The Arecibo Observatory Reviews

Great day trip for science and astronomy lovers. Newly remodeled with a small theater now. Guided tours are done in Spanish and English. The road leading to the observatory is a sight in itself.

In Arecibo, in the middle of the vegetation, is one of the largest space observation stations in the world, which became famous in the Contact movie and in one of the James Bond films.

It is beautiful and pleasing to the eye. The road is far, but passable.

Beautiful experience for young and old, even the museum is very beautiful with many interactive activities

Greate educational experience, the control room vip tour was awesome.

If you get a chance to do a VIP tour, take that chance!

This place is incredible and well worth the drive from San Juan!

Pros:
The view of the observatory is amazing, and breathtaking. And the 15 minutes video is very interesting.
Cons:
The two story museum is boring, there aren t any interesting things to see, and the store lacks of any interesting stuff. The best product i saw was a cup.

All in all it s worth the trip, because of the breathtaking view. Just don t expect much of the museum.

Great place to have a showdown with your arch enemy. Make sure you drop him off the bottom of it while saying "No for me."

If you are anywhere in Puerto Rico plan a day trip to spend a few hours here. I highly recommend the VIP tour.

The Arecibo Radio Telescope is an extraordinary place, the museum shows in an interactive way how many of the experiments that are carried out today work. On each visit you discover additional things that demonstrate the worldwide importance of this laboratory, which competes with the best in the world.

Worth the drive through the country to get to this place. Plenty of places along the way from either the east or west to stop for local food. Lots to learn from the science centre. Really though it's also cool to see where they filmed the scene of Golden Eye.

Awesome place. Very important scientific site. The world's largest radiotelescopy.

Terribly dangerous roads leading to the Observatory, especially if coming from the south of the island. Once at the Observatory parking, visitors must walk up a steep hill to the building, making it impossible for people with physical or heart conditions to climb; no shuttle service here. Once in the building, visitors are shown a short video on the history of the Observatory. Afterwards, a guide takes you outside to see the radar and practically repeats what was in the video. Then you're on your own to see the few exhibits available and visit the shop. The radar is impressive, but I wouldn't recommend this place unless you are extremely interested in astronomy.

Closed on 09.03.2020 = some damage was done lately to the cables

it has just collapsed, too late! you had to see it before.

What an amazing place this used to be. Unfortunately yesterday was a sign of the times. Arecibo has been left unattended for years now and that is a real shame. I first came to the Arecibo Observatory in the 1980's when my father was working in Puerto Rico and it was such a marvel for its time. Just the thought of observing the stars or catching an interstellar message was enough to have my mind wander for hours. Funding is going by the wayside in terms of our space exploration which is sad for our up and coming astronomical youngsters. Loads of information on the tours and you can see the old pictures of how it was assembled and built. This is a sad day after witnessing the collapse on Tuesday December 6 2020...

Spectacular place, but suffered damage by Isaias and is closed

Awesone science place to visit with entire family to learn all about The Universe. A must place to visit

Great place. $12usd plus tax for adult. They have an additional VIP tour too for extra $15.

Well worth the trip. Once you get off the highway the ride is a little rough. This place is awesome and the young staff will answer your questions in Soanish or English. This is a great place to bring the children. There's lots of interactive things for them to do.

CENTER OF SCIENCE AND VERY EDUCATIONAL ASTRONOMY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

I wish I could rate this zero stars, I was promised real life aliens and cheeto puffs. Didn't even have any games on it.

Very cool place. Pretty neat information. Definitely worth a visit.

Interesting history and current space exploration. The technology is so amazing.

It was a fairly small exhibit, but it was great to see the whole giant observatory. The information has both English and Spanish languages.

One of the best science sites in all the Caribbean! Educational and fun!

Great for science entusiasts. Limited gift shop. There is fast food snacking on site. Cost is about 11 dollars for adults. Senior discount applies. In order to get to transceiver you can climb a set of stairs (120) or take a shuttle up then hill. Great staff!

It is a quite secluded place, with a very interesting theme but when I arrive and enjoy it I will be waiting for more. I think it can offer much more to the visitor since as I mentioned it is a quite remote place and when you arrive in a matter of an hour you can do the whole route and you say "now". Its employees are very attentive and helpful.

Worth the drive. Call to see what the hours are. I found the public hours different than what the website said. There is a nice museum, a 17 minute video and a presentation outside overlooking the antenna and reflector. Otherwise an amazing and large scientific instrument!

Amazing. Great tour great hosts. One really cool radio telescope. The drive up was a great way to see Puerto Rico

Staff was knowledgeable and helpful. Displays were hands on and interactive. And the movie was filled with information.

Worth the visit. The video that was shown really explained the history, design, and importance of this large dish. Affordable gift shop.

Great place to learn and enjoy with all friends and family .... unique and on our island much better

Amazing radio telescope featured in multiple movies. Follow signs not gps to get there. GPS goes down back dirt roads.

Very interesting place to visit. The staff are great, mostly students assisting with the tours. You can pay extra and go to the operations center and control room to speak with the scientists and ask questions about the over all processes.

A must see. This is where we may find life on other planets. Long walk up a hill, long drive in but worth it, especially if you are a sci fi or james bond fan.

A must in Puerto Rico. Impressive structure and nice museum.

The best place in Puerto Rico to learn about science and cultivate astronomy passion! Truly an Icon!

Love it, great service, very nice people and very nice place.

It is a beautiful walk up to the observatory. The staff is amazingly knowledgeable and friendly. There is an admission cost of $13.00 for adults. Included in this price is a guided tour of the facility as well as a short film explaining a brief history of the observatory. The museum has several interactive "games" to help explain the science, technology, and physics of the radio telescope. There is a small food area for you to refuel before making the 500 steps or more back to your vehicle.

RIP. I really wanted to see this live after watching "Goldeneye".

We arrived about 30 minutes before they closed at 3pm. It appears their policy is the last person is let in at 3pm. We parked (backed in as requested) and set our phones to airplane mode as also requested. We were told we could use our phones to take photos, so long as they were in airplane mode. Numerous signs around the campus suggest otherwise, but that didn't stop me. We had to walk up a very steep hill to get to the observatory area. We purchased our tickets, 2 seniors, 1 child, and 2 adults. The senior price and the child price were the same. I think it was $12, and then $15 each for the adults. The radio telescope is huge! Quite the site to see. They have a limited museum with things to check out and explanations of how the radio telescope works. All very fascinating. Then you exit out of a door that is not well marked. You think that you are going out the emergency exit or something. Once out there, there was a guide speaking to a group in Spanish. The radio telescope itself was moving, and was very cool to see. After the tour guide stopped speaking, the telescope stopped moving, so not sure if it was a demonstration or not. If you are in Puerto Rico, I highly suggest you check this out. All you need is about 30 minutes of your time. This of course does not take into account how long it will take you to get there.

I was there 2years ago great experience at the telescope this is big loss

Although it was the week's activity of the planet, as we were well organized. The activity was aimed more at adults and not at children

Great place for every age! Extremely educational, staff is very caring for those with limitations. Great place to educate a little bit about science and space in PR

It's amazing, you can not be happier with the visit. You go through a small museum, then through a video room and finally you can see the radio telescope. A place that must be seen.

We have a lot of fun!!!! Thanks! The only bad thing was that they didn't have adult t-shirt :(

Just a short steep walk from the parking lot to the visitor center. Super cool interactive observatory with presentations in both English and Spanish as well as hands on learning experiences. My family and I really enjoyed our visit and I recommend it for both young and old.

Very good place to visit with children and students. The guides make the tour very enjoyable and informative. In Spanish and English.

Pretty cool destination. It is a little bit expensive but there is a museum, then a movie, then a brief tour with a tour guide of the actual Observatory. It is definitely a unique experience and worth the trip. Be ready to hike as there is pretty long hike up, but the museum is air conditioned so at least it's comfortable

RIP Arecibo
I visited the observatory in 1996 - so long time ago, yet I still remember how excited I was as a teen, for having the opportunity to visit there after seeing it in Goldeneye. It was an iconic building of our technological capabilities, such a shame that it was left "unattended" in terms of maintenance, which led to its ultimate demise a few days ago.

Small museum on the universe with little movie, nothing wow, except the satellite view, do not pay for the VIP tour that is not worth it!

awesome views and great place to learn about the observatory!

Nice observatory, but make sure you bring printed directions for the drive out of here. We got lost for an hour on roads too narrow to turn around on safely before we found our way back to the highway. GPS o
is nonexistent in these hills.

An informative and educational experience. The observatory site itself is massive but the areas in which you would walk around isn't.
A recommended visit nonetheless! Perfect for those that display interest in the field.

The observatory is very big and there is a very interesting history, I suggest that you visit the site if you are traveling, it's very different with the observatories you've ever seen.