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OT- Thoughts on the best to do in Puerto Rico?

DennisHajekRC84

DennisHajekRC84

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Going there for the week after Easter (wife and I..mid 50's). First time there.

Staying in San Juan for 4 days then driving down near Ponce for the last 2 days.

I am sure plenty of time in Old San Juan... lots of historical sites...

Any thoughts for good resonable places to eat or Must See spots and places to stay away from (other than the shady places noted on travel sites)?

Is the snorkling any good? Can you do it from right off the beach?
 
Forget about Ponce, a true wasteland. I worked there for a year and it's pretty awful with almost no local beaches. One of the top attractions is an old firehouse in the center of town. No kidding.

Not a fan of PR in general. You can take a short flight to St Thomas, Virgin Gorda or St John and spend a few days there. Mostly touristy and shopping with some snorkeling.

Most of the PR snorkeling is pretty remote from San Juan, although Fajardo to the east is not too far. AFAIC the only must see spot in PR is the boarding gate at the airport as you head home. Good luck.

This post was edited on 3/7 12:27 PM by Knightmoves
 
Stay in the Isla Verde beach section in San Juan and enjoy the beaches, casinos, restaurants and be sure to make a night out at the local cockfighting arena. But don't sit too close to the action. Sitting up a little higher will be a cleaner viewing patron experience. It's a great betting venue and you'll have some great stories to tell your friends when you return home.
 
If you have any choice in where to stay, I'd recommend going to San German in the SW part of the island rather than Ponce. It's a small, charming colonial town and quite near to Cabo Rojo in the far SW corner of PR, where you'll see a beautiful coastal zone with cliffs, lighthouse, lots of birdlife, etc. And to get to San German from San Juan, I'd recommend driving the Via Panoramica through the mountainous center of the island. It's a beautiful drive and will leave you wondering why anyone would ever leave PR to move to the Bronx, LOL.

Have a good time.
 
our first 4 nights are oceanfront Isla Verde and our last 2 are not in Ponce but in a smaller resport on a cove about 30mins southwest of Ponce. I read up that the southwest was a great spot especially for surfing, etc...(and the glowing water, etc)

I read to be careful gettig off the main roads so you are saying not to take 52 huh...I'll look into that. Sounds nice.
 
Go kayaking in Fajardo. The waters have glowing microscopic organisms. Really really incredible if you haven't experienced it before.
 
Sounds like you are staying at the Copamarina resort between Ponce and Cabo Rojas. It's pretty quiet on the SW side of Puerto Rico, but the island is not so large and it's possible to take day trips to the Camuy Caves, the massive satellite dish at the Arecibo Observatory, the Rincon area for surf, or the phosporescent bay at Bouceron.

From San Juan it is possible to take a day trip on a ferry from Fajardo to Culebra or Vieques (PR Virgin Islands) or the rain forest at El Yunque. Old San Juan is not too large and can be covered in a day. The Bacardi Distillery is across the bay from OSJ.

PR is unique in that it features a very diverse geography. You can find black lava sand beaches near Manati, white sand Caribbean style beaches in the SE, 4,000 foot mountain ranges in the center, caves and cliffs along the NW coast and cattle ranches worked by cowboys in the SW.

Enjoy your stay!
 
CT, G, and Mike..thanks. All good stuff I've read abnout online but always like to get a few personal reviews. Thanks.
 
Surprised no one mentioned the Black Angus in San Juan. It's an institution that is known for decades to the business traveler.
wink.r191677.gif
 
I enjoyed PR with my wife. Not someplace I would go with my buddies.

There are better beaches on other islands in the Caribbean, but is beach in PR is still a beach in the Caribbean.

In Old San Juan there are a couple of things worth checking out. There are a couple of Churches built in the late 1500's. Just to walk into a building built 200 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence is worth doing. Similarly, if you are into history there are a couple of forts from the Colonial Spanish era you can tour. They were built up along the water, massive, and provide great vistas. Also worth saying you did it is a stop at Barrachina's. The bar where the Piña Colada was invented. Might as well cool down with a glass or two of the original recipie.
 
Around San Juan:
Half day in the rain forest; swimming in the waterfalls was great.
Visit a very unique PR beach/food stands at Luquillo - especially on a weekend night (very crowded)

On the south side:
Cabo Rojas was a great beach
Enjoyed the night time bioluminscent bay in Lajos. Cheap/short trip, but fun to jump in the water at night.


Didn't care for:
Blue Hole/Pork Highway
 
Originally posted by klemman:
I enjoyed PR with my wife. Not someplace I would go with my buddies.

There are better beaches on other islands in the Caribbean, but is beach in PR is still a beach in the Caribbean.

In Old San Juan there are a couple of things worth checking out. There are a couple of Churches built in the late 1500's. Just to walk into a building built 200 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence is worth doing. Similarly, if you are into history there are a couple of forts from the Colonial Spanish era you can tour. They were built up along the water, massive, and provide great vistas. Also worth saying you did it is a stop at Barrachina's. The bar where the Piña Colada was invented. Might as well cool down with a glass or two of the original recipie.
As someone mentioned previously, old San Juan can be covered in a day (or less), but the two forts - San Cristobal and El Morro - are worth the visit. If you're short on time, hit El Morro... Better views than San Cristobal IMO and a very cool colonial graveyard. If walking in that area, peer into the notorious slum 'La Perla' - No one will bother you as long as you don't go in or linger, but it is supposedly notorious. Also Tangerine is good for dinner, if pricey.

I stayed at El Conquistador in Fajardo. As others mentioned, the beaches there are nice, but not incredible. I have heard the bio bay is worth a trip, and there are some very good restaurants in the area if you're willing to leave the resort area and do some exploring.
Click to expand...
 
I don't often get out to do much tourist stuff when I'm in PR for work but I have a few restaurants that I enjoy when I'm there. Budatai in the Condado section is good. I also enjoy Yerba Buena.

I wish I knew names of some of the other places we like to go when we are there but for the most part I get in my co-workers car (he lives on the island) and he takes us to places he enjoys.

Make sure you try the Mofongo, it's essentially a bowl made out of plantains filled with meat.

The forts are cool to tour.

If you run low on cash hunt some iguanas, I think there are still places that buy the meat.
 
Stayed at El Conquistador. Near the resort in Fajardo is a great restaurant called Pasion. Reasonable, local dishes, and excellent skirt steak - highly recommended.
 
Bio Bay kayak at night is awesome. I also enjoyed seeing the Arecibo satellite dish which is one of the largest in the world. One of the James Bond movies last scene was filmed there.
 
scared0008.r191677.gif
wow..glad I didn't tear up my plane tickets after Knightmoves' and Kbee's early posts...
 
Originally posted by 1984:
scared0008.r191677.gif
wow..glad I didn't tear up my plane tickets after Knightmoves' and Kbee's early posts...
Click to expand...
Talk to us when you get back from the trip. lol

having said that, the fact that it's a free trip lowers the bar significantly in terms of satisfaction with the destination. But truth be told if someone offered me a free trip to PR I'd certainly turn it down. But that's me, and I've been to every location mentioned in this thread during the year I worked there. Hope you enjoy your trip.
 
Originally posted by ScarletRunner:

Originally posted by klemman:
I enjoyed PR with my wife. Not someplace I would go with my buddies.

There are better beaches on other islands in the Caribbean, but is beach in PR is still a beach in the Caribbean.

In Old San Juan there are a couple of things worth checking out. There are a couple of Churches built in the late 1500's. Just to walk into a building built 200 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence is worth doing. Similarly, if you are into history there are a couple of forts from the Colonial Spanish era you can tour. They were built up along the water, massive, and provide great vistas. Also worth saying you did it is a stop at Barrachina's. The bar where the Piña Colada was invented. Might as well cool down with a glass or two of the original recipie.
As someone mentioned previously, old San Juan can be covered in a day (or less), but the two forts - San Cristobal and El Morro - are worth the visit. If you're short on time, hit El Morro... Better views than San Cristobal IMO and a very cool colonial graveyard. If walking in that area, peer into the notorious slum 'La Perla' - No one will bother you as long as you don't go in or linger, but it is supposedly notorious. Also Tangerine is good for dinner, if pricey.

I stayed at El Conquistador in Fajardo. As others mentioned, the beaches there are nice, but not incredible. I have heard the bio bay is worth a trip, and there are some very good restaurants in the area if you're willing to leave the resort area and do some exploring.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Totally agree. If in San Juan and appreciate history (Pirates! Arrrr!), these are well worth visiting.
 
Originally posted by Knightmoves:


Originally posted by 1984:
scared0008.r191677.gif
wow..glad I didn't tear up my plane tickets after Knightmoves' and Kbee's early posts...
Click to expand...
Talk to us when you get back from the trip. lol

having said that, the fact that it's a free trip lowers the bar significantly in terms of satisfaction with the destination. But truth be told if someone offered me a free trip to PR I'd certainly turn it down. But that's me, and I've been to every location mentioned in this thread during the year I worked there. Hope you enjoy your trip.
Click to expand...
I get it moves...and thanks.
 
We were just there for 3 nights. Were moved from Old San Juan to Isla Verde after the hotel or agency lost our reservation (thanks, La Concha and/or American Express!). That changed the character of what we were going to do somewhat. We ended up in El Yunque for the hike to the waterfall which was cool and a trip to the Bacardi distillery, which was ok (did the mixology class with my wife, which was better than the actual tour). Getting back from the latter by ferry was pretty annoying. We did find some good restaurants in both Old San Juan and Isla Verde (Platos there - I forget the other names), but we didn't spend as much time in the former as I was hoping to.

Overall it was an enjoyable trip. We were looking for a quick jump somewhere warm and that's what we got. It worked for us.

FYI, the traffic in San Juan is horrific.
 
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