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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Puerto Rico
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This Latin island is the Caribbean made easy—and accessible. Almost every major U.S. airline has nonstop flights from Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and New York to San Juan, the capital. If you're mathematically challenged, there's no currency conversion to worry about, since the almighty dollar is the coin of the realm (it's not for nothing that this American territory is known as the fifty-first state). But a world of diversity and a very distinct culture are packed into Puerto Rico's compact 4,400 square miles. Old San Juan has centuries-old colonial charm, the coasts are lined with plush beaches and sheer cliffs, and inland, the rugged terrain includes hills covered in dense rain forest. If there's not enough to entertain you on the mainland, Culebra and Vieques—just a puddle jump or a ferry ride to the east—are emerging getaways.
Attractions & Activities Puerto Rico's traditional center, Old San Juan is a seven-block labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets and tree-choked plazas lined with monuments, fountains, colonial churches, and eighteenth-century buildings. Today, some house chic boutiques, galleries, museums, and eateries. The five-story Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico is a bold space with some 130,000 square feet and 25 galleries of permanent collections, including native paintings, sculpture, ceramics, video art, photography, and folk art. The main atrium is used for traveling exhibitions, and the five-acre garden has native flowers and modern sculptures (787-977-6277; mapr.org). Every evening, the bars in Old San Juan start hopping with salsa. Two of the old city's best are the Nuyorican Café (312 Calle San Francisco) and Rumba, where dancers give mini-lessons in salsa dancing (152 Calle San Sebastián; open Thurs.–Sun.). On Thursdays, La Placita del Mercado de Santurce (the Santurce Market) heaves with salsa lovers dancing to small impromptu bands both inside and outside various bars and shops. Bordering the old town, the San Juan National Historic Site is one of the island's most popular tourist attractions. On the World Heritage List, it incorporates El Morro, the brooding fort that guards the entrance to San Juan Bay; Fort San Cristóbal, the 1634 military marvel with ramparts soaring to 150 feet; and layered defenses radiating from a honeycomb of tunnels and moats covering 27 acres. El Yunque, a day-trip from San Juan, is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. forest system. Its 28,000 acres are filigreed with sun-silvered streams and thunderous cascades. The young and the restless tackle the spiraling, slippery four-mile ascent of cloud-shrouded Pico El Toro (3,523 feet) by donning hiking boots and following the trails that snake under canopies of elephant ear plants and tabonuco trees strangled by cordlike bromeliads. The Caribbean is not known for its surfing, but the curls that it does have crest on Puerto Rico's northern and western edges and center around Rincón. The island has more than 60 good breaks, but for quality and accessibility, the most popular is probably Domes, located off the relic of a nuclear plant at the island's westernmost point. Other favorites include Antonio's, Crashboat, and Jobos. Pick up some tips and rent gear at the West Coast Surf Shop, near Rincón's newly renovated town square (2 Calle Muñoz Rivera E.; board rentals, $25 per day), or El Rincón Surf Shop, in nearby Ramey (703 Belt Rd.; board rentals, $15 per day). During summer vacation and holiday breaks, Puerto Ricans flock to Culebra, a small island off the eastern coast. Other than at Christmas and Easter, the island and its beaches are serene, and although Puerto Ricans have long worshipped Culebra's beaches—such as Flamenco, Carlos Rosario, and Zoni—until recently, the only Americans you'd see were military personnel. Even locals need a machete and an orienteering scout badge to find some of the beaches on foot; Culebra Water Taxi can help with access from the sea (787-360-9807; taxis, from $30 per person). The U.S. Navy has cleared out of Vieques, a jewel of an island seven miles east of Puerto Rico, and tourism here is picking up. Vieques is still rural, with beaches the main draw. The best—Green, Blue, Red, and Secret—were on Navy land and were off-limits for decades; they're open now, but you'll bump down long stretches of dirt road to access them. Another star attraction is Bioluminescent Bay, where everything that touches the water (including you) glows in the dark, albeit briefly. Island Adventures runs night-time boat tours (787-741-0720; biobay.com; $30 per person). Lodging Most visitors begin with a stay in San Juan, where there are dozens of hotels for all budgets. The Caribe Hilton is handy to Old San Juan and New San Juan and has a wonderful beach. In Old San Juan, the Hotel El Convento, a convent converted into a fine hotel, has a restaurant in the courtyard, a tapas bar on the terrace, and a pool on the roof. On the hotel-lined strand in the Isla Verde neighborhood, the El San Juan Hotel & Casino has one of the liveliest lobbies in San Juan, with the splashy Cigar Bar. A few doors down, the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa & Casino is elegant but not stuffy. In Rincón, guests listen to the surf from the stylish Casa Isleña Inn, which has nine rooms, a pool, and an elegant restaurant. At the laid-back and colorful Lazy Parrot Inn, rooms on the second floor have panoramic views. The Villa Cofresí Hotel & Restaurant is popular among Puerto Ricans and serves a great brunch. The Rincón Beach Resort, just outside town, is on a calm-water beach. The fabulously deluxe, all-suite Horned Dorset Primavera is home to one of Rincón's top restaurants. Overnight options on Culebra include the Villa Boheme, with cheery rooms and a waterfront patio; the Harbor View Villas, a short walk from both beach and town, with a great prospect on the water; and Club Seabourne, overlooking the main harbor and with some of the island's most comfortable digs. On Vieques, ten perfect cottages dot 20 beachfront acres at the Inn on the Blue Horizon. There are no straight lines at the architecturally unique Hix Island House, which has 13 guest rooms in four loftlike casas—and no restaurant. For budget travelers, the Hacienda Tamarindo, a charming oceanfront inn, has a youthful clientele and a terrific restaurant. Dining In Old San Juan, the Parrot Club serves excellent blackened tuna in a dark rum sauce and Latino-style flank steak (363 Calle Fortaleza; 787-725-7370; entrées, $18–$32). Just across the street, the chic Agua Viva specializes in seafood (364 Calle Fortaleza; 787-722-0665; entrées, $16–$47). La Bombonera, an inexpensive restaurant/pastry shop, could have been lifted right out of Madrid in the '50s. It specializes in such traditional Puerto Rican dishes as thick, hearty asopao soup and the meat turnover pastelillo (259 Calle San Francisco; 787-722-0658; entrées, $6–$20). One of the island's best restaurants, Pikayo serves chef-owner Wilo Benet's fusion of African, Spanish, Asian, and Indian cuisines to the art scenesters who flock to the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. Reservations required (299 José de Diego Ave.; 787-721-6194; entrées, $28–$54). All of the major hotels have a roster of dining options. Tangerine, at the Water & Beach Club Hotel, is Puerto Rico's most caliente dining spot. An immense round window allows views of the palm trees and Isla Verde Beach, and the menu, from the appetizers (listed under Foreplay) to the desserts (Sensuous Pleasures), is unapologetically sybaritic (787-728-3666; entrées, $23–$36). Lemon Grass is in the garden of the Caribe Hilton, in the Condado section of San Juan. Choose from the "lemon sharing menu" as you sip a lemongrass cocktail (787-721-0303; entrées, $16–$29). For home-style Puerto Rican fare in Rincón, relax in the shade at Munchie's Café over shrimp patties and chicken kebabs, as well as roast pig or turkey on weekends (22 Calle Cambija; 787-823-1792; entrées, $5). The Horned Dorset's oceanfront formal dining room is at the apex of Rincón's culinary pyramid (787-823-4030; prix fixe, $68–$92). Culebra's family-run Juanita Bananas serves dishes featuring produce from its hydroponic vegetable and herb garden. Reservations required (1 Barrio Melones; 787-742-3171; entrées, $18–$35), while Mamacitas specializes in tropical flavors (64 Calle Castelar; 787-742-0322; entrées, $17–$20). A good lunch choice is El Eden, a café, bakery, deli, and wine and liquor store (8 Barrio Sardines; 787-742-0509; entrées, $6–$10). On Vieques, Uva is Buenos Aires–formal, with a chef's table and small surprises sent from the kitchen nonstop (359 Calle Antonio G. Mellado; 787-741-2050; entrées, $23–$35). Diners at Carambola, at the Inn on the Blue Horizon, are seated at a long plantation table or at one of the cozy surrounding tables or eat at the bar, which has its own highly regarded menu. Dinner might begin with crab and sweet potato soup, a tuna nori roll, or hickory baby back ribs. Reservations recommended (787-741-3318; entrées, $20–$30). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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