Another Puerto Rico trip report
 

Hi Everyone,
I just got back from a trip to PR and wanted to let everyone know that I had a great trip, thanks in part to some of the answers I got to questions here.
I also wanted to let people know know what I thought about different things on our trip.
We were there for a week and stayed at the ESJ Towers in Isla Verda. The hotel isn't a luxury hotel like the Ritz, and its not an all-inclusive, but we thought it was great. The staff was great and very accomodating to certain needs we had. We realized when we were there, that it is key to stay in a hotel that is right on the beach. We were thinking of the Embassy Suites and its 2.5 blocks away from the beach and we realized that would have been a huge pain. Some people mentioned that you have to walk through the parking garage to get to the beach in the ESJ Towers but we found that to be not a big deal at all.

We spent a day in Old San Juan and going to the Bacardi factory in Catano. That was a great, if tiring, day. Give yourself at least a couple of hours to spend in El Morro, the fortress. Also, reward yourself for all the walking in Old San Juan with a stop at Ben & Jerry's on Calle Cristo.

A key thing we learned while in PR is to make sure that places are open on the day you want to go before you set plans in stone. The Bacardi gift store was closed on the day we went because of an artisan's festival and we didn't know that ahead of time. We also wanted to go to certain beaches on Monday and Tuesday and found they were closed when we got there.

We rented a car for one day from Charlie Car Rental which is located in Isla Verda, they were great and picked us up from our hotel.
We spent the day with the car going east. We spent most of the day in El Yunque, the rain forest, and had a great time. Its definitely worth it to spend the $3.00 pp to go into the visitor center. Definitely be prepared for rain in El Yunque, even on a bright and sunny day.
The same day we went to El Yunque we went to Fajardo and went on a kayaking trip of the bioluminescent bay. The company we went with was amazing and I highly recommend them. Las Tortugas Adventures, http://www.kayak-pr.com. They always start their tours when there is some sunlight left, but by the time you get to the bay it is totally dark. By starting in sunlight, you can see the mangroves and some wildlife on the way in, something that none of the other tours get to see b/c they start in the dark. The guide we had also does other tours of basically anywhere you want to see on the island.

All in all, I would definitely go to PR again. We enjoyed our time their very much and there are parts of the island we didn't get to see.

Also, if anyone needs any information on kosher or shabbat, feel free to ask me.

Paul

paulhma,

Thanks for posting your trip report. I will definitely heed your suggestion to check for open/operating hours.

How was the weather (other than the rain forest)? My husband's greatest concern! We will be there January 15th.

The weather was great while we were there. It was pretty much sunny and warm everyday except for one. That day we had occasional rain showers that lasted for about 20 minutes each time.
Otherwise the weather was great.

Paul

Hi Paul,
We are going to PR on Spring Break and staying at the Caribe Hilton. Glad to hear you had such a good stay.
El Yunque sounds great! Did you ever go to Loquillo beach?

Hi Girlonthego,
we went to Loquillo beach for a few hours in the afternoon after going to El Yunque. The beach there is really nice, but when we went the Balneario (the public beach with all the amenities) was closed. We just picked a spot on the open beach and spent a few hours there. The public beach is much nicer, but it is closed on certain days during the week, so make sure to doublecheck before you go.
Loquillo beach is only about 15 minutes from El Yunque.
Paul

That's too bad that the public beach at Loquillo was closed. I LOVE the food stands there!