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it always shows that. Everyday some rain falls heavily, briefly. Then it's fine the rest of the day. Look at the amounts and you'll see what I mean:
https://www.wunderground.com/us/pr/san-juan/zmw:00901.1.99999
Ok, I spent most of this morning figuring all of this out.
Thank you all for your input, especially /u/adolfojp and /u/lyricat your advice was really great.
For prosperity, here what we eventually decided on and booked: Trip 1/15 - 1/20:
- 15th, arrive in SJU, take taxi to Ceiba and fly to Vieques. Stay at a private property (airBNB thing, This guy has been great to work with )
- 16th, beach bums
- 17th beach bums - later afternoon flight from Vieques to Isla Grande airport. Get rental car and drive to Condado for another airBNB thing.
- 18th, drive to El Yunque and spend the day hiking.
- 19th, visit Old San Juan and surrounding areas
- 20th, putz around San Juan in the morning and head to the airport.
Everything is booked except the trip from SJU to Ceiba. I have a quote from a taxi service, $70 one way. This seems to be the going rate and are several services to choose from.
Thanks again for everyone's help. I welcome any further suggestions for places to visit and see
La Cerra Musical is just a few blocks from the Condado hotel area. It's a location on the Puerto Rico Tourism Route of Salsa so should have something that fits your need.
I found this online
yea is not like hard to find info online but in case you miss it. The map say it is in San Juan, maybe Don Q have a factory is San Juan i imagine but the other Don Q tour i know of and heard about is in Ponce. The Serralles castle (is not really a castle IMO, more like a huge mansion lol) but yea at least the one in Ponce is the one i heard about mostly and most popular, here is the link to trip advisor, they have phones and location
i dont know if is better than the Bacardi tour or anything, maybe someone with experience cant comment on that or reading the reviews at tripadvisor.
Lechon. You've got to do it. Lots of options on the "pork highway".
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147319-d4271627-Reviews-Pork_Highway-Puerto_Rico.html
http://english.zeepuertorico.com/article/enjoy-puerto-rican-food-on-guavate-the-pork-highway.aspx
Rincón is not a bad choice. Its beaches are not the best beaches on the archipelago but they're still great beaches. Its night life is not the best night life on the island but it's still quite decent. Vieques and Culebra have better beaches but they have little night life and fewer restaurants. San Juan has better night life but its beaches are not that remarkable.
Renting a car is a must for Rincón. It's a rural coastal town in the boonies. Unlike most other rural towns in the island it became quite lively because of the surfers and the snowbirds and the expats. Because of that it's a bit of an anomaly. In Puerto Rico a town of that size usually has little more than a Subway, a small town pizzería, a Puerto Rican Chinese restaurant, and a small local cafeteria. Rincón, well, Rincón is different.
From Rincón you can drive to Cabo Rojo for some spectacular views. You can drive to Camuy and Lares and Arecibo to visit the the caves and the radiotelescope. There are even some small swimming holes not that far away if you're into that sort of thing. Next to Rincón you'll have Aguadilla which has a few interesting amenities like a water park if you want to play like grown up children. And a day trip to Old San Juan is also very doable from your location. If you don't mind driving a bit you can also enjoy some zip lines in Orocovis.
Don't stay in Rincón if you want to stay in a city or if the Yunque rainforest and the bio bays are near the top of your list.
In terms of historical sites there's not much to do in the Luquillo area. It's a nature getaway kind of deal. Your best bet is to rent a car and drive to Old San Juan and spend a whole day there. It's about a one hour drive but it's totally worth it. If you choose to do so let me know and I'll give you some recommendations.
The Flamenco, zip lining, and bio bay trips sound great. I'm assuming that you're going to the Fajardo bio bay, but where are you zip lining?
About good restaurants in the Luquillo and Fajardo area I'm as much of a tourist as you guys are. Those two municipalities are sparsely populated (by Puerto Rican standards) so you're unlikely to meet many Fajardeños or Luquillenses online. Tripadvisor is usually excellent in Puerto Rico and I've used it extensively so I'll recommend that.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g635965-Luquillo_Puerto_Rico.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g612474-Fajardo_Puerto_Rico.html
I recently stayed here in April in a group of 6 - all in our mid-to-late 20s - and we really liked it.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5125213?wl_source=list&wl_id=120610069&role=owner&guests=6
There are 3 rooms total but only 2 have AC. I thought the room without AC was fine with a fan on and the doors open. We were a group of 6 and rented out all 3 rooms - but I think you might be able to rent out just the master bedroom (which has its own bathroom and its own patio) and the room without AC (which is connected to the common patio of the house and uses the "common" bathroom of the house). It's right in the heart of Old San Juan and walking distance to a public beach, and a taxi lane - we didn't rent a car so I'm not sure how parking is. The place itself was beautiful - I don't think the pictures do it justice (I think some people in my group took some pics of the place so I'll try to post them later if you're interested). Also, this place is above a shop so you actually enter/leave through the shop (you're given a key), which I actually thought was kind of cool and there were never any problems with noise or anything else.
Do you have or have thought about a Costco membership? I've booked two separate PR vacations through Costco Travel and been very satisfied both times. A Costco package will take care of you from boarding your flight state side all the way through departure day. Might look more expensive on the surface, but including airport transportation and an excursion can potentially save you money overall.
Another alternative is book separately. I've also flown Southwest to PR twice and been happy with the flights. Southwest doesn't publish or share fares with booking sites so the only way to find their pricing is to search directly.
Searching Google Flights is the fastest way to get an unbiased easily searchable list of flight prices for the other major airlines. If you want an even more powerful flight search tool, you can use ITA Matrix to really look at your options in detail
AirBnB is doing very well on the island and there are a plethora of places to choose from that give you more flexibility and support the local economy more than staying in a chain hotel. You can book everything from a private residence to condo stays on some of the same resorts that would normally run you multi hundreds of dollars a night for a fraction of that.
The biobay was worth the visit to Luquillo. El Yunque National Forest is still closed according to their website, but the ziplines are open. I didn't visit the islands so I can't comment on it other than I'm sure the tourism industry in the area would appreciate it.
If you want to stay off the beaten path near Rincon, I highly recommend staying here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21528469 . We did some day trips with Rincon Diving & Snorkeling who have options for scuba if you aren't certified.
We also stayed in Quebradillas for a week here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6954733 . It sounds lame but the private hottub overlooking the ocean was pretty great. The sun sets pretty early so it's nice to stay in the water.
> I just figured PR would be in the same boat.
no, jobs are so hotly contested here that Wal-Mart is a good job.
>lack-of-Spanish would be a big, and maybe dangerous, shortcoming
you're right but all medical terms are latin, you're ahead of the curve already. https://www.duolingo.com/
>Do you know of any medical services or underprivilaged areas that may be looking for help?
my knowledge is really limited there, I can ask my uncle, he's a practicing Dr. here
I know Vieques' med services is seriously broken, but their hospital is closed down, the hospitals deep in the mountains are always suffering but all the aid goes to the wealthy areas.
Have you looked into the USVI? similar environment, english speaking, way more violence and trauma.
i also find this company on facebook that do hand glinding, if you like skydiving i imagine that might be in your interest lol. Also this page in trip advisor might help you choosing diferent adventures, companies and such, reading reviews.
https://www.facebook.com/freeflypuertorico
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g147319-Activities-c61-t212-Puerto_Rico.html
After you're done with Puerto Rico you'll have nothing but good things to say about SEPTA. :-) Rent a car if you want to go outside of San Juan.
For craft beer try El Lúpulo in OSJ. Extra link. Puerto Rico has 8 or more (lost count) microbreweries but their availability is kind of random. It also has one OK macrobrewery and their beers can be found everywhere. If you go to El Lúpulo try to get there early if you want to try samples or if you want to talk to the bartenders. It often gets crowded at night.
Let me know if you have any more questions about the area. There's something for everyone.
Well i am no expert in San Juan, i live in the west and rarely visit San Juan but i hope this list help you http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g147320-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html
Don Paleta is no restaurant, they sell Popsicle - ice cream thing and i heard they are good and have many different flavors you wont find easily. So i suppose if you are walking by old san juan with that heat and sun a good ice cream will come good lol. Anyway hope that list helps
Speaking as someone who hasn't been there, but works in the tech field I highly recommend the Anker Power Banks. If you are working remotely maybe get a couple of them and keep them charged. Also, if your laptop has a removable battery get an extra one or even better if you can get an extended battery for your laptop it's worth it. Also, understand that laptops only can handle a certain amount of power cycles and keeping them plugged in all the time will degrade the battery.
Having said all that check with your AirBnB host. I have two hosts that are really nice and answer all my questions about the island (I'll be there next week). If the power goes out I'm going to the beach or the bar.
On the west coast near Rincon, I can highly recommend Gozalandia Falls in San Sebastian. Costs a few bucks per carload, swim all day. They're beautiful. In Arecibo, I recommend La Poza, which is near the lighthouse. On a good swell day, you will be pummeled with huge sprays of water as the waves crash against the rocks. In Fajardo, I have an AirBNB host I can recommend. He's a great guy and his little apartment is great for a few nights' sleep - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/276636
Culebra is a great little island to go explore for a day or two. If you have time, I'd say it's worth the effort to get to.
Which attractions are you interested in seeing. Boqueron is about as far from San Juan as you could get both time and distance wise. Are you sure you want to spend your vacation commuting. You would be about a 2 and a half hour drive from Old San Juan. That's also a 2 and a half hour drive to your room when you land at the airport if you are flying into San Juan. If you are flying an airline that gives you the choice of Aguadilla, you are still an hour away.
If you are considering visiting the El Yunque rainforest, Loquillo, or the small islands of Visques or Culebra, now you are in the 3 hour range of driving each way.
In regards to mapping, I would recommend a paper map. Despite the bad reviews on Amazon for this map, many people on puertoricodaytrips.com and numerous other travel sites recommend it as the most current and complete navigation map for the islands. You can pick a similar one up at the airport at the information kiosks. Do NOT rely on Google Maps. Especially if you are going to some of the more remote locations, or when trying to find something like an AirBnB property. You're gonna have a bad time.