Introduction
Puerto Rico is an island east of the Dominican Republic and west of the British Virgin Islands. The island is comparatively small, 8959 sq km (3459 sq miles), with a central mountain range reaching an altitude of 1338m (4390ft) at Cerro de Punta, and surrounded by low coastal plains. The capital city of San Juan is divided into an old and a new quarter. The old part was founded in 1521 and is now officially declared a National Historic Zone. It contains many 16th and 17th-century buildings, which have been fully restored and refurbished in the original Spanish style. The city also boasts several museums including one devoted to the legendary cellist, Pablo Casals. Its famous San Juan Cathedral, originally built in the 1520s, was completely restored in 1977. San Jose Church is reputed to be the second-oldest church in the Western hemisphere. The modern architecture of New San Juan has flourished in recent years. The Botanical Gardens are worth a visit, and a bay cruise is available offering views back to the city.
The Phosphorescent Bay, near La Parguera in the southwest of the island, is a major attraction. Here, marine life lights up when disturbed by fish, boats or any movement. The island cuisine includes paella, sancocho (beef stew), jueyes (land crabs) and pan de agua (Puerto Rican bread). Nightlife is abundant, ranging from spectacular shows in large hotels to dancing, jazz recitals, classical concerts and discos.
Facts for Travellers
Full country name: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Area: 9,100 sq km
Population: 3.91 million
Capital City: San Juan
People: Hispanic 88.5%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9%
Language: Spanish; Castilian, English
Religion: Roman Catholic (85%), Protestant
Government: commonwealth associated with the United States
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -4
Dialling Code: 787
Electricity: 120V ,60Hz
Currency: US Dollar (US$)
Vacation Deals
We constantly update vacation deals and flights + hotel packages for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. You can also check out some of the
best hotels and resorts in Puerto Rico with exciting attractions like golf, casino, scuba diving and other water sports.
Popular hotels & resorts in Puerto Rico are
Inter-Continental San Juan
and Paradisus Puerto Rico All-Inclusive.
Passport & Visas
US & Canadian citizens do not require visas or passports but must have valid ID. Citizens of many western European countries, Australia, New Zealand and Japan can take advantage of a US reciprocal visa waiver program if they intend to stay less than 90 days. Citizens of all other countries require a US visa.
More Information About Visa Requirements
Getting There & Around
Puerto Rico is the most accessible island in the Caribbean. San Juan is a major hub for American Airlines, so there's easy access to its US domestic network. A number of other North American carriers fly between Puerto Rico and a score of mainland cities; Miami has the most frequent flights. British Airways has services from London, Iberia from Madrid and Lufthansa from Frankfurt.
There are excellent air connections to many Caribbean islands, including BWIA flights to Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad, and Air France connections to Guadeloupe and Martinique. American Airlines and American Eagle have short-hop flights to the popular day-trip destination of St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.
Renting a car is the best way to see the island. International car rental agencies are well represented and there are plenty of local operators. Your home driving license is valid.
If driving doesn't appeal, you can stock up on patience and take public transport. Minivans known as públicos link all decent-sized towns on the island. They have no set schedule and usually operate in short hops.
Cheap government-operated ferries do the run from Fajardo (North-east of the island) to the islands of Culebra and Vieques. At least four ferries a day ply either route and the journey to either island is around one hour.
When to Go
The peak tourist season is between December and April, but this has more to do with the climate in North America than anything else. During these months the island is swamped by visitors, prices are highest and accommodations can be hard to find. Obviously its much less crowded during the official hurricane season (May through November).
Best Beaches
Best for Singles (Straight & Gay): Sandwiched between the Condado and Isla Verde beaches along San Juan's beachfront, Ocean Park Beach attracts more adults and less of the family trade.
Best Beach for Families: Winning without contest, Luquillo Beach, 30 miles (48km) east of San Juan, attracts both local families, mainly from San Juan, and visitors from Condado and Isla Verde beaches in San Juan.
Best for Teenagers: More families with teenagers check into the Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort & Country Club west of San Juan than into any other competitor in Puerto Rico, including the resorts along the San Juan beach strip.
Other famous beaches are Playa Higuero, Playa de Ponce, Boqueron Beach, Rosado Beach, Santa Beach, Cana Gorda Beach, and Tamarindo Beach.
Best Scuba Diving & Snorkeling
Metropolitan San Juan: This easy beach dive off the Condado district in San Juan is not as spectacular as other dives mentioned here, but it's certainly more convenient. Lava reefs sculptured with caverns, tunnels, and overhangs provide hiding areas for schools of snapper, grunts, and copper sweepers. In the active breeding grounds of the inner and outer reefs, divers of all levels can mingle with an impressive array of small tropical fish-French angels, jacks, bluehead wrasse, butterfly fish, sergeant majors, and more-along with sea horses, arrow crabs, coral shrimp, octopuses, batfish, and flying gunards. Visibility is about 10 feet to 20 feet (3m-6m). The Condado reef is also ideal for resort courses, certification courses, and night dives.
Mona Island: Mona Island, 40 miles (64km) west of the city of Mayagüez in western Puerto Rico, is the Caribbean version of the Galápagos Islands. Renowned for its pirate tales, cave-pocked cliffs, 3-foot-long (.9m) iguanas, and other natural wonders, its waters are among the cleanest in Puerto Rico, with horizontal visibility at times exceeding 200 feet (60m). More than 270 species of fish have been found in Mona waters, including more than 60 reef-dwelling species. Larger marine animals, such as sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and marlins, visit the region during migrations. Various types of coral reefs, underwater caverns, drop-offs, and deep vertical walls ring the island. The most accessible reef dives are along the southern and western shores. Getting there is a pain, however. You must brave a 5-hour boat ride across the often rough Mona Passage.
Southern Puerto Rico: The continental shelf drops off precipitously several miles off the southern coast, producing a dramatic wall 20 miles (32km) long and teeming with marine life. Compared favorably to the wall in the Cayman Islands, this Puerto Rican version has become the Caribbean's newest world-class dive destination. Paralleling the coast from the seaside village of La Parguera to the city of Ponce, the wall descends in slopes and sheer drops from 60 feet to 120 feet (18m-36m) before disappearing into 1,500 feet (450m) of sea. Scored with valleys and deep trenches, it is cloaked in immense gardens of staghorn and elkhorn coral, deep-water gorgonians, and other exquisite coral formations. Visibility can exceed 100 feet (30m). There are more than 50 dive sites around Parguera alone.
Fajardo: This coastal town in eastern Puerto Rico offers divers the opportunity to explore reefs, caverns, miniwalls, and channels near a string of palm-tufted islets. The reefs are decked in an array of corals ranging from delicate gorgonians to immense coral heads. Visibility usually exceeds 50 feet (15m). Divers can hand-feed many of the reef fish that inhabit the corals.
Attractions
For something completely different, it's definitely worth renting a boat or kayak to see the nightly displays of bioluminescence at Phosphorescent Bay near La Parguera and at Esperanza on the islet of Vieques.
The best surfing is along the northwestern stretch of coast between Rincón and Isabela between October and April. Serious windsurfers arrive in winter to take advantage of the swells on the northern Atlantic coast, particularly at Isla Verde.
There are hiking opportunities galore in the island's interior, particularly in the rainforest of El Yunque, in the karst region of Rio Camuy Cave Park and, for birdwatchers, in the coastal mangroves of the Guanica Reserve on the southern coast. If birds ain't big enough, there's humpback whale watching from Rincon between January and March.
More attractions in the Caribbean
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