Safety in PRI
 

This will be our first trip to PR- San Juan area. We're now told that PR is not that safe! We're thinking of going anyway,so... Any particular things we should know about..also, anything that will make the trip special. We're planning 5-7 days

You'll find San Juan as safe as any other American city and Puerto Rico as safe as any other United States State or Commonwealth. You should exercise the same caution you would travelling anywhere.

Reading those negative reports makes one paranoid. I know, I cancelled a trip to Vieques a few years ago because I had read some things. We finally ended up going this year and had a wonderful time with absolutely no problems anywhere, anytime. We spent time in Old San Juan before taking the ferry over to Vieques. We walked around at night in both places and never felt nervous.

If you focus on all the bad stuff in the news - no city in the US is safe...

PR is like any other place in the US - it has its bad areas and it has its good areas.

If you went to New York, you would stay close to the tourist areas. Just doi the same here in PR. I have been here for 12 months now and not had any problems 'touch wood'.

Check out Old San Juan and all of its sights.
El Yunque rainforest is another must. and there is plenty more to see. Check out the posts at my blog www.visit-the-coqui.com

Use common sense and you should be ok. One area to be aware of- there's an alley/street by the El Morro wall and cemetery. You have to walk down the street to get to the cemetery. Once you're there, go back up the way you came, do not go east up the hill- that will get you right into the hood (we live in the Detroit area and felt unsafe- it was deserted, but still kinda scary).

But El Morro is really cool- we got some great shots there!

You don't say where you are staying, but that will certainly be a factor in how safe you will feel. When I went to Puerto Rico last, I walked around Condado until midnight and never felt unsafe, and I walked between the apartment where I was staying (next to Ajili Mojili) and the Marriott, which goes through some quiet areas.

Street crime does happen in San Juan, so you shouldn't be foolish, but you also shouldn't be overly concerned. I'd strongly caution about walking on the beach at night. It's dark, and there can be muggings. But in most of the busier tourist areas of San Juan, you shouldn't be scared. Don't get me wrong: There are some very bad areas of San Juan, but they are also areas where tourists are unlikely to venture, so the posts above are absolutely correct that you are as safe in San Juan as most any American city.

Do take cabs for most nighttime travel, unless you are just walking to a nearby restaurant.