San Juan Vacations

Puerto Rico Beaches
Puerto Rico is ringed by hundreds of miles of sandy beaches, and you won’t have to leave San Juan to play in the surf. Perhaps the most famous beach in the Caribbean, Condado Beach, at the western end of Ashford Avenue, is the backyard playground of Condado’s resort hotels. A favorite of families, it can get pretty crowded in winter. The beaches of Isla Verde, behind the hotels and condominiums along Isla Verde Avenue, are less rocky and are excellent for people-watching. Both have white sand, palm trees, ocean breezes, beautiful bodies, and ample eating and drinking options. Snorkeling gear and other watersports equipment are available to rent.

Puerto Rico Golf Excursions
Puerto Rico is a golfer’s dream, but you’ll need to sign up for a ship excursion or rent a car to reach the major courses from San Juan.

The Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort & Country Club offers the greatest concentration of golf in the Caribbean, with 72 holes. All four 18-hole courses at the Hyatt’s Regency Cerromar and Dorado Beach properties here were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Jack Nicklaus ranks the fourth hole at the Dorado Beach East course as 1 of the 10 best-designed holes in the world. Greens fees are cover 18 holes which includes a cart. Club rentals are extra.

The Westin Rio Mar Golf Resort & Spa, 20 miles away from San Juan in Rio Grande, also has two 18-hole courses, one designed by Tom and George Fazio, the other by Greg Norman. Greens fees, including cart, are required and the rates are reduced for play after 2pm.
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Casinos are one of San Juan’s biggest draws, and most large hotels have one. They’re generally open daily from noon to 4am, but some never close. The Casino at the Ritz-Carlton, 6961 State Rd., Isla Verde, is the largest in Puerto Rico. Combining elegant 1940s decor with tropical fabrics and patterns, it’s one of the plushest entertainment complexes in the Caribbean. The Inter-Continental San Juan, 187 Isla Verde Ave., is another elegant place to rendezvous. One of its Murano glass chandeliers is, they say, “longer than a bowling alley.” Most convenient for cruise ship passengers, the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino, 100 Brumbaugh St., is directly across from Pier 3 and often bustling.

San Juan has some great bargains—prices are often even lower than those in St. Thomas—and U.S. citizens pay no duty on items bought in Puerto Rico. The streets of the Old Town, especially Calle San Francisco and Calle del Cristo, are a major shopping venue. Local handicrafts can be good buys, including santos (hand-carved wooden religious figures), needlework, straw work, hammocks, loose-fitting guayabera shirts, papier-mâché masks, and paintings and sculptures by local artists.

San Juan offers a variety of hotels from colonial style, contemporary to large resorts.

Enjoy a San Juan vacation package at the top luxury hotels!
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