Puerto Rico: is it good
for a family trip?
Yes, and it is the easiest "abroad" trip on this whole site because it is not abroad at all. JetBlue flies Boston to San Juan nonstop 3 to 4 times daily, plus a daily Delta flight, about 4 hours, domestic, no passport required.
How Puerto Rico scored with our kids.
Six things we rate every trip on, out of 10, from our own family travel, plus our overall score, which is simply the average of the six. Flight ease and value are calculated the same way for every destination.
From our trip. One day on Vieques we drove down a long dirt road, parked right on the beach, and spent the day with a cooler and a picnic lunch. On the way back there were so many wild horses on the road that we had to stop the jeep and wait for them to move. It was just a beautiful day.
Flight ease
10.0/10About 4 hours nonstop from Boston. We score every flight the same way: start at 10, take off half a point for each hour beyond 4 (a quarter point per hour past 10), and a point for each connection. JetBlue flies it several times a day plus a daily Delta flight, and it is domestic, so no passport needed. The easiest abroad-feeling trip on this site.
Kid friendly
9/10The kids loved the wild horses and Vieques. We did the night tour of Mosquito Bay, the bioluminescent bay, and our girls loved it; highly recommend. Add calm beaches like Media Luna, forts that are free for kids and El Yunque. Not a 10 because Vieques has no hospital and the power does go out.
Walkability
5.5/10Condado is walkable for food, but Vieques is a jeep island with no street lighting outside the towns.
Value
5.5/10Puerto Rico's cost of living index is 65 (Numbeo, mid-2026, where New York is 100 and the US overall is 69.7), about 7% below home. We score value the same way for every destination: costing the same as home is a 5, and every 10 points cheaper or pricier moves it a point. It is a country-wide average, so big cities and tourist hot spots run higher and small towns and villages lower. Vieques and resort areas run above this number.
Food
7/10Good dinners in Esperanza, but grocery shopping on Vieques is a hunt, because what is on the shelves depends on the ferry.
Weather
8.5/10Warm year-round, dry December to April; watch for sargassum in early summer and the heat midday.
Overall
7.6/10The easiest flight on the site to one of our kids' favorite trips.
A domestic 4-hour flight, no passport.
Because Puerto Rico is a US territory, this is a domestic flight: no passport, no customs line on the way home. JetBlue's 3 to 4 daily nonstops plus a daily Delta flight make it one of the easiest routes on this site to book on short notice.
San Juan, then a week on Vieques.
Our full guide covers 2 days in San Juan, then a full week on Vieques with a rental jeep, beaches ranked specifically for kids, and an honest explanation of why we skip the ferry.
Search Vrbo rentals, already set to Condado. Look for two bedrooms and a full kitchen. Where we would stay. Affiliate link, our disclosure.
What families ask us.
Is there a nonstop flight from Boston to Puerto Rico?
Yes. JetBlue flies Boston to San Juan nonstop 3 to 4 times daily, plus a daily Delta flight, about 4 hours, domestic, no passport required.
Is Puerto Rico good for a family trip with kids?
Yes. Our full guide covers 2 days in San Juan, then a week on Vieques with a jeep, including beaches ranked for kids and why we skip the ferry.
Do you need a passport for Puerto Rico?
No. Puerto Rico is a US territory, so this is a domestic flight with no passport and no customs line on the way home.
Is Puerto Rico safe for families?
See our dedicated safety piece, Is Puerto Rico Safe for Families, for the honest, specific answer rather than a generic reassurance.