Help plan our Puerto Rico itinerary
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Anonymous
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Going for spring break for six nights. Myself, two boys, 12 and 15. We land in San Juan at noon. Go straight to Vieques for two nights for beach and the biolumnescent bay. Then back to El Yunque area to hike and stay for 1-2 nights, down to Ponce for a night and back to San Juan to see Old Town for a day, 4 pm flight out.
Are we trying to pack too much in? Seems like four different hotels is a lot for a small island. Thank you! |
Anonymous
| any particular reason you are going to Ponce? i liked the rest of the trip this just seemed out of place. fit in the zip line at Toro Verde Nature Adventure Park.One long line had a minimum weight of 100 pounds if anyone is on the lighter side. Getting to Vieques by plane or boat? The boat is no big deal but just tht I would ask. Planes go from SJU which you've probably already planned. |
Anonymous
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Beaches in Vieques are unbelievably nice.
You are not going to want to leave those beaches after just 2 days! |
Anonymous
| Sounds like you are trying just part of a day in old town? If so, I'd add a little. There are two forts, each of which you could easily spend 3 hours at. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thank you for the input.
We're going to Ponce because my son studied it in school and wanted to check it out. It looks like it's only 90 minutes to 2 hours from San Jose, so we could maybe just do that as a day trip. I'm trying to find a place near a beach that's not outrageously expensive because yes, they look great! Our plan is to go by boat. Plane way more expensive for three people. And I'll check out the Adventure Park. Good advice on the weight. One son is 70 pounds, the other is 110. (skinny kids) Any thoughts on places to stay at any of these places? I'm so late about planning things... |
Anonymous
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Skip ponce and go to guanica. Stay at http://www.copamarina.com/default-en.html
See the dry forest and snorkel. |
Anonymous
Ponce is on the way to Guanica, though. If you decide to go to Ponce, definitely check out the art museum. It's worth the trip. Go to puertoricodaytrips.com for some ideas. One day in Old Town isn't enough, IMHO. There is a lot to see, do, and eat there, and I find the locals to be incredibly charming. 
I love PR. |
Anonymous
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I had thought six nights in PR would be too long -- now I'm thinking it won't be enough!
Does it make sense to hotel-hop -- Vieques, El Yunque, Ponce/Guanica then Old Town? Or should we just pick a base and stick with it? |
Anonymous
| Go to old San Juan for half a day and spend the rest of the week at Vieques. Seriously. After our first trip to Vieques, we have never spent any time in PR. In Vieques, rent a house but more importantly get a vehicle if you don't have one. Rentals go fast and Easter week is very popular. Also skip the ferry and fly from SJU or Ceiba. Also skip Ponce. I made my DH go to the Taino exhibit and he has never stopped ridiculing me about it. |
Anonymous
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Ok, I'm listening. where to rent in Vieques? And what else to do but beach and biobay/snorkel? Is there good hiking in the reserve?
(also, I'll insist on hiking at El Yunque, at least!) I think we may end up either killing the Vieques part of the trip and doing biobay tour at Farrado and going to southern beach near Ponce, or kill the Ponce part (as you suggest) and spending more time in Vieques. |
Anonymous
| If you take the ferry to Vieques you are looking at a VERY long travel day. I would suggest either mainland PR or one of its islands (I prefer Culebra to Vieques myself) but not both in one trip, especially if it's your first time to either. Probably would stick to mainland PR with two boys your sons' ages if it were me. |
Anonymous
everyone can still zip line there is just one run that had a 100 pd min. if you were under weight they skip it. the day you go to Vieques is a long one..hopefully a direct flight but either way you are going Dc to SJU then a bus or taxi or? to Fajardo,the boat port (its about 50 minutes from the airport) then hoping the boat ( check the schedule on the website) to make sure you get on the boat. the boats fill up in high demand times they hold like 120 people you should be ok hopefully you can arrive at the port 1 hour before the next departure so it doesn't sell out. the boat is fun and its still like $3 bucks per person the point I am making is its every bit of 13 hours of travel time to go from DC to Vieques.. so your settled in but its like 7:00 at night day 1...get some rum and stroll on the beach. The beach there is like literally top 10 in the world you would want to see it for a nice stretch. The W hotel is on the beach but lookup parador(s) which is basically a private house/ country inn, try airbnb as well you may find something. There are tour co's the sames ones that do the bio bay that will take you on a day charter to a private beach, take a look at those. I took a tour of the area not far from the former Navy bombing range it was extremely cool. The Bio bay is fun its also a night time thing I'm just thinking how the troop will hold up you'll need a Puerto Rican coffee ( the best bring some home) to keep going. i'd almost be tempted to say take one more night in Vieques but its a coin flip the mainland has a whole lot to explore and time will be ticking..2 nights probably works in Vieques. back in mainland PR you will do fine I say zip line for sure. El Yunque is a hiking active type thing which is good but the kids may be a little tired. the trip to Ponce could work but I'd evaluate it as you go.. the west coast is pretty cool with the surf town vibes in a few places aguadilla and rincon.the driving is somewhat crazy down there don't expect to get too many places fast and don't be surprised if you get passed on the shoulder. try the Pina Coladas invented in PR. Get local with the food Mofongo, tostones, churasco, asopa de camarones..don't weigh yourself when you get back ha ha buy the kids limbers at a roadside stop, drink a coconut water from the real thing |
Anonymous
| Biobay tour at fajardo is no longer happening! Due to environmental changes, it isn't glowing right now. You can still go, but it's an eco tour. No bioluminescence. We are going tomorrow and the tour companies have notified us. |
Anonymous
| I am the seriously Vieques poster. We have stayed at one of the houses on the W compound and the Caribbean Dacha. The beaches are amazing and beautiful. We spent some time at El Yunque to do hang gliding but not that much to do there it seemed. Old Sam Juan and the fort is good for a day. You could do a day trip to Culebra--flying to Ceiba from Vieques. I think it is Easy to get a short flight over but plan in advance. There are a few good restaurants in Vieques--mainly Esperanza. It is a very laid back and relaxing place but rustic. |
Anonymous
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We're taking our four boys to PR for Easter week. This will be our first time in PR with our kids. Past trips were decades ago with just DH and I mostly hanging out relaxing on the beach...which we can't do for an entire week with our boys (they'll get bored).
We decided to rent a car and explore the island from one homebase hotel (admittedly, because we got a great rate for a suite). We haven't formalized an itinerary yet, but we plan to visit Old San Juan, El Yunque, Luquillo Beach (and the kioskos). We have other beaches off the beaten path on our list along with some off the beaten path seafood restaurants (little dive bars and beach shacks suggested by a local we know). Rincon is supposed to be cool and laid back, and there's a cute resort over there that was suggested in another PR thread. I researched it and almost booked it, but DH wanted to stay in a more central location for our first trip to the island with our kids. I would skip Ponce, fwiw. Have you heard that everything shuts down on Good Friday? I've been cautioned to plan to stay at the resort that day since the entire island shuts down. Restaurants will reopen on Saturday. |