Isla de Ratones

Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico

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Isla de Ratones (Spanish for “Mice Island”) refers to two different small islands in Puerto Rico. The more well-known one for visitors is Isla de Ratones near Joyuda Lagoon in Cabo Rojo, southwestern Puerto Rico; it’s a tiny, uninhabited island about a quarter-mile offshore that’s popular for snorkeling, swimming, and day trips by boat.

Originally called Cayo Piñas or “Pineapple Island” because it once grew pineapples and sugar cane, it later earned the name “Mice Island” after being abandoned and overrun by rodents. Today it’s managed by Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), open Tuesday–Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and has a white-sand beach, shaded picnic pavilions with BBQ pits, a boat dock, showers, and restrooms, though visitors should bring their own charcoal and trash bags since there are no food services.

The other Isla de Ratones is a small uninhabited island off Ponce on Puerto Rico’s southern coast, part of barrio Cañas in Ponce municipality; despite its singular name, it’s actually two tiny islets that separate at high tide and connect at low tide about 1 kilometer offshore, making it a popular spot for kayaking and other water activities.