Ally Abroad: Puerto Rico🇵🇷

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean paradise. 🇵🇷🌊☀️🏝️🐚Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean and is a United States territory. You don’t need your passport to travel there if you are coming from America. Spanish is mainly spoken on the island, but a lot of people speak English also.

We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico and our hotel was close to the airport. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort. This resort was located on the beach! This resort was not all inclusive though. The water here was calm, clear, and warm.  I got in waist deep everyday and also searched for shells. I found pink Puerto Rican shells (what I called them) to add to my shell collection at home.

Our resort had restaurants, coffee shops, a casino, a bar, and it was beach front. The chairs, towels, umbrellas, and access to the pool were all included in our stay. The pool even had a cute swim up bar. They had massage therapists come out to the beach under huts and offer massages to purchase. I did a beach massage one day while I was on the beach. That truly lets you know you’re in paradise.

We ate dinner one night at the beachfront restaurant called Sirena at our resort. We made reservations online the night before. We loved this atmosphere and the convenience of having this restaurant on property.

Each day after the beach we would walk up to our hotel and eat at the Papaya Grill. This was yum beach food and I also got little visitors such as iguanas, birds, crabs, and cats.

We also had a perfect breakfast that you could eat at each morning. It was buffet or you could order individual items and have dinner beachfront. Also the coffee shop was handy to get coffee each morning before I went and sat on the beach. You never have to rush to get your beach chairs or spot because they had workers out there all day and they had plenty of chairs and space on the beach. This hotel was ideal and I enjoyed its location, beach, and cleanliness.

It was in a great location to Uber from the airport, downtown old San Juan, and other places close by.

We ventured off our property to eat dinner two nights also. One place we went was called Tomate. It was an authentic Mexican restaurant 2 miles from our resort.

The second restaurant was The Tryst. This was a beachfront restaurant with a cute pink theme. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fun and upbeat. They had a live DJ keeping the tropical vibes alive.

The sunsets here were breathtaking. The skies were painted each night with stunning sunsets. Puerto Rico is somewhere you can go from the United Stated and not bring a passport.

Old San Juan

They call it Viejo San Juan. Viejo is Spanish for old. We took an Uber to explore Downtown Old San Juan from our resort. We strolled the colorful streets and took in all the historical sights. Here are some things you will want to see on your trip to Old San Juan:

-I love SJ sign in the Plaza Colón

-walk and explore the colorful streets and walk into each local shop

-try a Medalla Light beer

-take a picture with the garage painted with the Puerto Rico flag

-make a charm bracelet at Promesas Shop

-get a piña colada at Barrachina (the birthplace of the piña colada)

-Casa Rosa (pink house)

-San Juan National Historic Sight

-Anita Gelato

My two best recommendations are Barrachina and Anita Gelato. Did you know that the piña colada was invented in Puerto Rico. Barrachina is supposedly the birthplace of the piña colada. So you have to go there and try one.

My all time favorite gelato I have ever had was at Anita Gelato. They had a plethora of gelato to choose from. They let you try any flavor you wanted before you bought one. I tried a few different ones and I settled on the Hazelnut gelato. The store was packed and the tourists love it. I understand the hype because it was truly an experience. A native of Puerto Rico told us to try this and she was correct. It was exquisite and I didn’t try a flavor I didn’t like!

Casa Bacardi

Casa Bacardi is over the bay from San Juan. We made a reservation online and it was $44 a person. We did this the day before we went. This is a cool experience when visiting San Juan. You check in when you get there and they give you a wrist band and a Bacardi coin. That coin is good for one welcome drink included in your ticket. You can enjoy the Bacardi drink and then take some pictures. They will call your group to begin the tour and they take you on a trolley to begin the tour. You get to hear about the Bacardi family, Bacardi Rum, and the history of it. You even get to try a rum that is made only in Puerto Rico and you can only buy it in Puerto Rico and nowhere else. It was a fun and informational experience. The tour only lasted around 45 minutes total.