Visit Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is where the easygoing Caribbean collides with the slick efficiency of modern America over syncopated Latin rhythms and rose-tinted tropical sunsets. The result is a colorful, diverse and culturally unique island that is often as confusing as it is cosmopolitan. Hip, funky restaurants nestle next to 15th-century Spanish forts; sprawling concrete shopping malls encroach upon the fecund tropical rainforests; and glitzy casinos lie juxtaposed against some of the most stunning beaches, caves and offshore coral reefs in the Caribbean.

Racing headlong into the 21st century, contemporary Puerto Rico can sometimes present a bewildering picture to culture-seeking visitors. Outdoor enthusiasts will not want to miss the opportunity to visit the rare and wild treasure that is Isla Mona. Hop on a local bus, disappear in Bosque Estatal de Carite in the central mountains, change your pace on Puerto Rico's wacky sister, the island of Culebra, or pedal your way around the beautiful island of Vieques; just be sure to tear up any cast-iron itineraries and let the open road lead you where it will. History is another draw card and in beguiling Viejo (Old) San Juan, you'll find one of the oldest and best preserved colonial cities in the Americas.

Mapa de Puerto Rico

Fuerte San Felipe del Morro, San Juan de Puerto Rico

Isla Mona

There is no rarer wilderness adventure in the Caribbean than a trip to Isla Mona, Puerto Rico’s ‘Jurassic Park, ’ 50 miles to the west of the main island in the Pasaje de la Mona. And although few Puerto Ricans or travelers actually ever visit Mona, this nearly circular island of 14, 000 acres looms large in many people’s imagination.

A nature reserve since 1919 and uninhabited for more than 50 years, Mona is so full of history, dramatic geological formations and wildlife that it can overwhelm your senses and pique your curiosity in ways you cannot even imagine. Keep in mind, though, that concerns about safety on the island caused the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA; Department of Natural Resources & Environment) to close the island to visitors for months, so make sure Mona is open to visitors before you plan your trip.

You suddenly begin taking the ‘long view’ of our planet’s history when you see the violet cliffs of the tabletop island rising like a fata morgana (mirage) above the deep blue waves, or a collection of giant iguanas scrambling onto a trail to sniff your scent. Puerto Rican traffic jams seem like only the tiniest wrinkles in time when a pod of humpback whales near Mona begin breaching in front of you, a nurse shark surprises you beneath some antler coral, or you scramble through one of the island’s limestone caves toward a point of light until you come to a hole that opens in the side of a cliff 100ft above the sea.

Then there are fish-eating bats, wild goats and pigs, Taíno petroglyphs on cave walls and the stories – stories of enslaved Indians, sunken galleons holding treasures of gold, skeletons of 18th-century pirates uncovered on Playa Pájaros, buried buccaneer loot and a government-sponsored search for the same that ended abruptly when a member of the search party committed suicide.

All this serves as ample food for thought when you are sitting around your campfire in the starlit night – and a reminder that a trip to Mona cannot be undertaken on a whim. While the DRNA provides toilets and saltwater showers at Playa Sardinera, Mona is a backcountry camping experience and boat trips here can take more than five hours in rough seas.

The rangers and police detachment (in their small station at Playa Sardinera) can provide basic first aid and have radio contact with the main island, but beyond this you are on your own in a beautiful – but hostile – environment.

Playa Sardinera, Isla Mona, Puerto Rico

Isla Culebra

An elusive lizard (not seen since 1974) hides in a unique mountain ‘boulder’ forest, a couple of abandoned US tanks lie rusting on a paradisiacal beach, a sign on a shop door in the ‘capital’ Dewey reads ‘Open some days, closed others.’ Welcome to Culebra – the ­island that time forgot; mainland Puerto Rico’s weird, wonderful and distinctly wacky smaller cousin that lies glistening like a bejeweled Eden to the east.

Long feted for its diamond dust beaches and world-class diving reefs, sleepy Culebra is probably more famous for what it hasn’t got than for what it actually possesses. There are no big hotels here, no golf courses, no casinos, no fast-food chains, no rush-hour traffic, no postmodern stress and no problemas, amigo. Situated 17 miles to the east of mainland Puerto Rico, but inhabiting an entirely different planet culturally speaking, the island’s peculiar brand of off-beat charm can sometimes take a bit of getting used to. Don’t expect open-armed cordiality here. Culebran friendliness is of the more backwards-coming-forwards variety. Home to rat-race dropouts, earnest idealists, solitude seekers, myriad eccentrics, and anyone else who can’t quite get their heads around the manic intricacies of modern life, the island is the ultimate ‘riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma.’ Among the traveling fraternity, it has long inspired a religiouslike devotion in some, and head-scratching bafflement in others. There’s but one binding thread – the place is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Isla Vieques

With a name stamped in infamy, Vieques was where Puerto Rico’s most prickly political saga was played out in the public eye. For over five decades the US Navy used more than two-thirds of this lusciously endowed Spanish Virgin Island for military target practice. The war games ended in 1999 after a misplaced 500lb bomb caused the death of a Puerto Rican civilian and set in motion a protest campaign that led to the navy’s long-awaited withdrawal.

Measuring 21 miles long by 5 miles wide, Vieques is substantially bigger than Culebra and distinctly different in ambience. Though still a million metaphorical miles from the bright lights of the Puerto Rican mainland, the larger population here has meant more luxurious accommodations, hipper ­restaurants and – unfortunately – more petty thievery (particularly on the beaches).

Since the official military withdrawal in 2003, Vieques has regularly been touted as the Caribbean’s next ‘big thing, ’ with a pristine coastline ripe for the developer’s bulldozer. Fortunately, environmental authorities swept in quickly after the hand­over and promptly declared all of the former military land (which consists of 70% of the island’s total area) a US Fish & Wildlife Refuge. The measure has meant that the bulk of the island remains virgin territory to be explored and enjoyed by all.

Development elsewhere has been slow and low-key. Although many guesthouses and restaurants have expanded their business since 2003, much of this growth has centered on ecoventures and small but luxurious boutique hotels. The only real ‘resort’ was closed at the time of writing, and the island has yet to succumb to golf, gambling or Las Vegas–style glitz. It’s a situation that seems unlikely to change in the short term. Vieques’ residents – many of whom are US expats – are fiercely protective of their Caribbean nirvana and, fresh from seeing off the US military in 2003, they are boldly accustomed to putting up a fight.

The name ‘Vieques’ is a 17th-century Spanish colonial corruption of the Taíno name bieque (small island). The Spaniards also called Vieques and Culebra las islas inútiles (the useless islands) because they lacked gold and silver. But over the centuries, residents and visitors who share affection for this place have come to call Vieques ‘Isla Nena, ’ a term of endearment meaning ‘Little Girl Island.’

These days Vieques is synonymous with its gorgeous beaches, semiwild horses and unforgettable bioluminescent bay.

Parque de bombas, Ponce - Puerto Rico

San Juan

Take note New York! Modern America started here. Well, almost. Established in 1521, San Juan is the second-oldest European-founded settlement in the Americas (after Santo Domingo) and the oldest under US jurisdiction. Shoehorned onto a tiny islet that guards the entrance to San Juan harbor, the atmospheric ‘Old City’ juxtaposes historical authenticity with pulsating modern energy in a seven-square-block grid of streets that was inaugurated almost a century before the Mayflower laid anchor in present day Massachusetts. Surreal sounds and exotic sights resonate everywhere. A stabbing salsa stanza in sonorous Calle San Sebastián, timid cats scurrying under winking lanterns in shady Plaza San José, and the omnipresent roar of Atlantic breakers battling mercilessly with the sturdy 500-year-old fortifications of El Morro.

Beyond its timeworn 15ft-thick walls, San Juan is far more than a dizzying collection of well-polished colonial artifacts. To get the full take on Puerto Rico’s capricious capital, visitors must first run the gamut of its distinct but ever-evolving neighborhoods. There’s seen-it-all Condado where Cuba’s 24-hour gambling party got washed up in the early 1960s; tranquil Ocean Park with its gated villas and strategically located B&Bs; gritty Santurce relaunched with art galleries after a two-decade-long depression; and swanky Isla Verde awash with luxurious resort hotels and kitschy casinos.

Choked by bumper-to-bumper traffic and inundated with nearly five million tourists annually, parts of San Juan can leave you wondering if you took a wrong turn at Miami airport in Florida. But the confusion rarely lingers. Cultural borrowing has long been this city’s pragmatic hallmark. For every gleaming office block, you’ll also stumble upon a colorful Spanish fiesta, an African religious ritual, a delicate native woodcarving and architecture that could easily have been ripped out of Seville, Cartegena, Buenos Aires, or even Paris.

Ponce

Ponce native son and author Abelardo Díaz Alfaro famously called Ponce a baluarte irreductible de puertorriqueñidad – a bastion of the irreducible essence of Puerto Rico – and strolling around the quaint square and narrow streets of the city’s historic center certainly evokes the stately spirit of Puerto Rico’s past. Unfortunately, the neighborhoods that surround the square bear witness to a woeful characteristic of Puerto Rico’s present: irreducible snarls of congested traffic. Even though the honking and ceaseless construction are signs of the city’s continual growth, the communities surrounding San Juan have grown much faster, unseating Ponce’s status as Puerto Rico’s second-most populated metropolis.

To understand the essence of Ponce itself, start at the city center, lined with shops, banks and surprisingly affordable hotels. The city has a more easygoing spirit than other major cities on the island, with businesses that open late and close early, couples who stroll circles around the city’s fountains, and breezy evenings 2 miles south at the shore line. There, at a developed facility called Paseo Tablado La Guancha, clusters of attractive restaurants and cafés draw families for open-air dinners on the weekend. After the kids go to bed, the drinks flow and the area jumps with a booming mix of reggaeton and salsa.