Acampa Tours Toro Negro Rainforest Adventure

Why It's Good:

A throwback to another geologic era—or at least 1970s TV (think Land of the Lost)—the rainforest in which you scale waterfalls, ford rivers and otherwise frolic is blanketed with foliage of primordial proportions.

Why It's Green:

The entire day is a natural-history lesson cleverly disguised as fun. Guides provide running commentary on (and organically-grown treats from) the ecosystems through which you swim, rappel, zip-line and hike. Also, a portion of all proceeds goes toward local preservation efforts.

Where To Get It:

http://www.acampapr.com/index.htm | $149.00
$149 for a day trip, including pick-up and drop-off at your San Juan hotel

Have a Blast Saving the Rainforest

A true force of nature, the jungle traversed on this trip offsets—both calorically and carbon-wise—whatever you've been up to in San Juan. (Trust us. We were up to our fourth bar—and God knows how many mojitos—not long before our Acampa guide picked us up at 7 a.m.; conveniently, the subsequent two-hour drive provided ample nap time.) Unlike el Yunque, Puerto Rico's biggest and best-known rainforest—where cruise passengers are routinely disgorged by the literal boat load—the privately owned Toro Negro is throng-free. In fact, excluding our 10 fellow adventurers (groups rarely exceed 12), the only other living souls we found here came with gills or wings. The itinerary at a glance: 1. Hike and swim through multiple waterfalls and pools. 2. Proceed to the porch of a farmhouse for organic batata, yautía, and guineo (foods that are sort of like potato, yam, and banana, respectively). 3. Rappel 60-feet into a waterfall-filled ravine, hike to a zip-line platform, fly 200 feet across the rainforest canopy, and return to San Juan a happy Acamper. —Abbie Kozolchyk