PUERTO RICO

(includes Culebra Island, San Juan & Vieques Island)

ARECIBO ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Sights & Sites
●Arecibo Observatory – Route 625; 787-878-2612; naic.edu; world’s largest and most sensitive radio-telescope.
●Rio Camuy Cave Park – Route 129, km 18.9; 787-898-3100; parquesnacionalespr.com; among largest cave systems in world; after introductory film, tram down trail to Cueva Clara; hour-long guided leads on foot through 180’ high cave, teeming with wildlife; likely to see blue-eyed river crams and long-legged tarantulas; more elusive are bats that don’t come out until dark but generate palpable heat at cave’s entrance; visit ends with tram ride to Tres Pueblos sinkhole, where can see 3^rd longest underground river in world; arrive early on weekends.



CULEBRA ISLAND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Beaches
●Flamenco Beach – among Caribbean’s 6 top beaches; short taxi ride from ferry terminal; ferries depart from Fajardo, port town on Puerto Rico’s eastern coast.



DORADO ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Hotels
●Ritz-Carlton Dorado Beach – 100 Dorado Beach Road; 787-626-1100 or 800-836-3124; ritzcarlton.com; on site of Laurance Rockefeller’s secluded 1950s beachfront estate.
Restaurants
●Mi Casa – 100 Dorado Beach Road (at Ritz-Carlton Dorado Beach); 787-626-1100; ritzcarlton.com; Jose Andres’ restaurant.



FAJARDO ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION (includes Humacao & Palomino Island)
Dives
●Cayo Diablo Marine Park – east coast; not 1 but several different sites; not all dive operators can always get there because need proper boats (Fajardo’s most remote reef but takes less than 20 minutes to reach by appropriate boat); coral garden; regular controlled current tends to lead barracuda and eagle rays from time to time; visibility often best in area.
●Palomino Island – shallow dive; dolphins upon occasion.
●Retreat – off Humacao; very peaceful because little current.
●Rooms – off Humacao; mazelike, mini-canyon jumble with swim-through caves.
●Sail Rock – midway between Culebra and St. Thomas; 2.5 hour boat ride from Fajardo but worth special trip; lonely pinnacle jutting from ocean; underwater vista is beautiful.
Hotels
●El Conquistador Resort – 1000 El Conquistador Avenue (Palomino Island); 787-863-1000 or 888-543-1282; elconresort.com.
Services
●El Conquistador Resort Kayaking Excursions – 1000 El Conquistador Avenue; 787-863-1000 or 888-543-1282; elconresort.com; kayaking in Cabezas Nature Reserve through bioluminescent waters at night.
Sights & Sites
●City Center – notable for brightly painted, colonial homes.
●Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve – Route 987; 787-722-5882; comprised of 3 headlands that extend into Atlantic Ocean; encompasses 7 different ecosystems, including beaches, beaches, forests, and offshore coral reef; lighthouse; phosphorous waters at night in Laguna Grande.



GUANICA ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Dives
●Falling Rock – easy current.
●Frankie’s Cave – 60' reef series; very good dive.
●Hatches – southwestern coast; good access of “famed” wall, with soft corals and big barrel sponges; also morays, rays and sharks.



GUAYNABO ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Restaurants
●Lechonera La Ranchero – Road 173, km 6.0 (Hato Nuevo Ward, half hour outside San Juan); 787-790-9988; only good on weekends, when this sports bar serves lechon (Puerto Rican-style roast pig); be there by noon.



JAYUYA ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Sights & Sites
●Museo el Cemi – Route 144 (near km 9.3); 787-828-4618 or 787-828-1241; Taino history museum.
●La Piedra Escrita – huge, river-bound boulder covered with 86 prehistoric Taino petroglyphs; date to 600-1200 CE.



LUQUILLO ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Beaches
●Luquillo Beach – near El Yunque National Forest.



MAYAGÜEZ ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Mona Island – rough, 40 mile (plus) crossing but worth it; caves, cliffs, and pristine beaches; considered Caribbean’s “Galapagos.”



PONCE ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Sights & Sites
●Museo de Arte de Ponce – 2325 Avenida Las Americas; 787-848-0505; museoarteponce.org; 4.5K works by European painters such as Goya, Rubens, and Lord Frederic Leighton, as well as African, Caribbean, Latin American, and North American artists.
●La Parguera Bay – Lajas (southwestern coast); laparguera.com; phosphorous waters at night; 45 minutes west of Ponce, 20 minutes from Guanica.



RÍO GRANDE ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Palmer
Hotels
●St. Regis Bahia Beach – Route 187, km 4.2 (Rio Grande); 787-809-8000; stregisbahiabeach.com; 139-rooms; expensive; on 483 acres fronting undeveloped, 2 miles beach; inland views of El Yunque National Forest; Espiritu Santo River runs along property; has received Audubon International’s highest certification for environmentally conscious development; staff naturalists offer guided bird-watching tours; excellent restaurant.
Shopping
●El Yunque Gallery – Calle Principal 4 (Palmer); 787-888-2762; elyunque.com/yunquegallery.htm; art.
Sights & Sites
●El Yunque National Forest – Rio Grande; 787-888-1880; fs.usda.gov/elyunque; rainforest.



RINCÓN ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Hotels
●Horned Dorset Primavera – Apartado 1132; 787-823-4030; horneddorset.com; lovely infinity pool.
Restaurants
●Primavera – Apartado 1132; 787-823-4030; horneddorset.com; part of Horned Dorset Primavera, Rincón’s most elegant resort; sophisticated restaurant; well-dressed patrons enjoy sunset cocktails on covered, seaside veranda; then up grand stairs and into marble-floored dining room, manned by small army dinner-jacketed waiters; French-influenced Caribbean dishes.
Sights & Sites
●Desecheo Island – 45 minute boat ride; wild, no-man’s land with pompano, reefs, and sharks; Pesotas dive (in Mona Passage) is worth special trip.



SALINAS ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION (includes Cayo Matias & Isla Caja de Muerto)
Dives
●Shark Alley – reef is 8 miles offshore so great visibility; big southern rays.
●Half Moon Reef – shallow reef dive.

Sights & Sites
●Cayo Matias – minutes off shore from Salinas; popular spot for boaters to congregate and socialize.
●Isla Caja de Muerto Nature Reserve – 14 miles off Salinas.



VIEQUES ISLAND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Bars & Nightclubs
●El Blok – 158 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-6020; elblok.com; iconic inn by sea (bar & restaurant with rooms).
●Club Tumby – Antigua Naval Base (Barrio Mosquito); 787-399-7142; clubtumby.com; megadisco in former military bunker.
●Lazy Jack’s – 61 Calle Orquideas (Esperanza); 787-741-1447; lazyjacksvieques.com.
Beaches & Islands
●Cayo Afuera – off Esperanza; small scrub island with coral reef on eastern side.
●Cayo de Tierra – small, wooded atoll off western edge Sun Bay (outside Esperanza); follow land-bridge; island good for hiking and manatees sometimes in shallow water surrounding.
●Glass Beach – at Calle Regimientio 65 de la Infanteria’s end (Isabel Segunda); on Atlantic Ocean side; good for beachcombing.
●Playa Negrita – outside Esperanza; black sand beach.
●Red Beach – Playa Caracas; along wide cove on island’s Caribbean side; terrific snorkeling on eastern end clear water; crowded during day.
●Sun Bay – Esperanza; white sand beach.
Hotels
●El Blok – 158 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-6020; elblok.com; iconic inn by sea (bar & restaurant with rooms); affordable, simple rooms with visual style like nowhere else; colored hidrolico tiles, exposed concrete, native woods, clean, spare, exciting spaces.
●Hix Island House – Route 200; 787-741-2302; hixislandhouse.com; situated on 13 acres of Vieques wilderness; 13 apartments spread out over 4 elegant buildings with terrific views and outdoor showers, kitchens, and large, shared pool.
●Palm Cottages – Bravos de Boston (Isabel Segunda); 787-587-6673, 787-550-6913, or 787-741-1463; palmcottagevieques.com.
●W Retreat & Spa – Route 200; 787-741-4100; whotels.com/vieques; restaurant by Alain Ducasse.
Restaurants
●Bili Restaurante – 144 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-1382; local food.
●El Blok – 158 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-6020; elblok.com; iconic inn by sea (bar & restaurant with rooms).
●Cantina La Reina – 351 Calle Antonio G. Mellado (Isabel Segunda); 787-741-2700; cantina-lareina.com; cocktails, fresh air, and fresh seafood; rooftop patio has wonderful views.
●Coconuts – 59 Calle Benitez Guzman (Isabel Segundo); 787-741-9325; coconutsvieques.com; outdoor patio is lovely in evening.
●Conuco – 110 Luis Munoz Rivera (Isabel Segundo); 787-741-2500; restauranteconuco.com; authentic Puerto Rican food; in house elevated off street; pretty in evening.
●Duffy’s – Malecon (Esperanza); 787-741-7600; Vieques’s best-loved casual beach shack, set right on malecón in beachfront Esperanza; perfect place to while away afternoon; owned by Mikey Duffy (whose father, Hugh, helms equally popular Chez Shack in more northerly Pilon; blue banquettes perpetually stuffed with hungry sunbathers, who come for upscale bar food – yummy crab cakes, veggie burgers, addictively good fried calamari – and hangover-destroying bloody mary’s.
●Mix on Beach – Route 200 (at W Retreat & Spa); 787-741-4100; wvieques.com/mix; restaurant by Alain Ducasse, though quality of service belies this.
●Next Course – Route 201; 787-741-1028; wonderful atmosphere, cocktails, and dining.
●Orquideas – 61 Orquideas Street (Esperanza); 787-741-1864; orquideasvqs.com; half-block off malecon, in dimly lighted, gauzy, open pavilion; emphasis on seafood with chef from Nantucket.
●El Quenepo – 148 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-1215; higher end restaurant; try dorado wrapped in pancetta over seafood risotto.
●Uva – Calle Antonio G. Mellado (Route 200, Isabel Segunda); 787-741-2050; seafood; cozy, atmospheric restaurant, where candlelight flickers in evenings; complex dishes with Caribbean as well as traditional South American flavors; extensive wine list; order “chef’s table,” and Alzogaray will choose menu for you and personally serve your dishes to you (for whole tables only; $65-$90 per person).
●Window Café – 61 Calle Orquideas (Esperanza); 787-741-1447; lazyjacksvieques.com; coffee stand with few tables.
Services
●Abe’s Snorkeling – Esperanza; 787-741-2134; abessnorkeling.com; for trips to Cayo Afuera; manatees, dolphins, eagle rays, nurse sharks, barracuda, and sea turtles (January to February).
●Expediciones en Bieque – Esperanza; 787-435-0073; naturalvieques.com; rents horses for beach and forest rides; ask for Elizabeth.
●Marauder Sailing Charters – Esperanza; 787-435-4858; viequessailing.com; good, half-day excursion that includes lunch and snorkeling.
●Vieques Adventures – Esperanza; 787-692-9162; viequesadventures.com; translucent kayaks for underwater viewing.
●Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust – 138 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-8850; vcht.com; runs tours to Central Playa Grande’s ruins, former sugar plantation.
●Yoga – 787-435-7510; MariAngeles practices Kundalini yoga on Sun Beach’s eastern end.
Shopping
●Black Beard Sports – 101 Calle Muñoz Rivera (Isabel Segunda); 787-741-1892; blackbeardsports.com; local emporium that rents scuba equipment.
●Calle Flamboyan – in Esperanza; on Saturday afternoons, continuously changing market.
●Deda Galeria de Arte – intersection of Calle Muñoz Rivera and Calle Carlos Lebrum (Isabel Segunda); 787-741-1297; dedaonline.com; run by Serbian artist.
Sights & Sites
●Puerto Mosquito – on Caribbean side; bay with phosphorescent snorkeling at night; among most romantic places on earth, per Travel & Leisure.
●Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust – 138 Calle Flamboyan (Esperanza); 787-741-8850; vcht.com; museum.