwiches, pasta and bean salads, chips and cookies, local rum, soda and bottled water, snorkel gear, floating mattresses and a restroom on board are all in the price. It is shared with up to 40 passengers and the restrictions are firm: no children under 3, no pregnant travellers, no recent surgeries, no pets, no outside alcohol, no coolers, no beach chairs or umbrellas, no smoking on board.
Before you book
- Mini boats: park outside the gate at Marina Puerto Chico, Carr. #987 Km 2, Bo. Sardinera, walk through the gate and check in at the white tent next to Sabalos Restaurant. Two guests per boat.
- Waterslide boat: meet on the second-floor rooftop of Restaurant Sabalos at the same marina. Check-in 7:30 a.m. for the 8:00 a.m. Vieques sailing, 1:30 p.m. for the 2:00 p.m. Icacos sailing.
- Catamaran picnic cruise: check-in 8:30 a.m. at the latest at the Barefoot IV, Villa Marina, Carr. 987 Km 1.3. Past the main gate you pass boats in dry dock on the left, then a small gate on the left; street parking only.
- Day sail: arrive at Puerto del Rey Marina 45 minutes before departure, free parking close to check-in.
- Tortuga: boat slip #8102 in the Esplanade area near guest parking, check-in 7:30 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. departure or 1:30 p.m. for 2:00 p.m.
- Water taxi: follow road 987 to the kayak village with blue buildings and a grey fence, turn left and park, then find the navy blue boat at the docks behind the buildings.
- Pack towels for any of these trips, since none of the six provide them, plus water, sun cover and a bag for your rubbish because nothing is collected on the cay.
- Lunch and snacks are not included on the water-taxi beach day; the other five feed you on board.
- Gratuities are excluded on all six listings. On the day sail 10 to 15% is customary.
- All six can be cancelled for a full refund at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- January through March is the calmest and clearest window for the crossing. Sargassum builds from spring and peaks in June or July, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November, with activity peaking around 10 September.
- Seabirds breed on the rocky islets around Icacos from March to September, and hawksbill turtles nest mostly from April to November. Keep your distance and stay off the nesting islets.
Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 13 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.
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