Puerto Rico, yes, but where to go?
 

Well, BFF and I (perhaps unfortunately, if you read a recent response of mine to another forum posting) have just booked a one-week spring break trip to Puerto Rico. The Belize dream fell through when we couldn't find adequate transportation from Cancun nor cheap fares into Belize City. We've been wanting to see PR for years, though, so this may be a little fortuitous.

We're planning on getting out and about--and perhaps, if Fodorites are correct--FAR, FAR AWAY from our Rio Mar Beach Resort--as we tend to do when we're using a place as a base. The plan is to rent a car for a few days and discover the hidden treasures of the island. We've got a wish list of places so far, compiled in part from what I've read here, which include the following:

1) El Yunque
2) Cavernas del Rio Camuy
3) Old San Juan
4) Guanica State Forest

and activities, such as

5) horseback riding
6) surfing (we'll need lessons)
7) cycling
8) parasailing

Many of the activities we can likely book through the resort, though I'd like to arrange them myself if possible to avoid the concierge's extortion, so tips on these would be worth a fortune to us. Secondly, where else should we go? We do fly-drive tours almost every time we go anywhere, so distance is not a problem for us. If we're going to have to spend a while in the car, we're okay with that.

Finally, let me add that we're on a pretty strict budget this year, so anything that'll help us reduce our costs (yeah, I know that whole Rio Mar Beach Resort thing should've been thought through more carefully now) will be welcome.

If you have a car it's easy to avoid eating at the resort. We stayed there a few years ago and only ate breakfast at the hotel as it was included in our rate. Breakfast was fine, service rather iffy but they still tried to charge us for it (lucky I had a print out of our booking and it was removed from our bill).

El Yunque is really close so you could combine a visit to the rainforest in the morning and then have lunch at the kiosks at Luquillo beach and spend the afternoon there. (kiosk no 2 was our favourite). No tour necessary.

Old San Juan is a long drive from the Rio Mar (about an hour, plus traffic can be bad), don't speed as tickets are given out generously ;)
You could pick up something from the bakery at the turnoff to the Rio Mar for breakfast and head out for the whole day (return after dinner) bring back some snacks for a future breakfast/lunch.
Plenty of stuff to do in OSJ, El Morro is interesting and has some lovely views too. Shopping, walking around the cobbled streets and plenty of nightlife, restaurants etc.

Check the caves are OPEN before making a trip. I've not been but have heard that they are not always open when the website says they are...

Puerto Rico is big and you might find it's just too far to go to Rincon for a day trip to surf...

Other ideas .. I'd highly recommend the biobay trip to Vieques (it's pricey to get the cat each way with East winds but it's a great experience). We've done this twice but both times we've actually stayed on Vieques.

Sassy_cat,

the biobay trip definitely sounds like something we'd enjoy. Should we plan to book that in advance of arrival, since we're going the last week of March?

First thing to check is the lunar calendar (sounds nuts?!). The biobay trip doesn't run around the time of the full moon as there's too much light.

Yes, I would book in advance.

Try this site
http://www.biobay.com/

For surfing you'll want to visit Rincon, but you'll want to stay there a few nights. PR is a big island, no reason to restrict yourself by staying in one place the entire week.

For the biobay tour, should we take insect spray?

cd,
Fortunately, we didn't encounter many mosquitoes on the biobay trip maybe because the of the timing (long time after dusk when they're most active) and the general weather (we went during a dry spell).

Island Adventures emphasises that you should not use insect repellent as it is harmful to the flagellates that produce the glow!

SAnparis2 >>>no reason to restrict yourself by staying in one place the entire week.<<
Unless you've already prepaid and are on a tight budget!

By the way we have tried horseriding on Vieques and if you could extend your budget to include a one night stay on the island then you could do the biobay the evening you arrive and horseride the next day before catching the ferry back to Fajardo. This wouldn't be a huge splurge as the cost of the biobay tour is much less without the catamarran so that money would go towards your accommodation (ferry is very cheap).

I would love to be able to move around, but unfortunately, we've booked ourselves into the Rio Mar for a week. That's not to say we're not adverse to driving,even long distances. On a previous SB trip, we drove from Havre, MT to Medicine Hat, AB, back down through Sweetgrass, MT and back OVER to Havre. And all because we missed a border crossing.

So we'd take a ferry to Vieques, is that right? How long is the trip?

The ferry is about an hour and 20 mins. The port is in Fajardo. You would have to stay overnight on Vieques to do the biobay though as there are no ferries at night.. or you could take the catamaran combined tour.

I suggested staying overnight as you could get cheap room and save $ by using the passenger ferry rather than paying for the expensive tour ($109 per person).
The cost of the biobay tour alone was about $30 per person so even if you pay $100 for a hotel you'd still save $50...

http://www.eastwindcats.com/pages/po...xcursion1.html

Here's a site with ferry times ($4 return)
http://www.vieques-island.com/viequesferry.shtml

Surfing is the best in Rincon and lots of surf schools. Also lots of vacation rentals to choose from, see Homeaway or rincon.org. Bio bay is 1 hour south and caves are 1 hour north. Horseback riding and parasailing in rincon as well.