Things to do in Puerto Rico


Often times people from work who are planning on taking a trip to Puerto Rico ask me for recommendations on where to go, where to stay, what to see, what to eat, etc. I am creating this blog entry as a "living breathing" document to house all the recommendations I would make to people on Puerto Rico. I hope anyone who's interested can use, and please feel free to send me your suggestions, especially those friends of mine who still live in PR and know it a lot better these days...

Two great web sites to go to are Welcome to Puerto Rico and Go to Puerto Rico.

Rachel Ray recently did a show on PR on the Food Network - one of those $40 a day episodes. Pass the Ritz Rachel!

• For breakfast she recommended La Bombonera (mayorcas are their
specialty) - it's a pastry shop in Old San Juan that has been around forever, which is a testament to how good they are.
• For lunch she recommended "La Casita Blanca" - this one is not in Old San Juan it's like 10 min from Old San Juan in an area called Santurce.
• She also recommended a tour of the Bacardi factory - it's called Casa Bacardi. You can get free tastings of different rum drinks!
• For dinner she recommended Aguaviva (seafood) - this is in Old San Juan in an area commonly known as "SoFo" which means South Fortaleza because it's in the southern part of an important street in Old San Juan called Fortaleza which is where the Governor's Mansion is located. SoFo is usually a great bet for dinner, whether in Aguaviva or any of the other restaurants in that part of Old San Juan.

These are my personal recommendations based on some of my favorite places in Puerto Rico:

Where to eat:
• Los Cidrines (breakfast) - Spanish pastry shop by the Caribe Hilton
• Divino Bocadito (dinner) - Spanish tapas
• Faccio Pizza (lunch)
• Serrano's (lunch) - seafood, arroz con jueyes is their specialty
• Dragonfly (dinner) - Asian Latin fusion
• Parrot Club (dinner) - local gourmet
• El Jibarito (lunch) - local
• Miro (dinner) - Spanish cuisine/seafood
• Cafe del Angel (breakfast or lunch) - breakfast and local food
• Bottles (lunch) - bistro
• Baru (dinner)
• Pinky's (lunch) - sandwiches
• Kasalta (breakfast/lunch) - Spanish sandwich shop
• Tropical (lunch/dinner) - Cuban food
• Great Cuban food - "Metropol", "Tropical"
• Delirio
• Panza
• Pamela's
• Hosteria del Mar
• The Waterfront (lunch) - right in front of the beach, take mosquito spray!
• Chimichurri - awesome Argentinian food, either for lunch or dinner
• The Burger Joint - heard it just opened and has great/fresh burgers, for lunch
• La Patisserie - for breakfast/brunch/lunch (French)
• Ponte Fresco - for lunch, salads/soups/sandwiches
• Pinones - for great local fritters like "alcapurrias" and "bacalaitos"
• Great pizza - "Via Appia", "Danny's International Pizza"
• Pescaderia Atlantica (dinner) - great seafood and paellas
• Daspastelhaus (brunch/lunch) - very cool pastry shop and super unique pizzas
• Lemongrass in the Caribe Hilton - Latin Asian fusion

What to see/do:
• Shopping in Old San Juan - Old San Juan shopping is mostly known for fine jewelry as well as local arts and crafts. But beware of the tourist traps!
• Catamaran day trip such as East Wind Cats
• Bioluminescent Bay
• Hiking El Yunque
• The beach...DUH! Pick a beach, any beach
• Adventures (Aventuras Tierra Adentro)
• Culebra Island
• Vieques Island
• Rincon
• Cuevas de Camuy
• Gilligan's Island in Guanica
• Scuba diving

Where to party (OK so I used to be well-versed in this area but after moving to Cincinnati a couple of years ago and having a baby I have to sadly admit I'm no longer quite as up to speed on the happenings as I used to be). But here's my best stab at it:
• Fratelli
• Baru
• Water Club - very "Miami Beach" type of atmosphere.
• Hotel San Juan - they have on of the more popular discos as well as a great atmosphere in the hotel lobby.
• Divino Bocadito
• Kudeta (Old San Juan)
• Bamboo Bei
• Zabo
• Rubi
• Pepins
• Ficus
• Dunbars (classic)- they also have great food and live music a few days a week.
• Shannan's Irish Pub (classic)
• Any bar in Old San Juan pretty much (Hijos de Borinquen is one my friends and I used to love, it had a real local flavor and live music all the time. But we heard that they recently changed ownership and weren't as good anymore. Not sure what's going on with that.)
• Nuyorican Cafe (Old San Juan)
• Senor Frogs - could be VERY YOUNG on certain nights
• Barlovento
• Pink Skirt - Old San Juan

Where to stay:
• Caribe Hilton
• At my place (but only if I like you!)

Please note traffic in PR has become just a little hellish lately, so please arm yourself with patience when driving. Patience also won't hurt at restaurants since service tends to be a bit slow - it's part of the relaxed island attitude. :)

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