Buy tickets ahead for tours and attractions ![]() ![]() Pack your bathing suit and flip flops, but also bring some dressy outfits for going out at night or if you plan to visit any religious sites. Some clubs have dress codes too, requiring men to wear nice shoes or women to not wear sneakers. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb if you show up at the main mall, Plaza las Américas, in only a bathing suit. In Old San Juan – where the governor’s mansion, La Fortaleza is located – it’s common to see workers in full suits or long shirts regardless of the tropical heat.įlip flops are usually reserved for the beach or super casual situations, such as trips to kiosks and beachside restaurants, or riverside walks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Puerto Ricans tend to be quite conservative when it comes to dress codes and the places where these apply. Pack bathing suits and your Sunday bestĪs a former Spanish colony, Puerto Rico was left with a legacy of Spanish colonialist practices, including widespread Catholicism, as is common in other nearby Latin American countries such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Expect delays due to construction and improvement work along major highways, and be prepared for epic traffic jams from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm, when most people are either heading to or home from work.Ĥ. Traveling from one end of the island to the other can be a breeze if you use the expressways, or it can be a long rollercoaster ride via the island’s beautiful backroads. It can take up to three hours to get from one side of the island to the other, and there are bound to be some roads that are either closed or temporarily closed for repairs. While a lot of tourist attractions and popular bars are in San Juan, real Puerto Rican culture is often best encountered in places outside of the metropolitan area. Visitors can marvel at bioluminescent bays, caves that are thousands of years old and adorned with Taino hieroglyphics, and a wealth of rivers, canyons, high mountain peaks and salt flats. ![]() The island has a surface area of 3515 sq miles, and white, sandy beaches are only one of the natural wonders you’ll get to experience in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is 100 miles long and 35 miles wide, but don't let that fool you – the geography is anything but small in scale and there are many things you'll want to do while you're there. Don’t expect to see the whole island in one trip If you want to explore beyond San Juan and the beaches, it's worth renting a car © OGphoto / Getty Images 3. Taking a road trip to the beautiful central mountain range, the beaches of the northwest or the southwestern desert requires a rental car.Ĭars can go up or down in price depending on the season, but you’ll get more out of your trip if you’re able to explore on your own and make all the stops you need to take photographs at the amazing miradores (lookout points) sprinkled along Expressway 22 in the north or Route 66 in the northwest. The bulk of the San Juan metropolitan area – comprising the municipalities of San Juan, Bayamón and some parts of Carolina – is served by buses run by Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses (AMA), but the routes and pick up times are unreliable. Public transportation in Puerto Rico often falls short. Check out this list to see what countries are part of the program. Non-US citizens may need to apply for a 90-day visa prior to arrival in Puerto Rico, but countries that are part of the US Visa Waiver Program won’t need a visa thanks to international agreements. However, visitors must still pay the local tax of 11.5% on goods and services and you’ll be required to pass through the US Department of Agriculture channel at the airport before you leave, just to make sure you don’t bring fruits or vegetables or open food packets back into the US. Flights from the US are considered domestic, so you won’t go through customs when you arrive on the island and you won’t need to present a visa or pay a departure tax when you leave. This means US citizens don’t require a passport or a visa for entry. While Puerto Rico is its own country, and local laws and customs differ from those of the United States, the island is still a Commonwealth of the USA. ![]() Check the visa rules (US citizens don’t need a passport)
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