Solo Trip To Puerto Rico
If you follow me on Instagram then you know I made the most incredible decision ever and booked a trip to Puerto Rico alone. While a few people let me know they had major concerns about me venturing out and doing something like this on my own, I’m so happy that I did!
There are a few things that I would do differently next time around but now I have a few tips to share that will help keep you safe if you decide to travel there as well. All in all, everyone I encountered was helpful, kind, and I can not wait to go back someday.
WHERE I STAYED
Where I decided to stay was one of the things I would have changed about this trip. I spent under $300 for my stay and yes, it was a great deal BUT I ate the costs in Uber & Taxis because of my location not being closer to central areas. By no means am I a resort kind of girl but the place could have been a bit nicer. I saw two questionable bugs while I was there and that was with a verified host and great reviews on Air BnB. You get what you pay for. I used the place to sleep primarily and it was just me so I was fine!
If you plan on being in and out of Old San Juan and Condado like I was, I’d recommend getting a place located in these places. It’s all “San Juan” but this means NOTHING to the Uber & Taxi drivers who refused to pick me up because they thought 15 minutes was “too far out”.
PR(o) tip: if you’re having a hard time getting an Uber, pretend you’re going to SJU. I know. It’s shady, but I never had a driver bold enough to say anything to me when I changed the destination to where I was really going moments before opening the car door. If the drivers feel like you are too far out or your ride isn’t worth it, they’ll collectively ignore your ride requests. Another PR(o) tip is that while you’re out there you can change your Uber settings to paying in cash! Always have cash and get comfortable with the local Taxi service out there because Uber may not be available at all!
PUERTO RICO IN A PANDEMIC
I visited the last week of April 2021 and during that time there was a very strictly enforced curfew of 9 PM. Uber stops picking people up and restaurants/bars stop seating and taking orders as early as 8 PM. There was even one night where I could not get a bottle of water because not even the gas stations were open. Plan for this accordingly. No water after a thousand mojitos is no bueno!
If you’re anything like me, adventurous and hardheaded, you may find yourself outside past curfew with no means home. This is where the local taxi drivers come in handy. It may seem like a scary thing but I truly lucked out on personable and friendly drivers and now you have as well! Here are my two favorite Taxi drivers and their contact information:
Eric- 787-610-8547
Pablo- 787-564-9202
Tell them the crazy solo female traveler that stayed too far out from the city sent you!
Curfew is taken very seriously and so is wearing your mask at all times. It’s a result of cases spiking because so many people traveled there recently but I genuinely think they are trying to discourage tourism right now. They were “invaded” as my driver phrased it during spring break and there were tons of drunk people not being respectful and it caused a bit of tension between locals and tourists.
Do your best to read the room and be courteous. While I was out there a young black male tourist was killed for what I understand to be not following local rules in an area I don’t recommend visiting at all.
WHAT TO AVOID
There’s a beautiful town on the edge of Old San Juan called La Perla. Most tourists know it as a place to go to bars, look at dope street art, but mostly snag some drugs. La Perla is its own world with only two roads in and out of it and it has its own set of rules. My understanding is that while it can be fun, it can be very dangerous as well. It certainly was for the young man that was killed during the short time that I spent there. I was told by a local that one of the rules of certain areas in La Perla is no recording/ having your phone out and allegedly he didn't cooperate with the rules.
Speaking of what to avoid, there was a last-minute restaurant stop I made before heading into the snorkeling experience I booked through Air BnB and it was AWFUL. Every part of the dining experience sucked- the amount of time it took to get my food, the food itself (barf), it even sounded like there was some sort of rat in the ceiling in the back corner of the establishment KNAWING at the drywall and I was terrified it was going to fall through behind me or on top of me. It gave me the heebie-jeebies the entire time I ate. It’s in a super central area in Condado which is how I ended up there but I don’t recommend dining at Julius Restaurant and Grill on Ashford Avenue.
My experience with snorkeling in the Condado Lagoon gets 3/5 stars so my recommendation against it is more of a personal experience than anything. The waves and currents are a bit strong there and I was seasick within 15 minutes of being out in the VERY salty water that burned the hell out of my eyes AND tasted disgusting. I’m happy that a part of the paid experience I booked was getting some B-Roll of me on their GoPro from another perspective but other than that I could have saved my $. Buy yourself a goggle mask & snorkel set and you can definitely swim out there on your own.
WHAT YOU MUST DO
I wouldn’t tell you exactly where you should not eat if I didn’t have an equally strong suggestion on what and where you should eat. I spent money on my first night in San Juan on a Boozy Bites Food Tour of San Juan. It was a cool way to do some of my first mingling with people, get some history on San Juan, and try a few places to eat as well as get a few drinks.
Getting some socialization in and a nice historical tour of things was nice but my favorite part was being introduced to Cafe El Punto. On the food tour, we stopped there for Alca Purrias with ketchup-mayo and I fell in love. Alca Purrias are ground-beef-filled fritters wrapped in mashed and fried plantain. UGH. So good. I came back to this restaurant a few days after the tour to grab some more but their stuffed avocado and mofongo were also delicious. PR(o) tip: the mojitos here are STRONG. (yay!)
Most of the tours I did while on this trip I could have done without, not because they were horrible, they just aren’t worth a recommendation. Except one. The North Coast Greatest Natural Gems tour on Air BnB with host Marlene and her partner Alexes was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in my life. It is definitely a WORKOUT. I believe I did over 20,000 steps that day, but this was the highlight of my trip. They do the driving and take you to two incredibly beautiful, private, hidden spots in Puerto Rico outside of the business of San Juan.
One of the stops that was my absolute favorite was Hacienda La Esperanza. Beautifully calm and clear waters, an empty beach- I could have stayed there all day floating. A little ways off Marlene walks you over to a black sand beach to exfoliate before getting back in the water to rinse off. Words truly can not describe how magical this tour and the different places we were taken were. Here is a link to booking the tour on Air BnB with them if you’re interested in checking it out for yourself: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1303465
I can not wait to travel back to Puerto Rico. The next time I go I’m sure with numbers going down and things slowly opening more and more that my trip next time will be even better than before.
In the meantime, I can’t wait to tell you about where I’m planning on traveling next!