Visiting Puerto Rico recently was a fun adventure. We explored, relaxed, and ate a lot of good food. We highly recommend booking a trip and staying in and around San Juan. Here are some things we learned and places we recommend you visit.
The Beach
We stayed in the Ocean Park area so spent several days at the beach there, which was walking distance from our Airbnb. It is a popular location and you’ll see a lot of wind and kite surfers. The beach itself is relatively flat with no big drop offs. This made for a more relaxing time hanging out among the small waves – we didn’t feel like we were constantly battling waves. The water is a beautiful turquoise color and quite clear. The sand is also quite soft! There is a restaurant right on the beach called Numero Uno Beach House. You can rent two beach chairs with a beach umbrella (you’ll want the shade!) and get a bucket of beer or mimosas. You also have a waiter who will attend to you, all for $85 when we were there. The food is good and their pina coladas are refreshingly delicious! We recommend you get to the beach early if you go on the weekend because it can get busy.
You can walk west along the beach toward another popular area called Condado. Along the way you will find areas to play volleyball or other beach games. There are many restaurants, bars, and shops in the area. However, the beach itself wasn’t as enjoyable for us as Ocean Park. The current is much stronger; pay attention so you aren’t caught in riptides. There are rock outcroppings in a few areas that are cool looking…you might even see some sea urchins like we did!
Bring and use sunscreen even if you don’t burn easily. The sun is stronger there and even if it’s cloudy, you may end up getting too red like several of us did.
Tours
There are many fun excursions you can go on. We booked two that were absolutely fabulous and unique in their own way. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable and the groups we went with weren’t too large…11 to 20 total (there were 7 of us in our group). We booked these trips on Airbnb and didn’t have any issues.
- El Yunque Rainforest: This is an all day excursion with a tour guide who shares fun facts, makes recommendations, and can help you get the perfect picture. You’ll get to take a nature walk through the rainforest, swim in the river, go down a natural rock waterslide (only if you want!), then spend a couple hours at Luquillo Beach where you can swim, visit vendors for delicious foods, and shop for souvenirs. This was one of our most favorite experiences! There is a zipline in the rainforest as well which you can book separately.
We learned a bit about the rainforest (the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system) which is about 29,000 acres large and quite biologically diverse. We saw unique vegetation and saw some unexpected animal life. Bring water shoes and wear your swimsuit so you can jump in the beautifully clear river for a swim. In another section, we were taken to another river with a rock waterslide. Alex was the only one in our group to be brave enough to try it out – and he did it twice!
We ended the tour at Liquillo Beach where you could choose from a large number of food vendors to grab a bite to eat, shop for souvenirs at a variety of shops, and relax on another beautifully calm beach. We were there for two hours but certainly could have stayed much longer. You can rent jet skies if you choose but you would definitely need to stay longer to fully enjoy that activity.
Book your experience here:
- Swim in a Bio Luminescent Bay: This is a beautiful and unique experience on the Caribbean side of the island in La Parguera. It is one of the only phosphorescent bays in the world that you can actually swim in. Try and go when there is no moon – the darker it is, the better! It was a half moon when we went and we still felt like we were swimming in fairy dust. Bring a mask with a snorkel to get an even cooler view of the glittery looking water. Don’t expect to get pictures – just enjoy the experience….it’s totally worth it! Because you will be going in the dark, you might consider spending the night in La Parguera rather than drive the two hours back into San Juan like we did.
Getting to the little town early is recommended. You can explore the cute town and grab delicious food and drinks. We enjoyed dinner at the Wakey Monkey – the fish tacos were superb! There are several shops and the streets and buildings are fun to see in and of themselves.
We met our guide, Hector, at his dock and the 11 of us boarded his boat for a calm ride to the bay. Hector was hilarious and friendly as he told us stories of his experiences growing up in that area. Once we arrived in the bay, Hector took us to a darker area, gave us instructions along with floatation devices and we jumped in. The water was very warm! Our movements “activated” the phosphorescent creatures and it felt like we were swimming in fairy dust or bubbles. One of our friends had brought along their snorkel and mask and allowed a couple of us to experience the sites underneath the water. This was a truly magical experience! Book your trip here: https://abnb.me/cHxEdyoXdpb
We booked these experiences through Airbnb and Trip Advisor. And there were so many other options too! We can’t wait to go back and continue exploring this beautiful island.
Alex and I were only on the island for 5 days – the others in our group stayed a couple days longer and took a day trip to Old San Juan. They loved it and Alex and I will definitely be exploring that area on our next trip there.
Where to Stay
For first time visitors, staying in San Juan is recommended. We booked our stay through Airbnb and rented a unique place with two units; the upper unit was a 2 bed/1 bath with a full kitchen, small living area, and a nice balcony equipped with a BBQ. The lower unit was a spacious 1 bed/1 bath. There was plenty of room for the 7 of us to stay comfortably. It’s located in a GREAT area – many restaurants and stores within walking distance and 2 blocks from the beach! The host was great and checked in to ensure we had everything we needed or if we needed any recommendations. They also had a generator which came in handy when the island lost power while we were there. It kicked on automatically and lasted through the entire blackout period.
As I mentioned earlier, we stayed in the Ocean Park Beach neighborhood of San Juan. Between McLeary Street and the famous St. Loiza a block away, we had quite a variety of places to eat, shop, and explore. We were about 10 minutes from Old San Juan (another great area to explore) and about 15 minutes from the airport.
We plan to stay here again – check it out here: https://abnb.me/MswnB3lXdpb
A note about power outages. While we were there, the power plant had a fire which knocked out power on the entire island for several days. Many businesses have backup generators and thankfully our Airbnb did as well. We met a few vacationers who weren’t so lucky so that might be one thing to include in your must haves when deciding where to stay.
We felt pretty safe during our entire stay but we made sure to stick to main tourist routes. Most people spoke English but the further out you go, the less likely you are to find this so be prepared. As with any stay in a big city or while traveling, be aware of your surroundings.
Driving
We rented a passenger van to get around in. This was super convenient for grocery shopping or driving to different sites we wanted to see. The Airbnb had room for us to park it so it was a no brainer for us. Many streets are narrower and lines designating lanes don’t always exist. Just pay attention and don’t panic. My sister drove and did an awesome job! Our friend Ryan was the navigator which we found to be very helpful. This allowed Camille to concentrate on the road vs. checking the navigation. You may find you don’t need a car and can get around just fine if you stay in an area with a lot of restaurants and shops or get Ubers for trips a bit further out.
What to Eat
Where do we even begin?! There were so many choices it was hard to choose! We had empanadas, oysters, mofongo, fresh seafood, delightful croquettes, and steak (grilled by Alex) to name a few items. I’m pretty sure we gained several pounds but it was worth it. We also enjoyed plenty of mojitos, pina coladas, and strong coffee. We encourage you to sample new dishes – that is part of the experience after all!
Some of our favorites:
Mofongo: Fried plantains combined typically with chicharron – so good and a Puerto Rican dish.
Croquettes: Breaded and fried dumplings filled with crab or lobster.
Empanadas: Fried pastry filled with anything from hotdogs (this was weird sounding so we didn’t get it) to crab or lobster. I lost count of the number I consumed…..
Oysters: Alex ate some huge, fresh oysters during our time at Liquillo beach from one of the vendors there. He said it was delicious…I’ll trust him on that as I am not a huge fan.
There are plenty of restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and other eateries around. Our waiter from Numero Uno Beach House recommended places to us but we mostly decided where to eat by walking around and picking the location based on what we smelled and how interesting the place was….we were never disappointed.
Visiting Puerto Rico was a great experience….we’re already planning our next trip in early 2023. If you haven’t been, we encourage you to put this beautiful island on your list of upcoming destinations!
Be sure to save this post for future reference and share it with those you want to go with!
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