Puerto Rico - land of sun and rain, ancient cities and rainforests, large caves and huge radio telescopes, beaches and bioluminescent bays. We intended to visit it for quite some time and did a lot of research to understand what is a must see and what isn't. When we finally visited it for a week we enjoyed it quite a bit even though the trip did not go exactly as planned. Our hope is that the travel blog will help you understand the beauty and diversity of this island and give you a few tips and forewarnings if you decide to visit it.
If you are interested in a specific attraction you can get an overview of the different major points of interest in Puerto Rico on the map above with comments and links to the relevant pages. We also have compiled a list of tips and forewarnings that we would have liked to know before visiting the island.
To navigate to the daily entries please use the links below:
Day 1 - Getting our bearings in San Juan
Day 2 - Food and Rain
Day 3 - Visiting the rainforest (and more rain)
Day 4 - Telescopes and Caves
Day 5 - Beach Day
Day 6 - Dry forests, vivid buildings and lots of food
Day 7 - Last day and farewell thoughts
- Expect a party atmosphere with loud music and lots of young people especially in San Juan and especially on Saturday. We found this quite exciting and interesting except when we wanted to go to sleep:)
- If you see a police cruiser with lights on, DO NOT PANIC. All police cruisers go with their lights on all the time. The reason behind this is either to scare criminals or to make sure they never encounter them - there are different explanations out there. Even though it might be a bit difficult (it was for us in the first couple days) just follow the well known saying "When in Rome do as the Romans do" and take the lead from the Puerto Ricans - simply ignore the police cruisers. However if they also start the siren it is time to move out of the way.
- After reading about the crazy drivers and ignored traffic signs we were a bit cautious with our driving in the beginning; in our experience however most islanders drive slower and more careful than people in major cities in the US
- When driving in the mountains be careful, careful, careful. The lanes are narrow, there are a lots of curves and you never know when someone is coming from the opposite direction
- Do not expect English to be spoken widely outside of San Juan, not even at tourist destinations, hotels and restaurants. Do expect however that if you don't speak Spanish there will be at least a friendly person in your proximity who will help to make yourself understood.
- Do expect opening hours to be flexible especially at less visited attractions and contact them in advance to make sure that they are really open
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