Visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico: the escape my soul knew I needed (Things to do in Puerto Rico)
My 6-day vacation to Puerto Rico was amazing! From the beach to the rainforest—I had an absolutely inspiring time! Keep reading for a list of things to do on your next trip to the island!
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La Inspiración (The Inspiration)
So what was the inspo behind going to Puerto Rico summer 2024? Don’t judge me—it was another vision board aspiration. I put my husband in charge of choosing a destination this year. Last year I chose Paris, France (read about it here) and I’ll choose again next year. But he originally wanted to go to a country in Africa and after months of stalling he finally settled on Puerto Rico. Why? Because he saw my vision board and wanted to make sure I went to a beach (ain’t that sweet?). That’s kinda cute and hilarious to me because without any effort or planning on my part, other than visualizing myself in a white bikini on somebody’s beach—it came to life. I love that for me! All those things, plus he’s fluent in Spanish and it’s a pretty common destination spot for southern folks (I actually ended up meeting someone from my home state, Alabama, while there) so it was kind of a no-brainer.
Puerto Rico was our 2nd cultural immersion excursion together and it was absolutely phenomenal. Foreign travel is one of my pillars for my lifestyle and I’m lucky to have a partner who’s down for adventure. I’m thinking we’ll open up our trips for more people in the coming years to make it even more fun!
La Experiencia (The Experience)
As I mentioned before, my visit to Puerto Rico was absolutely phenomenal. I would totally go back! We did a 6-day trip, which I believe helped me fall in love with the place. The highlights for me: the beach, the rainforest, and the weather. I’m a cancer/leo cuspy so the beach views and sunshine really had me feeling on top of the world.
Puerto Rico was very inspiring for me. I’m always thinking and getting ideas frequently though I often struggle with keeping focused and having motivation to bring ideas to life. Staying in Puerto Rico was like having the flood gates of mental clarity and inspiration open. The energy there is vibrant, yet natural at the same time. The island offers enough for all type of people: night life, nature, and busy small city vibes if you want it.
Comparison is the thief of joy, but if I had to compare this to Paris—I’d choose Puerto Rico. There are few things that contribute to this: Puerto Rico was a longer trip, the food in Paris was substantially more impressive than Puerto Rico honestly, but the beach and rain forest hike in PR took the cake. And again, the water and all the sunshine really won me over.
We definitely didn’t do ALL there is to be done during our stay, but I was still impressed with what we got into. There’s tons to do on the island, keep reading to see few things we had on our itinerary.
Things to do while in Puerto Rico
Get your grub on, if you can!
While in Puerto Rico, you have to try Puerto Rican food. We tried the local Los Gorditos and Ruben’s Cafe, both Puerto Rican. If you like Jamaican food you might enjoy it! They do a lot of plantains, mofongo (mashed plantain), rice and beans (though I didn’t see rice and beans at either restaurant).
If I’m being transparent—we had to eat other food alternatives throughout the week. Maybe future visits will allow us to gain a better appreciation for the food. Plus, there weren’t many diverse food options in the areas we visited in San Juan. For example, I love Indian and Ethiopian foods, but didn’t come across those while there. Despite this, we did end up having Mexican, Japanese and went to a Brazilian steakhouse.
Puerto Rico may not have been the most culinary-savvy destination (based on my personal experience), but it was still worth it!
Tours and Sightseeing
Paseo de la Princesa: On a particularly hot day, we went to visit Paseo de la Princesa, a beautiful walkway along the coast. Here you’ll definitely get your steps in and see lots of iguanas. This walkway spans Old San Juan, providing breathtaking views along the shore. On our way here we also stopped at the Sign ¡Boricua!—great for photos!
Take a tour of the beautiful neighborhood, La Perla: We toured La Perla, a beautiful neighborhood on the coast of the island. La Perla is a historically underserved neighborhood whose history runs deep—slaves and San Juan’s low-income residents made their homes here. The neighborhood has been negatively impacted by hurricanes on several occasions and lacks support from their government. However, the residents of La Perla still take pride in their neighborhood and have painted the homes and abandoned buildings beautiful bright colors despite the disasters. Just a heads up—this place discourages photos from being taken! This is also the location where the song “Despacito” was filmed. Though we took a tour (in Spanish—luckily the tour guide had cards because chile, my college Spanish is long gone) of La Perla, you can visit the neighborhood without a guide.
Visit Castillo San Cristobal, one of the largest Spanish fortresses: We also visited the Castillo San Cristobal. This is a castle-like fortress built by the Spanish in the 1600’s to protect to San Juan. You can get catch some beautiful views at the top of fortress. My favorite part here was the iguanas!
Hike the El Yunque Rainforest: A definite highlight for this trip was our 2-hour hike through the El Yunque Rainforest. Apparently, El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system. For the full details, check out Hiking El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico.
Visit La Playa (The Beach)
Listen! The beach, chile! I don’t know, maybe it’s because it’s been years since I’ve been beachside, but what a joy it was to be on that sand near that water! We went 3 out of the 6 days we were there! We stuck with La Isla Verde Beach but heard that the experience is even better on the west side of the island. The water is beautiful and blue and it wasn’t too crowded throughout the week; the busiest day was a Saturday.
Shop in Old San Juan
There are tons of shops to explore in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We did a little shopping there—we visited a jewelry store and an art store. I didn’t check out the thrift stores this time around, but I will next time! This part of San Juan is also very aesthetically pleasing with all the vibrant buildings and eye-catching architectures.
Night life
Visit La Placita de Santurce for a good time: If you want to check out the clubs, restaurants, and bars in San Juan, go to La Placita. It’s a small area with multiple bars and clubs. I don’t remember the name of all of them, but they are all literally right next to each other, each with their own vibe. My tip: don’t get drinks here, they are not it. The clubs here are great because people actually DANCE! It’s a yes for me!
The end
In the end, I absolutely loved Puerto Rico. I would go back and honestly look forward to it one day. There’s more I’d like to do, like kayak on the bioluminescent bay and ride ATVs. I’d also love to explore more of the island outside of San Juan.
Let me know in the comments how your experience was!
For more travel excursions check out these posts:
🗺 Hiking El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico
🗺 Fun things to do in Las Vegas
🗺 If you wanna go deep, then DIG!: Highlights from my trip to Paris, France
🗺 Hiking Outside Paris: Footsteps of Van Gogh Tour
keywords: things to do in San Juan, Puerto Rico, things to do in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Itinerary
