A Magical Week in Puerto Rico
Looking for a combination of culture, adventure, and relaxation? Look no further than the beautiful island of Puerto Rico! You can relax on the most beautiful islands, climb waterfalls in the rainforest, and stroll down the historic streets of Old San Juan. Pack your sunglasses and sunscreen because this island paradise will keep you out all day long!
Tips:
Transportation: For this itinerary, I used a rental car to get around the island. There are plenty of reasonably priced car rentals that you can pick-up at SJU (San Juan Airport). The public transportation options in San Juan are limited to Taxis.
Directions/ Cellular Devices: Because Puerto Rico is US territory, I had normal cellular data through AT&T and was able to use Waze or Google Maps to direct us around the island. However, Verizon does not provide service in Puerto Rico and will charge international fees.
Day One: Vieques Island
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Head to the Fajardo Ferry Terminal located in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. There is a public ferry to the island
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The ferry to Vieques Island costs $2/ Person and takes about 1.5 hours to get to the island
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parking for $5/ Day.
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The ferry leaves at 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 4:45 PM, and 8:15 PM
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You can find all important ferry information at: Vieques Ferry
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You will definitely want to arrive at the ferry terminal at least an hour in advance- the line gets very long and it's first come, first serve
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Check into your hotel (accommodations listed below) & hit the beach!
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Best Beaches: La Chiva Beach "Blue Beach", Caracas Beach, Esperanza Beach
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All beaches can be accessed via taxi shuttles (typically $5/ Person)
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Evening: Bioluminescent Bay Kayaking Tour
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The bioluminescent bay is a magical bay that glows at night, tours can be scheduled via Blackbeard sports
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Day Two: Vieques Island
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Snorkeling:/ Scuba Diving
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I HIGHLY recommend Blackbeard Sports! A portion of the proceeds go towards the island's boys and girls club, the diving instructors are the most friendly locals, and the price is right!
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Our snorkeling adventure started near a dock that is known for sea turtle spotting, and we were not disappointed! We saw some beautiful sea turtles swimming below us.
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Because we were the only two people on the tour, our instructor took us to an incredibly local, private beach where he fishes for dinner. The coral was incredible because this part of the island is primarily untouched; we were the only people on the beach.
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Make sure to spend some time on any of the other beaches before grabbing the last ferry back to the mainland (leaves at 6:30 pm).
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Once you arrive at the ferry terminal, head back to your car and drive to your hotel on the mainland.
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Day Three: Humacao/ Hotel beach
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We spent our third day relaxing at our hotel and strolling along our (private) beach- that's right, we had the beach to ourselves- during spring break, no less! hopefully, you'll be just as lucky =)
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We found a great deal for the Whyndham Garden Palmas Del Mar on groupon.
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Honestly, there wasn't much to do around this hotel so if you're looking for fun nightlife, I would look elsewhere.
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Because we didn't plan on spending much time at our hotel, we were okay with the private beach and cozy bed.
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Day Four: Rainforest Adventure
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We signed up for a full-day rainforest adventure en EL Yunque Rainforest through Viator. Our excursion included zip lining, repelling, climbing waterfalls, and a homemade lunch. Our tour guides were wonderful and the lunch was excellent! fresh free-ranged chicken, fresh fruit, Mexican rice, and rice pudding for dessert. We met our tour guides around 8:30 AM and we were back at our hotel around 6:00 pm.
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After the excursion, we watched the sunset, ate some dinner, and relaxed at our hotel.
Day Five: Beach Hopping in Aguadilla & Isabella
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We decided to take our rental car to the other side of the island and scope out some of the beaches on the west coast of the island. We went to 4 different beaches. If you would rather limit your traveling, the first two beaches were by far our favorites!
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Beach One: Jobs Beach
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Beach Two: Cueva Survival Beach
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Survival beach was really incredible! it’s known as a beach for locals because it’s pretty hard to find.. you have to hike for about 20 minutes in order to find it, make sure to bring appropriate shoes- you'll be walking through the woods and over some pretty large boulders. but it was an AWESOME beach if you're willing to get there!
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Beach Three: Rincon Beach
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We found some restaurants near the beaches and enjoyed a beautiful sunset before driving 2 hours back to our hotel on the East Coast of the island.
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Day Six: Old San Juan
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We checked out of our hotel first thing in the morning and headed north to Old San Juan. We had a late flight out this evening so we spent the day in the city before heading to the airport around 10:00 pm.
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San Felipe del Morro Fortress ($5 admission Fee). There is a free shuttle that goes between both forts, or you can walk- about one mile
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stroll the colorful city streets
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enjoy the city before heading to the airport!
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We parked our car in a parking garage for the entire day, it was pretty easy to find parking so don't worry about your rental car
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