Puerto Rico Trip Review!

I booked this trip on a whim to travel within a week over Easter. Then of course I realized there is a Zika issue there. I was very close to cancelling because when I get sick, I get very sick, and didn't want to take my chances getting a virus. But, after researching a bit, decided to pack an arsenal of bug spray and pray for no mosquitoes.

We stayed in the Condado Beach area at the Marriott Stellaris and it was so windy that a mosquito doesn't have a chance lol. Seriously, we didn't see a single one the entire trip. We almost booked at La Concha, but glad we didn't since this was so family friendly, and the pools at La Concha looked tiny when we walked by on the beach. The hotel was AWESOME for families! Right on the beach, they set up chairs and umbrellas for you, waitress service on the beach. My kids loved the pools, slide, and ordering milkshakes from the swim up pool bar. They have planned activities every day. We were there for Easter and they had an egg hunt, the Easter bunny came around and handed out goodies, they had cookie decorating, an egg contest, etc. They also had bike rentals (no kids, just adult bikes), huge chess, ping pong, hair braiding, tennis court and an arcade. Super family friendly. The water is rough here, because of the tradewinds, but my kids LOVE the waves. The room was good...we had an ocean view which overlooked the pool and ocean, which was nice. The room itself was just a little smaller than I would've liked though. It was nice to have the balcony, and I did find the bathroom to be adequate size. The casino was fun, and they have an amazing gelato place. So many good restaurants in walking distance, and lots of shops.

We visited Old San Juan one afternoon and toured one of the old forts, which was really neat. It's only $5 to get in and little kids are free, so it was a steal. It's a National Park, so get your kids a National Parks passport before you venture in the forts, and have it stamped. Old San Juan is cute with it's cobblestone streets and colorful buildings. We really liked it there. But I didn't want to stay too late because of the potential mosquito issue (but didn't see any there either).

We also went on a snorkeling excursion through East Island Excursions. FAVE part of the trip by all of us! We booked the East Wind boat which was a large catamaran with a slide on it. Their shuttle picked us up from the hotel and took us to the marina in Fajardo. It was about an hour to get there. Then we boarded the boat for a trip to the small island called Icacos. It was really choppy on the way out, if you get sea sick, dramamine is a must. Then we stopped at the reef near the island and went snorkeling/swimming, and had lunch prepared by them on the boat. Then we docked at the actual island and swam. It was turquoise, crystal clear water and white sand. It was soooo nice! The boat was immaculate, and the staff was super friendly. Highly recommend booking through them! I found a coupon code that saved us a few bucks.

We didn't rent a car, just used cabs. It was only $21 to get a cab from the airport, which is only 15 minutes from the Condado area. Cab to Old San Juan was $15. They drive like freaking maniacs though. I thought NYC was bad

We wanted to do the rainforest, but didn't really have time. I was scared to do it for fear of mosquitoes, but the people I met at the hotel that had went said there are none in the rainforest!


All in all it was an awesome trip! We had never been, and had a blast. My kids said they would love to go back. So don't let the Zika thing scare you off, since we seriously didn't see a single mosquito!

Message edited 3/30/2016 12:12:55 PM.

Re: Puerto Rico Trip Review!

So glad you had a great time. We are going for Spring Break. We rented a house in the Fajardo area. Planning on going to Culebra beach which I hear is amazing.

Re: Puerto Rico Trip Review!

Message edited 3/30/2016 11:19:45 AM.

Re: Puerto Rico Trip Review!

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by mommyof3girls

So glad you had a great time. We are going for Spring Break. We rented a house in the Fajardo area. Planning on going to Culebra beach which I hear is amazing.

Culebra looks GREAT, BUT, definitely pack the bug spray and get bug bands for the kids for that island, because they have mosquitoes there with Zika right on the beach at the water we were told!

Also see if you can get a water taxi to Palominitos island (across from Palomino Island). It's basically just a sandbar with a couple of trees, but it's where Pirates of the Caribbean 4 was filmed, and looks sooo peaceful!

Re: Puerto Rico Trip Review!

Posted by mommyof3girls

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by mommyof3girls

So glad you had a great time. We are going for Spring Break. We rented a house in the Fajardo area. Planning on going to Culebra beach which I hear is amazing.

Culebra looks GREAT, BUT, definitely pack the bug spray and get bug bands for the kids for that island, because they have mosquitoes there with Zika right on the beach at the water we were told!

Also see if you can get a water taxi to Palominitos island (across from Palomino Island). It's basically just a sandbar with a couple of trees, but it's where Pirates of the Caribbean 4 was filmed, and looks sooo peaceful!

Thanks for the heads up. Adding Palominitos to our list. We'll be there for 8 days

Re: Puerto Rico Trip Review!

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by mommyof3girls

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by mommyof3girls

So glad you had a great time. We are going for Spring Break. We rented a house in the Fajardo area. Planning on going to Culebra beach which I hear is amazing.

Culebra looks GREAT, BUT, definitely pack the bug spray and get bug bands for the kids for that island, because they have mosquitoes there with Zika right on the beach at the water we were told!

Also see if you can get a water taxi to Palominitos island (across from Palomino Island). It's basically just a sandbar with a couple of trees, but it's where Pirates of the Caribbean 4 was filmed, and looks sooo peaceful!

Thanks for the heads up. Adding Palominitos to our list. We'll be there for 8 days

Nice!!! Are you going to do the rainforest? That looks so nice, it's definitely on our list for next time!