After a serene visit to Playa La Posita, a hot but enjoyable trip to El Morro, and a real mess at the El Yunque rainforest, we wanted to spend some more time at the beach on our last full day in Puerto Rico. Regular readers of this blog know that I have a strict no-backtracking-unless-absolutely-necessary policy, so we wanted to try something new.

Ariel had read that the Balneario del Escambrón beach area was also “family friendly” and sheltered from the rough December Atlantic ocean waves. So we packed up the car and the kids, and headed out towards San Juan again.

First off, this was the nicest looking beach we went on our trip. I didn’t write about it because we only went for a little while, but there was a beach about a block away from where we were staying in Carolina. Between that, Playa La Posita, and here, Escambron is far and away the best looking option. Also there are actual amenenties at this beach, like showers and bathrooms. Plenty of shade from palm trees as well.

And you get a nice view of Old San Juan from the beach, along with El Morro in the distance. There are also some pretty cool-looking (but very sharp!) rock formations all around the beach area. The water was pretty warm too, warmer in December than the Jersey Shore in peak summer.

However, unlike Playa La Posita, or Baby Beach in Maui, this is not a lagoon. Even though there are reefs and large rocks in the way of the waves, there are enough gaps in them that the waves broke through very often.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t like the totally unprotected Jersey Shore, but the waves were constant and yet unpredictable. There were numerous times when a wave crashed over Jacob and he’s 4+ feet tall. There was no way we could leave either child unattended for even a few minutes. Ethan really had to be held the entire time.

And it wasn’t just us. Another advantage Escambron has, is that there are lifeguards. But they were constantly blowing their whistles at people for reasons unknown to us. It didn’t seem like it had anything to do with people going too far out, because I saw people swimming near where the waves were breaking against the rocks constantly. But whatever it was, the lifeguards were on very high alert.

It was also really windy, which blew sand in Ethan’s face a bunch of times.

Jacob had fun in the waves, but he’s a pretty experienced swimmer at this point. So I was ok with him going in the water without me for a bit, but only very close to the sand.

I don’t think rip tides are a MAJOR concern, because ultimately the rock formation there are likely to prevent any major tragedy. But I felt myself being pulled away from shore several times, and the prospect of getting dragged into some sharp rocks didn’t really seem like a lot of fun.

To be clear — it wasn’t dangerous for any adult, or even teenager really. But I think for kids under 10, even solid swimmers, it would be very hard to fight the ocean for very long and they should stay close to shore. And for anyone who can’t swim, and certainly toddlers, no shot they are going in past just putting their feet in. And even then, be prepared for random larger-than-expected waves to spray your two year old in the face.

I actually think this is a great beach otherwise though. For adults, it’s great. But for small children it’s a challenge, and for toddlers? Nope. Again, we were here in December, so it’s possible the ocean is calmer at other times and then this could be a great option. But considering that every day we were here the ocean was rough, I suspect this is what it’s like more often than not. Maybe if you check ahead of time, but the weather report isn’t going to know what your own child’s beach capabilities are…

Verdict: A pretty, but rougher-than-expected use of the time we are given.