Rain Forest to Beaches
by windoweb
Few cities in the Caribbean are as steeped in Spanish tradition as San Juan. You'll find restored 16th-century buildings, museums, art galleries, bookstores, and 200-year-old houses with balustraded balconies overlooking narrow, cobblestone streets in Old San Juan. Out in the countryside, you'll find mountain ranges, numerous trails, vast caves, coffee plantations, old sugar mills, hundreds of beaches, and the 28,000-acre El Yunque rain forest. Sailing away on our cruise with the Love of my life - Michael.
More About Puerto Rico
by starship
A few pieces of general information might help make planning for your trip to Puerto Rico easier, so I have added a few tips here.
The average temperature is 83 - 85 degrees with some humidity, and bright sunshine so will want to take full advantage of the opportunity to use the beautiful beaches, fishing, walking and hiking in Puerto Rico. Sun block, sunglasses and broad brim hats can be well used here.
Puerto Rico is in the Atlantic Time Zone and does not observe Daylight Savings Time.
There is no duty on goods purchased in Puerto Rico and brought back to the United States.
Transportation around San Juan can be easily had by taxi and rates are set for the most common corridors, e.g., the airport to Old San Juan; airport to hotels, etc. Verify rates before you engage the taxi and sharing taxis is a helpful way to budget costs. A new urban train is on the horizon for the island, but no date yet for its inaugural run. (Anyone with info. about this, please let me know.)
Over 1 million tourists arrive in Puerto Rico by cruise ship each year. Piers 1 - 6 are at the foot of Old San Juan which makes walking into town a only a matter of minutes. A new cruise ship terminal has been built and will contain many shops and perhaps restaurants. Tenants were moving in when we were there in November, 2004. It will also be a point of security for those leaving and returning to their cruise ship.
Good pair of walking shoes is recommended for Old San Juan because of the cobblestone streets and inclines.
Information can be obtained and booking tours can be done at "La Casita" (the little yellow building near the waterfront and cruiseship piers).
Some helpful websites:
gotopuertorico.com
legendsofpr.com (tours/walking tours)
if you need a big REST and if...
by nygaston
if you need a big REST and if you want to stay in USA (or cannot leave USA for some reasons ...), you can go to Puerto Rico : it is a BEAUTIFUL island full of contrasts: sea, beaches, forests, rivers, lakes and mountains...
it's like a small paradise, but in USA: same money USD, same langages (english and spanish), same POST stamps, same telephone (but my Voicestream cell did not work here ?).
So you will not be lost, and you do not need a passport or a visa if you are US citizen.
Here you can take courses to learn caribean spanish or to dance salsa ! AVOID SAN MIGUEL AREA in OLD SAN JUAN (north) , not very safe.
Good: horse riding, sea (warm water) , beaches, forest (EL Yunque)
Puerto Rico is a commenwealth...
by Gypsystravels
Puerto Rico is a commenwealth of the United States but the main language spoken is Spanish. The majority of the Puerto Ricans also speak English and are very friendly. The only time you will actually need to know a little Spanish is if you travel outside the metropolitan area.
El Yunque - The Caribbean National Forest
by grandmaR
El Yunque is unique in the Caribbean and in the National Park/Forest system of the US. You should stop at the Visitor's Center first to find out about the park.
I wanted to see the flowers, foliage and animals. I didn't get to see the endangered parrot. I did get to see some of the land snails. You can hike and swim in the pools at the bottom of waterfalls. (Get a map of the hiking trails at the visitor's center.) Go to the Caribbean National Forest page on VT for the narrative of our visit.
We saw a breadfruit tree. There were hibiscus and ginger flowers (photo 3), and traveler's palms. Marian told us there were more than 75 species of ferns.
Unfortunately it is really hard to get there. You either have to rent a car or take a tour. There is also a lot of traffic on the roads.
This is from the National Forest website.
How to get there from San Juan
Take the Airport Expressway, Hwy. 26 (Baldorioty de Castro Ave.) and follow the signs directing you east to Carolina; once you are on the expressway, follow it to the end (approximately 22.5 kilometers/14 miles). At the final exit (Carolina) stay in the left hand lane until you merge with PR Road # 3. Continue on PR # 3 for approximately 20.9 kilometers/13 miles until you see the signs for "Palmer-El Yunque." Turn right at the traffic signal and follow the road through the village of Palmer until you see the sign for PR Road # 191. (Hint: there is a restaurant called "Noname", painted a bright-turquoise on the corner!) Turn left on PR # 191 and follow it for approximately 4 kilometers/2 miles until you see the El Yunque National Forest sign (photo 4). The entrance to the El Portal Rain Forest Center is on your right-hand side just after you enter the forest.
Colorful Building - Streets of Old San Juan
Religious Painting on Old San Juan Street
Entrance to Castillo San Cristobal
Inside Cathedral of San Juan
