shubha_r

Hello friends,
We are doing a girls trip for 3 nights and 4 days in PR at the end of Feb and we are staying in Hilton Caribe.
This is our first trip to PR, so would love to know what are some of the things to do and best places to eat and hang out !! We wont be renting a car, but using taxis.

We are little hesitant about rainforest and the night kayak due to zika virus issues.

But would love to hear ideas and any other tours we can take.

Kush

genio67

If it's not too late, switch hotels. The Hilton Caribe is kind of isolated and you will have to take a taxi everywhere. I would suggest either La Concha in Condado or El San Juan in Isla Verde. Both hotels are fun, lively and you will have a great time at either. There are bars and restaurants in and very near both hotels and you will find plenty of nigh time activity. You can take a taxi to Old San Juan for both day time exploring or for the evening. There are many options and choices of restaurants but it really depends on your price range. There are low key local places as well as expensive, trendy upscale places. What are you looking for?

If you can't switch hotels, don't worry as you can hop a taxi to the main are of Condado in 5 minutes or to Old San Juan as well.

shubha_r

Thanks genio67, that's great feedback. Will check into our cancellation policy. If not, we will stick to the taxi route

Can you recommend some trendy upscale as well as some authentic places too ? Would love to sample both.

And what are some activities we can do while we are there ?

genio67

You say 3 girls but I don't know if you are 25 year old girls or 50 year old girls...or older. Anyway, the upscale restaurants we like are Santaella, Oceano, Marmalade and Budatai. There are plenty more but these are the ones we ate at recently. I have also been to Casa Lola which we liked very much. For casual places we liked Orozco, El Alambique and Casa en Hecho. Metropol is also a good place for PR/Cuban food.
A quick google search of these places will bring you to the Yelp and Trip Advisor pages where you can read reviews and decide what appeals to you.

For nightlife, El San Juan hotel on the weekends is a lot of fun. There is live music in the lobby and a club in the hotel that is very popular. This is not just a tourist spot and locals also enjoy the nightlife at this hotel. I didn't go to the club but if you are say under 30 or 35, it might appeal to you. Otherwise, the lobby bar offers live entertainment and dancing and I have seen people there ranging from 18-80.

La Concha hotel also has a lively weekend scene at it's lobby bar. La Placita is an area around the Plaza del Mercado and at night on Thurs-Sat it is very lively and there are outdoor bars, music, dancing etc. It gets very crowded (especially on Friday) and it's a mix of locals and tourists. You can take a taxi there from Condado or Isla Verde. If you eat at Santaella, which is in La Placita, you can enjoy a pre or post dinner drink and take in the fun. We were easily able to get a taxi back to our hotel from Santaella.

As far as activities, Old San juan has lots of beautiful architecture, cobble stone streets and two impressive forts. El Morro is the larger one and definitely worth checking out. You can also go to the rainforest but to be honest, since you have limited time and you might want to relax on the beach or by the pool, play it by ear and see how you feel when you are there.

Regarding Zika virus, it's best to check the WHO and CDC websites for updates and make your decision based on that info. Anything you get from a travel forum is just opinion. It's a big concern for pregnant women. However, I will say if anyone in your group is pregnant or planning to get pregnant soon, I would read the advice very carefully and reconsider going at a later time.

genio67

Also, if you look under my profile you will see my trip report from our recent long weekend in San Juan.

shubha_r

genio67, thanks so much for your detailed response. Looks like we will be staying at Hilton Caribe itself, and we are 4 girls in early 40's

Will look at the suggested restaurants as well.

Thanks !
Kush

tom42

Here is a trip report I posted in summer of 2014. It might have some helpful information. I've stayed at the Caribe Hilton before and while I am not wild about it's location, it is fine for a three night trip. The hotel itself is pretty nice. It's just that it isn't walking distance to anything, like genio67 said. But it is a very short cab ride to either Condado or Old San Juan.

http://www.fodors.com/community/cari...m-san-juan.cfm

jumpinjess7

When I went a few years back we did the bioluminescent bay tour at Fajardo. It was really cool, definitely an experience I"ll always remember. I heard somewhere that the tours may not be going on anymore, but if they are consider it. We also hiked the rainforest which was very cool, and Old San Juan is definitely a must see!

shubha_r

Thanks Jumpinjess. We are a little hesitant about rain forest hike because of Zika virus.

Will look into bioluminescent tour.

Kush