Bmysunshine

We're a young, healthy married couple with no kids. We have two weeks of vacation coming in August and would like to visit for the first time the Carribbean. We definitely want to see Puerto Rico. What's the best way to do this? We're not interested in taking a cruise on a big cruise liner. We would rather fly-in, rent a car if necessary or join guided day tours once there. Reccomend any particular tour companies? How many islands could we reasonably see in this time? Could we consider Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and then Puerto Rico or would it be better to limit to 2-3? We will not be spending our time sunbathing at the beach. We're more interested in seeing what makes the island/s unique in natural beauty and in historical points of interest. We definitely would enjoy nightlife, good food and drink, music and dancing. Thank you for any helpful responses you can send my way.

Viajero2

Puerto Rico is a great choice if looking for fascinating history in the Caribbean. Fly into San Juan, plan for 2-3 days exploring Old San Juan. Hop in a car and drive on to Ponce. One of the best ways to explore Puero Rico is to follow the Parador Route. Paradores are hotels in a historic setting; the paradores in PR even pre-date the Parador system in Spain, so they are well established and provide a great way to explore the island. For a great contrast after staying in San Juan, I would recomend the Parador Hacienda Gripinas, an old coffee plantation in the center of the island high in the central mountain range with an outstanding restaurant and even more amazing natural setting. From PR you can fly to many places in the Caribbean. Your call, really.

History in the Caribben is a lot about European colonialism and slave trading (sadly). Vivid representations of this eras can be found just about anywhere in the Caribbean; Aruba, Santo Domingo, Barbados, Martinique.

virginia

at most i would do 2 islands, especially if one is puerto rico. pr is a very big island with tons to see and do to fill 2 weeks time.
however, you can fly almost anywhwere from san juan. history & nightlife might be barbados.

Jimmie

Since San Juan is a hub for many flights, it would be easy for you to go to one other island. Maybe you would find it interesting to go to an island with another cultural background (meaning non-Spanish) with good food like St. Barts (French) or St. Martin (dutch, french).

SAnParis2

I would suggest at least a week for PR & make sure to include Vieques & Rincon. There are many direct flights out of San Juan, I'd likely choose only one other island. Island hopping is very dependent on the transportation which can (@ its best) be iffy and on its own schedule. If you want to see more than that, I would suggest a cruise, which I loathe, but many do leave from San Juan.