Puerto Rico

[Craig234]

I got a good airfare for this weekend to San Juan, for three days there.

What are the best things to do (no interest in sitting on a beach)?

I'm guessing one day in 'old San Juan', a second day 'seeing the country' in a rental car that looks about 100 miles long.

Are there any 'day trips' worth doing from there to somewhere outside PR?

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Maybe we could meet up. :awe:

You should go to El Yunque, which is our natural rainforest. It's a great experience, provided you can walk for two or three hours without getting tired. There's tons of wildlife, many of which is exclusive to this country. There's also the Camuy Cave Park. Both of those are of course very outdoor-type activities.

As far as eating goes if you're looking for very, very good food and don't care for formal stuff and aren't annoyed by college students I definitely recommend you go to one of the food trucks most famous here, "El Churry". The food isn't cheap, but it's very good. For formal dining, specifically Puerto Rican food, "Platos" is a good place located in Isla Verde, Carolina. If you're looking to stay in San Juan, then I recommend you go to "Raices."

I recommend, if you get the chance, to ride on the train. Also, if you want to go shopping, you don't want to miss going to Plaza Las Americas. It's the biggest mall in the whole Caribbean, and there's tons of stores and it's pretty modern.

 

[jlarsson]

I'm guessing one day in 'old San Juan', a second day 'seeing the country' in a rental car that looks about 100 miles long.

Are there any 'day trips' worth doing from there to somewhere outside PR?

It might be only 100 miles by about 35 miles, but don't expect to take an afternoon and drive around the island. It takes a long time to get from place to place.

LOL's suggestions are great. El Yunque has some nice hikes. Definitely try the food in and around San Juan.

For a day trip from San Juan, you might want to head east to Fajardo (takes about an hour). I'd recommend chartering a boat and checking out some of the coral reefs just off the coast .

Edit: You can also take the ferry over the Bacardi distillery. The tour isn't great (just an long advertisement), but at least you get a couple of free drinks out of it.

 

[Craig234]

Thanks a lot for the tips. Would you suggest I stay in San Juan each night? Any recommended places to stay, with decent prices? How many days for a rental car?

From the sound of it, one day for a car to see the rainforest and country might be good, with other attractions being in walking/cab distance?

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Thanks a lot for the tips. Would you suggest I stay in San Juan each night? Any recommended places to stay, with decent prices? How many days for a rental car?

From the sound of it, one day for a car to see the rainforest and country might be good, with other attractions being in walking/cab distance?

Another place I'd recommend for staying is Cabo Rojo, but that's around 100 miles away from San Juan so it's too far away. I'd recommend you stay in San Juan because they also have good tourist guides here.

As far as transportation goes, you will definitely need to rent a car. El Yunque rainforest is in Rio Grande, which is 37 miles away from Old San Juan. Camuy Caves Park is 62 miles from Old San Juan. The eating places I told you about are all pretty close to each other. The "El Churry" food trucks are located throughout San Juan (if you need more info on that let me know), and Raices is in Old San Juan. Raices is somewhat expensive, but a must if you want to try well-made Puerto Rican food and see some of the tradition here. Like I said, if you ever get the urge to go shopping, I highly recommend you go to Plaza Las Americas. It's located in San Juan as well, though more to the west. It is not on Old San Juan, which is an islet, but on the mainland to the south. It's only 5 miles away from Old San Juan, so it's a very small trip though the mall is huge.

Hotels... well, that depends on how much you want to spend a night. What's your budget for that?

For a day trip from San Juan, you might want to head east to Fajardo (takes about an hour). I'd recommend chartering a boat and checking out some of the coral reefs just off the coast .

This is something I would definitely recommend. What you could do is on one day go to Fajardo and then on the way back go to Rio Grande to El Yunque. :thumbsup:

 

[edro]

Amazing restaurant: Jose Enrique

Weird location and building; amazing food and drinks.

No reservations. You have to show up when they open. There is usually a line to get in, but once they open the line disappears.

We had a group of 8 people there a month ago. We waited at the bar and the bar tender was awesome.

The grilled snapper was simply amazing. So was the pork shoulder.

Afterwards, we walked down the street to a local bar who had a local band. It was a great night!

I highly recommend it.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...eviews-Jose_Enrique-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

 

[wirednuts]

Maybe we could meet up. :awe:

You should go to El Yunque, which is our natural rainforest. It's a great experience, provided you can walk for two or three hours without getting tired.

is that a shot at americans?

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Just so you don't get confused, here's a map with circles of the places we're discussing:

is that a shot at americans?

Not really, LOL. There's tons of lazy people here too.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

When were you gonna make the trip?