Travel Date: December 2019
- Beaches
- Adventure
- Culture
- Some never-done-before activities
- Sunsets / Views
- Food with typical local flavours
- ...and if possible, a little Golf
Within a somewhat reasonable Christmas budget and ticking all of the above boxes was our tropical island destination of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Our first priority was to find a Hotel and Resort that had a pool and its own beach and was somewhat close to the airport. Traveling with 4 kids meant that there were going to be days where we didn't really want to do much and we wanted as many in-house entertainment options as possible.
Close to the airport with 2 swimming pools, and with its own beach was the Courtyard by Marriott at Isla Verde Beach.
About 15 minutes away from the airport was this property, walking distance from restaurants and cafes and on the 3rd best beach in San Juan.
San Juan and Puerto Rico is not particularly huge and so various sights of the island are a driving distance away. So, make sure you pick a great place to stay and don't worry about how close it is to the sights you want to see.
Without further ado, here are the Top 7 things to do in San Juan and Puerto Rico:
1. Catch a beach sunrise
Depending on where on the island you are, you may not always have the greatest sunrises, but you can always see wonderful colours. Isla Verde beach in particular, and if you read the reviews, appears to have some of the best sunrises on the island.
We woke up in Puerto Rico to Christmas morning. With the family still in bed, I ran off to the almost deserted Isla Verde beach and took in the fresh air and stunning colours. It is absolutely worth an hour or two less of sleep.
2. Try something adventurous
It feels like holidays aren't just an opportunity for relaxing and eating terrific food but also for new experiences and trying something never done before. On the spur of the moment, we decided to try Boat Paragliding.
On a windy day of extremely choppy water and high waves, and with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law watching the kids, we tried something out for the very first time.
Given the waves, the boat with the para-glider couldn't make it close enough to shore to let us on, so we waded in chest deep to a motorized dinghy, which then took us to the motorboat.
As we got strapped in and then winched out, the choppiness and the noise seemed to disappear. The noise and chaos seemed to disappear. It was about 20 minutes of absolute peace.
3. See Bio-luminescent plankton under a starry sky
The luminescence of the water is caused by a chemical reaction of marine plankton, resulting in the plankton emitting light. Typically the luminescence is a reaction to external stress. Therefore, in calm waters, any luminescence needs to be manually triggered by stressing or agitating the water.
In 2008, Puerto Rico was declared by the Guinness Book of World Records as the location of the brightest glowing plankton on the planet. Even within Puerto Rico, there are numerous locations where the plankton can be observed with the brightest said to be visible in Isla de Vieques on a kayak tour.
Note that ever since Hurricane Maria (Cat-5) hit Puerto Rico in 2017, the locals say that the bio-luminescence has not quite been the same.
Given our location, we decided, instead, to go on the kayak tour to Fajardo, on the East Coast of Puerto Rico instead.
There are many tour companies that organize the kayak tour in Fajardo (and the offering from all of them is pretty standard) and we picked a tour from Eco-Adventures.
Kayaking, for those who haven't done it before, involves two people stroking double-sided oars. The strokes need to alternate on either side of the kayak and in unison. The primary thrust or force needs to be provided by the person sitting in front and person at the back provides the guiding force to ensure the kayak stays straight.
Each tour company offered two two-hour tours, 6-8 pm and 8-10 pm. We picked the earlier tour and had the advantage of some light guiding us inward to the cove where the plankton could be seen. That turned out to be a good choice as getting to the cove involved kayaking through a stretch of mangrove forest with massive overhanging branches. Going slightly off the straight-line meant that we needed to duck or lay ourselves down in the kayak to prevent decapitation by branches, while at the same time steering ourselves back on course.
We emerged out from the mangrove forest into a small cove, completely open to a darkening sky. With aching arms and back, we rested and drifted aimlessly for about 10 minutes, our backs once again down on the kayak and staring up at a clear sky festooned with stars.
For all that effort, the actual luminescence of the plankton was quite underwhelming. As it turned out, we needed to get lucky with the sky and darkness and didn't. We ultimately had to get our heads under a makeshift tarpaulin to be able to see the illumination in the water as we splashed our oars.
To be honest, I really don't think either of us was very disappointed. Together, us, husband and wife, had a shared experience that was unique and memorable and didn't involve a quiet dinner and glasses of wine.
4. Hike on trails at El Yunque National Forest
After Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico in 2017, many of El Yunque National Forest's trails were closed and have not yet opened. Nevertheless, El Yunque remains the only Tropical Rain-forest in USA and its territories and is still a tremendous place to visit, even with kids.
A visit requires some careful planning, a basic itinerary to stick to and some good weather.
It is best to check the National Park Service website the week of your visit for up-to-date information on the trails that are open and any changes to driving, parking or access rules.
Things to know:
- Entry to the forest is free
- Forest timings are 7:30 am to 6 pm most days
- You're going to want to have a car to get around inside the forest
- Most trails and sights lie off the paved road running through the forest
- The paved road runs rounds and up El Yunque peak
- There are free public parking spots near most trail heads and sights
- To get to the forest, we need to follow Route 3 to Rio Grade, then onto Route 955 and follow the signs to Road 191
Helpful hints:
- Start the day early - the forest opens at 7:30 am and closes at 6 pm and the parking spots and attractions get filled very quickly
- If you don't make it in early, drive up to the higher sights first and work your way down since most of the visitor traffic tends to proceed in order of the points of interest along the drive
Things to see with kids:
The Caimitillo Trail is a short and easy trail that is somewhat representative of the larger trails that the forest has to offer but isn't long enough to stress out unsure adults or tire the kids. The trail originates near the Palo Colorado visitor center (and so refreshments and seating is close-by) and only totals 1 mile in total across the entire stretch.
The Yokahu Tower:
Yokahu Tower is one of two observation towers located in the forest. Constructed in 1963, it is 1575 feet high and provides a view of the forest and surroundings un-obscured by cloud cover. The Yokahu tower also has a parking bay right near it.
The other tower is the less accessible Mount Britton Tower, in the middle of the forest, at a height of 2493 feet and being significantly higher, has a view frequently obscured by clouds.
La Coca Falls is located just by the side of the main road running through the forest. Occurring very soon after entry into the forest, there are no parking spots nearby and most people slow down as they drive past and try to grab a few quick photos.
However, La Coca falls is accessible by foot and visitors are allowed to clamber over onto the falls. Again, if you visit the falls on your way out of the forest, there is far less crowd and there are, sometimes, parking spots around the corner.
5. Catch some history at the San Juan National Historic Site
Declared a UNESCO site in 1983, the Castillo San Felipe del Morro is part of the San Juan National Historic Site and was built in the 16th Century and meant to guard the entrance to San Juan bay.
At various times occupied by the Spanish, British and American forces, the US forces finally left the fortress in the 60s, after which the fort was converted into a National Park.
It was also a setting for scenes from 'Amistad'.
6. Take a leisurely walk around Old San Juan
The best spot for parking for an Old Town walk is La Puntilla, located in Paseo de la Princesa.
From there, a few mins walk away is the Raices fountain.
The fountain's bronze statues was built to commemorate the 500th year of The New World and honor Puerto Rico's mixed African, Spanish and Taino / Amerindian heritage.
From there is the Paseo de la Princesa, a tree-covered walk with the old town walls on the right and the San Juan bay on the left.
Once you walk along Paseo de la Princesa, you will find the entrance into Old Town.
The Old Town is marked by narrow lanes and corridors (called Callejon) and colourfully painted houses with images of the flag visible in several places.
Tree-covered, shaded roads mark the walk up the hill to San Felipe del Morro and continue into the populated town center with its cobbled streets and numerous bars and restaurants.
7. Sample local food and flavours
San Juan is best known for its Tostones (thinly-sliced and fried plantains), Arroz con gandules (rice with peas, capers and seasoning) and Mofongo (mashed plantains served with filling of meat or veggies).
Apart from that, there is a whole host of Mexican and even Tex-Mex style food everywhere.
We stuck to local small restaurants and tried to avoid chains wherever possible.
We had breakfasts at two local cafes - Piu Bello with delicious eggs and breakfast burritos, pancakes and milkshakes and Las Canarias (which seemed a fair bit like a greasy diner).
We also did dinner outside a couple of times - at Hijole (Cocina Mejicana) - with wonderful Mexican food and margaritas with American style portions and at Las Nanas Cantina in a far more relaxed setting.
Raices was the only restaurant that we visited that claimed to be authentic Puerto Rican and the famed Mofongo and Arroz was tried - which was definitely worth it, even though the restaurant itself is very busy and the service is rushed.
However, our most indulgent and perhaps satisfying meal of the trip was a lazy lunch at Pirilo Pizza Rustica. Though supposedly just a 'pizza place', their extensive tapas section on the menu revealed plenty of local cuisine and amazingly tasty food.
Apart from the stuffed mushrooms in the picture, Chicharrones de Yuca (fried cassava chips), Empanadillitas de Queso y Espinacas (cheese and spinach empanadas) and Frituritas de Mozzarella (breaded mozzarella) were all sampled and was uniformly good.
The pizzas themselves were tasty, though a touch heavy. I didn't hear the kids complain.
In Summary
Even though we mostly stuck to the San Juan area, we found plenty to do that was cultural, relaxing, adventurous and fun.
If you're looking for a proper island break, with tropical weather, beach activity, food and drink with local flavour and some adventure, you can't go wrong with Puerto Rico.
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