Anyone familiar with Puerto Rico beaches and/or resorts? Thinking of looking into a December (before Christmas, not prime holiday dates) trip with H, D (26) and S (23). Thought PR might be a good option.
Anyone have specific suggestions to share (links appreciated!!)? Our only requirement would be a good beach. We don’t require much in the way of night life, fancy food, etc. Just a quiet clean place with a beautiful beach. A suite might be good but 2 rooms would work too.
Anybody?
My neighbors stayed at the El Conquisdor and loved it. We actually stayed at a b &b near the Yunque rain forest but it has since been closed. I found it on Trip Advisor. I recall Luquillo beach as being nice. We also loved Old San Juan and stayed at the Sheridan. The Sheridan has a roof top bar where you can watch the cruise ships come in and the hotel is right by the old section so you can go and sit in a lovely outside café. I really like Puerto Rico. US dollars and English spoken in the cities, no passport required. You do have to be aware of the sketchy areas, of course and don’t go to empty beaches; use common sense. The food trucks have wonderful food.
Thanks @Onward ! Anyone else that can chime in??
I never found the beaches in PR all that beautiful in comparison to other caribbean locations. There is a small island? Vieques (sp) that is supposed to be much nicer than the mainland. When we go to PR, its for the old city, shopping and eating, not the beaches.
We went to PR last year. We stayed for a couple nights in San Juan, visited the rain forest, then flew to Vieques. We were there for about 4 nights.
We LOVED Vieques. The beaches are among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It used to be a military base, so the island is still relatively underdeveloped (no chain stores or restaurants, for example). You have to rent a car and drive to the beaches, 10-20 minutes depending on where you stay on the island. But they are worth it. We also had some excellent meals on Vieques. We’re planning to go back.
We spent a week in PR pre-cruise and I would say the beaches (obvious ones) were not as nice as, say, Bonaire or Aruba (we’ve been to many places via cruise ship). If you want to drive to Ponce or as suggested Vieques it’s much nicer. Depends on what you want really, Ponce is pretty nice and quaint, San Juan is big city and such. We were completely wiped out after a week (what vacation) because there’s a lot of things to see and do.
I’ve never really been to Puerto Rico, but my family and I often vacation in the US Virgin Islands (no passport is required to get to them either). Most of the land on St John is preserved national park land, so if pristine beaches with clear water are what you’re really looking for, I would suggest checking out St John/St Thomas, too. Plus the locals are all super nice, accomadating and friendly, and the plan ride is only ~15 mins longer. As for lodging, many people rent out villas for guests to stay in (which I’ve heard are quite nice), but there’s also many resorts in every price range. I know the Westin on St John just finished ~2 yrs of renovation, so that might be a place to start. 
We went to PR in 2011 and it was ok. Not one of my favorite caribbean islands. We really wished we’d stayed at El Conquistador on the east side-their private beach looked amazing. We sort of went the a-la-carte route and booked everything separately. In retrospect it would have been a little more enjoyable to do an all-inclusive resort.
The public beaches are just gross. Dead dogs, diapers, seaweed. The country is deeply in debt and their public infrastructure is really suffering.
I didn’t feel unsafe, though, and Puerto Ricans generally were really friendly and easygoing-we rented a car and drove all over the country, and at times got really lost and drove the wrong way down some streets, and were never beeped at or yelled at.
We were supposed to take the ferry to Vieques, but the water was so rough they cancelled the ferry both days, so be aware that it might not be easy to get to or from Vieques. I really, really wanted to go see it.
El Yunque is wonderful, as are the horseback and atv rides through parts of it. San Juan is ok. Snorkeling is good, but not amazing like in Belize.
Hmm. Not great PR reviews from my reliable CC friends! I’m glad I asked. @northeastgirl I’ll definintely check out St John. H and I just spent a week in Aruba (yes - beautiful!!). I was looking for somewhere new to go as a family but get a little overwhelmed trying to “pick an island”. Quiet, warm, relaxing, beautiful, and somewhat easy to get to are the only requirements.
We were in the Condado area of San Juan in February. I enjoy this area a lot because it is urban and you can walk out of the hotel and have lots of dining options plus easy to get to the old city, but agree that the beaches are not like other Caribbean islands. I have heard great things about El Conquistador. I have a friend whose husband for several years went to an annual Merrill Lynch incentive trip there.
JustaMom5465, I agree about St. John. It is one of our top 3 favorite vacations and we’re headed back there in September. Its not too difficult to get to from Boston, often NS to St. Thomas and then its a taxi/ferry combo to the island. We’ve stayed in several different places and there are all price points available. Beware though…food and drinks are very expensive in comparison to alot of caribbean islands. Because we are going for two weeks and will have a kitchenette, we’ll pack one suitcase with food and pay the $25 baggage fee. We’ll pack coffee/filters, foil and ziploc bags, english muffins, tortilla wraps, pringles, cheese blocks, crackers, nuts, wine, sunscreen, that sort of thing and then do carry-on for our clothes. Many of the beaches are accessible by foot only and so we pack our lunches and carry our insulated cooler backpack. It really is a wonderful place to vacation.
The beach closest to the airport was nicer than any beach on Martinique. Isla Verde. I got stuck there for a night returning from Martinique. The beach is backed by tourist hotels, however I thought it wide and rather magnificent as well as clean. I have talked to many who love PR, and some year I will get there for a more extensive visit. Having a love for the history of the place adds to the interest.
With those requirements, check out Turks & Caicos. We stayed in a beach house with full kitchen (the top rated one on Trip Advisor). It wasn’t too bad driving on the left side of the road, there was a full service grocery store, beautiful beach with some nice bars/restaurants, snorkeling right off the beach, but not a lot of sightseeing/history.
My D and her husband went to a destination wedding on Vieques, which was at the W Hotel. They loved it there–also went to see the Bioluminescent Bay. They liiked Old San Juan too.
The only place I have been to in the Caribbean is Nevis in the West Indies. We stayed at the Four Seasons. It was spectacular.
It was a pretty long time ago–1998 or 1999. After a few days in San Juan (attending a conference) we planned to take the ferry over to Vieques, but it was delayed enough that we were probably going to miss the Bioluminescent Bay trip we had booked, so with the help of a nice person, we found a ride to the airport and then flew over. It wasn’t all that expensive–should have just booked a flight in the first place. The Bay was very cool–I would love to go back and see it again. If the moon is full, there is too much light to be able to see the Bioluminescence well, so we were very lucky with the timing of the trip.
I’m not intentionally being a killjoy here, but you do realize that mosquitoes in Puerto Rico are spreading the Zika virus, right? And that men who catch it can spread it to their sexual partners even after they return home?
If your 26-year-old daughter or a partner of your 23-year-old son might become pregnant, this is a significant issue.
I’m not saying don’t go. I’m saying to check out the CDC’s latest recommendations, and make sure the young people check them out, too.
St John or even St Thomas for beaches and snorkeling. Stay in a villa, hotels pretty limited and not great.
Puerto Rico for history, sightseeing, food and rain forest.
Puerto Rico is definitely not known for great beaches. St. John is my happy place. So laid back and the beaches are incredible.
My two favorite Caribbean islands are Grand Cayman (so clean, so nice, so safe!) and the dutch side of St. Maartin/St. Martin (although both sides are very nice).
I haven’t been to the US Virgin Islands or the BVI yet, but those are on my list. I’m not a fan of the Bahamas or Jamaica.
I didn’t feel as safe there as I have on other islands. I also never realized they are in dire financial trouble.