SAnParis

Let me preface this by saying on the whole, the trip was wonderful, as was the weather (75-85). A lot of the info is to help first timers avoid the same pitfalls that we encountered. We arrived in PR 1/6 & called for our rental car company (Advantage) to come pick us up. For some reason it required three persons (in a 7 passenger mini-van) to come & get 3 adults + a 2 year old. Lesson learned, pay the money & go w/the big name rental agencies. We proceeded to Fajardo where we spent 3 nights at the Fajardo Inn. While there, we also visited Luquillo Beach, a wonderful public beach w/in easy driving distance. Well worth a visit for the nice water & postcard views. We did not visit Vieques & the Bay as the water was very murky due to the recent rains. (Next time) We had a great time here just relaxing (by the way my wife is also 6+ months pregnant) which was the purpose. However, no real reason to visit Fajardo except as a stopping off point for Vieques or Culebra. From there we continued to Casa Cubuy located in the nearby rainforest. Wonderful rooms, views, hiking & breakfasts. You could see 3 waterfalls from our room. Just remember to take along some food or snacks. If they don't have 6 people request dinner, you are on your own & it is a long ride back to town. From there, onto Rincon where we stayed at the Coconut Palms, just a few hundred yards from Villa Confresi. Right on the beach, great views & sleeping to the sound of the pounding surf right outside your window. The surf can be a little rough, so I had to keep a close eye on my daughter even though she is very much in tune w/the ocean. The drop off & undertow can be surprisingly severe at times. Dined @ the Black Eagle (The Spot) as well as Confresi (both good & laid back) & also visited the light house & several of the surfing beaches. Certainly an area I would revisit & Rt. 413 through Rincon is not unlike certain parts of the Keys. From here, back to Old San Juan & the Sheraton (formerly the Wyndham). Although we had a wonderful time in Old San Juan, visiting the forts & visiting w/the locals I would suggest staying at the El Convento (or most anywhere else) outside of the Sheraton. We rec'v'd misinformation several times, we were called at 10:30pm to change our pick up time the next morning to 7:30am. The customer service in general was horrid & the Club floor was not good outside of breakfast. In speaking w/several persons who were regulars there, they also indicated that it had gone steadily downhill since Sheraton came in. We (as well as many others) also had our keys deactivated in the middle of our stay. When I went to have them fixed, they didn't even ask for ID !! The room & housekeeping were fine, but for the money that we spent, I expect much more. All in all an enjoyable trip but next time I will spend the majority of my time split between Rincon & Vieques or Culebra. It is also nice if you can avoid San Juan on the weekends as the cruise ships dock & depart on Sundays. I'll be happy to be more specific or answer questions if I can. Happy Travels !!

lllaros

Sounds like you had fun. We are going to PR before our cruise on 3/27. We really only have one full day to spend - and are thinking about either taking a catamaran trip to Culebra or hiring a guide to take us to El Yunque. We have two kids - 12 and 14. If you only had a day, what would you recommend?

Dmaugle

I am about to book the Fajardo Inn for two nights prior to our cruise. We are a family of four and our hope is to get to Culebra and the rainforest. Would you recommend this establishment? Thanks, Dave

SAnParis

The Fajardo Inn is nice enough w/a better than average restaurant & pool area. Just don't expect to do much while you are there. It is, however, a great stopping off point for a day or two particularly to visit the islands. You really can't lose w/the rain forest or Culebra although I think based on the ages of your children I would probably opt for the Culebra trip.

SAnParis

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topping for Westin thread

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obersee1

hi, would you please clarify why you skipped vieques because of the recent rains? i'm planning to go in a week. will the water no look good and make it no longer worth it?

SAnParis

We were told in Fajardo that the water was all 'mucked up' due to a huge amount of unseasonal rains. So you couldn't see much of anything. I would just check w/the locals prior to making the trip.