My husband and I are travelling to PR for the first time in March. We have 6 nights and 7 days. We plan to see Old San Juan, Mosquito Bay, and El Yunque, at the very least. With only 6 nights, we are not sure if we need to rent a car and where we should stay. Top priorities - beaches, one day of deep-sea fishing, checking out the nature attractions and some history.

We would like to spend our last night or two in Old San Juan so we are close to the airport for our departure. Should we stay on Vieques for the first 4 nights to fish, see the bio-bay, and relax at the beaches? OR should we stay one night near the rain forest and then travel on to Vieques for three nights?

I have done a ton of research and I can't find the right intinerary for our needs. We do not want to spend a ton of time in the car driving from one destination to another. Therefore, we are looking for the place with the most to offer so we are not staying in a different hotel every night.

Your advice is GREATLY appreciated!

I'm right there with you! Our trip is mostly planned, but not completely- and it's only 2 weeks away!

One thing we've noticed is that renting a car or taking cabs really seems to be a wash. You could fly directly from the airport to Vieques, then take a ferry back to Fajardo and rent a car there, although you will have to pay to rent it and park it in OSJ. It seemed to us like that wouldn't be any more costly than the cab from Fajardo to OSJ and then to the airport, and the publicos were much too costly time-wise to consider.

So my suggestion, I guess, would be 4-1-1, or 3-1-2- it all depends on how much time you think you'll need in OSJ.

Oh- I don't know if you've seen/noticed this or not, but I have yet to see anything that says a jeep isn't necessary on Vieques. The closest was the suggestion of a bike.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for the speedy reply! I have only heard that you definitely need a jeep on Culebra, but not necessarily on Vieques. Who knows? Guess we have to go and see and then know what to do the next time we travel to PR

Here is what I have come up with for our tentative itinerary (please, anyone, tell me if I'm misguided!)

Day One: Arrive in San Juan at 2pm. Rent car and drive to El Yunque. Stay in Rio Grande area for the night.

Day Two: Get to El Yunque early a.m. for tour. Drive to Fajardo (or take boat, if available) and depart to Vieques. Stay in Vieques.

Day Three: A.M. Enjoy beach and relax. P.M. Take bio-bay tour. Stay in Vieques.

Day Four: A.M. fishing charter. Afternoon at beach. Stay in Vieques.

Day Five: Beach all day and relax.

Day Six: A.M. Boat or puddle jumper to Old San Juan. P.M. Condado beach and sightseeing. Stay in Old San Juan.

Day 7: A.M. Sightseeing and depart P.M.

I have a lot more work to do on this. It's tough being the first time. There is so much to see and do in PR. But with only 6 nights!

PS: If you ever travel to the Amalfi Coast in Italy - I have a lot of advice to give

Enjoy your trip!

does anyone know how far of a drive is el yunque from old san juan? and how far is el yunque from farjado? thanks so much!

The best site to check all this out is brand new:

www.gotopuertorico.com

COCONTOM - you are right. You do need a car on Vieques. My apologies

Thanks for your great advice. We decided to go with 1-4-1. Have fun on your trip. Looking forward to comparing notes after you get back...

Definitely! Tom just booked the biobay/snorkeling most of the day tour today, so we're done booking (and we packed last weekend!)!

Right now, this is what we're doing:
Day 1- arrive SJU around 2:30, rent car, explore (probably do the Bacardi distillery). I know where we're going for dinner, but I have directions and a picture, but no name! Dancing in OSJ.
Day 2- OSJ
Day 3- 9am Ferry from Fajardo to Vieques, snorkeling and biobay tour with Abe's Snorkeling. We paddle out, snorkel, dinner on Novillo Beach, then kayak and swim in the biobay.
Day 4- Back to Fajardo, maybe hit El Yunque or a beach.
Day 5- Day sail on Erin Go Braugh (Valentine's Day!)
Day 6- Toro Negro tour with Acampa- ziplining, hiking, swimming
Day 7- Beach or more of El Yunque
Day 8- Go home.

Day one................rain forest with beach
Day two ............... all day snorkeling -catamaran trip
Day three........... tour of old San Juan and rum distillery
Day four............. trip to caverns with observatory
day five............. take a break these tours will kill you hahahahaha
just a joke, beach day, read a good book
Day six ............. horse back riding
day seven.........city of Ponce tour in the south
day eight........... night kayak at luminiscent bay
day nine.............you better get back home

A few things:
it is about 45 minutes, give or take, to El Yunque from San Juan.

Also: Everyone forgets the west coast of PR!!! That is my favorite part of the island (I go to PR at least 1 or 2 times each year). I would recommend Rincon, PR and especially the Blue Boy Inn (B&B). They have a great website. Rincon has beautiful beaches, all types of fishing and water-sports (esp. surfing ans snorkeling). PLus, it has NO major hotels or tourist-trap stuff. It seems to be where a lot of puerto rican natives will go for a trip. Its on Rt. 413 - The road to happiness.

We have not forgotten about Rincon. We just have 6 nights and seven days and we can't see it all in that amount of time. I look forward to seeing Rincon on my next trip to PR. Thanks for the info