We just got back from a wonderful time in Puerto Rico for spring break! We had wanted to go somewhere not too far away, warm, and Spanish-speaking (Erin's request). We knew that Frontier Airlines has direct flights from Raleigh to San Juan, so we did a little research, and the rest is history! We left Wednesday afternoon (April 12th) on a 2:26pm flight that was delayed about 30 minutes and had some bumps but was otherwise great! There was also a long line to check bags - Frontier charges for all bags, and either we couldn't bring carry ons or it was more expensive than checking, so we paid for 3 checked bags.
We landed around 6pm, got our bags quickly, hopped into our rental car that was ready and waiting right by the baggage claim, and set off to find dinner. We thought that going to Wendy's just outside the airport would be fast and easy, but after missing the turn the first time, not being sure if it actually had a drive through, and then waiting awhile for our food, we finally set off again on the 45 minute drive to the resort. I was confused as to why it got dark so early, and Bob pointed out that we were much further east in the time zone. Makes sense! We got to the resort and parked in the self park, got our bags out, and found the check-in desk.
The resort, El Conquistador, was very much damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, and it even sat empty for a couple of years after the hurricane. Many of the buildings and amenities are now back up and running, but there is a building adjacent to the main building that looks like it was once a conference center that's still under construction. We speculate that construction is slow going on an island, plus they've also had to deal with covid and a slow economy in addition to the hurricane. They are getting there, though!
We got checked in, found our room, and had a short delay while the room key didn't work. A facilities guy had to come replace the battery in the key reader on the door. After that, we got in and unpacked and settled in. Thursday morning, we got up and hit the hotel breakfast, walked around the resort for a little bit, and then on to the water park! The resort is huge and is on two levels, connected by a panoramic elevator at the top and also a funicular to ride down to the water park, restaurant, marina, and more buildings with rooms.
We were ready to go when the water park opened at 9am, and we had a blast in the lazy river, slides, and infinity pool. Bob and Anna went down the giant slide in the middle, and Erin did the next day!
We had signed up for a 3pm boat over to Palomino Island as that was the first available for the day when we arrived the night before, but we decided to go ask at the boat dock about going earlier. Turns out, the reservation system is more informal than we realized, and we hopped on the 11am boat and sped over to the private island.
We found a nice shady palapa, explored the island, swam, got lunch and drinks (pork-filled arepas all around, yum!),
swam some more, and then rode back around 2:30pm. The boat ride took about 15 minutes each way, and it seemed like the boats went really fast!
After returning, we checked out the main pool (on the upper level of the resort, separate from the water park) for awhile. They were playing a trivia game and Erin got really interested in that and started planning to return to participate the next day. We got another round of beverages at the swim-up bar at this pool, then eventually went back to the room to shower. We had dinner at the resort at an outdoor casual restaurant - 3 of us got pizza and Erin got a chicken caesar salad. It was all really good! We enjoyed some live music for a very short time (2 songs) before they packed up. Then it was back to the room via some shopping in the main building on the way.
Friday morning was back to breakfast and the water park, and the island, almost the same as Thursday!
This time, the girls got chicken wraps for lunch and Bob had ordered arepas again but ended up getting an Asian chicken bowl that he said was good. Anna and I tried out the snorkel gear that we brought, but most of what we saw was seaweed and some shells. We braved a couple of short rain showers on the island. We enjoyed seeing the chickens/roosters walk around on the island, and we saw some fish in the water, too. Anna got a coconut water in a coconut and we caught a boat back around 3:30pm.
We headed back to the main pool to get in on that day's trivia game, but sadly it was not happening. Anna and Bob played a game of giant chess, then we all hit the showers and walked to the car for dinner. We had found a place in Las Croabas with some authentic Puerto Rican food! Bob got a (whole) red snapper
and I got mofongo, which is steamed and mashed plantains with spices, some kind of protein, and a few veggies inside. I got shrimp with the butter and garlic sauce, and it was soooo good! Kids got a burger and a chicken sandwich (haha). We learned on this trip that people in Puerto Rico are in no hurry and love to talk (more on this later), so we barely got out of the restaurant in time to get to our bioluminescent bay tour, but Bob got us dropped off to check in while he found a parking spot.
We got on our boat and had the most wonderful hour or so floating in the dark, out a 1 mile channel lined with mangroves, then to a lagoon with the bioluminescent dinoflagellates, then back in on the channel. The tour guides were really great - they explained everything about this neat little ecosystem and how the mangroves thrive on salty water as do the organisms that produce the glow. We got to splash around in the water for awhile and saw how disturbing the water makes tiny little sparks as the organisms' defense mechanisms. They also gave us a little astronomy lesson and showed us some clear shrimp that eat the dinoflagellates and then glow after! They tried to find iguanas in the trees for us to see, but no luck on that. Anyway, it was just a really fun and interesting experience. 3 of the 5 best bioluminescent bays in the world are in Puerto Rico - this one, one off of the eastern island of Vieques, and one on the south side of the main island. I had looked at going to the one on Vieques and also seeing that island, but it would have taken another day and night that we really didn't have. Next time! After the tour, it was a quick drive back to the hotel for bed.
Saturday, we were up a little earlier to pack up and head out with one final breakfast stop. We got checked out of the resort and loaded up the car to drive about 30 minutes to El Yunque National Rainforest. This is the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Parks system! Though it is still being rebuilt after Hurricane Maria (as is much of the island), we were able to see quite a bit of the park. There are beautiful waterfalls, unique trees, and lots of really pretty views of the area. We were surprised to see how mountainous Puerto Rico is! The tallest point in the park (and the island) is about 3,500 feet above sea level. We enjoyed driving through and stopping at various points along the way. We saw a tower and a bath area that were constructed to draw tourists.
We walked along a short path near some small waterfalls, too!
Sadly, the trail to the biggest waterfall was closed so we could not go there. We really enjoyed seeing El Yunque.
After that, we drove about 45 minutes to Old San Juan. Erin got a little bit carsick but made it to the city, where Bob dropped us off to get food for lunch while he found a parking spot in the public parking lot. We had fun perusing the SuperMax grocery store and getting stuff to make subs. Bob found us and we tried to sit and eat at a square nearby but got (literally) attacked by pigeons! So we scampered away but thankfully found some other benches in the shade near the cathedral in Old San Juan where we could eat in peace.
After lunch, we took a quick walk through the cathedral which is quite small and simple but still very nice, and then walked to El Morro historic site. We paid the entrance fee there and toured the fort, which was built in the 1500s by the Spanish as part of several lines of defense for San Juan.
The views were so pretty and we enjoyed learning a little history, too!
After that, we walked back to the Old Town and admired the pretty buildings, got a gelato snack, and Anna did a little shopping at a market.
Then it was on to our hotel to check in and shower. It was hot that day! We found our Residence Inn right near the airport without any issue...it is in an area called Isla Verde which is convenient to the airport but also has pretty beaches. This part of town is very modern, and our hotel was brand new. We wanted to go to church this evening due to our flight on Sunday morning and debated for awhile between the many options ranging from 4pm to 7pm for Saturday mass. We finally picked a church nearby that advertised mass at 5:30pm. Well, we got there right before 5:30 and they were saying the rosary (in Spanish, of course), which Erin and I enjoyed. Then there were a bunch of other prayers, and finally the actual mass started around 6pm. There were probably fewer than 30 people in there and no musicians, so we thought no problem, even though it started late, we'd still be out of there by 6:30pm or so. Well, we were wrong! The priest first stood up before the mass and read a long list of people who were prayer intentions for the mass. Then, before the gospel, he sang a song and had a sort of "pre-homily". Then, the actual homily seemed like it was 30 minutes long (maybe it was a little less)! This reminded us that, in general, people in Puerto Rico seem to move at a slow pace and are very talkative in general.
After mass, we had a casual Puerto Rican restaurant picked out nearby, but we got there and it was full. So, instead, we went to a Mexican place up the street that was very good. Then it was back to the hotel where Anna and I decided to use our nightly hotel credit for some desserts from the restaurant, which took about 30 minutes to be ready, but we enjoyed sitting there while we waited.
Then we went to bed and were up at 6:30 to pack up, eat, check out of the hotel, and head across the street to the airport. Bob dropped us off to check the bags while he returned the rental car. I inadvertently missed the USDA inspection station, but the guy at the Frontier counter tagged our bags anyway and let us run them through the inspection after. Security was smooth and easy, checked out a and we were to our gate with plenty of time to spare. The airport was pretty small and easy to navigate. Our flight left on time and went great! I had no issues with Frontier, other than charging for bags and the short delay leaving on Wednesday, but none of those were big deals at all.
We picked up Subway on the way home and were home around 2pm in time to get Finley, mow the grass in preparation for the roof replacement on Monday, and clean the car out in preparation for trading it in on Monday. Back to reality hit hard!
Anyway, it was really a great trip. The El Conquistador resort was beautiful, staff was great, it was not crowded at all, and the amenities were awesome. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We also enjoyed seeing a glimpse of the culture of Puerto Rico and our adventures off of the resort. Erin and I had a blast trying out our Spanish on anyone who would listen, and it was overall just a really wonderful time! I'd go back anytime!
