An Anti-Spring Break in San Juan

Snorkeling is a must. Although they say that the water off Puerto Rico is not the best in the Caribbean for snorkeling, I thought it was great. Then again, I''d never been snorkeling before, so perhaps experienced snorkelers would disagree.

Also, don''t stick to the typical restaurants that seem to be catering to tourists. Walk down a side street and find somewhere new.

A walk through Old San Juan is also necessary. Apparently not so safe at night, Old San Juan is beautiful during the day with its pastel-colored buildings and cobblestone streets.

And finally, buy some ice cream from a street vendor - it''s out of this world. Piña (pineapple) is my favorite, but coco (coconut) and parcha (passion fruit) are good too.

Quick Tips:

Be wary, just as you would be anywhere. I had heard how dangerous Puerto Rico was, but upon arriving I realized that it''s just like anywhere else. Use common sense - don''t wear flashy jewelry or watches, don't carry a lot of money around, don't look like a typical tourist reading your guidebook.

It's wise to stick a Spanish phrasebook in your bag because not everyone speaks English. Usually you can get along fine with broken English mixed with a few words of Spanish, but a phrase book couldn't hurt. (I was travelling with a fluent Spanish speaker, which was even better!)

An hour or two before sunset (around 5pm) is a great time to go the beach. The crowds have gone, the sun isn't as glaring, and the locals come out to relax for a while after work.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is fine for getting most places, especially if just around Condado or Old San Juan. The bus is a great way to get in and out of Old San Juan for .25 each way, provided you get on the correct one and can find the bus stop - ask the front desk at your hotel which bus you should take.

Old San Juan also has a free trolley that takes you all around the city - it begins at the bus terminal. If you must take a taxi, negotiate the price before you get in. A car is not necessary unless you plan to travel very far outside of San Juan.

You will certainly feel at home in this restored Spanish villa dating from the 1920s, which gets its name from a terrace covered in wind chimes. The white-washed walls that surround the main building keep out the noise of the street and add a sense of security at night. The beach is just one block away, but people still sunbathed on the sun deck and swam in the pool. Frankly, I preferred the beach.

Unlike the deck or the pool, the in-house Tiki Boat Bar was sadly empty most of the time, except for newly arrived guests who were too tired to brave the streets to look for food. The inn also hid all kinds of little reading nooks with bookcases of trashy novels and out-of-date tour books left by previous guests, which further contributed to the quirky charm of the inn.

The rooms themselves are small and simple, but they hold the necessities: bed, bathroom, closet, TV, and my favorite-–the air-conditioner! You can tell that someone put effort into making the rooms cozy with sunflower bedspreads and native artwork on the walls. The inn caters mostly to older guests, but even as a college student, I found it to be the perfect combination of central location with a quiet, clean place to sleep. This is definitely a great choice for the traveler who wants to avoid the larger touristy hotels.

If you walk a block down Calle Taft toward the ocean, you arrive at Playa Condado (Condado Beach). This stretch of beach is somewhat more eroded than others, but you avoid the throngs of tourists that flock to surrounding hotels. Playa Condado is where families come for the afternoon, where teenagers get busted for smoking under the palm trees, and where kids play rowdy tournaments of beach volleyball. We even met a member of the Bacardi family who walked his dog every night on the beach!

A word of advice: try not to book your flight so that you arrive at the inn before the 2:00pm check-in or leave the inn much after the 12:00pm check-out. Wind Chimes does not have a locked room where they can hold your bags for you while you wait for your room or your flight. Instead, they stow them under the stairs in full view of anyone who walks by. And while I wouldn’t be too worried since no one can get into the inn unless they’re a guest or an employee, you can’t be too careful.

Also, if you need to do laundry during your stay, At Wind Chimes will offer to do it for you at a charge of $10 per load for wash and dry. But if you’re on a tighter budget, there’s a laundromat about a quarter of a mile west of the inn along McLeary where you can do three loads for under $15.

This tiny restaurant is tucked away on the edge of the touristy area in Old San Juan, but it’s worth the trip because it serves up great arepas (fried corn meal dough with various fillings) and other Venezuelan favorites. Though it only houses about five tables, the decor doesn''t look like much, and the menu selections are few, the food is fast, fresh, and filling. I especially recommend the arepas pabellon (shredded beef, cheese, and fried plantains) and the fruit shakes.

This café is a favorite with the locals from the surrounding condos, so it gets busy. If you want to have the place to yourself, arrive before 8:00am. Otherwise, you may have to wait a while for a waiter to notice you. Don’t be discouraged though-–it’s worth the wait. I ate here every morning during my week in Puerto Rico.

Although the omelettes, cinnamon buns, and sandwiches are good, by far the best meal is a breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice (order without ice for better value), café con leche, and a warm croissant with butter and jam. Two people can eat breakfast here for less than $20 and the waiters are eager to practice their English with you.

When we were there, De Aquí y de Allá was just opening and they had greeters out on the street trying to entice people to enter. We fell for the ploy and ended up spending a bit than more we''d hoped on dinner.

This large restaurant covers almost an entire block in Condado and was filled with locals and tourists alike at dinnertime. The modern décor, high ceilings, and attached wine bar set the mood and make this a dressier place than some.

The churasco (steak) is a good choice, but it’s a lot of food, so don’t order the 32 oz. meal for two unless you haven’t eaten in months. For dessert, flan always hits the spot. Check out the wine list too -– it’s massive!

Our order took a long time to come out and we noticed that the family next to us got their food (the same meal we had ordered) about 20 minutes before we did. We confronted the waiter about this and he agreed, saying that the kitchen was still working out some quirks. He offered to give us dessert for free and that''s how we got our yummy flan!

For a dressy dinner, this place would hit the spot. But in my opinion, there are many other restaurants in the area that, though they may not have the lavish decor of De Aquí y de Allá, serve quality food with more local charm at lower prices.

This is the largest of three distilleries belonging to perhaps the world’s most famous rum company, Bacardi. To get there, take the ferry from the ferry terminal in Old San Juan to Cataño for $.50 each way. It runs every 15 minutes and the ride across the bay is only about 10 minutes. Once you arrive, walk out of Cataño’s ferry terminal over to the building on the right. There will be several públicos (eight-passenger shared taxis) waiting to take you to the factory. You may have to wait for the van to fill up before the driver will leave, but use this time to negotiate the price (it shouldn’t be more than $3 per person). The público will take you through rundown neighborhoods that sadly contrast the brightly colored architecture of Old San Juan and the skyscrapers of Condado and Ocean Park.

Once you arrive at the Barcardi Factory, walk over to the tent (apparently, it’s abstractly shaped like a bat, but you can’t really tell from the ground). The tour is free, but you must get an admission ticket and, of course, your two complimentary drink tickets. The tour trolleys leave every half hour on the half hour. Be prepared for tedium as the large tour group scrambles on and off the tour trollies, up and down stairways, and through photo galleries. The few things you do learn, however, are interesting, like the fact that the cuba libre (rum, coke, and lime) was invented in Cuba by an American soldier, and the name of the daiquirí came from a miner who decided to try crushed ice, rum, and juice after a tiring day working in the Daiquirí mines. You also learn about the history of the Bacardi family, the distillation process, the qualities of various rums, and the bottling process. I found the bottling process to be the most interesting, but be advised that the bottling line closes at 4pm on weekdays and does not operate on Saturdays.

The trolley will take you back to the bat-shaped tent and you can have a look in the Bacardi store. They have Bacardi accessories and a good selection of many of the Bacardi rums at very cheap prices. However, they may not have all the types of rums available as some types are bottled in the other distilleries in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. If you can’t find the type of rum you want in the Bacardi store, wait until you get to the duty-free stores in the airport-–you’ll find a better deal there than in the liquor stores of San Juan.

Finally, be sure to use your drink tickets and sample some of the rum drinks from the bar. There’s not much alcohol in them, but they’re free! When you’re finished, there will be públicos waiting in the parking lot to take you back to the Cataño ferry terminal.

The full-day trip on the 62’ sailing catamaran for $55 per person is a great deal. For $12 more, a van picked us up at our hotel at 8:15am on the dot. We then drove for an hour and a half to the east side of the island, picking up more passengers along the way. The driver was a certified tour guide and he gave an informative commentary on the countryside and mountains-–this is a great way to see some more of the island without renting a car! As a special treat, he even took us off the main road to a cave where archaeologists are reputed to have found some of the oldest remains of the Taíno Indians, the native inhabitants of Puerto Rico.

We arrived at the boat by 10:00am (make reservations ahead of time just to make sure you have a spot) and were soon sailing out to sea. The boat was filled with all kinds of people, natives and tourists, children and adults, making it a safe choice for beginners. After marveling at the view of the El Yunque mountains and the Fajardo coast, we soon anchored at a gorgeous "desert island," where we donned our snorkeling equipment (provided by East Wind), listened to a quick instructional lecture, and were soon swimming with the fish. The beach was lovely too, and some people sunbathed instead. But snorkeling is tiring and everyone got hungry-–good thing too because the lunch buffet was all-you-can-eat and delicious! Sandwiches, pasta salad, and watermelon just hit the spot. The virgin pina coladas tasted incredible and I certainly took advantage of the open bar, drinking about 10 of them over the course of the trip.

The next stop was a deeper reef, where we saw a wider variety of coral and fish, especially blue tanners and parrot fish. Two other snorkeling boats showed up too, so there were a lot of people in the water. The waterslide was great fun once I got tired of snorkeling, but when it was time to begin the sail back to Puerto del Rey, I was ready to leave and we were back at the port by 3:30pm.

This trip is wonderful and I would highly recommend it, especially to beginners. The crew is friendly and knowledgeable, the food delicious, the snorkeling fun. Be sure to bring a towel, sunscreen, and sunglasses. The boat sells underwater cameras, but I would suggest buying your own before you come. And if you start feeling seasick, look to the horizon and breathe deeply.