My husband and I recently got back from a short trip to Puerto Rico. It was a last minute decision, and somewhere that we had never really considered - what a great, great place! The people were very warm and friendly everywhere that we went.

We stayed at the Westin Rio Mar in Rio Grande, which is in the Northeast section of the island. The hotel itself was very nice and had great views of the ocean on one side and the El Yunque Rainforest on the other. The beach at the hotel was GREAT! Nice sand, decent waves and a bar close by if needed. We did not spend much time at the hotel, nor in any of its restaurants so we cannot comment on them. The staff was nice but it did take time to deal with the front desk. Definetly, rent a car!!

Now for our activities:
-The first morning we went horseback riding for a few hours at Hacienda Carabali. The guides were great and the horses were terrific (Paso Finos).
-That night we did a tour of a bioluminescence bay. This is a MUST see. There are three such bays in Puerto Rico. The one that we saw was in the Laguna Grande. The group left out of Fajardo and we set out by Kayak towards the entrance. We went with “The Kayak Rental” group. The operator (Jose Figueroa) was very nice as were his guides. I felt completely relaxed with them. We wound through the bushes along a small "river" by kayak. You could even see the iguanas sleeping on the trees above. After about 20-30 minutes you paddle out into this huge opening (the Laguna Grande). By the time you get out into the center of it everyone gets out for a swim. You truly glow in the dark once you hit the water. It is the coolest thing. The guides let us stay here for about a half an hour and then we made our way back. The whole trip took about 2-2.5 hours. This was one of the most memorable things.

The next day we went kayaking and snorkeling. We went with "Kayak Puerto Rico". These guys were the best. We called them early in the morning and within 1.5 hours we were with them down at the ocean in Fajardo. They offer group tours but were very flexible with our time and type of tour. We went out with Balberto, who was so nice. I had never snorkeled and was a bit nervous in the beginning but that quickly went away. We kayaked over to a nice stretch of beach where he "taught" us how to snorkel. It took all of 5 minutes but this made me so comfortable with it immediately. He then took us out to a couple of coral reefs. We anchored our kayaks here and went snorkeling for about an hour. He knew the area very well (and pointed out the occasional jellyfish). He showed us many fish and knew his way around every bit of the reef. He also kept lots of water and snacks available. Balberto also gave us lots of great tips about the island and educated us on their culture, history, and ecosystems. He took many great photos underwater and they had them in our email by the time we got home!! Both him and his partner (Percy) and very nice guys and we will definitely go back to them again. [----].

As for eating, the strip of places along Luquillo beach is a great spot. We couldn't get enough of the fresh coconuts!

Old San Juan was beautiful. It felt like an old European town with a tropical twist. We went on Sunday night when many places were closed. However, we were fortunate enough to run into an evening bazaar as well as some beautiful live music. We listened to the most beautiful "folk" music along with a crowd of 100+ locals for about an hour.

We both cannot wait to go back to Puerto Rico. The weather is wonderful; the diverse climates on the island (rainforest to almost dessert) make this a very unique place to visit in such a short amount of time. The beaches were beautiful as well as were the people. Highly recommend it!