Last-minute vacation to Puerto Rico -- any recs?

[Octavia]

Just a few days ago, hubby found out that he got a couple extra days off around the holidays, so we were able to book a last-minute honeymoon since we couldn''t take one right after the wedding! We had to choose a location where he wouldn''t need a visa, and we wanted someplace warm, so we''re off to Puerto Rico on Friday! We have hotels booked (in Condado for the first week, and in Old San Juan for the last couple days) but I''m not quite sure what else to do. We have friends who are from PR and they''ve given us some suggestions, but not nearly enough...

So far, we plan to:
lay on the beach and relax for at least a day or two
windsurf as much as we can
rent a car to visit El Yunque
possibly go to Vieques or Culebra for a day or an overnight
eat a lot (hole-in-the-walls preferred!)
?????

I checked out some old threads here, but there aren''t very many and they were only marginally helpful, so if anyone has been there and has great tips, please share!

 

[neatfreak]

I highly highly recommend Vieques. Nicest place in PR IMO.

 

[Burberrygirl]

How exciting, I just love PR! You are going to have so much fun there! You should check out the forts, there is El Morro and Castillo de San Cristobal. They have some awesome restaurants like the Dragonfly and Chateau Cervantes. Cervantes is a hotel/restaurant in Old San Juan. Their penthouse is gorgeous and the food is wonderful! You should check it out, the entire staff was so friendly and helpful too. As far as entertainment goes, I would always ask the taxi drivers for recommendations. I went to a couple of places with great live music, I wish I could remember the names... let just say I had a little too much fun on a couple nights, lol! There’s also this great family run jewelry store in Old San Juan on Calle Fortaleza. It’s where I bought my emerald ring, if you’re interested let me know and I'll find the name. All the other jewelry stores are tourist traps. I can't express enough just how nice the locals are from my experience, and because of the economy there are some great deals to be had. I hope you have a fabulous time!

 

[Octavia]

Neatfreak, we''d love to go to Vieques but we''ve had trouble finding a place to stay, and I''m worried about the availability of a car or scooter to rent while we''re there. Do you have any more info about the island? The online sources aren''t that great and I haven''t had time to stop by the bookstore to see if any of the guidebooks are better.

Burberrygirl, I''d love the name of the jeweler if you can find it easily! I''ve been to Old San Juan for a little while before, when my flight from Saint Lucia had a long layover, but I''m looking forward to discovering lots of little places I couldn''t see in just a few hours! Asking taxi drivers for recs is a really good idea, thanks for mentioning it.

 

[meresal]

Barrachina in OSJ is my favorite restaurant! I make DH go everytime we are there.

They have a free Flamenco dancing show on Friday and Saturday nights, starts at 7pm and lasts about 30 minutes, and is really neat to eat, watch the dancing, and drink their Pina Coladas.

 

[Lauren8211]

Date: 12/14/2009 12:52:36 AM
Author:Octavia
Just a few days ago, hubby found out that he got a couple extra days off around the holidays, so we were able to book a last-minute honeymoon since we couldn''t take one right after the wedding! We had to choose a location where he wouldn''t need a visa, and we wanted someplace warm, so we''re off to Puerto Rico on Friday! We have hotels booked (in Condado for the first week, and in Old San Juan for the last couple days) but I''m not quite sure what else to do. We have friends who are from PR and they''ve given us some suggestions, but not nearly enough...

So far, we plan to:
lay on the beach and relax for at least a day or two
windsurf as much as we can
rent a car to visit El Yunque
possibly go to Vieques or Culebra for a day or an overnight
eat a lot (hole-in-the-walls preferred!)
?????

I checked out some old threads here, but there aren''t very many and they were only marginally helpful, so if anyone has been there and has great tips, please share!

Watch out for spiders.

 

[Octavia]

Date: 12/14/2009 12:03:15 PM
Author: elledizzy5

Date: 12/14/2009 12:52:36 AM

Author:Octavia

Just a few days ago, hubby found out that he got a couple extra days off around the holidays, so we were able to book a last-minute honeymoon since we couldn''t take one right after the wedding! We had to choose a location where he wouldn''t need a visa, and we wanted someplace warm, so we''re off to Puerto Rico on Friday! We have hotels booked (in Condado for the first week, and in Old San Juan for the last couple days) but I''m not quite sure what else to do. We have friends who are from PR and they''ve given us some suggestions, but not nearly enough...


So far, we plan to:

lay on the beach and relax for at least a day or two

windsurf as much as we can

rent a car to visit El Yunque

possibly go to Vieques or Culebra for a day or an overnight

eat a lot (hole-in-the-walls preferred!)

?????


I checked out some old threads here, but there aren''t very many and they were only marginally helpful, so if anyone has been there and has great tips, please share!

Watch out for spiders.

Eek, thanks for the heads-up!

Meresal, that restaurant sounds fun! We''ll definitely try to get there one night.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 12/14/2009 12:52:36 AM
Author:Octavia
Just a few days ago, hubby found out that he got a couple extra days off around the holidays, so we were able to book a last-minute honeymoon since we couldn''t take one right after the wedding! We had to choose a location where he wouldn''t need a visa, and we wanted someplace warm, so we''re off to Puerto Rico on Friday! We have hotels booked (in Condado for the first week, and in Old San Juan for the last couple days) but I''m not quite sure what else to do. We have friends who are from PR and they''ve given us some suggestions, but not nearly enough...


So far, we plan to:

lay on the beach and relax for at least a day or two

windsurf as much as we can

rent a car to visit El Yunque

possibly go to Vieques or Culebra for a day or an overnight

eat a lot (hole-in-the-walls preferred!)

?????


I checked out some old threads here, but there aren''t very many and they were only marginally helpful, so if anyone has been there and has great tips, please share!

Octavia, I went to Puerto Rico a few years back with a group of friends and some of them *still* mention, years later, the food from this one place we had a meal we had while there-- and it''s a total hole in the wall right by the entrance to El Yunque. The menu was the basic chicken/rice/beans, but the seasoning and tenderness was out-of-this-world FANTASTIC. None of us remember the name, but here''s an easy description to find it:

--To El Yunque from San Juan, you''ll be taking Route 3 East.
--Right by El Yunque is the (well-signed) turnoff for the Rio Mar resort (formerly the Westin, now the Wyndham) to your left (heading North). Turn onto the road towards Rio Mar Resort, and immediately on your left you will find...
--The rustic-looking place on the North-East "corner" of the intersection of Route 3 and the turnoff for the road to the resort is the amazing eats!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

BTW, if you have a car and will be visiting PR around the time of a new moon, the bioluminescent bays have a surreal quality to them and are uncommon enough in the world as to be worth the effort. (Besides, kayaking at night with your love while each stroke of the paddle makes the water sparkle, as if filled with diamond dust, probably is the closest one can get to the perfect situation to make a PSer''s heart beat quickly.

)

 

[cayce]

One word -- mofongo!

It is the most delicious -- and fattening -- food on the planet. Seriously, there is NOTHING better than mofongo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mofongo I love yucca and am indifferent to plaintains, we have had both and I prefer the yucca, my SO prefers the plaintain version.

Also, if you are renting a car, the observatory http://www.naic.edu/ is awesome. We are sort of nerds, but it is a lot of fun even if you are not interested in the sci fi aspects such as SETI.