Gonzo Blog

Puerto Rico: Island of Enchantment

07.23.09 Posted in Puerto Rico by A. Ghodasara

On July 4th 2009 weekend visited San Juan, Puerto Rico for 4 nights and 4 days. On July 1st left Houston (IAH) by Continental flight departing at 11:59 PM (yes midnight!) and reached San Juan (SJU) non-stop at 5:30 local time (EST). Flight time was approximately 4 Hours 20 minutes. FYI – If I am not mistaken the flight time of our friends who flew from Newark, NJ was more or less the same.

We stayed at the Hilton Caribe (Type Hilton Caribe San Juan in Google) which is 7 miles from the Airport and more or less the same distance to Old San Juan as well.

A friend of ours graciously agreed to use his Visa Signature card and got us a $104 a night deal + 25% in taxes which came out to be $125 a night. Considering it was a long weekend the deal we got was exceptional and value for money. Breakfast was not included but one can get the continental breakfast for approximately $15 per person or pay $27 per person for the full fledge breakfast.

We were six couples (12 people) and upon request by the visa friend we all got upgraded for free to an ocean view room instead of the Garden view room that we had booked.

We found the hotel reasonably good. It may not have been “the” best hotel in town but was definitely worth the money. The hotel had bunch of pools, jacuzzi, a cabana, pool bar and a private beach with water trampoline and an iceberg where you can climb up to the top, whilst soaking up the sun, and then take a refreshing plunge into the cool ocean below!

The Hilton Caribe consists of two buildings, one of them being the tower. Eight of us stayed in the other building and 4 of us stayed at the tower. The rooms at both places weren’t bad. They were the usual Hilton rooms (not big not small!) and we had no qualms about it.

Overall if you want to stay close to Old San Juan you should consider this Hotel provided the price is not more than $150 (inclusive of taxes) a night for a ocean view king size bed room.

Note:

• Paying for parking ($25 a day) is a norm in all Hotels in PR whether you stay in San Juan or away from San Juan.
• The private beaches in Hotels located in San Juan may not be the best in Puerto Rico but were definitely better (bluer) then Galveston and Jersey beaches!
• You will find white sand and semi-crystal clear beaches if you drive away from San Juan.

[ Food: ]

In Hilton:

One of our friends managed to get some complimentary breakfast coupons so we hogged on to their full fledge breakfast. It was really nice and if you have a long day ahead of you may want to consider spending $27 and save money by having a slice of Pizza in the afternoon!

One evening we were tired and did not want to pull our car out for dinner so we had dinner at one of the restaurants within the Hotel premise named Caribe Italian Ristorante. The food was good and considering the convenience it was money well spent.

Old San Juan:

Chef Ramesh Pillai’s Tantra (Link): It’s kind of a semi upscale (i mean somewhat pricey!) Indian and Puerto Rican fusion restaurant. The vegetarian food was not up to par but the chicken and shrimp dishes weren’t bad. The ambience and service was good and so were the cocktails. The highlight of the restaurant was their home made chili sauce!

We made Tantra our rendezvous point every evening whenever we came to Old San Juan.

Barrachina (Link): It’s a Puerto Rican/Mexican restaurant located a block or two from Tantra. They claim to be the birthplace of the Original Pina Colada. I just found this when I visited their site while writing this blog! Anyways, we ended up having just their frozen and on the rocks Mojito, both of which were very good and I strongly recommend it. We did not eat there because they only had two vegetarian dishes. Their non vegetarian and sea food dished sounded good. So I say try them out when you are in Old San Juan.

La Cucina Di Ivo (Link): It’s an Italian restaurant located 5-6 blocks away from Tantra and 3-4 blocks away from Barrachina. It’s close to close to Marshall’s, the super store you often see on the main land! The food, service, and ambience was good. If you crave for Italian food while in Old San Juan try them out. Considering their service and the portions they serve the food was reasonably priced. By the way their menu is in Italian! (http://lacucinadiivo.com/menu.pdf)

San Juan:

Bangkok and Bombay Thai and Indian Cuisine (Link): Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes were very good especially all their veg appetizers. They have a sushi bar and serve Thai/Chinese food which we did not try so cannot comment. I strongly recommend this restaurant if you crave for Indian food! They are right across from Marriot and close to Wyndham Condado Plaza Hotel and Casino in San Juan. It’s worth driving around and finding this place if you crave for Indian or Indo-Thai food! It’s 10 minutes from Hilton Caribe.

Note:

• If your concierge suggests a Indian restaurant named Taj Palace or Gopal then please note that they are out of business so don’t spend your “iphone and car time” searching for them like we did!

[ El Yunque Rain Forest : ]

A must go place if you are visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico. It’s east of San Juan and is on the way to all major beaches (Fajardo, Seven Seas, etc ..) in eastern Puerto Rico.

From San Juan (SJU) airport, take Hwy 26 East to Hwy 66 East to Hwy 3 East and drive till you hit Hwy 191 and make right. Once you are on Hwy 191 prepare yourself for El Yunque. By the way when traveling on Hwy 3 East you will see the rain forest from a distance to your right!

Once on Hwy 191 watch out for signs to the Information Center. You will need to pay $3 to enter the information center. What’s in the information center? Restrooms, few spots to take pictures, and a park official who will hand out a map explaining the trails, waterfalls, etc …. If you already have that information no need to stop at the information center. They provide the same map available here …

While you are visiting Puerto Rico in general and the Rain Forest in particular expect few short lived showers once a day or once in few days.

The Trail / Hiking:

To enter the trail you will have to leave the information center in your car and drive further up.

If you are interested in hiking to the highest point (El Yunque Peak) with minimum hike then drive up till km13 (refer the map in the above link) and park and follow the signs to the trail. If you drive up till km 13 you are required to only hike only 1 ½-2 one way to El Yunque Peak. On your way you will come across Los Picachos and Mt. Britton Lookout Tower. The trail will be a piece of cake for seasoned hikers but doable for the John Doe like us! I guess we were lucky that it rained a little and it wasn’t that hot.

When we reached El Yunque Peak there were clouds below us and across from us. The cool breeze was imposing on us and there were instances where we could see the ecstatic beauty around us between the clouds. There are few words to describe the moment so I am not going to try explaining it here and would just say that it’s worth hiking few hours to see and experience the beauty of El Yunque Rainforest from El Yunque Peak.

The view from Mt Britton Lookout Tower and Los Picachos would have been enthralling if it wasn’t for the clouds and rain. But nevertheless I strongly recommend this trail! It’s a must go.

The Waterfalls:

There are two major falls in the rain forest. La Coca Falls and La Mina Falls. La Coca is the bigger one and La Mina is the smaller one.

We could only visit La Mina because of parking and time constrain. When at La Mina you will be required to hike 25-30 minutes down to the fall. When at the fall you could take a dip beneath the fall as well as stand under the fall.

After speaking to few people it appears that the hike down to La Coca falls is 45-50 minutes and one cannot stand under the falls but can stand a little away from the fall and get wet. You may be allowed to take a dip beneath the fall but you may be required to stay a little away from the fall. You may however want to re-confirm this information about La Coca falls.

Note:

• Overall our visit to the rainforest on both occasions was one of the highlights of our trip.
• Travel time to any hotspots east of San Juan (Rainforest, Fajardo, Seven Seas Beach, Ferry to any islands east of Puerto Rico) will require travel on Hwy 3 and it may take anywhere from 1 ½ to 2 hours since there are traffic lights and it’s a four lane highway and at time can get New Yorky!
• Parking on weekends and sometimes on weekdays in the Rainforest can be cumbersome. We were lucky to get parking at km 13 despite of reaching there a little late. So in case you don’t get a parking spot at your desired place be prepared to park where the park officials tell you and expect to take the shuttle. I believe the shuttle is free as well.
• There is no entry fee to the rainforest except if you want to visit the information center.

[ Snorkeling ]

It’s advisable to book your excursions ahead of time. We did not do that but were lucky to get 12 spots in a Catamaran named “Fun Cat” captained by Capt. Gregory Korwek (Link).

For $89 their bus picked us up at approximately 8:00AM for a 1 – 1 ½ hour mini bus ride to the eastern coast of P.R. and the Caribbean Sea. We boarded the “Fun Cat” for a short sail to the Spanish Virgin Islands. Non Swimmers were supplied with floats so that they can enjoy the beautiful coral and fish along with everyone. After lunch (a Buffet style Picnic),they moved the boat to the best coral reefs. On our return trip, they recommend that you bring your CDs or ipod for the free rum party with live music!

There were approximately 30 people on board including us. The island and water was clean and snorkeling was fun. Our only regret was that we could not spend more time on the beach.

Note:

• Fun Cat was good but you may want to also consider other catamaran’s and sail boats that are smaller and hence less people. You may also want to consider a sail that takes you island hoping as well.

[ Forts ]

Must see when you are in Old San Juan is the El Morro (Castillo de San Felipe del Morro) and Castillo de San Cristobal. We were late and could not make it inside the fort but the area that is accessible outside the fort is very nice and must see.

[ Conclusion ]

The primary purpose of our trip was to get together with friends and have fun which we did. The four days were both fun and exhaustive in a good way. We definitely don’t mind visiting this place again. There is enough to do in Puerto Rico even you go for 1-2 weeks. Next time we are in Puerto Rico we definitely want to do the following:

Segway: We have explored San Francisco and Kemah, TX on a Segway and we definitely want to explore Old San Juan on a Segway as well. There are at least two companies providing Seway Tours:

a) http://ventureoutpr.com/tours.html
b) http://www.segwaytourspr.com/

Nighttime Kayaking: We tried but could not accommodate Kayaking the Bioluminescent Bay in the night. It ‘s a must do when you are in Puerto Rico. There are ample of operators who offer this night time tour. Just Google it or speak to your concierge. [see footnote of this blog for more information on Bioluminescent Bay]

We would definitely want to get on a Sail Boat or Catamaran and Snorkel again but more importantly do island hopping as well.

Visit Culebra and/or Vieques Islands.

Take the RTV tour in the rainforest and maybe do a Zipline as well.

If you are taking a cruise from or to Puerto Rico and want to explore Old San Juan in the shortest possible time then check out this link

Other Helpful links:

a) Tour the Foothills of El Yunque on an ATV
b) Things to do in San Juan

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By the way: The Bioluminescent Bay (or “Bio Bay” as it is sometimes called), is perhaps the world’s largest and brightest. The luminescence is caused by micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) which glow whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon blue. A combination of factors create the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: red mangrove trees surround the water (the organisms feed off the dead leaves); a complete lack of modern development around the bay; the water is cool enough and deep enough; and a small channel to the ocean keeps thedinoflagellates in the bay.

This small channel is the result of Spanish ships’ attempts to choke off the bay from the ocean’s waters. The Spanish believed that the bioluminescence they first encountered was the work of the Devil (’El Diablo’) and tried to block the ocean’s waters from entering the bay by dropping huge boulders in the channel. The Spanish only succeeded in preserving and increasing the luminescence. Kayaking and swimming are permitted in the bay and can be arranged through local vendors.

There are various companies who conduct a guided tour in the night. One of them being http://www.biobay.com/ – visit their website for pictures of The Bioluminescent Bay and tour information.