Puerto Rico Roadtrip
I went to Puerto Rico for a week in March 2025 with 4 other friends, and here I'll share the route that we took as well as some photos. Unfortunately most people who go to PR only stay in San Juan and Vieques; I feel that doing this only shows you a glimpse of PR.
We rented a car with Enterprise and drove around the island, and it was a lot of fun.
San Juan
Old San Juan was a lot of fun, but also a lot of tourists. You can park on the streets but it's extremely difficult to find a spot; I'd rather just park in the parking lot next to Castillo San Felipe del Morro (which is where I took the above photo)
But I preferred Castillo San Cristóbal. There I was able to get a whole view of Old San Juan.
I thoroughly enjoyed scrolling in Old San Juan. There are many cafes, souvenir shops, and restaurants. I had a Piña Colada at Barriachina, the restaurant the supposedly created the drink, but I did not enjoy it. I did see the restaurant Willy's Poncho on Lonely Planet - it was a half an hour drive from Old San Juan, but I enjoyed the experience. Beside these, we also visited the Miramar foodtruck park, but again we found it to be filled with tourists.
I don't recommend Condado Beach, as I thought it was too small. Isla Verde beach is probably a great option, and so is Escambron (but there are many tourists). I also recommend going to Isla de Cabras, which is across Old San Juan and also has some nice beaches. Here you don't see as many tourists.
We ended up spending the first two days and our last day in San Juan. I thought that was just enough to explore the city.
Fajardo
We drove from San Juan to Fajardo. We stopped by Playa Luquillo, which was also a nice beach. We left San Juan after lunch and got to Fajardo at around 5. After we arrived, we tried to sign up for a last minute kayak tour to see the bioluminescence at Laguna Grande. Turns out this was a bad idea - I recommend making reservations beforehand. We spent 2 hours asking around and waiting for last minute openings
Luckily we were able to get on the tour. Compared to what some of my friends saw at Vieques, my experience at the Laguna Grande was rather underwhelming; nevertheless kayaking was a cool experience.
Even though they say it's impossible to see Laguna Bay without going on the tour, we realized the next morning that this isn't true. You can go to Reserva Natural de Las Cabezas de San Juan, walk north along the beach, and you'll see a trail on the right hand side. Follow the trail and you will get to Laguna Grande.
Ponce
We drove to Ponce the next day, making a stop at Caguas (which is along the way) to see its town square. We arrived at around sunset. I enjoyed Ponce a lot - there were lots of nice restaurants. I also enjoyed the town square of Ponce. You can go to Museo Castillo Serrallés for a nice view of Ponce (it was raining when I was there, so I didn't get any nice photos).
I wish we had spent more time there.
Cabo Rojo
We drove from Ponce to Cabo Rojo the next day. There was heavy rain on that day, so we didn't get to see La Parguera. In fact, the rain was so huge that I had blinkers on while driving (typical Caribbean weather, I was told). We stayed at an airbnb in El Combate, which was a small town. The beach there was nice (I enjoyed my tan there the next day), and I also had the best mofongo of the trip there (much to my surprise).
Aguadilla
Aguadilla was a highlight. It was definitely my favorite city of the trip. There were lots of colorful houses, and the city has a great sunset view, and Crash Boat Beach is the best beach of the trip.
We booked a scuba diving tour, but because of the weather we weren't able to go. I definitely recommend trying scuba diving there as it was one of the best areas to see marine life. We went to Shack's beach instead, which was a nice beach for snorkeling - and we did see some marine life. We were told that sometimes it was possible to see sharks, but (un?)fortunately we didn't see any.
Overall, I thought Puerto Rico was a lot of fun. Though not as fun as Baja California, I thought it was a great destination for a one-week trip. I also thought it was perfect for a road trip - other than Old San Juan, Puerto Rico was prefect for driving, and the roads were well-maintained. I enjoyed listening to Bad Bunny on the car and in restaurants and bars. I should've taken more photos. Debà tirar más fotos.