Contrary to popular belief, Puerto Rico is actually a part of the United States, and I’m going to tell you why if you never visit, you’re missing out! This tropical paradise, located in the Caribbean Sea, is an archipelago made up of the main island, four smaller islands, and hundreds of cays and islets! When you visit Puerto Rico, you will experience amazing sights, sounds, and tastes!! You can experience the Island in an immersive way through its food, drinks, and music! Taste exotic infusions in dishes and cocktails, dance to the rhythms of salsa, reggaetón, and more, experience first-hand the pride of Puerto Ricans in exciting festivals.
Start in San Juan
If you’re visiting Puerto Rico for the first time, you’ll probably want to see a little bit of everything. And that’s EXACTLY what you should do! Start in San Juan, and get an authentic taste of the Caribbean! Head over to the Piñones neighborhood of the nearby town of Loíza.
Located just 15-minutes outside of San Juan (and only about five minutes from the airport), enjoy this amazing strip of oceanfront kiosks and restaurants! Grab a sit-down meal at one of the many amazing restaurants, and enjoy fresh local seafood platters like whole-fried red snapper, shrimp-stuffed mofongo, or garlic mahi mahi. Or go kiosk-hopping (what locals call chinchorreo) and grab your first taste of Puerto Rican fritters like alcapurrias, bacalaítos, and piononos. Embrace the local culture and be sure to wash them down with an ice-cold beer or fresh fruit frappe!!
You can’t visit Puerto Rico and not go to the beach. Since you’re in the Piñones neighborhood, change into your swimsuit and head to La Posita. This quiet beach is framed by a rock formation that creates a quiet shallow tidepool. Relaxing, right?
San Juan For families
You’re in Old San Juan, so take it all in! This 500-year old city has a lot to offer! Visit Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a citadel high above San Juan designed to protect the island from being attacked from the sea. You could also visit Museo Casa Blanca, the former mansion of Ponce de Leon, the first governor of San Juan.
For history buffs, like me, you’ll want to visit the Cuartel de Ballajá, which was originally built as housing for the Spanish and Puerto Rican armies. Now, you will find it still fully functional, housing many things like the Museo de Las Américas , where you can learn about the conservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of Puerto Rico. You can go on your own, or book guided tours, but it’s not something you’ll want to miss!!
Head to Casa BACARDÍ Puerto Rico for a tour and a rum tasting!!
- Historical Tour – First tour starts at 9:15 a.m., last tour starts at 4:30 p.m.
- Rum Tasting Tour – First tour starts at 10:00 a.m., last tour starts at 4:00 p.m.
- Mixology Class – First tour starts at 10:30 a.m., last tour starts at 4:30 p.m.
Enjoy a welcome cocktail at the waterfront Bat Bar Pavilion, then join a guided tour to discover how BACARDÍ rum is made, and learn about the family-owned company’s history of craft and innovation. Other experiences include a rum tasting tour, mixology class and bottling your own BACARDÍ.
Puerto Rico – A Land of Beauty
El Yunque National Forest
One of the current hottest trends in the US is visiting all the US National Parks. Well, if you want to do that, you NEED to visit El Yunque National Forest! This is the ONLY Tropical Rainforest in the US National Forest service! With an average rainfall of 120 inches a year, El Yunque has a very diverse ecosystem, hosting hundreds of unique plant and animal species, including the Island’s famous coquí frog.
Yunque know before you go – Reserve your spot!
To guarantee visitors and the Forest Service employees’ safety and health, you must wear a facemask at all times and reserve your visit in advance through www.recreation.gov/.
Only one reservation per vehicle is required, and it can be booked up to a month before your visit. Tickets for your car are free, but the booking engine charges a small fee payable by credit or debit card. Your entry ticket can be used to enter from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily. Recreation areas close at 5:00 p.m.
hiking el yunque
If you love hiking, you’re going to LOVE El Yunque! You will enjoy hiking to one of the natural pools to cool off with a swim. Head over to La Coca trail and hike down to one of several ponds along the route for the perfect way to cool off.
For fun in the form of a rope swing, choose El Angelito trail, where a 4km hike can end with a dive into its lagoon. There are plenty of additional options for trail with varying levels of difficulty throughout the park.
Puerto Rico’s Bioluminescent Bays
Puerto Rico has three of the five bioluminescent bays in the world.
In 2006, Mosquito Bay was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world. Its glow-in-the-dark phenomenon is due to an abundance of tiny dinoflagellates — about 1,000,000 to 2,100,000 microorganisms per gallon of water! The lack of light pollution further enhances this natural spectacle as you move through the bay by kayak or electric boat.
Explore the underground in puerto rico’s caves
Get off the beaten path on an underground adventure. The caves of Puerto Rico offer adventurous visitors the opportunity to go hiking, spelunking, rock climbing, rappelling, or rafting in some of the Island’s less-visited parts.
Wade through narrow rock openings waist-deep in an underground river with only a headlamp for illumination. Rappel through the mouth of a cavern alongside a giant waterfall. Discover indigenous hieroglyphs after a climb. Or, if you’re looking for an easy hike and some stunning pictures, that’s readily available, too. Visiting the caves of Puerto Rico offers diverse and unique ways of experiencing the Island, which not many tourists or even locals know about.
Toro verde nature Adventure park
Toro Verde Adventure Park is located in the town of Orocovis, about an hour and 45 minutes from San Juan and hidden between rolling mountains covered in dense forest. The area boasts some of the most breathtaking mountain views on the Island, which you’ll see flying beneath you, if you choose to go ziplining.
Since the park opened in 2009, its network of ziplines and suspension bridges has steadily expanded, and now includes two enormous ziplines, The Beast at nearly 1.5 kilometers and The Monster, the second longest zipline in the world!!!
Life’s a beach!
And, of COURSE, you cannot visit Puerto Rico without going to the BEACH!!! Puerto Rico has over 270 miles of shoreline and over 300 beaches to explore! Black sand, white sand, pink sand, all in one sand, there is no shortage of beaches to help you relax when visiting Puerto Rico! Read about the best beaches in Puerto Rico here!
I could go on and on and on about what you can do in Puerto Rico! I haven’t even gotten started on the shopping, dining, and nightlife!
How Can I Visit Puerto Rico?
You may be asking yourself “how can I get to Puerto Rico tomorrow to experience all of this?” Well there are a ton of options! First off, you need to CONTACT ME!!! I can book any option you may choose!
Pick a cruise with a day (or two) in Puerto Rico. OR EVEN a cruise that LEAVES from San Juan, and tack on a couple days before embarking on the cruise! You can book a land only stay, too! The opportunities are never ending!
Are you ready to go to Puerto Rico?!?!?! Let’s do it!