The First of Many (Puerto Rico)

Top canopy of hiking trail on one of El Conquistador’s private beaches.

THE FIRST OF MANY - PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico was one of the easiest and most relaxing destinations we have traveled to. With a direct flight and no passport required for U.S. travelers, this is a must see island. If you do plan on visiting Puerto Rico, we have two suggestions for you.

Suggestion #1: Visit during the off season (May through December).

Suggestion #2: Rent a car! With so much to see on all sides of the island, a car is absolutely necessary and will save you the pain of traveling by tour bus.

Without our little Avi (yes we named our rental car, and yes it looks identical to an avocado), we would not have been able to experience the hidden concert on the west coast of the island that we happened to stumble upon, Old San Juan, El Yunque National Rainforest, or the picture perfect Window Cave. The island itself is only about a three hour drive from east to west, and thereby very easy to navigate. Even with an outdated GPS system and no cell service, our wrong turns and missed roads provided some of the best experiences we had.

Beach Sunset in Rincón, Puerto Rico (west coast)

What to do in Puerto Rico?

Our must-sees when visiting Puerto Rico are:

1. Window Cave Hike (Cost = $20/Person) - Approximately 1 hour.

Window Cave (Cueva Ventana) in Arecibo, Puerto Rico — Window Cave

The Window Cave, "Cueva Ventana," is located in the city of Arecibo, Puerto Rico overlooking the Rio Grande de Arecibo valley.

2. El Yunque National Rainforest - Strongly recommend the La Mina Falls trail and the La Coca Waterfall. The water was chilly but refreshing, so make sure you bring a towel and extra clothes (something we forgot and regret).

El Yunque Rainforest, La Mina Falls, Puerto Rico — El Yunque Rainforest

La Mina Falls hiking trail and waterfall in the El Yunque National Rainforest on Puerto Rico's east coast.

Waterfall in El Yunque Rainforest, Puerto Rico

3. Old San Juan - Take a walk through the beautiful parks and atop the historical Castillo de San Cristobal castle. Old San Juan is filled with wonderful restaurants, beautiful bars and pubs, and extravagant world-class hotels.

Innergy Traveler at Castillo de San Cristobal, Puerto Rico — Old San Juan

View from the top of the historical Castillo de San Cristobal castle on Puerto Rico's west coast.

During our visit, we stayed at the El Conquistador Waldorf Astoria and absolutely loved it. As I previously mentioned, our visit on the island during the off-season made it seem like we were the only people at the entire hotel.