Puerto Rico beta?

[Cruiser]

Cruiser clan is heading to Puerto Rico at the end of March. The search function is shit so I can't find much current info. Looking for suggestions on stuff to do, places to see, and good food. We're flying into San Juan so I assume we'll rent a vrbo house someplace in/near town but I'm open to suggestions there too. Will also rent a car (minivan) so we'll be fairly mobile. Mostly just looking for any kind of beta since I've never been there before and will be traveling with all my kids so I want to get some ideas before we show up.

Thanks in advance!

[St. Jerry]

Always enjoyed this. They'll pick you up at your hotel as I recall. https://www.snorkelpr.com/excursions.html

Also, there was a similar day trip to Callabrae (sp?) island that we liked as well. They also picked you up at your hotel.

And always enjoyed the hike to the top of the mountain in El Junace (sp?) national park.

[zion zig zag]

I went a couple of years ago with the Fam. We rented a VRBO on Vieques that came with a van. Laid back island with not much in the way to do other than beach,snorkel,SUP. The beaches were amazing and deserted, restaurant options very limited. There is still a thread on here that I started.

We did a day in Old San Juan and that was cool, my understanding is that you don't want to be there when a cruise ship is in town. St. Jerry is talking about El Yunque.

[DasBlunt]

anything off the resort is dangerous.

Most people have armed escorts if they leave the safety of their resort.....and i am not joking and I speak fluent spanish.

Dominican Republic is way safer especially with kids FYI.

Edit, I saw you are renting a car....San Juan is a mess. Carjackings are the norm. Like I mentioned above, you might want to pay for an armed escort. It has gotten worse over the last few years.

Tour companies and resorts pay off the gangs with unlimited weapons to not bother them.

[huckbucket]

If you don't want to leave the resort and your budget allows, I've been to this place twice and it was the tits (although the last time was >5 years ago now). Private island with nice beaches.

http://www.elconresort.com/

[Dantheman]

All I know about PR is that when my wife's brother took his family on a Caribbean cruise PR was their favorite island "...because it's basically America and you can eat at Chili's and Baskin Robbins and stuff."

[RiderX]

I have lived in Puerto Rico for the past 16 years and it is not as dangerous as DasBlunt makes it sound. Definitely there is a high crime rate here, but you don't need an armed escort to go places. Most of the crime is related to drug trafficking. Stay out of the housing projects (casarillos) and an area in Old San Juan called La Perla and be aware of your surroundings at night and you will most likely not have any problems.

This is the high season down here, so hotels will be more expensive. In general, the west side of the island is more quiet than the San Juan metro area. Rincon is great for surfing. If you are looking for a house to rent, there is a Facebook page called Join a Join that has houses to rent. El Conquistador and Rio Mar are nice places to stay on the eastern side of the island. There is also the Gran Melia, which is an all inclusive. You could also consider going out to either Culebra or Vieques, which are small islands to the east of Puerto Rico. You can fly by small plane or take a ferry.

Things to do: Check out Old San Juan. There are a couple of old forts, which are pretty interesting. There are a number of good restaurants there as well. El Yunque is a rain forest in the eastern part of the island. There are a number of good hikes and waterfalls to see. Bioluminescent bay in Fajardo. Beach. The snorkeling and scuba diving are better in the south west side of the island or in Vieques/Culebra. The water on the north side is not as clear and is much rougher. As I said earlier the surfing is best in the northwest part of the island. Golfing is expensive.

Be aware that right now there is a dispute between Uber and the Taxi drivers that has occasionally escalated to fighting between drivers, while the passengers were in the cars. Uber can only pick up and drop off in certain places.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

[Cruiser]

Wait, so you guys are saying I should bring my glok and carry concealed any time I leave the confines of my walled compound to go to take my family to the nearest Chili's? And also that I should be prepared to help my Uber driver defend his car in the event of either car jacking or a full on brawl with that fella from Taxi Driver with all the weapons hidden in his coat?

Seriously though, thanks for the input so far. It sounds like we'll find plenty of good stuff to do! Keep the rec's comin!

[smitchell333]

Yeah anyone who leaves the safety of a barbed wire topped walled compound without machine guns is pretty dead men walking. It's sort of like Escape from New York but in the Caribbean.

But seriously in my experience from a few years back it's like any 2nd world place. Don't flash jewelry, expensive cameras, excessive cash around, don't end up in out of the way slum areas, and don't get wasted drunk stumbling around and you'll be fine. Drivers are pretty aggressive but if you're ready for that driving isn't too bad.

Hit Old San Juan and the fort, El Yunque, snorkel, and go to the highly rated beaches on which ever side ends up being on the lee side of the prevailing winds.

[zion zig zag]

All I know about PR is that when my wife's brother took his family on a Caribbean cruise PR was their favorite island "...because it's basically America and you can eat at Chili's and Baskin Robbins and stuff."

How very.....Utah. And sad. Did you tell him he could've saved money and gone to St. George?

[gravitylover]

Rincon for surf and general outdoor fun and there's a great mt bike shop there with fat bike rentals for beach riding. Ask for Al Capitan

I liked wandering around Boqueron (sp?) and eating seafood.

[Dantheman]

How very.....Utah. And sad. Did you tell him he could've saved money and gone to St. George?

I couldn't think of a more stereotypically Mormon thing to say if I tried.

[Just a Skosh]

If you want to go kiteboarding I know some of the locals. Pretty decent.

[Cruiser]

Paging riderx to the white courtesy phone (or other mags who've been down that way lately). The Cruiser clan had a great time in PR but that was before the storm. We've been talking about doing another trip down there but wondered if things are sufficiently recovered to be a worthy tourist destination again.

Anyone been down there lately?

[Talisman]

I was in PR in December for work and the San Juan area was in pretty good shape, parts of the island were very rough from Caguas south. Rough as in 3rd world: hit or miss electrical power, hotel struggled with basic services and roads were a shit show. Places to the west of San Juan like Dorado and Aguadilla that were spared from most of Marias wrath I would head back to after checking recent reports. Heading back in another month or so.

[WTF is dat]

Why go to Puerto Rico when there are tons of way nicer places in the Caribbean ?

[Cruiser]

A variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Mrs Cruiser enjoyed it. You ever been there? Before the storm it was actually a really fun island to visit.

[RiderX]

Cruiser, As mentioned above the San Juan Metro area is almost back to normal. Beaches and restaurants are open. Most of the hotels are open again. Those that were closed are supposed to open this month. Most of the relief workers have left, so there are now more vacancies in the hotels that are open. The airport is fully functional. There is still some visible debris, fallen trees and posts, but not bad. Still a significant number of nonfunctional traffic lights, so driving can be interesting. Police are back to work as are the criminals, so crime is at the normal levels. A lot of small businesses went under in the aftermath of the storm. I would advise checking with them beforehand if you are interested in a particular activity.

The western portion of the island was the least affected and is back to normal (cabo rojo through rincon).

The southeastern and central mountainous parts of the island are still a mess. 50,000 clients still without electricity, mostly in those areas. El Yunque national park is still closed.

I don’t know too much about Culebra or Vieques. They were worse off as they were more affected by Irma followed by Maria.

As to WTF’s question of going other islands, a lot of them were destroyed by the two storms. Check ahead.

[Rideski]

Mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria | NEJM - www.nejm.org
Not sure why links to specific article aren’t working. Headline is mortality was 70% higher than reported.


https://www.nejm.org/medical-articles/special-article

There it is