¡Ay, bendito Puerto Rico! 1 of my favorite trips/vacations of all time was the 1 I had in the summer of 2019 with 3 of my closest friends. Puerto Rico is a beautiful island full of friendly people, delicious food, and relatively affordable activities in nature. Here are some places we visited and what we did!
There are 2 Island off of Puerto Rico and both Culebra and Vieques are well worth a day's visit.
There are flights around $100 from SJU Airport to Vieques and Culebra.
Another way to get to the islands is to go to Fajardo, which is about 1 hour drive from San Juan, and take a ferry. The ferry ride is only ~$2 and is a great way to view the seas. 1 downside is that the ferry schedules are unreliable and depending on weather conditions, the ferry can be delayed or cancelled (we couldn't make it to Culebra because of a cancellation).
Vieques Island is home to Mosquito Bay, the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. (Culebra is home to Flamenco Beach, which is consistently ranked one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.) Vieques also has many horseback riding opportunities.
We chose Esperanza Riding Company. The whole experience was ~2 hours long and only about ~$125/person to go on a guided tour pretty much all over the island. A young American lady led us on our horseback riding adventure, so no prior experience was necessary! She came to PR on a vacation, fell in love with the country, and moved to live here for good!
My horse CJ had lovely long hair. All the horses were obviously very well-kept and well-cared for.
The best part of the riding experience was going along the beach. The horses loved to get their hooves wet:
2. El Escambron Beach
3. El Yunque Forest
Nightlife in San Juan.
La Playa Escambron is the prettiest beach in San Juan. There is a nearby park you can relax at after swimming in the crystal clear waters. I highly recommend going to this beach if you don't have time to visit Culebra or Vieques Islands.
El Escambron is perfect for snorkeling as the waters are clear, warm, and quite shallow. You can see the sea turtles quite well!
My friend found a live sea urchin!
3. El Yunque Forest
1 of the best things about PR is that you have a rainforest just 1 hour's drive away from 1 of the most picturesque beaches (El Escambron). El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in U.S. National Forest System so you must visit here when you come to PR!
Some highlights:
Yokahu Tower
There are 2 observation points, the Mt Britton and the Yokahu Tower in El Yunque. El Yunque is the better tower as it offers a better view and has a parking lot so you don't have to rush as you explore the area:
La Mina Falls
There are 3 waterfalls in El Yunque. La Coca may be more spectacular, but it doesn't have a parking lot so you can't spend much time there.
La Mina Falls is quite popular as you can swim and take a dip in the pool of rainforest water:
4. San Juan
San Juan is the biggest city and the capital of PR.
Old San Juan
Old San Juan is a beautiful place to take a leisurely stroll in on a hot day as the cobblestone streets with colorful buildings will make you feel like you took a time machine to the past:
Castillo San Felipe del Morro
There are 3 major historical forts, Castillo San Cristobal, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, and Fort San Juan de la Cruz that were building ~250 years ago by the Spanish to guard the San Juan Bay. Do visit at least one to get views of the entire city and marvel at the ancient structures:
La Isla Verde Beach
La Isla Verde is not as beautiful as El Escambron, but it is a very popular spot as it is literally 5 minutes from the SJU Airport. It's worth a visit because of the food and drinks at the stands and restaurants nearby.
The food is a bit pricey compared to local spots in PR but the presentation of the food from nearby stands and restaurants was so unique and beautiful. I loved the food in a pineapple idea more than the food itself!
We all loved the fresh coconut water in the real coconut!
Nightlife in San Juan.
La Factoria
The streets of San Juan fill with live music from people playing guitars and banjos in the summer nights. You will see people dancing in the streets and if you're not too shy, Puerto Rican people are very friendly and love for you to join!
La Factoria is a popular cocktail bar in Old San Juan from the famous "Despacito" music video. It was named 1 of the 50 best bars in the world and every night they are filled with people, both young and old, who come to dance to lively salsa music.
The drinks were around $10~15 each.
Sadly I did they did not play "Despacito" and Luis Fonsi wasn't there, but a nice gentleman asked me for a dance!
8. Where we stayed
We stayed at an airbnb near the airport in San Juan. There were quite a few in the area and quite cheap. The place we stayed at had 2 bedrooms, a living room, 3 beds and a sofa. The kitchen came with all the utensils. It was basically a fully furnished house, and we got to explore local areas as well as touristy spots. I highly recommend an airbnb instead of an all-inclusive resort to get a more "well-rounded, authentic feel" of Puerto Rico:
I can cook if I want to, and I did prepare breakfast for us with fresh produce and goods from the local supermarket and stands. I really don't enjoy daily cooking at home, sadly, so this was a rarity for me!
Farmers Markets
We took a stroll along 1 of the many farmers' markets in San Juan
Food
Everything is reasonably well-priced in Puerto Rico, and there are many stands especially by beaches that serve cheap, delicious food. Rice and plantain-based dishes can be found everywhere. And fruits are fresh and cheap.
Coconut stands where vendors use a machete to cut the top of a fresh, real coconut are wildly popular.
I do recommend trying out at least one sit-down restaurant to try a formal Puerto Rican cuisine.
Punto de Vista
The restaurant Punto de Vista at the rooftop of Hotel Milano has excellent Puerto Rican cuisine, including Mofongo in different flavors. Morongo, a fried, mashed plantain dish is plentiful in PR.
My favorite is shrimp Mofongo. The portions were huge and my friends and I agreed it was worth the ~30 minute wait!
Coquito is an alcoholic, coconut-based Christmas drink, but we couldn't help but have some in the hot summer night!
Cheers~
We couldn't move there unlike our horseback riding coach, but until next time, Puerto Rico!
Links
Horseback Riding
Vieques Esperanza Riding Company: http://esperanzaridingcompany.com/vieques-puerto-rico.html
Snorkeling on El Escambron Beach
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