Top 3 Most Beautiful Places in Puerto Rico
Exploring Puerto Rico has been on my bucket list for awhile and I'm extremely grateful to have gotten the opportunity to go. Although I only had 3 short days here, I was able to visit numerous amazing places. Below are my top three...
Luquillo
Luquillo is a small surf town about an hour from San Juan. It's also known as "la Capitol del Sol" or, the Sun's Capital, which is very fitting considering the never-ending sunny beaches. There's a strip called Los Kioskos which offers a strip of stores, restaurants, and bars for you to spend your day at. Across the street from Los Kioskos is Luqiullo beach. Here you can snorkel, lay out, or float on the calm Caribbean water. About 5 minutes down the road from Los Kioskos is La Pared beach, which is surfer heaven. Here you'll find beginner to intermediate waves. We took lessons through https://www.surfingpuertorico.com/ & they were incredible! You're also only 20 minutes from El Yunque National Forest, which is a huge plus for those wanting to be picked up for your rainforest tour.
As far as restaurants go, every morning we went to a coffee shop across from our Airbnb called Coffee Therapy. This place had the best iced chai tea's and some amazing breakfast sandwiches. For lunch and dinner we went to Boardrider's which offered one-of-a-kind frozen cocktails and karaoke on Friday nights!
Also cannot rave enough about our Airbnb host. This cute Airbnb was hostel style, but since we had such a large group, we got the whole room to ourself. Our room had 4 bunk beds, two full bathrooms, and a fridge stocked with beers! Aside from the room with bunk beds, they also have spaces that are just one bed, for anyone new or nervous about staying in a hostel setting. Our host went out of his way to pull fresh coconuts off his tree and taught us how to properly cut them, which made the experience ten times better. The rooftop had nice hammock chairs and a picnic table which made it easy for us to connect with other travelers from around the world. Here's where you can book your stay: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/46942474?source_impression_id=p3_1653595918_sJ5aRBl5cDbLGCfE
2. Vieques
Just 6 miles off the mainland of Puerto Rico is the island of Vieques. This island is mostly known for its' bioluminescence bay, which I can't recommend more. If you've never heard of a bioluminescent bay, it's essentially a body of water that glows. This is due to a single cell marine plankton known as dinoflagellates, that glows when you disturb the water. Vieques has a ton of late night tours in Mosquito bay that educates you on the bio bays. We had some amazing clear-bottoms kayaks and our tour lasted for about two hours. You can book your tour here: https://jakwatersports.com/
To get to Vieques, we took a ferry instead of a plane. This option costed us about $5 round trip including bags, but we did end up waiting three hours to get on the ferry. This wasn't a bad option in my opinion because you can sit in AC and get food and drinks while you wait, but it did take time away from activities on the island. We stayed at an airbnb that was walking distance from the ferry and all the restaurants were within walking distance as well. If you have the time, I highly recommend staying for 2-3 days to fully explore the island. My favorite bar/restaurant was right on Sea-glass beach called Saint Voodoos. Securing a spot here during sunset is essential.
3. Old San Juan
Old San Juan is definitely not a city to be missed. Between the food, the culture, and the rich history, you will never be bored. This is the city I started at and ended with and it couldn't have been more perfect. I highly recommend doing a guided walking tour if you're a big fan of history, or a food tour if you're a big foodie! This area is extremely family-friendly and safe, so don't hesitate to bring the kids. For more info on Old San Juan, check out my other blog post: https://www.aworldwithinreach.com/post/how-to-spend-24-hours-in-old-san-juan-pr