I’m taking a moment to do a time jump. It’s very much in my personality to do things in order. I want to (and will) catch up with all the trips we’ve taken in 2021 & 2022, but want to start posting current trips as they happen and the information is fresh and exciting!
We just got back from a week in Puerto Rico and I must say it is such an underrated place to vacation! We had previously been there to embark on a cruise to the southern Caribbean and visited Old San Juan and El Yunque briefly. We had paid for a cruise sponsored tour so they would take our bags and transport us to the airport afterwards for cheaper than a taxi. However our 2 hour trip to the visitor center there has been a running joke ever since. I wanted to visit the rainforest for real. Didn’t every kid with an En español textbook?
In October we earned a temporary Southwest companion pass. We were originally looking to do a cruise again and hit some remaining islands we had missed the last time like St. Thomas. But flights were just too expensive and logistically weren’t lining up for those dates. I started looking into things to do in Puerto Rico since flights there were relatively cheap. I was surprised by the long list of things to do! Our trip involved renting a car and driving basically the circumference of the island.
Renting a Car
Renting a car was a point of stress for me in the planning. Every single rental agency had awful reviews; especially the big names we were used to or had status with. From my research Enterprise and Alamo were the best. By the time I figured this out their prices were $200 more for the week. We ended up going with the Thrifty airport location because I read a review that they didn’t harass you about adding extra insurance or hidden fees, which some cheaper places did. They often want collision AND liability insurance and credit card policies typically only cover collision. I did email myself my Auto Owners insurance policy stating my liability coverage limits just in case, but they accepted my CapitalOne Venture X collision insurance as the primary insurer no problem. We knew we would be using toll roads, and that you couldn’t pay in cash, so we paid for the all inclusive pass. Somehow missed that they added on a $20 fee for roadside assistance, but otherwise the fees matched what I was quoted on Priceline when I booked.
We weren’t sure how driving on the roads would be, I had heard drivers were aggressive. It was a little wild getting out of San Juan, but once outside the city roads seemed relatively normal. Everything is in Spanish, so knowing some basics is helpful, but the signs are the same shapes and color as in the US. Some more rural roads were narrower or had pot holes, but that’s nothing any michigander isn’t used to. Otherwise we had no problem getting around in the Honda Accord we were given.
Manati
I had created a list of attractions I wanted to visit and then started to look up Hyatts to stay at on our first night since we would be arriving late and I thought it would make for an easier transition. Hyatt Place Manati was central to many beautiful beaches on my list so that sealed the deal. We spent two nights here and it was perfect. Small pool for cooling off, walking distance to food and a short drive to the beach.
All our adventures were within 15 minutes of the hotel. Out first stop was Playa Las Golondrinas. This area is actually composed of 3 different beaches: Las Golondrinas, Boquillas and La Poza de las Mujeres. There was a lot of hurricane damage and the road was washed out at the end. There was an old man directing people where to park along the side of the road and we gave him a few dollars for his help. Otherwise there is no specific fee to visit. You can follow many paths within the mangroves that will take you to the different beaches. We had a lot of fun climbing up the rocks in our water shoes for views of the whole beach and crashing waves. Lots of pretty shells and some calmer areas to take a swim. We also saw some snails, iguanas and many teeny tiny hermit crabs. These are the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
Next we stopped for lunch and had incredible arepas on the way to our next beach Mar Chiquita. This beach is again protected by rocks, but in an incredible round formation. Lots of locals hanging out on a Sunday with music, food carts and vendors. We opted to hike the rock formations again to find the Chiquita Cave. I’m not sure if what we made it to was the cave or another natural bridge, but it was impressive either way. We were the only ones out there, unless you count the many colonies of snails.
Out last stop was another free attraction, Manantial De Guayaney, in english Guayaney Spring. Again parking was a bit of a free for all along the road or in an empty lot. You then take a trail half a mile into the woods and come across a natural spring perfect for swimming! It was a little climb down, very secluded and up to 6.5 feet deep. We made a fish friend and actually got to spend 15 minutes completely alone before a tour group showed up. I think this was my favorite experience of the trip.
Day 2 we took a slow trip along the coast to get to our airbnb. It was so devastating to start to see more effects from hurricane Maria almost 6 years ago. Properties that just couldn’t be repaired were abandoned and work to fix others was still underway. The number of times someone mentioned to us that something “hadn’t been the same since Maria” or “not since Maria” was shocking considering the amount of time that had passed. Our main stop along this route was Túnel de Guajataca, an old train tunnel along the ocean. It was not only a pretty insta worthy stop, but also had a great beach to lounge on and explore. We ended up buying a coco frio, fresh coconut water, from a man in the parking lot. It felt like a very turista splurge.
Cabo Rojo
Confusing enough there is a city called Cabo Rojo, where we stayed, and an actual cape called Cabo Rojo. The city is beautiful and historic with lots of amenities nearby. We chose to stop at Sam’s Club and a couple local grocery stores on the way in to grab food to cook while at the airbnb. We had our first, very loud, introduction to some coqui frogs which was really cool. I’m sure we could have explored this area for a whole week but spent our full day there in San German, the second oldest city in Puerto Rico, and at the cape.
In San German we spent about an hour just walking around admiring the architecture. Because it was early in the week many things were not open and I think later in the week it has more tourist geared activities and tours. We then made the drive to Cabo Rojo. The first thing you are supposed to see when entering the park is the pink salt flats. There are many beautiful photos of the contrasting pink and blue waters. We were not so lucky. More recent hurricanes had left the area full of trash and a brown color on top. We noticed the visitor center and lookout tower were closed, but didn’t think much of it. When we continued down the road it too was closed off. We decided to follow the droves of people walking the road. Frankly I’m not sure if it’s ever open and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to drive the rental car down there anyways. We walked the coast, saw the lighthouse on the point and made it to the beach everyone was searching for, Playa Sucia, Dirty Beach. While you do get occasional whiffs of the salt flats, the beach was pristine and perfect for swimming. We spent our time watching the largest hermit crabs I have ever seen.
Vieques
When planning our trip I decided one of the unique things I wanted to prioritize was seeing bioluminescence. Microscopic organisms that live in the water will light up, similar to a firefly, when disturbed. Puerto Rico has 3 locations where you can see this glowing algae: Mosquito Bay on Vieques island (the brightest in the world), Bahía Bioluminiscente de La Parguera in the southwest (you can swim in it here) and Laguna Grande Nature Reserve in Fajardo (most accessible). Since our dates were already set, I knew we would unfortunately be visiting the week before a full moon. The darker the sky, the more glow you will see. I decided our best chance to see it was to go to the best of the best, Mosquito Bay.
This created some more complicated logistical challenges, and shortened the time we would have in other places. We needed to make a 3 hour drive from Cabo Rojo to the ferry terminal, where we would park our car and ride the boat to stay on the island overnight. You are only allowed to do a nighttime bioluminescence kayak tour if you stay on island. To make things more complicated we were visiting on 2/1. You can buy ferry tickets ahead of time online, but they don’t release the whole month until the last day of the previous month. We had to book our tour and hotel without knowing 100% we had a place on the boat to get there until the day before. And the ferry operators did NOT have the best reputation. Google reviews full of complaints about nasty employees, being turned down because they didn’t arrive an hour before boarding, not being sold tickets the day of in person. I’m not sure if it was the bird that pooped on my head while waiting in line or what, but the entire experience was smooth and easy. If you get motion sickness this ferry was rough. I stood the whole time, which seemed to make me feel better to see the horizon.
Once on the island we made the hike up steep streets to our hotel. What a wonderful peaceful place. I immediately felt relaxed, even while taking a cold, low pressure shower to clean my poop filled hair. The hotel is also a horse back riding facility and our room overlook the pens of horses, roosters and iguanas. Vieques is also home to many what I’d call free range horses. They are not wild, typically owned and branded but wandering the island instead of in pens. There were many highly rated restaurants right off the ferry dock in Isabel II. Again it was early in the week so our options were more limited but we had some excellent local food, caught the sunset, poisoned me with ice cream and strolled to our tour starting point. I specifically booked a kayak tour that would pick us up by the ferry/hotel and take us across the island to the bio bay so we wouldn’t need to find a taxi or rent a golf cart/scooter/car. If the boat hadn’t made me sick, the bumpy roads sealed the deal. what. a. ride.
Somehow safe at the bay, now in the dark, we boarded our double kayak. I was a bit disappointed because I thought we had booked the pretty clear kayaks sitting next to ours and these just looked like normal plastic ones. We paddled out a ways and I wasn’t sure I was seeing anything in particular in the water. The guide had us all circle together and use the shadows of the other kayaks to catch glimpses of the dinoflagellates. They looked like glitter on your hands as you splashed about in the water. It was otherworldly. They then had us cover our kayaks in tarps and that’s when I realized we had a clear bottom after all. You could see the glow as a paddle was swirled around underneath. Between a little cloud cover and a little more luck, we struck as super bright patch. It was magical. I watched them bounce off fish as they swam by and the entire bottom of the kayak glowed. I would definitely recommend doing this once as a bucket list experience.
Farjardo
Wishing we stayed an extra day on the island, we boarded the ferry back to mainland Puerto Rico. We grabbed lunch at a great new pizza place and decided to have a slow day on the beach. Seven Seas Beach is a great place to park and walk to a few different beautiful beaches. It costs $4 to park but it was a huge lot. We chose to make the half mile walk in the mangroves to the closest one, Colora.
El Yunque
After a slower relaxing day we were ready to go hard in El Yunque National Forest. I got very lucky that our host at the hotel in Vieques mentioned timed entry tickets. They are released a month out and then 24 hours before for 8am and 11am entry on the national park services website. I was able to snag tickets at the 24 hour mark while on the ferry and they were sold out in less than 5 minutes. Without them there is very little you can see. Since our time slot was on the later side we checked out the Angelito Trail Head first before the ticket check-point. There were a handful of tour groups when we arrived enjoying swimming and climbing some big boulders. It would be a great place to hang out for the day if you can’t get a timed ticket.
Once inside the park, since we had already seen a couple of roadside attractions (Coca Waterfall & Yokahu Tower) and the visitor center last time, I was looking to take a hike. Due to various hurricanes and repair projects many of the popular trails, waterfalls and the road were closed. Previously a very hidden waterfall, Juan Diego Falls was packed and the trail muddy (it is a rain forest). We are lucky enough to see many great waterfalls in North and South Carolina so our visit to this one was quick. It’s a good series of waterfalls with only a short hike and a great place to cool off, but we weren’t looking to do that. With our extra time Adam led me down the only trail around, El Yunque trail, with the goal of getting to the Mount Britton Tower and then coming back down the road. Instead we passed some people that had been to the peak, couldn’t pass it up and did the full 5 mile forest big loop. How lucky to have a clear afternoon with 360 degree views of Puerto Rico. With travel the weather is one thing that is never guaranteed and something we don’t take for granted on hikes especially.
Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve
Covered in mud after 6 miles of hiking we entered the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve resort with our backpacks. I wasn’t super confused when they didn’t offer us a golf cart ride to our room like others I saw. In 2021 we added the World of Hyatt credit card to our wallet. For the annual fee of $95 you get an annual free night credit for a category 1-4 room. This resort was a category 4 which seemed like, with its resort pool and amenities, to be the perfect way to redeem this years credit and end our vacation. Since we had earned Explorist status last year we were also eligible for free room upgrades, faster internet and late check out. This room would have cost more than $600 cash. Judging by how (not) busy the resort was I thought the rate was probably a little too high.
We were really excited to find out non-motorized water sports were included in our stay. We love adding new places to where we’ve paddle boarded. We were not excited when they said it was too windy and they didn’t want inexperienced guests to also ask to use paddle boards if they let us use them. After a week of wonderful beaches, this one was just blah. We were also not impressed by the food selection. I’m used to having to be selective, but every single thing on the menus seemed to be pre-made and possibly even frozen. Everywhere else on the island, including Longhorn steakhouse, everything was so fresh and local. It was a really cool use of our annual certificate right on the ocean and with a nice big pool, but I would not recommend anyone pay to visit this location.
Final Thoughts
Overall Puerto Rico is a really great place for the adventurous to explore. There is a lot of freedom to experience things that are natural and wild and not a tour sanctioned experience that will cost a lot of money. It’s a bit safer in that you don’t need a passport, have to exchange money, your cell phone still works, you’ll see familiar chains and most places you will find someone who speaks english. But the majority of things are in Spanish by default, the culture is different, the food is different and there is so much to learn and observe. I would definitely love to come back, whether for another week or for a few days before or after a cruise to tube in a river cave and visit the rest of Vieques island.
Cost Breakdown
8 Days 8 Nights
My goal was to beat/tie the cost of a cruise. I had found one for $1,200 which didn’t include excursions on each island. I don’t think we would have gotten away with anything less than $1,500 so the overall expenses from this trip were right where I expected them. The amount of activities you can do for free or cheap reminded me of our time in New Zealand. I’ve been pretty bad at keeping track of how we use our CapitalOne points to erase travel since I do it as soon as I have something eligible, but I did use some points for our car rental on this trip.
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