The photos on this page were taken on a trip to Puerto Rico, over the Labor Day weekend in 2002. I visited a pair of hot springs south of Coamo, in south central Puerto Rico, a few miles north of the toll road between San Juan and Ponce. The springs, according to legend, were the "fountain of youth" that Juan Ponce de Leon was looking for but missed.

One of the springs is a large thermal pool within the Parador ("country inn") Baños de Coamo resort (787-825-2186). That pool is open to both overnight guests of the resort, and for a nominal fee ($5 when I visited) to day visitors, from mid-morning to late afternoon. The other spring is just outside the resort, and is open 24 hours a day to the general public at no charge.

To drive to the springs from San Juan, take toll route 52 south from San Juan toward Ponce. Soon after the junction with toll route 53 to Guayama, take exit ("salida") 76 for route 153 to Santa Isabel and Coamo -- this exit comes up with little advance warning, so you need to watch for it. Go 3.3 miles north on route 153, then turn left on route 546. Take route 546 0.9 miles, past a golf course on the left, to the end of the road, where you'll find the resort's parking lot, as well as roadside parking just outside the resort if you're only going to the free public spring.

To get to the free spring, instead of turning left into the resort at the end of route 546, walk straight ahead past a gate onto a well-worn dirt path along the resort's perimeter. Walk about a hundred yards, and you're there.

GPS:  18°02.245'N, 66°22.438'W (resort spring), 18° 02.214'N, 66°22.425'W (public spring)

There are reportedly hot springs elsewhere in Puerto Rico, but I was unable to track down any that were open to the public for soaking.

NOTE: In case you want more detail, you can click any photo below to view an enlarged, higher-quality (less .jpg compression) version. Those alternate versions have larger file sizes, so please be patient while they download.

Go back to photos page 1 (Colorado)
Go back to photos page 2 (Hawaii)
Go back to photos page 3 (Alaska)
Continue to photos page 5 (California)
Continue to photos page 6 (Arizona/New Mexico -- some artistic nudity)

This sign, above the stairway down to the resort's thermal pool, provides a detailed chemical analysis of the water flowing into both the resort's pool and the public springs outside.
Two views of the resort's large waist-to-chest-deep thermal pool. While the sign above indicates the source spring is 109°, the temperature I measured in this pool was 102°.
The public spring pools are above this retaining wall, via the ramp ascending to the right. The outflow pipe comes in handy for those who need to rinse off first.	These are the two larger public hot pools -- the main pool on the right, and a shallow wading pool for the kids. (A third, much smaller soaking pool is shown below.)
The main pool is waist-deep, and is about the same temperature as the source spring (108°). There are steps into the pool at the far end, but no other seating, so people either stand or sit on the bottom.
	The wading pool is right below the main pool, so parents can easily watch over their children. This pool runs about 100°, and is only knee-deep at most.
Just above the main pool is this small soaking pool, which shares the main pool's 108° temperature but is only ankle-deep.

to Page 3 (Alaska)

to Page 5 (California)

or directly to:

Page 1 (Colorado) · Page 2 (Hawaii) · Page 6 (Arizona/New Mexico -- some artistic nudity)
 

my Hot Springs main page · my favorite springs, and others I've visited ·
more hot springs information
 

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© 2002, 2004, 2006-2007 Oscar Voss