Vacationing in Puerto Rico

[merrily]

In trying to plan my next vacation destination I started thinking about Puerto Rico. Nice weather, good beaches, not a long plane trip, all good reasons for considering it. I just don't know where to start and I find getting recommendations and suggestions from others so helpful.

Anyone have any great ideas of where to go or stay in Puerto Rico? Fun things to do? It would be 3 adults and two older teens.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Palendat]

We just got back from a cruise. One of the stops was San Juan. We did a segway tour of old San Juan, and it was AWESOME. There is no font size to emphasize how much fun we had. A must do in our opinion. The teens will love it, but I'm not sure if there is an age limit. It might be 16 or older. Please consider this in your plans!!!!!

 

[ford family]

We stayed for a week following a Princess cruise last year. We were at the Intercontinental which is a very nice resort hotel on the beach a little east of San Juan. The main restaurant there is excellent and there are other places to eat nearby.
We did a tour to the rainforest which we enjoyed and we also took the regular bus into San Juan one day. It is a great town to explore and there are two free hop on hop off trams that go around the main tourist attractions.
Mainly we lazed by the pool or walked along the beach.

ford family

 

[golfgal]

I have been doing some research and PR was one of the places I looked into. It is very lovely there from the photos. Flights, for our time frame, are very expensive so we have decided not to go there.

 

[liamsaunt]

My husband and I went to Vieques in November. It's right off the coast of Puerto Rico--a 10 minute plane trip from San Juan, or a one hour ferry ride. Beautiful island, beaches are not busy, driving is easy, and there is good island food. We stayed at the W Vieques, which is the only resort on the island. Your older teens would love the pool there--it's pretty cool and kind of "scene-y."

The island has beautiful wild horses, and during the new moon you can go kayaking on a bay that is filled with biolumenescent creatures--so when you put your paddle in the water, or when you swim, you will be surrounded by glow.

The W offers lots of activities for teens--in addition to the bio bay. I remember horseback riding and parasailing off the top of my head. There is a gym, spa, and tennis courts also. Check it out here:

http://www.wvieques.com/

 

[IdesOmarch]

The one thing I would recommend is to make sure your hotel has a real beach. From what I've heard and seen, there are a lot of rocky places on the coast, not all have real sand beaches like your typical caribbean island.

 

[JennyDarling]

My husband's family lives in San Juan so we visit at least once a year. It is one of my favorite places in the world to be!

I really like the Condado area of San Juan, particularly the San Juan Marriot. Beautiful beaches and lots of things in walking distance. I highly recommend renting a car. The traffic is intimidating and takes some getting used to but cabs and tour groups are outrageously expensive.

There are some great beach front apartments on Loiza Street (I'll repost when I remember the name) that are affordable, usually around $900 to $1200 per week if you wanted to do a rental home. Use caution with that though because most of the private residences do not have AC and it is HOT!

The rainforest and Old San Juan are beautiful but I would skip the Bacardi factory tour. Boring.

My 3 favorite places to eat are La Bombonera in Old San Juan, Bebo's on Loiza Street and the food shacks in Pinones. Yes, they are just road side shacks but sooooo good.

A word of caution...take bug spray. We were there in January and I was almost eaten alive. They are having one of the worst years ever with sand fleas.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I know a lot about the San Juan area but not much about the rest of the island. DH, however, is really familiar with all of it so I would be glad to pick his brain for you.

 

[merrily]

Thanks for all the info so far. Jenny, I would love the name of the apartments you are talking about. I also checked out the hotel on Vieques that liamsaunt suggested and it looks beautiful. I would love to know the name of the tour company that Palendat used for the segway tour. I think that would be an awesome way to see the city.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[marlynnp]

We spent 2 weeks there in June of last year and had a fantastic time. We traveled all over the island.

How long of a trip do you want to take? Do you want to stay in just one place or explore several different areas? Do you want to stay only in hotels with lots of amenities or are you okay with a smaller place as long as it's clean?

 

[merrily]

We spent 2 weeks there in June of last year and had a fantastic time. We traveled all over the island.

How long of a trip do you want to take? Do you want to stay in just one place or explore several different areas? Do you want to stay only in hotels with lots of amenities or are you okay with a smaller place as long as it's clean?

We would probably stay 1 1/2-2 weeks and would love to stay in different locations. We like to see and do a lot but have a few down days as well. I am fine with smaller places and would even considered a private rental.

 

[marlynnp]

Late tonight or tomorrow I can pm you my itinerary and notes if you like.
It may give you some ideas!

 

[merrily]

Late tonight or tomorrow I can pm you my itinerary and notes if you like.
It may give you some ideas!

That would be great. Thanks!

 

[JennyDarling]

The apartments I was thinking of are called Marbella del Caribe. They are in Carolina. Not luxurious but it's a nice, older building. My FIL's cousin owns the apartment we use so I can't speak for every unit but we've always found it comfortable.

Good security too which, sadly, is pretty important in PR.

 

[TLHB70]

My 3 favorite places to eat are La Bombonera in Old San Juan, Bebo's on Loiza Street and the food shacks in Pinones. Yes, they are just road side shacks but sooooo good.

A word of caution...take bug spray. We were there in January and I was almost eaten alive. They are having one of the worst years ever with sand fleas.

YES! We loved the food shacks at Pinones too! You have to go there at least once.
I would like to echo the bug spray suggestion. We noticed mosquitoes as well as the sand fleas. Mosquitoes were all over in the rain forest and when we went fishing one day.
We love San Juan and plan to go again mid March and maybe June.
We stayed at the Intercontinental while there. The resort was very nice. The pool and beach were fabulous.

 

[Darcy03231]

If you decide to stay in Old San Juan I highly recommend Da House. Its very reasonable and the people are great. We usually spend at least a night or two there pre/post cruise.