My husband and I traveled to Puerto Rico last week to end the summer with a bang! Neither of had visited there before so we were super excited. Our goal for this trip was to have some downtime, but still see as much as possible within 4 days. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing what we did on this trip, including where we stayed and ate. I’ll also share some other recommendations we received from friends but didn’t get to do this time. I can definitely say we’ll be back though because we enjoyed this trip so much!
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Where We Stayed
We landed early in Puerto Rico on our first day and headed straight to our hotel, Condado Ocean Club. This is an adults only hotel in the Condado area of San Juan. The hotel staff was extremely accommodating and even allowed us to check into our room early. We booked this trip last minute and the oceanfront rooms were sold out. But I was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the laguna view was! The hotel was modern and clean all around, but the most exciting amenity was the oceanfront infinity pool. With music and a bar by the pool, the atmosphere was extremely fun. We also loved the hotel’s restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with gorgeous ocean views. The beach area directly in front of the hotel is not ideal for swimming due to the rocky landscape, but there are tons of the other beaches nearby. We thoroughly enjoyed Condado Ocean Club and highly recommend it for anyone looking for beautiful views, great food, and a fun stay.
Day 1: Old San Juan
After checking into our hotel, we immediately headed to Old San Juan! We used Uber on our first day, and it was typically $10-$15 per ride from our hotel. I loved walking around Old San Juan because it gave off so many colonial vibes! At some points I definitely felt like I was back in Europe. It’s also known for its gorgeous colorful buildings all throughout the town. A few great places for photos were Calle Tetuán and Calle De La Luna. The Puerto Rican flag mural is on Calle Imperial, a side street off of Calle Norzagaray. The entire area can be traveled by foot, so make sure you grab a paper map or view one online. The Castillo San Felipe del Morro is a must when in Old San Juan. We actually didn’t go inside the castle, but there are tons of amazing views around it, as well as when walking down Paseo del Morro. For brunch we had Cafe Berlin, and for dinner we had an amazing time at Santísimo, a restaurant on the premises of Hotel El Convento. If you’d rather stay in Old San Juan, definitely check this place out!
Day 2: Luquillo
On our 2nd day in Puerto Rico, we picked up our rental car from Enterprise. There are several locations within the vicinity of San Juan. If you’re just wanting to stay in the Condado and San Juan area, you would be fine with walking and using Uber. However, if you want to explore other parts of the island, I highly recommend renting a car! After stopping at a local coffee shop (Gusto’s Coffee Company), we drove about 45 minutes to the town of Luquillo. We heard that Luquillo had some beautiful beaches and that was true! La Pared had a red flag when we arrived, so we ended up at Playa Azul. Make sure you check out Los Kioskos de Luquillo, a long strip of restaurants, bars, and gift shops. We spent half a day in Luquillo, as we wanted to get back to the hotel and enjoy the pool amenities as well. If you’re willing to drive further and spend the entire day at the beach, we’ve heard that Cabo Rojo and Rincón on the west side of the island are definitely worth a visit!
Day 3: Culebra
I was most excited about visiting Culebra Island during this trip! Rated one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Flamenco beach did not disappoint! Purchasing your ferry tickets is the most important thing to coordinate when visiting Culebra. They will only go on sale once the ferry schedule is published and times go fast. There are a few cute cottages if you’d like to stay on Culebra, but we decided to make it a day trip. We drove to the terminal first thing in the morning, as you are supposed to arrive about an hour before departure. It took a little over an hour to reach the terminal from our hotel. I also highly recommend renting a golf cart when visiting Culebra. The island is very small, but still too much to do by foot if you’d like to visit different areas. We rented ours from Culebra UTV Rental and had a great experience. They will pick you up from the ferry terminal and take you to pick up the golf cart.
While on Culebra, we visited both Flamenco Beach and Zoni Beach. Flamenco has gorgeous white sand and blue water. You definitely can’t miss seeing the abandoned war tank. We decided to drive the golf cart to Zoni beach which took about 20 minutes. The drive was beautiful and the beach was even more remote than Flamenco. After a long day on the beach, we ate a late lunch at Dinghy Dock. The seafood was simply amazing! After riding the ferry back and driving to our hotel, we also had a late dinner at Havana, which was within walking distance of our hotel. I know I keep repeating myself but the food was so good!
Day 4: Old San Juan
On our last day in Puerto Rico, we ended up heading back to Old San Juan! We spent several hours there and still were able to see things we hadn’t previously seen. You can visit Castillo de San Cristobal and the San Juan Cathedral. I would also make sure you stroll down Paseo de la Princesa and Calle Fortaleza for more gorgeous views! Some friends took us to lunch at Raíces and it was amazing! Make sure you try mofongo while in Puerto Rico! This traditional dish consists of fried plantains with various meat and sauce combinations on top.
If you’d rather do something different while in Puerto as opposed to visiting San Juan again, definitely check out El Yunque National Park! We didn’t get the chance to visit here on our trip, but definitely wish we had! Reservations must be made in advance so check this out ahead of time!
We had an amazing experience in Puerto Rico and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a fun getaway! With their remote beaches, tasty food, colonial streets, and exciting atmosphere, there is so much to enjoy on the island! If you’d like more details on anything I’ve shared feel free to leave a comment or send me a message! If you enjoyed this travel guide, be sure to check out my other travel posts here.
