How Much Does It Cost to Go to Puerto Rico on a Family Vacation?

As the summer draws near, you allow yourself to go on a vacation with your family. After all, you worked hard all year, so you need to give yourself a break. However, you must think about the expenses during a trip to prepare a budget.

With this in mind, you can go to Puerto Rico and figure out how much you need to spend while you visit. If you want to figure this out and remember what you must spend money on, you can use the tips below to plan out your family vacation.

General Pricing Overview

Before you can create a budget, you need to get a general sense of the costs you must cover while in Puerto Rico. This includes addressing these key points to see what points will affect the overall price:

• The number of people you plan to bring
• The amount of time you plan on staying
• Converting your currency to Puerto Rico’s

You need to spend about 150-200 dollars a day for each person you bring on the trip. However, this amount varies depending on what you spend your money on. 

For example, you can spend as low as 70 dollars a day, but this can quite easily increase to over 300 dollars. If you have a family of four, you need to spend between 280 and 1200 dollars a day.

From there, you need to determine how many days you plan to stay in Puerto Rico. By using the numbers above, you could spend 2000 dollars or more depending on what you purchase during your trip.

This number varies depending on your currency if you live outside the U.S. The information above uses the United States dollar (USD), so make sure to convert it to your currency to get a better idea of the cost. As of right now, Puerto Rico uses the USD as its currency.

Identifying Key Costs

Now that you know the estimates for a vacation in Puerto Rico, you need to identify the primary costs you’ll face. This means knowing what you need to spend money on while you visit Puerto Rico, so you don’t overlook any costs.

Transportation

While you calculate the daily cost, you need to consider transportation. This includes multiple factors to ensure you cover your transportation needs:

• The cost to arrive and leave Puerto Rico
• The cost of transportation while you visit
• Any additional trips you want to take during your visit

First, you must think about how you plan to arrive and leave Puerto Rico. Most people will purchase plane tickets since it stands out as a convenient and time-saving option. Otherwise, you need to take a boat which could cost more money and take more time.

Plane tickets vary in price depending on when you buy them. Make sure you watch the prices and find the ideal time to purchase your tickets. 

Once you arrive, you need to think about how you plan to travel around Puerto Rico. For example, some people take buses while others use cabs. Buses cost less money, but cabs offer more convenience, so you need to weigh your options.

From there, you may seek additional transportation as you visit. For example, if you plan to enjoy a Puerto Rico cruise, you need to spend money to go on the boat. This can cost you an additional 150 to 250 dollars for each person you bring.

Lodging

As you spend time in Puerto Rico, you need to figure out where you plan to stay. Most people stay in hotels since they can easily find some online and book them ahead of time. 

If this seems appealing to you, you need to consider your budget when it comes to hotels. This matters since the price of hotels vary depending on their ratings:

• One- and two-star hotels sit around 50 dollars a night
• Three- and four-star hotels vary between 75 and 100 dollars a night
• Five-star hotels usually cost over 200 dollars a night

You must consider the quality of the hotel you want during your trip. The price also varies depending on how many people you plan to have in the room. For example, a hotel room for a family of four may cost more than one designed for two people.

Keep in mind the price varies depending on the location of the hotel. Make sure you find a good price while choosing some lodging close to the tourist sites you want to visit. That way, you don’t have to spend as much time traveling to those locations during your vacation.

Why not check out our guide to the best all-inclusive resorts in Puerto Rico for families to get some ideas?

Food and Drinks

As you visit Puerto Rico, you need to cover food and drink costs for your family members. This may seem like a small detail, but the prices will add up as you stay in the area:

• You need to spend over one dollar on soda and nearly four dollars on water bottles.
• Dinner can cost about 20 dollars per person if you order a meal or 12 dollars for street food.
• Your expenses will increase if you purchase alcohol.

As you walk through the streets and visit locations, you need to keep yourself hydrated. This means you need to purchase multiple water bottles each day, though you may find some at lower prices by going to the grocery store.

You can also purchase some soda during meals or drink free water, depending on where you go. If you want to save money, you shouldn’t buy alcohol since it’ll increase your bill.

As for meals, you can enjoy street food during the day and eat a meal for dinner. With these points in mind, you can spend between 50 and 80 dollars a day on food and water per person.

Optional Expenses

This section will focus on potential expenses you can experience while on vacation. This means you don’t need to pay for these items, but they stand out as standard expenses people pay for while on vacation.

Tourist Attractions

When you visit Puerto Rico, you need to see the beautiful locations and identify the ones you care about. This includes identifying tourist attractions you want to see such as the attractions listed below:

• Five dollars to visit Old San Juan
• 100 dollars to go kayaking
• 150 dollars to get windsurfing lessons

Since Puerto Rico offers activities near the ocean, you can seek multiple experiences you can’t find in other locations. The prices vary greatly based on the activity, so you can find an option for any budget.

Even if you don’t want to spend money on tourist attractions, you can visit beaches and walk the streets to see the sights for free. Make sure to do some research, so you can find multiple attractions while finding out the prices for each of them.

Check out our guide to the best things to do in Puerto Rico with kids for some ideas.

Souvenirs

When your family visits Puerto Rico, some of them will want to bring souvenirs home. That way, they can look at the souvenirs and remind themselves about the trip and the memories associated with it.

Since tons of people visit Puerto Rico during a vacation, you will come across souvenir shops as you visit the area. Puerto Rico offers multiple types of souvenirs to make people happy with their purchases:

• Pieces of art to take the Puerto Rican culture home with you
• Hats and clothing for people who want to share their vacation with others
• Pieces of jewelry for people who want unique accessories

You can also find souvenirs for your children while you visit Puerto Rico. You need to stop by the souvenir shops and think about window shopping if you don’t want to spend money. As you go to the shops, you can find beautiful souvenirs for each family member.

Beach Equipment

As you visit Puerto Rico, you need to stop by the beaches. While you can bring sunscreen, swimming suits, and similar items, you must consider the beach equipment you want to use while visiting the area.

Consider bulky items you can’t bring with you. This includes renting some of the items listed below:

• 10-20 dollars for a beach chair
• 10 dollars or more for a beach umbrella
• 20-40 dollars for a beach umbrella and two chairs

You want to protect yourself from the heat, so you need to think about renting items like the ones listed above. While you may not need them if you find a shaded spot and bring towels, some people will want to rent them.

Tips for Staying Within Your Budget

Now that you know the key expenses for your trip, you need to think about more tips to improve the trip. Doing so will help you save money while meeting your needs.

Purchase Your Tickets at the Right Time

As you look into airplane tickets, you need to find the right time to purchase them. This means you need to consider multiple points to ensure you get the best deals available:

• Buy your tickets ahead of time.
• Consider the day you purchase the tickets.
• Think about when you want to visit Puerto Rico.

If you plan to visit Puerto Rico, you should purchase your tickets between two to five months before you want to arrive. Once you reach this range, you need to buy the tickets since they’ll increase in price each day leading up to the vacation.

As for what days to buy your tickets, you should buy them during the weekdays according to the link above. The prices tend to increase if you purchase them during the weekends, so wait until the middle of the week.

The time of year you visit Puerto Rico impacts the prices. For example, if you go during the fall, you can find tickets for around 60 dollars per person. However, if you want to go during the spring or winter, you could face higher prices.

As you remember those points, you can focus on finding the lowest prices available when you travel to Puerto Rico.

Cook Your Own Food

While eating out each day seems appealing, it quickly adds up in costs. Even if you plan to eat out a few times during your vacation, you need to think about purchasing some groceries. Doing so can help you save money when you consider the cost of food in Puerto Rico:

• Under two dollars to get enough bread for two people
• Almost two-and-a-half dollars to get one–dozen eggs
• Nearly three dollars for a pound of chicken breast

With these points in mind, you can purchase groceries to make some meals for your family. This costs less money than eating out, so you can make the vacation budget-friendly by taking advantage of the grocery store.

If you plan to do this, make sure you research the area around your hotel. That way, you can identify a grocery store nearby and get food from there. If you plan to purchase groceries, only buy enough for the trip, so you don’t waste food and money.

Bring a Refillable Water Bottle or Filter

Sometimes, people purchase water bottles to drink from. However, doing so quickly adds up in price if you need to buy large packs of water bottles to last an entire trip. Instead, you need to bring a personal water bottle and reuse it.

If you bring a refillable water bottle, you can fill it up with water before you go out. If you feel worried about Puerto Rico’s water, people view it as comparable to the United States, so you can safely drink the tap water.

However, some people may worry about the water available in various areas, so they need to think about purchasing a water bottle with a built-in filter. They can rest easy knowing that the device will automatically filter any water they plan to drink.

If you purchase a filter, make sure you follow the instructions. Some require you to flush out the filters before you use them, so review these points and test the filter before you leave on the trip.

Overestimate Your Budget

As you plan your vacation, you need to overestimate your budget. This matters since you must ensure you save enough money to cover your costs during your trip. If you overestimate the costs, you’ll save more money than you need to prevent any problems.

As you do this, you can help yourself in multiple ways:

• Ensure you don’t run out of money during the trip.
• Avoid going into debt if you go over your budget.
• Cover expenses during an emergency.

First, you need to avoid running out of money as you go on vacation. If you overestimate your budget, you don’t have to worry about unexpected expenses during the trip. Instead, you can address the expenses and focus on saving money while enjoying your vacation.

On top of this, you don’t want unexpected expenses to cost you more money than you have. If this happens, you may need to use a credit card to cover those costs during the trip. Depending on how much money you make, it may take you some time to pay it off.

If you add additional money to your budget, you can cover emergency expenses when they arise. If you don’t run into any emergencies, you can save money and spend less than you expected.

In short, this matters since you can ensure you have enough money during the trip by overestimating your budget. Make sure you give yourself a few hundred dollars of a buffer to keep yourself financially secure.

Budgeting Summary: How Much Does It Cost to Go to Puerto Rico?

Now that we talked about costs and how to save money, we want to give you a summary. This summary considers the information throughout this article, so you can give yourself an idea of the amount of money you need for the trip.

If you plan to spend a week in Puerto Rico, you can get by with about 800 dollars for one person. However, if you plan to bring yourself, your spouse, and two children, you could look at 3,200 dollars in expenses.

Some people want to enjoy cruises, souvenirs, or activities during the trip. A person can easily spend 1,000 dollars in a week while in Puerto Rico. 

If you plan to splurge, you can spend up to 4,000 dollars per person. While this seems like tons of money, you need to remember most people won’t reach the 4,000 dollar mark. 

You need to think about your family, the needs of each member, and how much money you plan to save. That way, you don’t need to worry about money and costs while you visit Puerto Rico.

Final Comments

With any family vacation, you must figure out how much money you need for it. As you do so, you can save enough money to cover your costs while allowing your family to have fun.

This involves identifying the key costs and any souvenirs or additional expenses you need to cover. As you think about these points and calculate a budget, you can prepare for your trip without worrying about money while you visit Puerto Rico.