Isla Caribe

Name

Isla Caribe

Legal name

Isla Caribe Tours

Website

https://islacaribetours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Isla Caribe Tours is a Ponce, Puerto Rico-based cultural tourism company offering bilingual guided tours on Puerto Rican history, music, and heritage for leisure travelers, private groups, and educational institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural and educational tourism services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood & Local Life Tours (Communities & Hidden Gems) (THAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Cultural walking tours
• Educational tourism
• Historical sightseeing tours
• Private guided tours
• Branded merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Ponce

HQ country

Puerto Rico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tour Sales: Revenue from selling guided cultural and educational tours including walking tours, themed tours (salsa, coffee, revolutionary history), and specialized experiences. Tours are priced individually with various price points from $28 to $150+.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, hats, and gift cards through the online Shopify store. Physical products with free shipping.
3. Private Group Tours: Customized private walking tours and educational school tours booked directly through the company for groups and institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Isla Caribe Tours sells guided cultural and educational walking tours of Puerto Rican historical and cultural sites, including themed excursions on salsa history, coffee plantations, revolutionary figures, churches, architecture, and Indigenous/archaeological sites. Tours are delivered by certified bilingual guides (including archaeologists and historians) across Ponce, San Juan, Loíza, Jayuya, Lares, Guánica, Yauco, and Adjuntas, and are sold individually to consumers and as customized private or educational group bookings. The company also sells branded merchandise (t-shirts, hats, gift cards) through its online store.

Product overview

Isla Caribe is a Puerto Rican cultural and educational tourism company offering guided tours focused on Puerto Rican history, culture, and traditions. The company operates a multi-product portfolio centered around cultural walking tours and themed excursions, with services available in both English and Spanish. Core tour offerings include the Ponce Walking Tour, Ponce Cuna de la Salsa Tour, Loíza cultural tours, historical route tours (Ruta Don Pedro San Juan, Café y Revolución Lares/Jayuya, Ruta de las Iglesias, Ruta Invasión), and hiking tours (Escalando los Cerros de Tibes). The company also provides private tours, educational tours for students, and maintains a podcast (Isla Caribe Podcast Radio). An online store offers branded merchandise including t-shirts, hats, and gift cards. Tours are primarily conducted in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with some tours extending to San Juan, Loíza, Jayuya, Lares, Guánica, and Yauco.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Isla Caribe Podcast Radio: A weekly podcast dedicated to topics of culture, history, and tourism from Puerto Rico, featuring interviews with experts in Puerto Rican history, cultural industry leaders, and tourism professionals.

Products and services

• Ponce Walking Tour A 2-hour guided cultural walking tour through Ponce's historic center, exploring events, people, music, architecture, and traditions, designed for cultural tourists visiting Puerto Rico.
• Ponce Cuna de la Salsa Tour A 4-5 hour themed tour on Ponce's salsa heritage, visiting salsa-related landmarks, murals, and cemeteries of iconic salseros, with transport, certified guides, and entry to all spaces included, targeted at music and culture enthusiasts.
• Loíza: Historia Cultura y Tradición A full-day cultural tour of Loíza covering Afro-Puerto Rican heritage, cimarron legacy, Piñones ecosystems, bomba and plena music traditions, and local festivals, aimed at cultural tourists interested in Afro-Caribbean traditions.
• Ruta Don Pedro San Juan A 3-hour walking tour in Old San Juan tracing the life and political legacy of Pedro Albizu Campos as leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, designed for visitors interested in revolutionary history.
• Private Walking Tour in Ponce A customizable 2-hour private walking tour of Ponce priced at $150 for 1-4 guests plus $25 per additional guest, delivered by certified bilingual guides for small groups and families seeking a personalized experience.
• Café y Revolución Lares An 8-hour themed tour linking Puerto Rican coffee heritage to the 1868 Grito de Lares uprising, with visits to coffee plantations in Lares and surrounding municipalities, aimed at history and gastronomy enthusiasts.
• Café y Revolución Jayuya An 8-9 hour tour pairing Puerto Rican coffee history with the 1950 Nationalist Insurrection, including a visit to Casa Canales in Jayuya where Blanca Canales declared the Republic of Puerto Rico.
• Ruta de las Iglesias A 3-4 hour walking tour of Ponce's historic churches, covering architecture, history, and notable figures tied to events such as Ponce's founding and the 1898 American invasion.
• Ruta Invasión (Guánica, Yauco, Ponce) A 7-hour tour tracing the 1898 U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico through Guánica, Yauco, and Ponce, with historical context on the Spanish-American War and its impact on the island.
• Escalando los Cerros de Tibes A 4.5-5 hour historical, archaeological, botanical, and gastronomic hiking tour through the Tibes neighborhood with panoramic views of Ponce, designed for active cultural travelers.
• Ruta de los Arquitectos A 3-hour walking tour highlighting six Ponce architects and their architectural legacy across the city, aimed at visitors interested in Puerto Rican architecture and urban design.
• Recorridos Educativos para Estudiantes (Educational Tours for Students) Curated virtual and in-person educational tours for schools, colleges, and universities covering Puerto Rican history, archaeology, culture, music, religion, geography, and traditions, adapted to curriculum requirements and booked directly via email/phone.
• Isla Caribe Gift Card Online gift cards issued by Isla Caribe in denominations of $10, $25, $50, and $100, redeemable for any tour or merchandise purchase on the company's online store.
• Isla Caribe T-Shirt Branded Isla Caribe t-shirts sold through the online store in multiple colors, with free shipping, for fans of the tour brand and cultural tourists.
• Isla Caribe Hat Branded Isla Caribe hats sold through the online store in various colors with adjustable sizing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked #1 Tour in Ponce by TripAdvisor

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationShopify powers the company's e-commerce online store platform, enabling online sales of tours and merchandise, payment processing, and order management through their infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Withlocals: Platform of local hosts offering private and small-group cultural experiences. Overlaps with Isla Caribe on private-tour booking, local-guide curation, and cultural storytelling.
• Walks / Devour Tours: Small-group themed cultural and food tours led by expert guides in major destinations. Closely comparable format and price points to Isla Caribe's themed tours (e.g., salsa heritage, coffee history).
• Free Tours by Foot: Pay-what-you-wish walking tours covering history, culture, and neighborhoods across many cities. Directly comparable walking-tour product type and historical-neighborhood storytelling format.
• Discover Walks: Small-group guided walking tours in European and US cities with knowledgeable local guides. Comparable small-group cultural walking-tour format and price tier.
• Tours by Locals: Marketplace connecting travelers with private local guides for city tours. Comparable private-tour and local-expert positioning to Isla Caribe's Private Walking Tour and custom experiences.
• Context Travel: Operates small-group, expert-led cultural walking tours in cities worldwide with academic guides - directly comparable to Isla Caribe's niche, expert-led, themed cultural tour model in Ponce.
• Take Walks: Operates small-group guided tours (city walks, food, day trips) in major cities. Similar themed-tour catalog and small-group guided experience format.

Broad incumbents

• GetYourGuide: Large online marketplace for tours, attractions, and experiences including Caribbean offerings. Relevant as both a potential distribution partner and a competitor capturing tourist search demand.
• Viator: Global tours-and-activities marketplace (Tripadvisor-owned) that resells Puerto Rico experiences. Relevant as a distribution and competitive channel Isla Caribe does not currently appear to leverage.

Regional players

• Old San Juan Walking Tours: Established Puerto Rico walking-tour operator in Old San Juan - same country and product category as Isla Caribe but focused on San Juan rather than Ponce, so not direct head-to-head competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/isla-caribe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Isla Caribe