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Arecibo Observatory
15 reviews for Arecibo Observatory
15 reviews in English
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Review from Mary Kay S.
Washington, DC
7/28/2011
I and my husband are super-geeks, so we very much enjoyed seeing the observatory. I was Jodie Foster for a few hours.... The geographical setting is fascinating, and the scale of the dish and the receivers/antenna are impressive.
The visitor center was mildly entertaining, but it was a bit schizophrenic: Some of the exhibits were extremely elementary, while others spoke in a technical language I couldn't follow.
Have to say I agree with Dave S. about the film. 'Tis a bit cheesy. But I thought it was appropriate to see a historical depiction of what life was like in the observatory during its heyday.
The best part was the grin on my husband's face, and seeing him wear the geeky Observatory t-shirt I bought him in the gift shop.Listed in: Puerto Rican Tour
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Review from Cindy L.
4/19/2012
We stopped by here after going to Camuy Caves (go to the caves!!!) and I was disappointed.
The drive is neat because you get a taste of the more rural & desolate areas of PR. Once you arrive at the observatory, you have to walk up 50 steps but it was a pretty easy walk. After paying admission, we entered r the exhibit area which I thought was lackluster & left me wondering, "WHERE IS THE TELESCOPE!?!?"
They run English and Spanish tours on a schedule so if you want to go on one -- make sure you arrive accordingly. When we asked, the next one was in 40 minutes & there was nothing to keep us occupied for the next 40 minutes. We opted to just walk out through the doors & to the telescope by ourselves (it's located in the back next to the bathrooms). After 5 minutes of looking at the telescope -- the last tour actually came out too so we just listened to the tour guide (freeloading fun!).
The tour basically consists of watching a movie of the history of the observatory & then the guide takes you out to clarify, provide extra input, & answer questions. I don't think we missed out on too much.
It's cool to swing by & see the telescope especially with its history & magnitude but if I was crammed for time -- I'll just skip it. -
Review from Janel Y.
4/5/2012 2 photos
The road getting here is windy and tricky. We got lost (no GPS) maybe twice and lost a hubcap off our rental car. I don't think it's really worth it, but maybe for some it is.
We paid $10/person to go inside to check out the dish and that was all. Since it took us so long to get here, we watched the film (bring a sweater, that theater is freezing!) they have which is informative and tells you the history of it all. We then walked around some of the exhibits, but that was a bit boring. We were there for about 30 minutes and that was it.
Note: we did this the same day as checking out the Rio Camuy caves as the drive is about 30 min. apart (of course, if you don't get lost...). -
Review from Dave S.
6/28/2011
If, like me, you think educational filmstrips are hilarious, you will enjoy this place. The highlight for me was the "A Day in the Life of Aricebo" film from the late 80s that was shown in the theatre. It details the travails of two visiting astronomers as they arrive from abroad, with mechanics, cooks, and electricians working behind the scenes so the academics can get their prized career-making wiggle on a graph. I suspect they have less visitors these days now that you can do everything remotely through the internet, but the segment detailing the aricebo cafeteria food is still entertaining.
Displays are ok, they have a tendency to go from shallow explanations to extremely complex ones over the course of a sentence (e.g. they might want to explain how magnetic fields work before tackling pulsars), so many displays assume at least a high-school physics knowledge, which may put kids to sleep.
The dish and mechanism itself is very cool just due to the gigantic scale of the thing. You can't get to see the growth underneath the dish as a visitor.
If you are unwilling to climb stairs for Science!, skip the observatory and head back to the fried plantains. -
Review from michael t.
Santa Monica, CA
5/6/2011 3 photos
It's more like 2.7 stars. Only come if your willing to hike up a long hill to see a big dish and some old exibits explaining the how the thing works. I think it's claim to fame, (other than just being a really big piece of metal), is that it was in one of the James Bonds movies way back when. It all could be really interesting if you are just really fascinated by this stuff. Otherwise it's long hike up the hill to look at the dish and then your done.
There is a nice pretty nature back drop for the dish but you can see that in a lot of places.
If you plan on driving here yourself use GPS the roads are really windy and hard to follow.Listed in: Puerto Rico Tourist
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Review from Caeryn G.
Salinas, CA
5/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
Geeky science fun! I'm biased though, being a scientist myself.
The views of the telescope are breathtaking and had my geeky scientific heart squealing in delight. The visitors center had a number of informative (and even some interactive) displays...the scientific content was relatively basic but there were a couple of more advanced concepts presented and they made good use of interactive items to help illustrate ideas.
If you appreciate science, mathematics, and/or engineering topics -- or even if you just like seeing how things work -- this is most definitely worth a stop. It is a bit of a hike up from the visitors parking to the visitors center - but it's not like they time you so take it easy if you're out of shape. -
Review from Kathy C.
Jacksonville, FL
6/7/2011
You have to set your expectation to come here. If there is a science geek in your party, chances are, he/she will be very delighted. If your party isn't about science and/or take no interest in it, then you may have a "that's it?!" effect. My husband is a science geek. He even said it was underwhelming to him. You do get to climb a hill to get to see a big disk. Some intereting display/exhibit, but overall, a short visit. So if you are not already out in the area for something else, it's a bit of waste of good vacation time for me.
We planned our day trip with the nearby window cave (highly recommended) and plotted a scenic route to visit nearby cities. So it wasn't "out of the way" for us. We spent maybe 30-45 min at the observatory, took some pictures, checked out the gift shop, and was done with it. -
Review from Nick S.
5/2/2011
The Arecibo Observatory is very cool, and absolutely worth the $6 ticket, but the science fair exhibits in the vistors center are utterly lame.
That is, unless you like to pretend you're in old episodes of Saved by the Bell. Except you're not Zack, Slater or even Screech. You're one of the "dweebs" they routinely mock and stuff into lockers. What's in their lockers? The stuff they put up in the vistors center.
Go, laugh at the sad fate of Pluto's last stand as a planet on a scientific foam board from the mid 90's, then walk outside and desperately try to squeeze the entire Observatory into your DSLR lens. -
Review from Melissa M.
Chicago, IL
8/4/2011
If you're looking for fun and excitement, then this may not be your cup of tea... at least, not unless your a science buff. The observatory is definitely all about education. Once you may the trek up there by car and then continue onto the next trek by foot, you can start by watching the film that basically explains what the observatory is still doing. The film is pretty interesting... pay attention. The inside of the observatory is basically filled with models and some hands-on stuff including some "experiments" you can do. The outdoor viewing deck is fairly small, but has beautiful views of the mountains and landscape past the radar. Tip: They sell hot dogs & ice cream out there. It was a peaceful place to sit, have a hot dog, and take in the scenery.
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Review from Jen R.
Philadelphia, PA
11/18/2008
This place is a great site. You can watch a video about the the largest satellite and tour the place on your own. They had a human cloud maker and some cool meteorites.
To go here you must be prepared to take a serious walk up a hill. Not a place to go in high heel shoes! I didn't exactly plan to go here so I wasn't dressed for the occasion. It was worth the climb though. I love history and science and I love that this place isn't far from my home. The drive up the mountain is rather nice too. Its the true Puerto Rican life style...not the city-life that San Juan portrays. There are signs everywhere leading the way up.
They have a nice small souvenir shop where you could buy pictures of the full satellite. As much as I tried, I couldn't get a full picture of it with my camera. You're just too close. -
Review from Francisco M.
Orlando, FL
9/14/2011 3 photos
I enjoyed seeing this place and I would go back. It's true what people say, its a satellite dish but that's an understatement. It's in the middle of mountains and it makes you wonder how they built this thing. Pictures don't do it justice, this thing is huge. I found it very interesting and a great place to take pictures and I am not a science geek. The movie they show you before you head outside is outdated and boring to be honest. I would've preferred to see a movie on how they actually built the observatory in the 60's. The hike up is a bit challenging but its worth it and a good workout. If you have a stroller, handicap or elderly, they have a van that drives you up. They have a small shack that sells drinks and hot dogs for the way down. Its a short distance away from The Caves At Camuy, about 8 miles so do both in the same day. The GPS may take you along a very rural and one lane road to Camuy and you may wonder if you are going the right way, trust me you are. Roads in PR are like those in Hawaii, very narrow and solitary. You are also close to Lares which has chicken flavor ice cream along with others you will find interesting, worth the drive as well.
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Review from Krystyn P.
Miami, FL
6/16/2011 1 photo
So you drive to the middle of nowhere (thank god for Garmin) and then you trudge up a big hill (which I watched some out of shape people struggle with)... and then there it is, the giant satellite dish. There's some exhibits (some which work, some that don't) which really didn't hold my interest. So really, I drove an hour to see a giant satellite dish. The guard told me they're considering about adding a tram ride to go beneath the dish - it appears that it just sits on the ground, but it's actually raised up enough that you can walk underneath it. I'm not sure that I would go back even with a cool tram ride... but it is an interesting photo op.
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Review from Philip T.
5/23/2010
Please don't go with high expectations. This place is really overrated. There are some exhibits in the main hall and after that you go to a platform to look at the dish. While the dish is great to look at, it would be even better if there was a walking tour.
It's also can be confusing to get here. Got lost several times trying to find this place driving from San Juan. If you are heading to Camuy Caves this makes a great side trip.
The informational movie is useless. It tries to present a day in the life of the observatory but comes off as irrelevant and haphazard. The entire audience left half way through the film.
Summary: Drive here, pay $6, look at dish, take picture, and leave. -
Review from Jaime F.
Washington, DC
12/28/2009
It has a very interesting museum, and the view of the radar is pretty surreal.
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Review from Tarak P.
San Jose, CA
5/11/2009
This is more like 3.5 stars.
I had such high expectations of this place. I was really looking forward to spending some time here. The observatory is located in a beautiful location and just the view from the observation deck (of the telescope) is worth it, but everything else is not upto the mark - hence the 2 less stars.
The introductory movie feels fake, and gives you no idea about the telescope working or the motivation of building it. I wouldnt have minded
the movie (called A day in the life at Arecibo) but it just feels all made up.
The exhibits are nice, but very generic space stuff.
The drive to Arecibo is nice and the staff was helpful to give us a ride to and fro from the observatory because of the stroller.
