I'd love to do a self-guided tour of El Junque on our upcoming visit to Puerto RIco, but after just recovering from a bad bout of poison ivy, I'm terrified of "discovering" the Puerto Rican version. Am I just being neurotic or are we better off going on a tour? HELP!!

#1 - We don't have poison ivy in Puerto Rico. I go into the rain forest all the time in shorts and never have a problem. Actually, we live at the edge of El Yunque and have many of the same plants on our property. No problems here either!

#2 - There's no need to book a "tour" to visit El Yunque. Just rent a car (a taxi will not do!) and spend the day. There are lots of things that you'll want to see in the rain forest that you will not see on a "tour". For example, the peak of El Yunque, La Roca, Juan Diego Falls and Angelito Trail.

Take a look at our El Yunque primer -- http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/el...tional-forest/ -- for driving directions, trail descriptions and a trial map. Oh and lots of photos and a couple videos, too!

Hope this helps!

Thanks very much, RayInPR!

We did the La mina falls hike and it is well sign posted and easy trail to follow. You should take care as it is very slippery in parts due to the humidity and rainfall but we weren't bothered by the plants.

Thanks, sassycat. What kind of shoes would you recommend for the hike? Regular sneakers OK, or would water shoes be better?

Another question. I'm a little confused about the kiosks. Are they open for both lunch and dinner or just lunch? What time would you suggest going? Thanks!

We wore regular sneakers for the hike but we found it slippery. Wear shoes with a good grip and take care.
The falls are a great place for a refreshing dip but because of the rocks water shoes would be recommended but we didn't bring ours with us and managed.

The kiosks seem to have their own mysterious schedules. We found that some opened for lunch, some opened dinner and a few were always shut while we were there over Thanksgiving in 2006. We ate lunch at #2 and it was good.