The city of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is famous for its incredible nightlife, culture and natural attractions such as white sandy beaches, coral reefs and rainforests. Puerto Rico, along with the Florida Keys is a popular weekend getaway for many American tourists thanks to its close proximity to the US mainland and because passports are not required for US citizens. The island is small but includes a number of different landscapes which contributes to its popularity. For example, the coastline boasts soft white powdery beach sand and warm Caribbean waters while the island interior is mostly undeveloped and is home to a mountain range, waterfalls, a rainforest and rare wildlife. The most developed region of Puerto Rico is its 300 mile long coastline – here you will find cities, towns, restaurants and a wide range of hotels, resorts and bed & breakfasts.
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Beaches are normally the biggest tourist attraction in the Caribbean and many people claim that Puerto Rico has the best beaches out of all the Caribbean islands. However, here I will focus on the other attractions that Puerto Rico is so famous for.
The El Yunque Rainforest takes up a large portion of Puerto Rico’s interior and is popular amongst adventure seekers and outdoor enthusiasts. It’s green canopies is home to various types of rare bird species, waterfalls and crystal clear rivers which are great for kayaking and white river rafting. There are various hiking trails throughout the rainforest, many which leads to the breathtaking dwarf forest – which is a smaller moss covered forest within the El Yunque forest. It’s truly a sight to behold.
Rincon is an area on the west coast of Puerto Rico. It’s also where you will find some of the most popular surfing beaches on the island and it attracts tourists and surfers from all around the world. Beaches such as Maria’s beach, Domes beach, Steps beach and Corcega beach are usually the most popular. It’s the most developed part of Puerto Rico and it’s where you will find the majority of the hotels and resorts.
What many people do not know is that Puerto Rico doesn’t consist of one island – there are actually 3 islands that make up Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is the main island and also the largest while the other 2 smaller islands are Vieques and Culebra Island. Vieques was once a US Navy Base which sits off the east coast of the main island while extremely dry Culebra island also sits close by and happens to be the smallest of the 3. These 2 islands make great day trip destinations for those who want to island hop and the beaches here are every bit as incredible as the ones on the main island.
The Guanica Dry Forest sits to the south of the main island and is the driest area of Puerto Rico. It encompasses close to 20 000 acres of land and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s beautiful, has well over 30 miles of hiking trails and even has caves – which makes it highly popular amongst hikers. However, the thing that makes this place so incredibly unique is that it’s the biggest dry forest in the world.
If you came to Puerto Rico to party then you won’t be disappointed. There are numerous places found along the coast which consists of salsa bars, raggae clubs and discos. For the best parties visit the main city of Puerto Rico, San Juan. It’s home to most clubs and it’s also where the biggest parties are held – every weekend.
Puerto Rico is renowned for its all year long summer weather and boasts an average yearly temperature of 80 F. The busiest time of year in Puerto Rico is between the months of December to April and is largely attributable to the cold winter weather back on the US mainland. If you want to avoid the majority of the crowds then visit between May and November.
To Puerto Rico: For more useful information on this Caribbean US territory, check out topuertorico.org.
See Puerto Rico: Seepuertorico.com is your one stop website that has everything you ever wanted to know about this exquisite Caribbean island.
San Juan Hotels: If you’re going to Puerto Rico then chances are you will end up basing yourself in San Juan. Here is a list of hotels for San Juan.