Playa crash boat puerto rico: Crash Boat Beach | Discover Puerto Rico

Crash Boat Beach 2022 – Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Crash Boat Beach is located in the town of Aguadilla, on the north west region of Puerto Rico.  Crash Boat is one of the most popular beaches on the island and certainly a favorite among locals.  Crash Boat Beach is one of the best beaches to experience the authentic local Puerto Rican experience, simple, relaxed, friendly, and always fun, and then… those sunsets.  We encourage visitors to make the trip.  There’s a little bit of everything at Crash Boat, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing pier, great sunsets, dancing pelicans, cheap local food, and plenty of parking.  During the winter months, the west end of the beach becomes a playground for surfers.  Beach volleyball is a popular pastime for young locals during sunset. 

The beach was probably named Crash Boat after all the colorful fishermen’s boats that “crash” on the shores of the beach.  If you love photography, Crash boat is a great spot at sunset.

Beach guide continues further below…

Top Rated Snorkeling Tours in Aguadilla

The water is beautiful, with various shades from crystal clear, baby blue to cerulean blue tones on the north side and emerald green tones on the southern side of the pier.

There are some spots best for swimming where the water is calmer, if you’re visiting for the first time, feel free to ask a local, swim where you see families with children, or be sure to get in the water before your children in order to check out the depth and conditions.

The cool thing about Crash Boat is that in one location you get 3 different beaches, each appealing to a specific group, one of the reasons this beach is so popular among locals.

South End of Crash Boat Beach

The south end of Crash Boat typically has fewer crowds, you tend to see more people just chilling with a book and enjoying a good show from surfers during the winter months.

The Pier at Crash Boat Beach

At the pier, children and teens make unforgettable memories of jumping off and practicing the perfect or peculiar diving form.   The pier is also a beloved spot for local fishermen, you see them mostly early in the morning or near sunset.  Jumping in the water is generally safe during the summer months until the surfing season in the winter months begins.

Main Beach / Center of Crash Boat 

The center of Crash Boat is where most families hang out, the water is calmer, and food kiosks are steps away.

North Side of Crash Boat Beach

The north end of Crash Boat is typically really quiet and mellow, the best spot to relax and observe all the action at the beach.  From spring until early fall the water gets really shallow and clear along the rocks l, a great place to swim and go snorkeling.

If you keep swimming along the rocks you’ll find hidden caves along the boulders.

During the winter months, this spot is loved by surfers, known as Gas Chambers.

Please keep in mind that there are no lifeguards at Crash Boat Beach, you swim at your own risk. Please pay attention to your children at ALL times.

Scuba Diving at Crash Boat Beach – Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Crash Boat Beach is a popular diving site on the west coast great for beginners, an easy and interesting dive with abundant and colorful sea life underneath the pier. 

Snorkeling at Crash Boat Beach – Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Snorkeling is great at the pier and a popular spot for scuba divers.  The first entries nearest to the beach are shallow and perfect for parents to take their children to snorkel, you’ll spot a variety of colorful fish, we often see a lot of blue tangs and baby barracuda.

Top Rated Snorkeling Tours to Crash Boat & Nearby

Food at Crash Boat Beach

For decades there were simple food cafeterias loved by locals, the buildings were destroyed by Hurricane Maria.   In July, Cocoloba opened serving a nice menu with fresh fish, traditional Puerto Rican appetizers, and a bar.  Don’t miss a refreshing drink of cold coconut water served right from the coconut.  Most of the time, there is an ice cream vendor with delicious natural fruit flavors.  For a more formal dining atmosphere, there are plenty of restaurants a short drive from Crash Boat Beach.

Water Safety at Crash Boat Beach

Along the pier, what looks like calm swimming water can become a dangerous scene depending on the current and weather conditions.  The undercurrents can become like a whirlpool in some areas, making it very difficult for an average swimmer to get out safely.

Water Quality:  During rain season, the water can become cloudy and unsafe to use from bacteria coming down from the river/stream that ends at Crash Boat.  Please visit the following link, the site posts updates on the monitoring of the water quality, the site lists beaches on the first table that DO NOT MEET the criteria for safe use. Junta de Calidad Ambiental de Puerto Rico.

Many islanders considered Crash Boat to be one of the best beaches in Puerto Rico.   Although it gets many points for being family-friendly and offering things many islanders love, we didn’t place it on our “Best Beaches in Puerto Rico” list for the past years due to maintenance issues.  Prior to Maria we always rated it about a 6 out of 10 due to poor maintenance and attention to details by the municipality.  After Hurricane Maria, we actually placed Crash Boat Beach on our “Top 10 Beaches in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria”…because many locals and visitors wish to see the effects of the hurricane and this beach is sadly one of the best to see the devastation of buildings and how it changed the shoreline.  Ironically Hurricane Maria may end up being a blessing for Crash Boat, mobilizing the municipality and local businesses to give the beach and facilities the attention it desperately needed.

Written after Maria, kept on this article as a reminder of its past.

Should you visit Crash Boat after Hurricane Maria? Although there are buildings and structures destroyed along the beach, you may still enjoy a visit to Crash Boat.  The beach is actually prettier after Hurricane Maria, the currents pushed a brand new carpet of sand over the beach that’s lighter, the water is clearer than ever.  Your purchases of food, souvenirs, etc., will certainly help local businesses bounce back from the economic losses caused by the hurricane.  Any time you visit an affected area, you’re doing something good for Puerto Rico.  Travelers that don’t sweat the small stuff and wish to experience a more local scene, will likely have a wonderful time.  A good alternative to Crash Boat is Rompeolas Beach.

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Crash Boat beach

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Crash Boat beach

The beach owes its unusual name to a large fishing boat that tapped into the concrete pier and sank in the beach southern part (its remains can still be seen in shallow water). There is another version: during the World War II,the bay served as a lay-up of rescue motor boats that were used to evacuate crews of US Air forces that suffered during combat missions. Since then, a large pier preserved that visually divides the beach into two equal halves. Now, it is painted into merry yellow color, and serves as an excellent diving-board.

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Beach description

Crashboat is situated on the north-west coast of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla municipal administration. It is considered to be the most popular beach here due to picturesque sandy beach, surrounded with luxuriant vegetation, and clear azure sea without strong waves and artful currents

The coastline is rather stretched and wide, although its length reduced almost twice after the destructive Maria hurricane. Soft golden sand and tender tide sound favor serene relaxation, and thick vegetation brings comfortable shadow and coolness. The beach is perfect for family recreation and outdoor picnics, and it will be appreciated by people who love fishing, snorkeling, and diving.

The pier projecting far into the sea is absolutely safe and open for everyone. As a rule, it is occupied by fishermen early in the morning, and closer to noon, the pier turns into one recreational facility. It is fun and safe to jump into water from it (there is a special ladder to climb back), to enjoy snorkeling and diving in order to explore the coral reef and feast eyes upon the sea inhabitants. On the beach, one can rent sport equipment and surfing boards and even order a special diving tour to sunken military motor boats and airplanes.

Crashboat offers other beach games: riding hydro cycles, kayaks and water ski, fashionable sapboarding, and such beach sports as volleyball, football, shuttlecock, and beach tennis.

The beach is equipped with shower cabins and water closets, it gives a possibility to rent umbrellas and sling chairs, and to make a light meal in beach cafes and cafeterias. Picnic lovers can comfortably relax in tree shadow and even stay for a night in their tent camp. It should be noted that the amount of beach goers does not decrease closer to the evening. Many people come here with a special purpose to feast eyes upon the magnificent sunset, to take pictures against it, and enjoy evening coolness at the sounds of live music. Right on the beach, they often arrange salsa classes that smoothly turn into vibrant parties till the first rays of sun.

You can get to the beach by taxi or by rented car as well: there is a convenient road leading right to the beach and ending with a paid parking lot. You can leave your transport along the road or under the shadowy trees behind a small creek.

When is the best time to go?

Puerto Rico is warm year-round, but from May to November, hurricanes often fly along the coast. One of them only a short time ago literally swept off the pier, which appeared before the camera the famous Despacito, and made it a history. Also during this period is characterized by the increased humidity and a lot of rainfall. The most favorable period is the time from December to April. Puerto Rico is recommended for a tourist holiday in these months.

Video: Beach Crash Boat

Infrastructure

The neighborhood of Crashboat beach suffered a lot during the destructive Maria hurricane in 2017; the closest dwelling can be found in Matias village. One of the most attractive options (and at the very nice price) is the guest house Crash Boat 1 located at the first line, just ten minutes of walking from the beach. It offers spacious rooms with bathrooms and panoramic balconies, satellite TV and free Internet. The house has a common kitchen equipped with all the necessary facilities, a washing machine, a dryer, a skirt-board, and an iron The building is surrounded with a shadowy garden the territory of which has the children’s playground, recreation zone with hammocks, sling chairs, and BBQ kits. Stores and restaurants are located five minutes away from the hotel, and there are two kilometers to the closest supermarket.

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Useful information

Crashboat is surrounded with picturesque hills with breathtaking views of the sea and surroundings. It is curious to explore them independently, using the available hiking and bicycle routes.

People who love extreme recreation and sea tours can have an entertaining motor boat tour, or rent a yacht and swim to sunken military vessels and airplanes, accompanied by a coach, and explore the underwater depths iding numerous secrets inside.

For regret, the water amusement park Las Cascadas Water Park, situated just five kilometers away from the beach, is still closed for reconstruction. It also suffered a lot from the hurricane, and should start working again by summer 2019.

The beach participates in ratings:

4 place in rating Puerto Rico

Los Haitises Park – a country of mountains and highlands

Caves, mangroves, uninhabited islands, Taino temples, unique flora and fauna – all this is the wild and beautiful Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic.

Despite the development of tourism in the Dominican Republic, Los Haitises Park retains its original beauty and is one of the least visited sites by tourists.

And all because there are no all inc hotels, bars and restaurants. After all, construction in a unique protected area is strictly prohibited by law.

Therefore, fans of eco-recreation can enjoy the nature of this park with pleasure. And to see it exactly as it appeared before the discoverers of the New World.

The park forms the southwestern shore of Samana Bay and occupies 208 sq km of land.

Many centuries ago, Taino Indian communities lived in the territory of the modern park. From their language came the name Los Aitises, which translates as “high mountains”.

Traveling by boat through the park, you feel like a hero of the movie “Jurassic Park” … You make your way through the mangroves. You admire the intricate mountain pattern on the horizon and simply dissolve in the ocean of tropical sounds…

The park is often referred to as the land of a thousand islands. Wherever you look – its territory is cut by rivers and backwaters, above which islands seem to rise in the air. Such an illusion is created thanks to the stone base “undermined” by water.

So that we can enjoy this beauty today, nature has been working for several million years!

Previously, the entire territory of the park was under water and rose above it only 1-2 million years ago. During a tectonic shift. Therefore, on the territory of the islands and in the caves you can find traces of prehistoric marine life.

About 110 different species of birds live here. At the same time, 13 of them are endemic representatives of the unique fauna of the Dominican Republic. They cannot be found anywhere else in the world!

By the way, the Haitian buzzard lives in the park. One of the rarest birds on the planet, over the restoration of the population of which in the Dominican Republic they have been fighting for more than a year. After all, this predator lives only in Los Haitises.

The reserve is also famous for its mangroves, cutting down and any other destruction of which is also prohibited by local authorities. It is generally accepted that mangroves are one type of plant. In fact, this is a whole living complex, in the root system of which marine inhabitants live, multiply and grow – mollusks, fish, crustaceans …

The cycle of up to 90% of all marine and ocean life is somehow connected with the mangrove ecosystem. Therefore, it is so important to preserve these unusual groves from destruction.

In addition to white and red mangroves, about 700 species of plants grow in the reserve.

Read also: Barana: Orlov Bay, Larimar, Crocodiles and Anomalies Polo Magnetico

Taino

Caves, two caves – Kueva Arena and Kueva de la Linea are open to visit. They are located on different islands. Scientists have proven that the Taino Indians highly revered these places. Therefore, they did not settle inside the caves, but only performed various rituals and sacraments.

Here you can see the rock paintings of the first inhabitants of the island – pictograms. With the help of natural dyes obtained from the juice and seeds of plants, as well as the fat of manatees and bat droppings, the Taino left their instructions to future generations and sketches of their own predictions on the walls.

By the way, although the second cave is not listed in the official locations used during the filming of the film “Pirates of the Caribbean”, it is impossible not to guess this place from one of the key scenes of the film.

And the huge recesses on the “ceiling” of the caves were once the “homes” of prehistoric mollusks…

Here, on the territory of the caves and islands, the pirates of the Caribbean themselves were noted. The modern territory of the Los Aitises Park was once an ideal shelter for the ships of the pirates from the ships of the Royal Navy pursuing them. And the pirate Willy Simons even lived here for many years, hiding not only from law enforcement officers, but also from his own fakes.

Read also: Redonda: myths and reality

On the territory of Los Aitises…

– Filmed the 3rd season of the Russian reality show “The Last Hero” (2002). The one in which famous actors, TV presenters and politicians took part. Then Vladimir Presnyakov became the winner of the project.

– The highest rainfall of any province in the Dominican Republic.

– Europeans tried to build a railway “on the water” here. She was supposed to connect Santo Domingo and San Lorenzo Bay. It was planned that it would serve to transport sugar cane and bananas. However, the developer company went bankrupt, leaving behind only hammered iron piles, which are now chosen by gulls and pelicans.

See also: Amazing Eagles Bay in the Dominican Republic: beaches of incredible beauty, pink flamingos, iguanas travel. To do this, you will need to rent a car.

It is better not to choose a car with a low seating position, as part of the journey will have to go off-road.

You need to get to the village of Sabana de la Mar. Next, the locals will show you the way to the port, where you will have to bargain for a boat and a guide.