Travel Advice Regarding Puerto Rico
I have had clients and friends to ask me about visiting Puerto Rico since my daughter and I have recently visited, so here’s the skinny of the matter regarding Covid as of April 2021: The island is absolutely beautiful and everyone my daughter and I met were so friendly. One day we rented bikes to go to Old San Juan from Condado, where we stayed, and I had a flat tire on the way home. We had to be back to the bike shop at a certain time, and had trouble crossing a busy highway. A man native to the island rode by us on his bike, and circled back to us when he saw that we were having trouble. He actually walked out into traffic to stop it so that we could pass across the 4 lane highway. I wish I would have gotten his name so that I could thank him again!
My daughter and I like culturally authentic food and decided to eat at a different restaurant each meal. Many of the restaurants are closed due to Covid, but we had no trouble achieving our goal. There might have been an hour wait at a few restaurants, in which case we explored the area while we were waiting. The restaurant called Pannes in Condado was probably the best place we ate while we were there, along with Solaras. Vanderbilt Condado had the most beautiful oceanfront view, but were out of many of the dishes we were interested in. There was no shortage of the best coffee in the world at Vanderbilt, a delightful frothy expresso like coffee we were able to make in our room, and the staff was very gracious to refresh our supply daily, and then some.
Many of the million dollar homes in Condado were enclosed with iron fences, and many of the condominiums as well, but there was a definite police presence everywhere so that we felt safe everywhere we ventured. One night we walked through a questionable neighborhood by accident in search of Guarare, where many of the houses had fallen to dilapidation, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the neighborhood surrounding the upbeat outdoor restaurant had stunning murals on every building and delightful art pieces crocheted to the fence in the shape of wings and peace signs, meant for tourists to be photographed in front of. Artists had conformed the area into a vision of hope and beauty.
There is presently a curfew from 12-5 am, and no one is supposed to be outside during this time. The Condado Vanderbilt, where we stayed, was built in the 1920’s and is as solid as a castle, unlike many hotels built today. You cannot hear street noise or passersby while in the room, but at 1:00 in the morning, one might hear a policeman with a megaphone say “You are not allowed outside after 12:00. Please go inside immediately.” It reminded me of the Terminator, and I imagined him saying, “I’ll be back,” LOL.
The trip was fabulous, and I would do it all over again tomorrow. It is important to know that a party interested in traveling there should plan to travel for at least 5 days, preferably 6, as 2 of those days will be consumed with travel. As Covid regulations change regularly, and the CDC website not as specific to the regulations as one might hope, travel requirements for anywhere you travel are most precise on the website of the airport you are traveling with.