Sparks

Had a wonderful time in Puerto Rico last week! I could write for hours, but will keep it short. E-mail me questions.<BR> We stayed at the Wyndham El San Juan in Isla Verde, about 10 minutes from the airport. This hotel made our entire vacation. We had been considering staying at one of the hotel resorts outside of San Juan and are really glad we didn't. Not only were the grounds of our hotel incrdible, the area had resaurants, fast food, Walgreens, &amp; Charlie Car Rental all within walking distance. The room we had on the 4th floor was the least expensive, but was very nice &amp; had a balcony. Security was great around the pool areas &amp; I never was concerned even swimming in the pool at night. The staff was helpful &amp; fiendly &amp; we only had one problem during our stay. We signed up for Wyndham by Request, but they never received it at the hotel. We notified them &amp; some idiot came at midnight to deliver our snacks &amp; drinks. Otherwise, it was the most romantic stay. Giant swimming pools, waterfall, nice beach, chirping frogs at night, etc. <BR> We used the bus service that stops right outside the door (25 cents!) to go into old San Juan on Sat. &amp; Sun. Ate at a nice resaurant with great food called Cafe Berlin. Not cheap, but split the apricot chicken &amp; it was great! Tour El Morro &amp; just walked around a lot. The bus takes about 1/2 hour &amp; is nice because you ride around with the locals. On Monday we rented a car &amp; took off for Ponce &amp; the south shore. Ponce was just OK, but we were looking for beach areas. We toured the &quot;castle&quot; of the Don Q rum family which was nice. Don't buy rum here. We could have purchased the same thing at the airport for much less! Great view &amp; nice drive up the hill. Then we went further along the coast &amp; found a nice beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Driving from San Juan to Ponce was about 1 &amp; 1/2 hours &amp; the roads (toll) were fantastic. Driving was not bad at all if you realize that whoever has the biggest balls goes first! You have to be agressive. Just push in like everyone else. The streets &amp; street signs in the little towns like Farjado &amp; Ponce are horrible. We got lost quite often. <BR> Next we went along the northwest coast &amp; drove to Ariceibo. The drive was great, but the dish was a bit of a let down. Lots of stairs &amp; hills to climb, so be aware. <BR> Wednesday we took an excursion on a 50 ft sailing ship and went snorkeling. This was great! The reef was incredible. We used Erin Go Braugh &amp; thought the captain was a bit kooky, but he knew his business. Spent a nice long day out on the water.<BR> The only disappointment was that we found no snorkeling off a beach anywhere on the main island &amp; did not feel comfortable going to one of the small islands on a ferry. We were kind of worried we would get stuck on the island if we didn't like it with no where to go until 4:00. <BR> We celebrated our anniversary at Pamela's restaurant in the Numero Uno Inn on the beach &amp; had a fantastic, but expensive meal. We also ate twice at Metropol &amp; really enjoyed their food. The smoked chiken was great as well as the pot roast.<BR> We had a fantastic time &amp; would love to return again sometime. PR has a little of everything- rain forest, beaches, snorkeling, shopping, etc.

wow

Puerto Rico has beaches???

xxx

We will be going to PR in the future. Thanks for the report. Now was there a beach in front of your hotel to use? I was in PR one day once from a cruise ship. We went to a great beach. Yes PR has beaches. I am glad you had a good time.

rqf

The El San Juan is right on the beach as are the Ritz Carlton and the Intercontinental

annie

Glad you enjoyed PR. We are going again during the holiday week - we did this last year and loved it. We base ourselves in Ponce. If you drive west along the coast, which we haven't done yet, could you name a few really great beaches, interesting towns, etc. to visit?<BR><BR>Thanks.

pam

Nice trip report. Would you recommend waiting to rent a car once you are in PR, or pre-arrange it prior to visiting? Or does it matter? Is one more convenient than the other or cost effective? Thanks.

xxx

Thanks for the Aricebo tip, Sparks. We were planning to take a ride there when we go in February. The rides around the island are just beautiful, but maybe it isn't worth the trip. Any interesting things on the west coast?

top

Topping.

VVV

ANNIE, If you go west from ponce, try Boqueron. It's in the southwestern tip of PR. You can also try Rincon on the northwest<BR>coast.<BR> There's a restaurant in Boqueron called The Fish Net (or something like that). It's a little dinky place, but it has the BEST fried red snapper in the world.

M

Great report! Thanks for the info.<BR><BR>How expensive was Pamela's?

spark

We did not drive very far along the west coast so I can't give you any info. As to Pamela's, the meal for two with two appetizers, entrees, two scotch &amp; waters and splitting a dessert was around $120. It is a small place so make reservations.

pam

Once again, (scroll up) do you recommend renting a car after arrival in PR or make the arrangements before. Does it matter? Which is more cost efficient? Thanks.

smd

I just returned from vacation to Puerto Rico early Sunday. My best friend and I did it as cheaply as possible. We stayed at a small hotel called Mango Inn--not luxurious but it had comfortable beds, A/C, hot water, and cable. The staff was very hospitable to any other needs. It is a short walk to the main street in Isla Verde, going on the walkway over Highway 26. <BR>We ate some great PR food for dinner each night, at Mi Casita and Bohio Criollo at Isla Verde, and Mojitos in Old San Juan. The bus service was easy enough and a bargain for just a quarter. The ferry to go to Bacardi Factory from OSJ is only 50 cents one way. The only time we rented a car was from Charlie's, and that was used to go west to Rio Camuy Cave Park--such incredible caverns. We regret that we had no time to go to El Yunque or Ponce. We did go snorkeling with Traveler company, and the staff there was very generous and helpful. The reefs were beautiful, we even had dolphins swim around our catamaran. Right before leaving PR, we toured some of the forts, which allowed us to see beautiful views of the coast. My friend and I were only there 5 days, but we packed in as much as we possibly could, and the memories are priceless.

sparks

Sorry I didn't address your question. Yes, I would make arrangements before hand. I did my research &amp; found a good rate, then I booked it. When we went to Charlie's they made a mistake (sure) &amp; tried to charge me more per day. I then showed them my e-mail communication with the booked rate. Hope this helps.

Len

Thanks for your great response Im leaving for PR tomorrow and am doing my last minute checking on restaurants and things to do, like to save these things to read on the plane ride over there...Besides that well be staying at the same hotel that you stayed in and are pleased to hear that you had such a nice experience there.

cris

hi--thanks sooo much!!!!!!!!! very helpful. <BR><BR>question though: did you find it difficult to drive in puerto rico? the driving isn't suppose to be the greatest and i am just concerned.<BR><BR>we are only planning on hitting the usual: yunque, camuy caves, etc. and i am planning on going to old san juan and condado by bus.<BR><BR>lastly, we are splitting our trip from 5 days in dorado and 4 in san juan. does anyone have any suggestions on how to get to and from, other than paying a cab fare? and if i have to pay a cab fare, how much do you think it'll cost??<BR><BR>any help would be great. thank you!