Puerto Rico (PR)

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Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 August 2025 00:02
Published: Saturday, 02 August 2025 15:01
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Peurto Rico (PR):

This is part of USA, even though people often confuse it as a another country. It's unincorporated U.S. territory (NOT a US state) and part of Caribbean islands. It is mostly Hispanic, so Spanish spoken. Any person in US who can travel within USA can travel to PR as PR is a domestic destination. It's known for it's beaches and historic cities. San Juan, the capital, and the only big city, is beautiful. SW flies to San Juan. Flights from Dallas/Houston to San Juan may be had for < $200 when on sale.

PR is financially a poor US territory, so cost of living is low. However due to tourists, costs are at par with states like Texas. Activities, hotels ($100/night), cars ($50/day)  rent for same price as in US. The whole island of PR can be driven from East to West in 2 hrs, and from north to south in 30 minutes. The shoreline of PR is only 500kms. So, if you wanted to drive along the shoreline of PR, you could do it all in a day and still spend some time on few of the beaches !! 

 

 

Lodging and Transportation:

Lodging: Individual people rent out their homes for really cheap, compared to hotels which can be very expensive, especially around San Juan.

I booked via Expedia.  It was $500 for 7 nights, i.e $70/night for a 2 bedroom house with Kitchen, etc. The place is OK for staying, but it's cheap and right in the center of San Juan. The host "Angel" lives on ground floor with his family and is very nice guy, who will accommodate your needs. Link => https://www.expedia.com/San-Juan-Hotels-Tidy-And-Cozy-Place-To-Stay

You can similar houses for similar price. Hotels may also be had for cheap, especially if you start moving away from central San Juan. Since driving to San Juan is so easy from anywhere in PR, I would advise to find some property really nice far away from SJ. It will cost you < $100/night for a big property.

Transportation: Rent your own car from the airport. My rental car was via Hertz, which had it's rental fleet right at the airport (walking distance, as it's right across the street). It cost $350 for a week during July. Having a car will allow you to drive anywhere. You don't need 4 Wheel drive, as I was able to drive almost everywhere with a 2 Wheel drive. But very few places might have a requirement for 4 wheel. Taking Uber, etc is just wastage of money.

For some reason, gas is cheap in PR ($0.75/Litre which is ~$3/gal, same price as in USA as of July 2025)

 

 

Top attractions:

A week of trip to PR will allow you to see almost everything. Beaches are the main attraction. Downtown old San Juan is also beautiful to just walk around. Below are top attractions:

  • Beaches: If you love beaches, PR is the place to go. There are 100's of world class beaches. Literally you could park your car anywhere on the shoreline, and you will most likely have a beach within walking distance. Each beach is different, and depending on your taste, one may be better than other. Best to explore as many beaches as you can.
  • Bio Luminescent bay:
  • Old San juan