In-depth guide

Fajardo and lighthouse history

Fajardo has always faced the sea. A Spanish-colonial lighthouse still watches over its northeastern point, a cathedral anchors its plaza, and a working waterfront has shaped the town for centuries. This is a short history of the place behind the beaches and the bio bay.

The Cape San Juan Light

On the headland at Fajardo's northeastern tip stands the Cape San Juan Lighthouse, known in Spanish as the Faro de las Cabezas de San Juan. Built in the Spanish-colonial era, it was completed in 1880 and first lit in 1882, and it has guided ships along this stretch of coast ever since. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and sits inside the Las Cabezas de San Juan nature reserve, which is managed by Para la Naturaleza. For how to actually visit it, see our guide to Las Cabezas de San Juan and the lighthouse.

A town built around the sea

Fajardo was established as a settlement in the 1700s; the sources differ on the exact year, so it is best understood as an eighteenth-century town rather than one with a single tidy founding date. Its historic name is Santiago de Fajardo, after its patron saint, and from the start its fortunes were tied to the water: its sheltered coast, its harbor, and its position at the island's northeastern corner made it a maritime town long before it became a launch point for kayakers and island-hoppers.

The cathedral on the plaza

At the center of town, on the plaza, stands the Catedral Santiago Apostol, also dedicated to Saint James. The present church was begun in 1869, after an earthquake damaged the earlier building, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In 2008 it took on a larger role, becoming a cathedral seat of the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao. You can read more in our guide to the downtown plaza and cathedral.

The working waterfront and the ferry

Fajardo's maritime character is still visible today in its marinas, including Puerto del Rey, the largest marina in the Caribbean, and in the daily traffic out to the cays and offshore islands. For decades the public ferry to Culebra and Vieques also sailed from Fajardo, but in October 2018 that terminal relocated to neighboring Ceiba, on the grounds of the former Roosevelt Roads naval base. Boats to the islands now leave from Ceiba, a change worth knowing before you plan a crossing; see our guide to the ferry from Ceiba. For the natural history that draws so many visitors here, read the science of bioluminescence.

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