Go out to gilligans island. They sometime run a shuttle or you can rent one of the 2 person boats. It is beautiful.

We stayed there last year. The beach on the property is nice for sitting, but not the nicest for swimming, and not the prettiest. But: You can actually just walk, along the beach, down to the right, to a beautiful beach. I forgot the name, but it is a big beach that is known for being great. We just walked along the sand for a few minutes and hit it.

The road to the Copamarina is very windy and narrow, once you get off the main road. We found it kind of scary, and chose to not drive on it at night because it seemed like 1.5 lanes, with a mountain on one side and the ocean on the other. That actually limited us leaving the property at night.

As PR Bob stated, Gilligans Island is a great beach to visit. There isn't much shade for protection but you will enjoy it. Make sure you bring some sandwiches for lunch and some water. The dive shop at the Copamarina will make arrangements for you to get transportation to Gilligans Island. Another option is to ask if their is ferry service to Ballenas which is also also another beautiful beach without facilities. The third option is to visit Cana Gorda Beach which is located just before the Copamarina resort.

As mentioned above, the water at the beach directly in front of the Copamarina Beach Resort is not inviting due to dense seaweed growth. Since the Copa is an eco-hotel, this will not change. The resort is on part of a large crescent-shaped beach and is surrounded by the Guanica Dry Forrest preserve. The other end (where the water is nicer) is part of a public beach with facilities. This beach is called Cana Gorda Beach. All you have to do is drive your car to the parking lot or simply walk down the beach from the Copa.

A nice day trip would be to visit the restored Spanish lighthouse in Cabo Rojo. At this location there are cliffs that drop dramatically to the ocean below. It is a breathtaking location and one of my favorites in PR. There is also a white sand beach called Playa Sucia in a cove down behind the lighthouse. Take Rt 301 past all the salt flats as far as you can go. You will pass a parador on the right (small inn) and the road ends, continue to follow the unpaved road til you cannot go any further. In this area there is also Playa El Combate at the end of Rt. 3301.

There are a lot of beach options right around Copamarina. Yes, you can walk right down to Cana Gorda if you want to swim. A trip over to Gilligans is nice too, but again, limited shade.

If you have a solid rental car, and are daring, just off the windy road (not THAT dangerous if you ask me) there is a green gate that is usually open and beyond this gate a dirt road down the side of the hill down to Playa Jaboncillo. This is a great little cove/beach. There are areas under the trees where you can have some shade and a picnic.

Blink and you will miss the beach-it is almost impossible to see from the road.

Another good use for a solid rental car is a trek down to Cabo Rojo. You will get down there and think holy cow! What have I gotten myself into, but it is an amazing crescent moon beach with a lighthouse up on the hill.

I have made two trips to Copamarina with my boys (now 9 and 10) and they absolutely LOVE the Copa. It is true that the beach is not super, but from what I understand, there used to be Mangrove trees along the beach, and because Copamarina is in the Guanica Dry Forest (a UNESCO world heritage site) a) Copamarina is not allowed to alter the beach and b) to do so further would be unethical considering the natural environment.

take the boat trip to the little island off shore, it is worth it! the boat stops off at a little dock to pick up some other passengers.

If you take a left out of the Copamarina you will pass by the little road (on the right) where this dock is and the road continues up to where you will see houses + and a b+b which sit on the bluff you can see from Copamarina.

If you pass by the road and go straight you will come to some really beacutiful white beach area which is part of the park also.

I thought this area was really beautiful and I wish we had more time to explore.

ROJO, nice tip, however, you are a day late and a dollar short. The original posts were from Januar of 2007.