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My family is in the early stages of planning a trip to Puerto Rico next year.
About us:
mid 30's, two boys (6 and 2)
live in Atlanta
Enjoy outdoors, natural beauty, beaches, hikes, scenery, good food and coffee
Not sure where to even start?
-what region should we stay in? Would love to be on a nice beach, or very close to one
-Do we need a rental car if we want to venture out?
-Any key things we should do or places we should see, aside from relaxing at the beach a few days?
Anything else I should know in general?
Any help is appreciated. My wife and I used to wing these types of trips, but now that we've got small kids I'm trying to be a big more planful.
There´s soooo much to do, it´s just a question of time and knowing where to go. How much time do you have, a week? More time?
Outside of San Juan, you pretty much need a car. People may debate this and talk about Uber and this and that, but PR is pretty car-centric.
Let´s say you have a week...
I can only assume that you´re flying into SJU, and while I´m not crazy about San Juan, you shouldn´t pass it up either. Get a hotel for a night or two in Condado, it´s a nice family-friendly area. There is a Dominican-owned place called Latin Star which is a little pricey but you can really get your feet wet there. The owner is a lady from Santo Domingo who is nice as can be, I´m not sure if she speaks English but her pretty daughters who wait the tables speak it perfectly...they can really help you navigate some of this exotic food on the menu. The place holds a special place for me as being where I first tried Mofongo...it probably won´t be the last time you have it that week! You can get it with any protein you want, but the Dominicans even stuff with with things like conch. I think two days in San Juan is enough...in order of what´s worth seeing and going to, I´d put it like this: 1.) You gotta do Old San Juan...take a taxi/Uber from Condado to El Morro, check out the old fort, and then walk around the cobblestone streets for a few hours, taking it all in. There are top-notch restaurants, art galleries, churches, souvenir shops, historical houses, etc. scattered throughout. 2.) The Barcardà Distillery across the water from Old San Juan...you can take a ferry there for something like 50 cents, then jump in a shared van taxi to and from the plant. If the driver on the way back tries to tell you the ferry just left and he´ll take you back to San Juan for only $20, just ignore him. 3.) The beach! If you can´t get there while in San Juan, not to worry, much better beaches can be found elsewhere on the island. Condado, Ocean Park and Isla Verde are all nice beaches in SJ.
You like hiking eh? El Yunque Rainforest is pretty much where all the tourists go, and it is pretty amazing. I used to bypass it and go to the rainforest in the center of the island, which is not all that far from PR´s second city, Ponce:
On any given day you´ll be sharing El Yunque with thousands of people. On a weekday, Toro Negro will be exclusively yours. Either hike might be tough with young kids though. Toro Negro has the added bonus of an amazing waterfall a little down the road, Doña Juana. You can swim in the giant pool underneath the cascade, it´s cold but refreshing especially after a sweaty hike. The drive up there isn´t easy though, you´ll be dealing with a lot of winding roads up the mountain...El Yunque wins there, because you can book a tour from San Juan and they´ll do the driving for you.
Culebra is the cream of the crop, but betting on getting the ferry there and back all in one day is dicey...plus if you´re heading west after San Juan, Culebra is in the totally wrong direction: https://islandsofpuertorico.com/flam...a-puerto-rico/
The food is dynamite for sure. It´s not the healthiest, but hey, you´re on vacation! I mentioned mofongo already, but the shining star is lechón, roast suckling pig. It´s out of this world! My favorite spot to get it is Lechonero Los Amigos in Cidra, it´s only about 40 minutes outside of San Juan and right off the interstate heading west towards Ponce...there and countless places like it are known as the "pork highway"...I cried tears of joy my last visit when I took my first bite of lechón, arroz con gandules and sipped an ice-cold Medalla. Puerto Rican seafood is delicious, though not as widely eaten as you´d think given that it´s an island. La Parguera is a great place to eat seafood-filled fried empanadillas while drinking a cold Sangria Coño. Joyuda is a community just outside of the west coast hub of Mayaguez, and it´s filled with top-notch seafood restaurants...chillo (red snapper), dorado (mahi) and langosta (Caribbean spiny-tailed lobster) are all show-stoppers. While the island is stacked with American fast food chains, their own fast-food joints are surprisingly good. Pollo Tropical is amazingly good, and El Mesón has great sandwiches...though usually any
neighborhood bakery has sandwiches (Cuban, Media Noche, Jamón/Queso/Huevo are all to die for) and simple plate lunches which are fantastic. Believe it or not, the best Venezuelan arepas I ever had were also in Puerto Rico, at this place: https://www.facebook.com/lamejorarepaeneloeste/ The owner is my friend, be sure to tell him that Andrew the Colombian Gringo sent you!
In terms of coffee, you´ve also come to the right place. Yauco is especially known for its fine coffee, and I never did a plantation tour or anything but I´m sure that could be arranged. A cup of coffee like no other in the world can be found the Kiosko de Dulces Tipicos in Cabo Rojo...their cappucino with everything is a sight to be behold. On a six-day trip, my wife made me go back 4 times to order another one!
Puerto Rico is a wonderful place, especially around Christmas time. There´s a high percentage of bilingual people there as well, if you don´t know much Spanish it´s really no problem, people will always help you out.
My family is in the early stages of planning a trip to Puerto Rico next year.
About us:
mid 30's, two boys (6 and 2)
live in Atlanta
Enjoy outdoors, natural beauty, beaches, hikes, scenery, good food and coffee
Not sure where to even start?
-what region should we stay in? Would love to be on a nice beach, or very close to one
-Do we need a rental car if we want to venture out?
-Any key things we should do or places we should see, aside from relaxing at the beach a few days?
Anything else I should know in general?
Any help is appreciated. My wife and I used to wing these types of trips, but now that we've got small kids I'm trying to be a big more planful.
If you like the beach and don't mind traveling a bit, rent a car and drive to Rincon.
Check the reviews online to get a better feeling of what to expect.
I would definitely look into renting a car while on the island.
A good affordable place would be Charlie Car Rentals in Isla Verde (you can make and hold a reservation going online).
I would check out Old San Juan, Isla Verde casino hotels, El Yunque, The Arecibo Observatory or just take a coastal scenic trip on Route 22 then connect to Route 2. It's beautiful.
There's a online web-page that displays all 78 municipalities with links to affordable restaurants, airbnb and things to do.
It's meant for sound/ video engineers traveling to the island on contract but It's applicable to anyone.
San juan is really the only place you can get around without a car (in fact its preferred in some ways, parking is very difficult in a lot of places). Biking, walking, and uber work well here.restaurant scene is the best on the island.
Otherwise I'd go with the southwest or northwest. I like hiking around la playuela.
There´s soooo much to do, it´s just a question of time and knowing where to go. How much time do you have, a week? More time?
Outside of San Juan, you pretty much need a car. People may debate this and talk about Uber and this and that, but PR is pretty car-centric.
Let´s say you have a week...
I can only assume that you´re flying into SJU, and while I´m not crazy about San Juan, you shouldn´t pass it up either. Get a hotel for a night or two in Condado, it´s a nice family-friendly area. There is a Dominican-owned place called Latin Star which is a little pricey but you can really get your feet wet there. The owner is a lady from Santo Domingo who is nice as can be, I´m not sure if she speaks English but her pretty daughters who wait the tables speak it perfectly...they can really help you navigate some of this exotic food on the menu. The place holds a special place for me as being where I first tried Mofongo...it probably won´t be the last time you have it that week! You can get it with any protein you want, but the Dominicans even stuff with with things like conch. I think two days in San Juan is enough...in order of what´s worth seeing and going to, I´d put it like this: 1.) You gotta do Old San Juan...take a taxi/Uber from Condado to El Morro, check out the old fort, and then walk around the cobblestone streets for a few hours, taking it all in. There are top-notch restaurants, art galleries, churches, souvenir shops, historical houses, etc. scattered throughout. 2.) The Barcardà Distillery across the water from Old San Juan...you can take a ferry there for something like 50 cents, then jump in a shared van taxi to and from the plant. If the driver on the way back tries to tell you the ferry just left and he´ll take you back to San Juan for only $20, just ignore him. 3.) The beach! If you can´t get there while in San Juan, not to worry, much better beaches can be found elsewhere on the island. Condado, Ocean Park and Isla Verde are all nice beaches in SJ.
You like hiking eh? El Yunque Rainforest is pretty much where all the tourists go, and it is pretty amazing. I used to bypass it and go to the rainforest in the center of the island, which is not all that far from PR´s second city, Ponce:
On any given day you´ll be sharing El Yunque with thousands of people. On a weekday, Toro Negro will be exclusively yours. Either hike might be tough with young kids though. Toro Negro has the added bonus of an amazing waterfall a little down the road, Doña Juana. You can swim in the giant pool underneath the cascade, it´s cold but refreshing especially after a sweaty hike. The drive up there isn´t easy though, you´ll be dealing with a lot of winding roads up the mountain...El Yunque wins there, because you can book a tour from San Juan and they´ll do the driving for you.
Culebra is the cream of the crop, but betting on getting the ferry there and back all in one day is dicey...plus if you´re heading west after San Juan, Culebra is in the totally wrong direction: https://islandsofpuertorico.com/flam...a-puerto-rico/
The food is dynamite for sure. It´s not the healthiest, but hey, you´re on vacation! I mentioned mofongo already, but the shining star is lechón, roast suckling pig. It´s out of this world! My favorite spot to get it is Lechonero Los Amigos in Cidra, it´s only about 40 minutes outside of San Juan and right off the interstate heading west towards Ponce...there and countless places like it are known as the "pork highway"...I cried tears of joy my last visit when I took my first bite of lechón, arroz con gandules and sipped an ice-cold Medalla. Puerto Rican seafood is delicious, though not as widely eaten as you´d think given that it´s an island. La Parguera is a great place to eat seafood-filled fried empanadillas while drinking a cold Sangria Coño. Joyuda is a community just outside of the west coast hub of Mayaguez, and it´s filled with top-notch seafood restaurants...chillo (red snapper), dorado (mahi) and langosta (Caribbean spiny-tailed lobster) are all show-stoppers. While the island is stacked with American fast food chains, their own fast-food joints are surprisingly good. Pollo Tropical is amazingly good, and El Mesón has great sandwiches...though usually any
neighborhood bakery has sandwiches (Cuban, Media Noche, Jamón/Queso/Huevo are all to die for) and simple plate lunches which are fantastic. Believe it or not, the best Venezuelan arepas I ever had were also in Puerto Rico, at this place: https://www.facebook.com/lamejorarepaeneloeste/ The owner is my friend, be sure to tell him that Andrew the Colombian Gringo sent you!
In terms of coffee, you´ve also come to the right place. Yauco is especially known for its fine coffee, and I never did a plantation tour or anything but I´m sure that could be arranged. A cup of coffee like no other in the world can be found the Kiosko de Dulces Tipicos in Cabo Rojo...their cappucino with everything is a sight to be behold. On a six-day trip, my wife made me go back 4 times to order another one!
Puerto Rico is a wonderful place, especially around Christmas time. There´s a high percentage of bilingual people there as well, if you don´t know much Spanish it´s really no problem, people will always help you out.
Have fun!
That's not true. Yes most Puerto Ricans know SOME english. But fully fluent people are only like 30% of the people. Which falls into 3 groups, more educated island-born Puerto Ricans, mainlanders of Puerto Rican ancestry who moved back, or non-PRs who decided to move here mainly from the US mainland. But Spanish is more dominant among the first 2 groups, and overwhelmingly dominant overall as the other 70% is only fluent in spanish.
However, I agree with the rest of what you said. Beautiful, fun island, just practice street smarts and he should be fine, every place has its dangers
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