Tentative 8 day Puerto Rico itinerary
 

I'm hoping some of you may have some input and advice on our tentative trip to Puerto Rico.<BR>Our current plan is:<BR>arrive, 3 nights in San Juan<BR>somehow get to Rincon (anyone know the best way?) to stay two nights and do an all day dive trip to Mona Island (anyone been?)<BR>get from Rincon to Fajardo (again, should we rent a car in San Juan and drive around and leave it in Fajardo?)<BR>ferry to Vieques for 2 night stay and BioBay tour<BR>fly back to San Juan for a night to catch up and fly back to California.<BR>Does this seem reasonable? Are we missing something? We hope to see the rainforest one of the first three nights in San Juan.

No bus or tyrain service on the island. There are public cars (publicos) that could be used but it would be a hassle. THe best choice is the rental car

I agree with S. It is an ambitous plan, but you will get to see different parts of the island. I really love the bio bay in Vieques!<BR><BR>You will need to rent a car. The drive from Rincon to Fajardo will be looong. The shortest route will probably take 4-6 hours. Make sure that you are not driving between San Juan and Rincon or between San Juan and Fajardo on a weekday between 3 and 6:30 PM, or you will encounter a lot of traffic.

Forgot to mention that you should make arrangements for the Mona diving before arriving on the island. It is a long boat ride (more than a couple of hours), but it's supposed to be like a mini-Galapagos. Because it's hard to access, it has stayed very pristine.

Thanks for the advice!<BR>We've decided to rent a car (at least for Rincon/Mona Island) but may drive back to San Juan and fly in and out of Vieques.<BR><BR>We have found a place to stay/charter for the Mona Island drive. Have others been there and can attest to its worthwhile-ness? It is a LONG day (boat leaves at 3:30 a.m.) but it does seem very fun.

oops, i should have said mona island dive, not drive :)

Hi Margie,

I did a search and saw this thread. I'd like to hear how your trip turns out and what your final itinerary was. I'm planning to do a similar trip in Nov.

How did you get to Mona Island? How was Vieques? Where did you stay?

Thanks.
Jen

Margie,

You don't mention when you are going or went. I did a trip with my kids for 8 days. I spent one night in vieques (originally planned on 2). The bioluminescent bay is a must. Then spent 3 days in Rincon. Went horseback riding and local diving. Spent 4 days in Dorado, which we used as the base for San Juan, Rio Camuy caves and the rain forest.

I originally planned the reverse itinerary, but my wife suggested that it would be better to improve the hotel quality as we went, and in the end it was a great move.

A rental car would be necessary in my opinion. The car can be parked at the Fajardo ferry. A taxi can take you to your hotel and pick you up for the ride back to the ferry.

We are going back to PR for a precruise stay in Rincon. We are doing a snorkel/scuba day trip (7A-2P) to Desecheo Island, which is a lot more manageable than Mona Island.

Let me know if you want any more details. Have fun.

Mike