4nights in Puerto Rico the 7 day cruise
 

What places are a must see for my husband and I, this is to celebrate my 65th. we like history and scenery and are fairly active. Arrive in P.R. Oct 23 early pm and plan to rent a car. Also any advice on cruise vacations, should we book trips now or with the cruise line or wait until we are on board. Also what travel books are most helpful. Any other advice? this is our first cruise and first time to Puerto Rico Thank you.

If you like history, I'd recommend spending a couple of nights in Old San Juan at El Convento and NOT renting a car yet. After your 2 nights, rent a car and head to San German, which has interesting architecture, or perhaps Ponce, PR's second city. You might also want to visit the Rio Camuy caves or El Yunque. If you have time, do a nighttime biobay either in the reserve north of Fajardo or the biobay on the south coast (sorry, I can't remember the name). Of course, the biobay thing works best if there's no full moon, so check the calendar. Those would be my suggestion.

Doug, Thank you for your suggestions. We have something to work with now.

I second staying in Old San Juan area, very historic. The biobay Doug mentions is in the island of Vieques. I also really enjoy the Condado area in San Juan (not Old SJ) for upscale evening dining and entertainment...If you really like to immerse yourself in the culture of the places you visit and are truly into adventure, I would recommend planning an afternoon/early dinner meal in "Pinones", which is off the Isla Verde section of San Juan. Do your research on this area, some might find this are "too native", however, I've always felt safe when I visit -- just a bit of culture shock, but very memorable, in a positive way. It's not a common tourist spot, but that's what I like about it...

Puerto Rico actually has 3 bioluminescent bays. One (the best, by far) is in Vieques. Another is the Reserva Natural Las Cabezas de San Juan, north of Fajardo. The third is on the south coast at La Parguera. Sorry I couldn't remember these before, but the two on the main island are not nearly as good as the one in Vieques (which requires an overnight stay on the island).

Here it is, Beach Girl.

Doug, can you recommend places to stay on Vieques? We have visited Ponce for the past 6 or 7 years during the Christmas week but decided this year to split it up and go to Ponce and maybe Vieques. I would love some recs for places to stay there. Thanks.

Just click on "Hotels" above and navigate your way to Puerto Rico. We recomend some very good places on Vieques, including Bravo Beach Resort and Hacienda Tamarindo. The good thing about this small island is that there are many different choices in differing price ranges. My main advice is to rent a car or a jeep. You absolutely need it since none of the best beaches has a hotel on it.

Thanks, Mariana. Search wasn't working well for me yesterday!

hi, we are planning to visit PR in december and was wondering if anybody knwos ofa good tour operator in Luquillo beach area? we would like to do the Bio (nite kayak) and also the rainforest. ny input would be appreciated. We are staying at the Luquillo beach inn. Thanks

farah