Puerto Rico?

grumbledore · February 2014

Last night my FI suggested maybe going to Puerto Rico for our honeymoon - has anyone been? We don't have a ton to spend (no firm budget on a honeymoon yet since we just started talking about it).

AprilH81 · February 2014

I have been twice, but only because it was where our cruise left from.

Old San Juan is kinda neat to explore, blue cobblestone streets, cafe's old forts, shops, etc. The island has a lot to offer that I would like to explore, zip lining, rain forest, caves, etc.

If you end up going and the timing is right I highly recommend the Bio-Bay Kayak tour. It was way cooler than I thought and I had pretty high expectations!

Hotels can be kind of pricey, especially on the beach... The ones in Old San Juan are small and old but very workable. Depending on what you want to do you may want to split your time between ends of the island so you can minimize your time traveling to/from attractions.

grumbledore · February 2014

@AprilH81 thanks for the tips - my best friend has been a few times and she loves it.

mlg78 · February 2014

My husband and I spent two nights of our honeymoon in San Juan before our cruise left. We really enjoyed the food and Old San Juan was cool. I'd definitely consider going back.

QueerFemme · March 2014

We went to Puerto Rico for 10 days for our honeymoon, and we loved it. A couple of things to consider though:

We wanted to stay at a locally owned inn, and we were happy we did. We felt like we got more of the local experience, local restaurants, etc. BUT, Puerto Rico is very poor and there is poverty everywhere. You will see a lot of stray dogs, cats, and chickens roaming the streets. There are even stray horses on the side of the highway. That hurt my heart. If you aren't up for that, you may want to stay on one of the resort properties.

Learn some basic spanish. Most people DO speak english there, but I had some issues communicating in basic locations, like gas stations.

Rent a car if you want to do any exploring. It's pretty easy to navigate around there, and the shuttles are somewhat expensive if you want to get to the rain forest or snorkling adventures. Although, bus service to get to local spots around San Juan is pretty easy.

We stayed for 4 nights in Rincon, on the opposite of the island from San Juan. We LOVED it there. We stayed at the Coconut Palms Inn. (the second picture below). It was a locally owned spot with 8 or so rooms, right on the beach.

we spent another 5 nights in San Juan at the Tres Palmas Inn. Also, BEAUTIFUL. A little larger, but still, maybe 15 rooms. A little outside of the hustle and bustle of downtown San Juan and walkable. Across the street from the beach. we really loved both places, but if we go back, we'll probably skip San Juan. We just enjoyed the pace on the other side of the island better.

The Ponce art museum is awesome. It's about an hour from Rincon and worth the drive if you like art.

If you like the shop and like partying nightlife, San Juan and Old San Juan are good spots. We really just wanted to relax, so we didn't get into that much.

Feel free to hit me up if you have questions!

daria24 · March 2014

I spent two weeks in PR in December for work, and I have to second Rincon. It is a great honeymoon spot-very laid back, lots of great restaurants, and the people were the absolutely nicest, friendliest people I have ever met. The Rincon locals are also more committed to preserving their environment and many have worked hard to rescue the stray dogs you see everywhere. The beaches are undeveloped-so no hotels/condos built on the beach. And there's almost no one on the beaches.

If you are going December-March that is surfing season and I had the most amazing surfing instructor. I had a surfing lesson in Hawaii and failed miserably, the guy in PR had me standing up almost instantly.

You will want a car to get around PR, but it's like driving in the US Mainland. Each side of the island is very different, from El Yunque rainforest to the more desert-like southern coast.

PR isn't my favorite place I've been, I prefer Belize. But there's definitely a lot to see and do and it's safe to explore on your own, unlike some parts of the Caribbean.

alithebride · March 2014

Many times. I love the water beach club. I've also stayed at the caribe hilton but that was pretty typical American chain.

cruffino · March 2014

I loved Puerto Rico. We stayed in San Juan. We went to the old town and to the rainforest. The food was awesome! The beach was lovely. I think it would make a great honeymoon.

grumbledore · March 2014

I am kind of falling in love with the idea. FI works for a company where we can get deeply discounted hotel rates so definitely looking into the options in PR.

smgold6 · March 2014

We are leaving out of San Juan, PR for our cruise and are needing a hotel to stay at the night before does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you!

Puerto Rico?

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