Puerto Rico

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A Little About Puerto Rico

This Latin island is the Caribbean made easy—and accessible. Almost every major U.S. airline has nonstop flights from Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and New York to San Juan, the capital. If you're mathematically challenged, there's no currency conversion to worry about, since the almighty dollar is the coin of the realm (it's not for nothing that this American territory is known as the fifty-first state). But a world of diversity and a very distinct culture are packed into Puerto Rico's compact 4,400 square miles. Old San Juan has centuries-old colonial charm, the coasts are lined with plush beaches and sheer cliffs, and inland, the rugged terrain includes hills covered in dense rain forest. If there's not enough to entertain you on the mainland, Culebra and Vieques—just a puddle jump or a ferry ride to the east—are emerging getaways.

Attractions & Activities

Please note these are general attractions and our trip may not include any or all of them.

Puerto Rico's traditional center, Old San Juan is a seven-block labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets and tree-choked plazas lined with monuments, fountains, colonial churches, and eighteenth-century buildings. Today, some house chic boutiques, galleries, museums, and eateries.

The five-story Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico is a bold space with some 130,000 square feet and 25 galleries of permanent collections, including native paintings, sculpture, ceramics, video art, photography, and folk art. The main atrium is used for traveling exhibitions, and the five-acre garden has native flowers and modern sculptures.

Bordering the old town, the San Juan National Historic Site is one of the island's most popular tourist attractions. On the World Heritage List, it incorporates El Morro, the brooding fort that guards the entrance to San Juan Bay; Fort San Cristóbal, the 1634 military marvel with ramparts soaring to 150 feet; and layered defenses radiating from a honeycomb of tunnels and moats covering 27 acres.

El Yunque, a day-trip from San Juan, is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. forest system. Its 28,000 acres are filigreed with sun-silvered streams and thunderous cascades. The young and the restless tackle the spiraling, slippery four-mile ascent of cloud-shrouded Pico El Toro (3,523 feet) by donning hiking boots and following the trails that snake under canopies of elephant ear plants and tabonuco trees strangled by cordlike bromeliads.

The Caribbean is not known for its surfing, but the curls that it does have crest on Puerto Rico's northern and western edges and center around Rincón. The island has more than 60 good breaks, but for quality and accessibility, the most popular is probably Domes, located off the relic of a nuclear plant at the island's westernmost point. Other favorites include Antonio's, Crashboat, and Jobos. Pick up some tips and rent gear at the West Coast Surf Shop, near Rincón's newly renovated town square (2 Calle Muñoz Rivera E.; board rentals, $25 per day), or El Rincón Surf Shop, in nearby Ramey (703 Belt Rd.; board rentals, $15 per day).

During summer vacation and holiday breaks, Puerto Ricans flock to Culebra, a small island off the eastern coast. Other than at Christmas and Easter, the island and its beaches are serene, and although Puerto Ricans have long worshipped Culebra's beaches—such as Flamenco, Carlos Rosario, and Zoni—until recently, the only Americans you'd see were military personnel. Even locals need a machete and an orienteering scout badge to find some of the beaches on foot; Culebra Water Taxi can help with access from the sea (787-360-9807; taxis, from $30 per person).

21st century conveniences in an alluring 16th historical setting... both ultra-modern and bewitchingly exotic, Puerto Rico is truly the Island of Enchantment.