Puerto Rico is beloved by vacationers around the globe, and for good purpose.

From bioluminescent bays, pristine Caribbean seashores and plush forests to historic streetscapes, a vibrant native meals scene and interesting cultural points of interest, every area of Puerto Rico presents guests a definite expertise.

And there’s merely by no means a nasty time to go to. Higher but, you possibly can usually discover low-cost nonstop flights to each San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín Worldwide Airport (SJU) and Aguadilla’s Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) on the beautiful northwest coast. Should you’re touring from the U.S., you don’t even want a passport or have to alter your cash.

It is an ideal tropical weekend getaway from the Jap Seaboard; you possibly can board an early morning flight and luxuriate in lunch and a pina colada along with your toes within the sand.

In brief: Paradise awaits.

The place to eat and drink in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a superb vacation spot for foodies. Alongside the cobblestone streets of Outdated San Juan, you will discover connoisseur delicacies served in elegant, historic townhomes rubbing shoulders with atmospheric hole-in-the-walls that serve conventional fare.

Following Hurricane Maria, eating places turned ever keener to help native agriculture and rejoice meals that’s grown completely on the island. The result’s farm-fresh, hyper-seasonal delicacies infused with Creole, Taino and Spanish influences.

The much-loved nationwide dish is mofongo — deep-fried mashed plantains served with a facet of seafood or meat and rooster broth soup. Among the many finest locations to attempt it are Santaella in San Juan and Mi Casita in Pinones.

Lechon — a complete pig roasted over a fireplace for a minimum of 4 hours — is one other hearty mainstay of conventional Puerto Rican delicacies. Round an hour’s drive south of San Juan, dozens of lechoneras dot the famed Ruta de Lechon, or “Pork Freeway,” the place trays of succulent, tender pork are served at communal tables, often accompanied by copious chilly beer and reside music.

If you wish to graze on genuine native delicacies beachside, head for Luquillo (close to El Yunque Nationwide Forest), the place greater than 60 kiosks starting from rustic seashore bars to full-service eating places serve genuine Creole cooking in addition to Latin American signature delicacies.

A colourful pit spot whereas exploring San Juan’s stylish Santurce district, Alcapurria Quema is a no-frills Santurce locale that is among the finest locations to attempt Puerto Rico’s ubiquitous native snack, alcapurrias: deep-fried fritters produced from plantains (or grated yucca) full of flavorful beef, pork or fish.

High-quality eating in Puerto Rico

If you wish to splurge, San Juan has loads of upscale eating venues.

Positioned contained in the elegant Condado Vanderbilt Lodge, 1919 is extensively hailed as one of the best positive eating restaurant in Puerto Rico. Helmed by Juan José Cuevas, who labored on the Michelin-starred Blue Hill in New York, menu highlights embody scallops with natural mushrooms, kale and sunchoke, in addition to robalo (snook) with pistachio, native white beans and dill. For an unforgettable eating expertise, go for the chef’s menu ($199) accompanied by sommelier-selected wine pairings. Make a reservation, gown the half and luxuriate in each second. It’s one of many island’s costliest eating places, however value it.

Vianda’s fashionable midcentury modern-style bar and smooth, moody eating room draw well-dressed locals with its revolutionary mixology and farm-to-table delicacies. Vianda means “root vegetable,” and the small, seasonal menu riffs on Puerto Rico’s wealthy culinary heritage whereas showcasing the island’s unimaginable bounty of tropical fruits, greens and herbs. Begin the night with a Corazon de Melon ($15) cocktail, made with tequila, watermelon, cucumber, mint and rosemary, adopted by a signature entree such because the Mar y Tierra, a wealthy medley of cod loin, crispy pork stomach, mussels, sofrito butter and white beans ($44).

Most epicureans may have heard of Marmalade, the internationally famend restaurant credited with placing Puerto Rico on the foodie map. It stays among the finest connoisseur eating experiences on the island. Iowa native chef Peter Schintler deftly blends indigenous and worldwide components to supply a very memorable five-course prix fixe menu ($135 per particular person). It adjustments regularly, however menu classics embody native natural rabbit with black olive garganelli and grilled ahi tuna with peanut-miso broth.

Chef José Santaella’s namesake restaurant is a full of life, enjoyable place to dine on nouvelle Puerto Rican delicacies with household and buddies. The edgy industrial decor (it was once a ironmongery shop) contrasts with the menu’s vibrant “tropical creole” gastronomy. Arrive early for cocktail hour and take a look at a Girl Bullet (Woodford Reserve bourbon, fig marmalade, lavender syrup, orange bitters and lime juice; $16) and keep for the length, grazing on delectable small plates, together with wagyu sliders ($26), grilled Spanish octopus ($32) and escargot ($18).

What to see and do in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has a ton of sightseeing you’ll need to add to your itinerary, too.

El Yunque Nationwide Forest is simply 45 minutes from San Juan and is the one tropical rainforest on U.S. soil. It’s well-known for its unimaginable climbing, an abundance of waterfalls and endemic wildlife.

There are simply 5 bioluminescent bays on the earth, and Puerto Rico is dwelling to a few: Bahia Mosquito, Laguna Grande and La Parguera. To entry Puerto Rico’s bio bays by way of kayak or paddleboard, you’ll have to paddle by darkish mangrove channels — signing up with a tour operator is unquestionably the way in which to go. Most firms function two excursions every evening, at sundown and 9 p.m.

The protected wildlife reserve of Bahia Mosquito is positioned on Vieques, an island municipality a brief flight from San Juan. Famed for its picture-perfect crescents of sand, boutique resorts and crystalline waters, Vieques is the quintessential Caribbean idyll. Boasting the very best focus of phosphorescent dinoflagellates (plankton that make the water sparkle with simply the contact of a hand), Mosquito Bay is the brightest of the world’s 5 bio bays.

For vacationers with restricted time, Laguna Grande is essentially the most accessible bio bay in Puerto Rico, lower than an hour’s drive from San Juan on the northeast coast. What units Laguna Grande aside is that the bay is definitely a lagoon nestled inside an space of spectacular pure magnificence.

Puerto Rico is replete with beautiful, sandy seashores. Close to Luquillo, La Pared is an usually abandoned stretch of just about golden sand. The seashore city of Naguabo, within the southeast nook of the island, can be extremely quiet, and palm timber body the delicate, sandy seashore and turquoise water.

Ponce is Puerto Rico’s second-largest metropolis. Positioned on the island’s southern coast, it’s chock-full of historical past. Make sure to take a look at Plaza Las Delicias, which has a cathedral in addition to an previous firehouse (Parque de Bombas) that’s now a museum.

Museo de la Musica Puertoriquena has a wealthy historical past relationship again to the nineteenth century. Right here, you’ll discover traces of Taino, Spanish and African influences. You’ll additionally study Puerto Rico’s musical historical past, which now you can hear all through different components of the Caribbean, the mainland and around the globe.

The place to remain in Puerto Rico

Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico

Recent from a multimillion-dollar face-lift, this 579-key seashore resort reopened in 2019 because the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve.

Rooms (beginning at 520 sq. toes), suites and villas are up to date and alluring, with easy wood furnishings, marble flooring, a white-on-white shade palette and furnished terraces and patios. Bogs function rainfall showers with separate tubs and Pharmacopia toiletries.

Past the lodge’s pure property — a phenomenal white-sand seashore and 72 acres of flamboyant tropical vegetation — facilities embody a lagoon-style pool, a state-of-the-art health middle, an expensive spa, two Tom Kite-designed 18-hole championship golf programs and several other upscale eating places serving every part from Pacific Rim delicacies and sushi at Nori Asian to prime cuts of beef and seafood at Prime 787, a up to date American steakhouse.

The lodge can organize plenty of actions close by, together with horseback using, an all-terrain-vehicle tour at close by Carabali Rainforest Journey Park and hikes by El Yunque Nationwide Forest.

Charges on the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve begin at $300 or 12,000 World of Hyatt factors per evening.

Hilton Ponce Golf & On line casino Resort

The rambling 255-key Hilton Ponce Golf & On line casino Resort is the one Hilton lodge exterior of the San Juan space.

Whereas rooms are moderately spartan and generic, they’ve an inviting beachy vibe with a green-and-white shade palette, mild wooden furnishings, tiled flooring and balconies with ocean views (in most rooms). Consolation-enhancing fashionable touches embody espresso makers, minifridges and flat-screen televisions.

At this amenity-rich, family-friendly resort, there’s a lot to maintain adults and youngsters entertained, together with two expansive swimming pools, a 27-hole championship golf course, a miniature golf course, tennis courts, a playground and a splash park. It is also dwelling to one of many largest casinos in Puerto Rico and 4 eating places: El Bohio, La Cava, La Terraza and Sancho’s Sushi Bar.

Whereas it isn’t the splashiest Hilton property in Puerto Rico, it’s an incredible base for exploring Puerto Rico’s southwest coast.

Charges on the Hilton Ponce Golf & On line casino Resort begin at $230 or 50,000 Hilton Honors factors per evening.

The St. Regis Bahia Seaside Resort

Positioned between El Yunque Nationwide Forest and Espiritu Santo River State Protect, The St. Regis Bahia Seaside Resort locations visitors inside hanging distance of two of Puerto Rico’s high points of interest.

Designed by Puerto Rican clothier Nono Maldonado, the spacious (and fully refurbished) lodging channel a breezy Caribbean aesthetic with a serene white-and-cream shade palette, summary artworks and smooth, fashionable furnishings.

Nevertheless, it is the luxe particulars and beautiful service that basically set this property aside. There’s the comfy pillow-top mattress dressed with a cashmere throw, the marble spa-style lavatory with a centerpiece deep soaking tub that is stocked with luxe Frette bathrobes, and, in fact, the St. Regis’ personal butler service.

A surfeit of facilities embody a fantastically landscaped swimming pool, a lavish spa, a Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed golf course and three acclaimed eating places.

Charges at The St. Regis Bahia Seaside Resort begin at $695 or 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors per evening.

Dorado Seaside, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Puerto Rico’s most unique resort, Dorado Seaside, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, combines unbridled luxurious and impeccable consideration to element with a sustainable ethos. Constructed by the Rockefeller household within the Nineteen Fifties, it stays a magnet for tycoons, celebrities and, lately, cryptocurrency traders.

Nestled on an excellent 2-mile seashore amid a riot of mature tropical vegetation, fantastically appointed rooms and suites are geared up with each creature consolation possible and assigned their very own personal butler. Customary rooms are large (they begin at 1,000 sq. toes), whereas deluxe suites additionally function personal plunge swimming pools.

The resort’s facilities are, as you’d anticipate, distinctive. There are two beautiful swimming pools fronted by swaying palms, three Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf programs and one among Puerto Rico’s most interesting eating places: Coa, a culinary homage to the area’s Taino roots. A roster of family-friendly actions contains the signature Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Atmosphere program.

Charges at Dorado Seaside, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve begin at $1,995 or 170,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors per evening.

Associated: Puerto Rican renaissance: A evaluation of Dorado Seaside, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

The small print

Getting there

Should you’re concerned with visiting Puerto Rico, flights are plentiful. There are greater than 120 nonstop flights between the island and main mainland U.S. cities, based on Uncover Puerto Rico. Which means you possibly can fly nonstop between the island and cities like New York, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Chicago. Many of the nonstop routes are to San Juan.

Whereas the most affordable obtainable flights to Puerto Rico sometimes vary from $300 to $600, you possibly can decide up offers with each legacy carriers in addition to low-cost carriers resembling Spirit Airways and Frontier Airways.

In fact, an affordable deal isn’t the one option to get to the island.

You may simply use factors and miles to get you from main cities to Puerto Rico. American Airways, for instance, presents off-peak MileSAAver awards from 17,000 miles one-way in economic system or 59,000 in enterprise class.

With United Airways, anticipate to spend between 20,000 and 65,000 miles for a one-way ticket from cities like Newark and Chicago.

However maybe one of the best ways to make use of factors to go to Puerto Rico is thru JetBlue.

On JetBlue, you’ve got a number of locations past San Juan to think about. As an illustration, you may fly round-trip from New York to Aguadilla for simply $274 or 23,000 TrueBlue factors in August this yr, or to Ponce for $386 or 31,000 TrueBlue factors round-trip.

You may switch Chase Final Rewards factors to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio, however this may not be one of the best use of your Chase factors.

JetBlue is a switch associate of American Categorical Membership Rewards as nicely, however TPG does not advocate transferring Amex factors to JetBlue due to the restricted worth you will get. Moreover, factors switch at a weak 250:200 switch ratio.

It’s also possible to switch Citi ThankYou Rewards to JetBlue, although the switch ratio isn’t nice — both 1:0.8 or 1:0.5, relying on which Citi card you’ve got.

Do you want a passport to go to Puerto Rico?

Nope! Puerto Rico is an unincorporated U.S. territory, so that you don’t want a passport or a visa to go to in case you’re a U.S. citizen. Simply deliver your state ID and also you’ll be good to go.

Getting round

Experience-hailing
Uber is the one ride-hailing app that made its option to Puerto Rico and survived the pandemic. The cellular app is equally as efficient as it’s on the mainland and may be very well-liked with locals for its aggressive charges (in comparison with native taxis), effectivity and reliability.

Taxis
Inside San Juan, taxis are frequent, dependable and cozy; search for white cabs labeled Taxi Turistico. Designated taxi stands are positioned at key vacationer factors in San Juan (together with cruise ship piers, main resorts, Plaza de Armas and Plaza Colon). Taxis function a fixed-rate system based on specified zones, however they are often dear. As soon as you permit the metro space, it turns into more and more costly to journey between cities.

Should you plan to remain in neighborhoods like Outdated San Juan, you most likely received’t want a automobile, Uber or taxi because the space is fairly walkable.

Should you’re a public transportation geek like me, make certain the Tren Urbano is in your radar. It’s an 11-mile speedy transit system that serves San Juan, Guaynabo and Bayamon. The journey between Bayamon and San Juan is simply half-hour, and the one-line prepare system has 16 stops; it passes by the College of Puerto Rico in addition to the Santa Rosa shopping center. It’s very reasonably priced, too: An everyday fare is simply $1.50 and in case you’re between the ages of 60 and 74, simply 75 cents. Higher but, in case you’re 6 years of age or youthful, or 75 or older, it’s free.

Renting a automobile in Puerto Rico is fairly simple with all the key rental firms to think about, together with Avis, Enterprise and Hertz, every of which is positioned on the airport.

The perfect occasions to go to Puerto Rico

The vast majority of hurricanes in Puerto Rico sometimes happen between August and October, whereas hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, based on the U.S. Nationwide Climate Service. Notably, Hurricane Maria made landfall on Sept. 20, 2017.

Many individuals I spoke with on the island mentioned, “Summertime is on a regular basis” in Puerto Rico, with temperatures hovering within the 80s every day. Should you’re attempting to keep away from the notorious every day Caribbean rains, you’ll need to plan to go to between January and March, as precipitation is low.

If you wish to keep away from the hordes of individuals touring throughout spring break however nonetheless need to go to earlier than hurricane season kicks in, the spring is one of the best time to attain flight and lodge offers. As an added bonus, you’ll have the seashore all to your self.

Backside line

Puerto Rico has come a good distance since Hurricane Maria in 2017 and Fiona in 2022. Let or not it’s identified that the island is open for vacationers — and looking forward to the enterprise. From seashore resorts to landmarks, wonderful meals and nice hospitality, there’s one thing for everybody who makes the brief flight down to go to.

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