If you already read my 5 (or more) things list on visiting Puerto Rico then you already know that we took our trip there with very little notice. In my brief research, I had a hard time sorting through what was a visitor’s experience versus someone trying to sell me something in particular.
Now that I’ve been there and I have the benefit of hindsight, this is exactly how I would recommend anyone spend 7 days in Puerto Rico. So, without further ado, I present to you my perfect 7 day itinerary to Puerto Rico.
Arrive, check in (to one of these hotels), unpack, unwind, get supplies (bottled water), swim in the hotel pool, door dash or find a restaurant nearby. Lets be real - no matter how frequently or how bougee you travel, travel days get long and planning to immerse in downtime when you arrive is one of my favorite strategies.
El Yunque National Park (check out my full guide here).
Old San Juan - you can totally do this on your own and you'll see beautiful things but getting the added benefit of hearing about the history and current state of government is so much more enriching. Book this tour to get the full experience.
Flex Day or Old San Juan Day 2. Catch a mini boat tour in Old San Juan, this was so much fun! You could tie this into your Old San Juan day if you're limited on days, but for us combining this activity and then catching what we missed or what we loved and wanted to revisit in Old San Juan worked out perfectly. We didn't do this back to back but it would have saved us money if we had so hindsight tells me you should do it back to back. So, my recommendation is to take that mini boat tour and then head over to Old San Juan to see all the things you didn't get to on day three.
This day is going to depend on what vibes you're looking for, a laid back island or urban experiences? Depending on which is your vibe, you'll either want to explore downtown San Juan or venture out to Vieques.
Downtown San Juan: This is how we spent our time and it wasn't because we didn't want to explore Vieques, but we didn't have a lot of time to plan for this trip and getting a chance to go to Vieques takes some planning or a serious budget stretcher. If you're low on time and have the budget to stretch, I highly recommend choosing the Vieques route through this tour: vi.me/4HLE6. If you don't have a serious budget stretcher or pre planning time, then you can still have a great day exploring downtown San Juan. We explored the art museum at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. This art museum, at this time of writing, hosts over 250 pieces of art along with an incredible front facade which is an art piece within itself. There are also stunning botanical gardens alongside the museum that are well worth a walk through. Since you are downtown, I highly recommend also heading over to Abacadabra Counter Cafe. If you can make it here for brunch, you will not be disappointed. The breakfast choices here are amazing!
Vieques: If this had been an option when we went to Puerto Rico - we would have done this: vi.me/4HLE6. Hands down, no question, well probably a few questions cause we have five people in our family and this would have been expensive, but it would have been our only option to experience it so I think it would have been very worthwhile. If you have the foresight and planning time though, you can have this same experience for less by booking an overnight in Vieques. You would take the ferry over to Vieques early in the morning so you have time to explore the island. You'll want to pick up your rental car or walk to your hotel, depending on where you are staying. I recommend staying at Casa de Amistad if you want to jump right into experiencing the island. It's right there when you get off the ferry and offers things like beach chairs for free use to help you start enjoying the island immediately. I don't do super well with driving at night, so would align my lodging with being near my nighttime activity: the bioluminescent bay kayaking tour. In that case, I would recommend renting a car and staying at Esperanza Inn or The Vieques Guesthouse. I love hanging out with kids, but when it's just me and my husband, I get sad and homesick, so if that's you too, I recommend staying at Blue Horizon Boutique Resort. All three of these options are super close to the bioluminescent bay kayak tour in Vieques. If you're in Vieques, the bioluminescent bay kayak tour is a must do! But I'm getting ahead of myself, before night time falls, you'll want to visit Sun Bay Beach where you may spot wild horses roaming the sandy beaches! if you don't catch the horses, you'll still enjoy some excellent beach time. There is also an excellent promenade in Esperanza that you can explore by walking around and shopping/eating. Finally, prepare yourself for your evening in the bioluminescent bay, I recommend booking this tour: vi.me/hX7An (highly rated) or this tour: vi.me/iKS4g (clear bottom kayaks).
AND/OR bioluminescent bay kayak tour. OR plan an entire day in Vieques. Note: if you want to do a bioluminescent bay kayak tour in Vieques, you will need to plan to stay overnight there.
Beach Day! We had planned to visit Aguadilla to see Crash Boat Beach, but after a few days of driving, I didn't have it in me. Check out my full article on driving in Puerto Rico here. Puerto Rico has some incredible beaches though and I recommend dedicating a full day to that experience. For more knowledge on Puerto Rico beaches, check out this article.
Pack up, check out, be mindful of traffic, get lunch or hit the beach one last time and then brace yourself for security and your flight.
No! Puerto Rico is a US territory, no passport needed for US Citizens.
No, but it would be very helpful. Many people speak English, but the road signs are all in Spanish and when we were struggling to find the botanical gardens in downtown San Juan, we were only able to get help because one of my daughters speaks Spanish. Tip: use Google translate app to translate your menu at restaurants.
There are multiple options via ferry boats and short flights. Just remember that if you want to take advantage of seeing the bioluminescent bay at night, you will need accommodation for the night as transportation options will have ended for the night when those things end.
Credit cards were king here, but outside of cards the currency was US Dollars.
In my opinion after spending 7 days there, no. I had 7 days and we didn't get outside of the San Juan/El Yunque areas. That's only about 25% of the island and totally misses the little islands off the coast of Puerto Rico. If I get a chance to go back, I'd try hard to budget another 10 days, but keep in mind there's nothing wrong with a shorter trip and a promise to go back. 😍
If I had an extended timeframe and was going to stay at different places on the island to see more of it, I would stay in these hotels to do that: Hyatt Place San Juan (north side, international airport is here), Courtyard by Marriott Aguadilla (west side), Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort (south side), Esperanza Inn (Vieques Island), Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort (east side) OR Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico (east side).