Fun stuff in Puerto Rico
February 3, 2005 8:30 AM Subscribe
What to do in Puerto Rico? Besides the obvious (beach, scuba, surf, but if you have suggestions along those lines, feel free). I'll be staying at a friend's in Rincon, on the west side of the island, but I'll have a car.
If you're even vaguely interested in hiking or nature, I heartily recommend visiting El Yunque, Puerto Rico's very own rain forest. Lovely.
The only other place I've been to in Puerto Rico is San Juan, but that's roughly two hours by car from Rincon. In case you do visit San Juan, know that the old town is beautiful and there's a great night life there.
Enjoy your trip!
posted by cactus at 1:33 PM on February 3, 2005
The only other place I've been to in Puerto Rico is San Juan, but that's roughly two hours by car from Rincon. In case you do visit San Juan, know that the old town is beautiful and there's a great night life there.
Enjoy your trip!
posted by cactus at 1:33 PM on February 3, 2005
You can't miss El Yunque. It's worth the drive. Even if you hate trees.
Nor can you miss snorkeling in the mangroves.
Arecibo was OK but I enjoyed the drive through the area more than actually visiting it, and I was a science geek at the time. You can't actually walk out over it so where's the fun in that?
Old San Juan was ok, but I'm not a city girl. There's fun shopping, and the night life is indeed good. It's just that, well, you can kind of go shopping anywhere.
Do eat at Pollo Loco for me. The only stateside ones are in Miami, last I heard, and I've been craving it for years. Also, not necessarily at Pollo Loco, be sure to eat sorullitos with special sauce (ketchup, mayo, garlic) and tostones and you probably ought to eat mofongo just for the experience. It's good, but I'd fill up on sorullitos and tostones first. You probably shouldn't eat the coqui.
Parguera, in the corner south of you, has a bioluminescent bay. The problem is that Parguera has all of the sudden become a bit of a tourist town, and the lights at night can obscure the bay's luminescence. I was staying with a friend who had a boat and we could see it, but I've heard that you can't see much from the big charter boats. The best bakery in Puerto Rico is in Parguera, on the east side of the 'town' part of town if I recall correctly. Drink lots and lots of coffee. I miss Puerto Rican coffee, it just doesn't taste right from my maker.
I've been there twice, both times with a friend local to the area, and the best parts were doing things with her family - her uncle was a chef, her father was sort of a fisherman - so we got to dive for conch, and fish in the Caribbean (you go at the right time and the right place, the fish will jump on your hook as fast as you can rebait it), and do all sorts of things that, while tourists can do them, weren't quite so touristy. If you get a chance, walk on a reef at low tide. PR is a beautiful place, and now I'm jealous I don't get to go.
posted by arabelladragon at 2:33 PM on February 3, 2005 [1 favorite]
Nor can you miss snorkeling in the mangroves.
Arecibo was OK but I enjoyed the drive through the area more than actually visiting it, and I was a science geek at the time. You can't actually walk out over it so where's the fun in that?
Old San Juan was ok, but I'm not a city girl. There's fun shopping, and the night life is indeed good. It's just that, well, you can kind of go shopping anywhere.
Do eat at Pollo Loco for me. The only stateside ones are in Miami, last I heard, and I've been craving it for years. Also, not necessarily at Pollo Loco, be sure to eat sorullitos with special sauce (ketchup, mayo, garlic) and tostones and you probably ought to eat mofongo just for the experience. It's good, but I'd fill up on sorullitos and tostones first. You probably shouldn't eat the coqui.
Parguera, in the corner south of you, has a bioluminescent bay. The problem is that Parguera has all of the sudden become a bit of a tourist town, and the lights at night can obscure the bay's luminescence. I was staying with a friend who had a boat and we could see it, but I've heard that you can't see much from the big charter boats. The best bakery in Puerto Rico is in Parguera, on the east side of the 'town' part of town if I recall correctly. Drink lots and lots of coffee. I miss Puerto Rican coffee, it just doesn't taste right from my maker.
I've been there twice, both times with a friend local to the area, and the best parts were doing things with her family - her uncle was a chef, her father was sort of a fisherman - so we got to dive for conch, and fish in the Caribbean (you go at the right time and the right place, the fish will jump on your hook as fast as you can rebait it), and do all sorts of things that, while tourists can do them, weren't quite so touristy. If you get a chance, walk on a reef at low tide. PR is a beautiful place, and now I'm jealous I don't get to go.
posted by arabelladragon at 2:33 PM on February 3, 2005 [1 favorite]
The bioluminescent bay is so great...you have to do that. Swimming in the bay is one of my favorite parts of my visit. There are some great sights to see in San Juan, my favorites being the old churches and hotels. The fort (forgetting the name?) is also a great tourist site to see in SJ. If you want the name of a great scuba boat on the west coast, my grandfather was friends with a great captain while he was down there managing the buses and shuttles for El Conquistador resort. I also have some pictures that I am going to put up on flickr later so if you want any of this info e-mail me at bakerwc (at) gmail (dot) com. I had so much fun when I went, I hope I can help out.
posted by bakerwc1369 at 2:47 PM on February 3, 2005
posted by bakerwc1369 at 2:47 PM on February 3, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fletchmuy at 10:31 AM on February 3, 2005