Puerto Rico or Aruba
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Anonymous
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I'm in law enforcement and never felt safe in San Juan, even carrying a weapon. While I was there, two FBI agents were mugged in Old San Juan. The local police are corrupt and most of San Juan is a garbage dump (including the beach). Can't speak for the outlying areas...
Love Aruba though.... |
Anonymous
| I've been to both - without kids. When I was in PR, I just kept thinking what a great trip it would be with kids - you have the beaches (and there are some nice resorts outside of San Juan); old San Juan, which is beautiful and historic; and then the natural attractions. You could spend a week there and not run out of different things to experience. So for kids the age of OP's, I'd pick PR no doubt. I never felt unsafe in PR. For a toddler though, I would probably stick with Aruba. As others mentioned, there is not tons to do there, but the beach is very nice and relatively calm. There are also lots of condo options there and it would be easier to get a better set-up as far as naps and early bedtimes. |
Anonymous
| We were in PR two weeks ago and had a great time for all the reasons mentioned. If you want a Marriott property, La Concha Renaissance was fantastic, in Condado area of San Juan. |
Anonymous
| Is the Marriott La Concha appropriate for young kids (11 and 9)? Everything I have read says it has a vibrant bar scene and attracts a younger more hip crowd. |
Anonymous
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Plug forPR! I go every winter break for 1 week @ a time-share.
Historic San Juan is charming. About 40 minutes from SJ airport is Dorado. Beautiful beaches! The people are also lively. K never felt unsafe. It is also extremely easy to get to from the East coast. FYI: Metropole is a good restaurant in SJ and Dorado. Low humidity. Sunny. At least in December the weather is fairly reliable. Let's hope I just did not jjnx myself by saying that 
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Anonymous
| *lively/lOVELY |
Anonymous
I would not recommend this hotel for someone with young kids. There is very little beach at the hotel. The hotel is beautiful but is more appropriate for someone looking o party. If you want to stay at a Marriott, we have stayed at the stellaris in condado. It is not as much of a scene as the la concha. Make sure to get a room on a high floor as at night, the lobby does get very noisy with music and a big bar scene. we have also stayed in isla verde at the intercontinental, el san juan condos and the embassy suites. If you want to stay on the beach, our kids really had a good time at the intercontinental. Good pool, excellent beach and decent food choices. The workout building is right on the beach which we loved. The beach is really wide and fairly clean. Isla Verde is not as nice an area as the condado. we chose beach over nice area. The el san juan condos were not great. would not recommend. the hotel (is separatefrom the condos) has not had a good rep the last few years with quality and customer service even though it is a waldorf property. For top accommodations, you can also look at the ritz. Embassy has a nice pool and of course a more expansive room option (and free breakfast!) it is about a 2 block walk to the beach. There is a supermarket close to the embassy so you can get food for lunches or quick dinners so you don't have to eat out for every meal. Good Luck! |
Anonymous
As opposed to the great police department in Aruba? |
Anonymous
| Very little crime to speak of in Aruba (other then what makes headlines back here in the U.S.). The vast majority of San Juan is like the Bronx on a strip of sand..... |
Anonymous
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Hands down, PR. Stay in Old San Juan for part of it. We stayed in Fajardo for part of our stay and visited the rain forest.
I never went anywhere I felt unsafe, but I don't live in Bethesda or upper NW, so maybe I feel safe in more places. I have not been to Aruba, but I think it is just a coral island, like Cayman, not vegetation, just beaches. |
Anonymous
| I would pick Aruba, just because of the chance to speak Dutch. For my sons sake I might choose Puerto Rico. We are studying spanish now |
Anonymous
| We love Puerto Rico and have been there several times with extended family -- kids from toddlers to teens have loved it! We always stay at Hyatt Dorado -- 40 mins. from San Juan, so easy day trip into the city or to El Yunque. The resort has all kinds of accommodations, but we've also rented privately-owned villas in the development associated with the resort (check HomeAway for listings). Villas are lovely -- spacious, and well-equipped, beautiful landscaping, etc. The development has its own pool, which is quiet and perfect for the little ones; older kids can do the pools at the resort, including lazy river. You can walk to the Hyatt beach -- tons of families. There are also tennis courts and you can gold at Hyatt course. Supermarket is nearby. Really, a fabulous vacation. And, no, PR isn't a "third-world country" (ouch, PP, are you actually trying to bring back the Ugly American?) -- really, several of the adults in our family have traveled extensively and lived in Africa, Asia and Central America, so we can say quite conclusively that Puerto Rico looks nothing like LDCs. No issue with safety there at all in our experience. |
Anonymous
| Anyone have a feel for what is a reasonable airfare from DC area to Puerto Rico during spring break. Just trying to get an idea if I should lock in now or wait. Looks like Jet Blue has some decent fares on their new non-stop from DCA. Looking at about $335/person. |
Anonymous
| $335 is a good price. United has been $500-700 in past years. |
Anonymous
| $335 is a pretty good fare for that time. You can occasionally get airfare to PR for under $300, but you don't see those very often and spring break is still the tail end of the high season. |