Puerto Rico

[ChromePony]

Anyone been? Lots of random questions...

I'm looking to go for a long 4-5 day weekend in March, curious about where to stay and how to get around. From what I hear a car is pretty necessary, does it work to just stay in San Juan (which part?) and drive around the island on day trips?I have a lot of hotel points from work that I can cash in for the big chains in San Juan but it seems like it might be nice to stay in some quieter places out of the city.

I also am pretty interested in checking out this Bio Bay on Vieques, but this is a somewhat budget minded trip so chartered flights and lavish resort hotels are out of the picture. Any other must see beaches or wilderness suggestions, and for those of you who know is a good trip doable in 4-5 days or should I try to take a little more time off and shoot for a whole week?

[r0eKY]

that sounds like fun, are there casinos around?

[nooob]

there are casinos around condado area.. but they're pretty small- few bj tables, couple of poker tables, with mostly slot machines.

take a trip to culebra- a small island off of the main island. flamenco beach over there is famous for its beauty. u can camp right on th ebeach for 20 bux a nite/tent. water is crystal clear with white sand. just beautiful.

if u wish, u can take a ferry there or take a plane. just google it. by ferry it takes over an hr and by plane about 20 minutes.

from culebra, u can goto even a smaller island off of it, called culebrita. it's great for snorkeling over there, with plenty of wild life.

i had more fun camping in culebra, visiting culebrita then staying in san juan actually. but the nite life was pretty cool right on the condado strip.

[ChromePony]

Yeah I'll be going with the girlfriend so casinos will not be the priority for this one...although I may be able to sneak out one night if theres a good game running [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

That camping thing sounds awesome, looks like you can do it on Vieques too which is nice. We probably wont be traveling with gear though, are there good places to rent either out there or on the main land?

So maybe spend the first and last nights in San Juan with the two middle ones camping on an island beach...sounds like a good budget vacation to me.

What about El Yunque, worth a day trip out there? Any other places that need visiting on PR itself?

[nooob]

culebra is relatively unknown to tourists- mostly natives and ppl from PR go there for vacations. as such, they do not have hotels. however, there is a place called mamacita's (where u'd catch a small boat to goto culebrita), which offers housing.

http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/culebra.shtml

the beach is exactly what you see in the pics there. it's amazing. culebrita's beach is even better for snorkeling- lots of ocean life with reefs.

vieques is pretty nice also, from what i hear, and it's more geared towards tourists- they have hotels and stuff there you can stay at. vieques is also known for the bioluminescence at mosquito bay. unfotunately, i did not get a chance to visit it.

Not sure about el yunque. also in old san juan (about 10 min cab ride from san juan), there this party boat on weekends. u sort of have to ask the locals around for it though. not sure they still have it, but they had it last year when i went. if they dont, u can still have plenty of fun on the condado strip- there are plenty of bars and clubs there.

[jjp]

I also recommend Culebra. I was on Flamenco Beach with my wife, the most beautiful crescent beach I've seen, and no one else was there. Amazing.

[ChromePony]

Thanks for the solid info. Pretty much the entire appeal of Vieques was the Bio Bay which looks pretty amazing, it seems like there is no good way to get ther from Cuelbra which is kinda suprising. Definitely seems that at least one or the other is in order here if theres no way to work both in.

[Mother Mucker]

Is prostitution legal there?

[rustyboy]

There is a ferry that runs daily, or at least there was. Catch a plane though. The landing in Vieques is spectacular. Its only like $50/person if you leave from Fajardo. I've been to both islands twice. The Bio Bay is quite cool. If you go to Culebra, buy a cheap snorkel set and go to Carlos Rosario. Sea turtles, rays, the whole deal. Both islands are spectacular though. You can't go wrong. This site has all the info you need about Vieques.

[mayday4379]

Assuming you stay in SJ, here's what I would do:

A day in old san juan. Visit the fort (El Morro) and walk around the area. Get a sandwich in the downtown area (one block by one block. Infront of marshall's).

Dinner: Baru in old san juan. Its on san sebastian street. Get the blackberry martini and order a bunch of small meals (like tapas but not really). Be sure to get the shrimp on the stick, crab cakes and filet. after dinner hit the bars in the area and work your way back down the hill.

Other dining option is Tamarind in old san juan. they catetered our wedding. Excellent food and great atmosphere.

One night hit isla verde and be sure to get to the top floor of the waterclub on a FRI or SAT night. amazing view of san juan and the ladies are top notch.

If you're there on a wednesday, hit mango's. Between isla verde and condado. IF you're there on a sunday, hit the irish place in condado. the name excapes me, but they have a great brazilian band on sunday's

isla verde has better beaches than condado (and old san juan doesn't have any).

If you have a car, drive about 30 miles east to luquillo. they have a gorgeous beach and about 60 shacks in a row that serve authentic puerto rican cuisine.

for casinos, the best will be the el san juan in isla verde. its also a top notch hotel and has a dance club in it.

other hotels where you can use your pts are hilton, marriott and holiday inn. if i didn't have a budget, i'd stay at the el san juan.

i lived there for 4 yrs, so feel free to PM me any questions.