Today we are going to write about where to visit and go in Puerto Rico on our post. We visited Puerto Rico a couple of weeks ago before going to our Cruise. We used to live there and we still have family there. We went to visit Puerto Rico during Christmas week in 2019. While we were there we went to a few places we have been to before and a few new places. We took advantage to visit a few places in Puerto Rico then boarded a cruise to the Carribean. Then we came back to Puerto Rico and enjoyed the island some more.
Now you must be wondering. Where should I visit and go in Puerto Rico? We will go in detail about where to visit and go in Puerto Rico. I will also share with you addresses or points of reference or other things you may need to know. So these are the places to go and visit in Puerto Rico
- Estatua de Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus Statue)
- Cueva del Indio
- Cueva Ventana
- Arecibo Observatory
- Castillo San Felipe del Morro
- Old San Juan
- Ponce
- El Yunque National Forest
Estatua de Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus Statue)
This statue is located in Arecibo. It is located on Islote, Arecibo 00612, Puerto Rico. I added a picture below so you would know where it’s at. You will not spend more than about 15 min while you are here. It is really to take a picture and you cannot get close to the statue. You can only take pictures from a distance and parking is $3. I know it may not be worth just going to this so while you are here but there are a few other places you can go that are worth on the same trip.
Cueva del Indio
We lived there for a few years and didn’t know about this place. Cueva del Indio is located in Arecibo. This place was beautiful. The price to enter is $5 cash. There is no credit card machine or debit or anything like that. If you need to use the restroom there are some porta potties outside before you go in. There is some walking to be done when you are there and worth it. After you pay you will get to a point where there is left and right side. Make sure to visit both. For the right side. You will have to climb over some rocks. I would do this carefully because you can get hurt if you fall. The rocks are hard and sharp. If you have kids I would keep an eye out for them or hold their hand. The view from the top is amazing and great for taking pictures. Below we will add the pictures we took so you have an idea. On this right side, my son and his wife walked all the way to the top arch. I will share the photos below. As for the left side. If you are a climber then when you get to the left side there is an area where you can climb down to the cave. There used to be a large wooden latter but it’s not there anymore. I would also be careful as there was a spot with a big whole and you can easily fall down if you are not paying attention. After you pass that whole then you can climb down a few rocks and walk to the ledge and take more pictures. How back to the climbing part. If you want you can climb down to the bottom. This area is not the same as the few rocks you climb to take a few pictures. This area is another area that you see when you climb the few rocks. This is not for everyone. We saw a couple that had the right shoes and was climbing out as we were there. They were helping each other. One mistake and you can get hurt. I would say that it was about 50-75 feet down. Now that we talked about that part take pictures as you are there. There was a nice wind when we were there that help us stay cool. After you finish will seeing all the area right before you leave there is an entrance to the beach. the water is a little rough. I wouldn’t go too far into the water for a swim because the waves were very large. Seems that the area has a lot of wins that cause the water to be rough. We added a picture of the location to help you find it. After visiting here we went to our next destination.
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Cueva Ventana
One thing about Puerto Rico that I know is that they have a lot of places you can visit caves. Cueva Ventana is also located in PR 10 Km. 75, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612. This is another place we didn’t know was here on the island. We were glad my sister in law took us here. It’s a great place to visit and see. Tickets are about $20 and it includes the tour. Just in case you didn’t want a tour you still need it as that’s how it is there. For safety reasons, they are the ones that take you with a group about 15 to go inside the caves. They did our tour in English and Spanish since we had some people who only knew one or the other. It all depends on the visitors that day. They explain a lot about the caves and the animals in the caves and so on. The tours are about every 1 and a half hour. It was a great experience and we would definitely go again. For more information, you can visit their website at https://www.cuevaventanapr.com from here we went to Arecibo Observatory.
Arecibo Observatory
Since we lived in Puerto Rico before we have visited Arecibo Observatory. It is quite a remarkable place to visit. When you start out in the visitor center there are a lot of things that you can see and read about that have to do with space and radio frequencies. Admission is $12 and Children (5-12 years) and Seniors $8.00. Hours are usually 10:00 am – 3:00 pm every day but it depends on the time of year. For the latest please visit their website here. There is a cool area that is the Observation Deck where you can see the giant radio telescope. Unfortunately, since we started our day late when we arrived they were closed. If I remember correctly we missed it by 30 min. If you are planning to visit the list of places we talked about for Arecibo I would say start early. One thing I would also hint is that coming to the Observatory is not a flat surface. The observatory is high up on a mountain and you will be driving around curves and hills to get there. Just be prepared. They are located at Route 625 Bo. Esperanza Arecibo, PR 00612
Castillo San Felipe del Morro
We just love coming here when we visit or when we used to live in Puerto Rico. What we usually do when we come here is visit the guy outside in the corner selling ice cream. We eat there all the time when we are here or even driving by. Ok, now that I got that out. Usually we when come here there are people flying kites. It’s like the place to come to fly a kite. We also did this when our kids were small. When you get here there is an underground parking garage nearby. You will have to pay. From the parking, you will need to walk to el Morro. Now the distance from the parking to the start of the walkway to el morro is not long. Whats long is the entrance by the street and walking all the way to the entrance to the fort. It’s a long walk. So I recommend bringing water and comfortable shoes. The address you can find easily with google maps. When we were there this time we didn’t go inside. But the tickets according to their website is $10 and kids under 15 are free. Let me tell you that it is historic to be inside and see all of the old fort.
OLD San Juan
Since you are visiting El morro. It makes only sense you visit Old San Juan since el Morro is in Old San Juan. Walking through the old city is great. You get to see old buildings, churches and old roads. While you walk around you will see so many different stores of every kind. From fast food to Coach you will see throughout. If you started your walk from El Morro towards down (you can see you are going down since you would have started on a hill) you will start to see the ocean and you may even see cruise ships if they are docked on the Old San Juan side. As you can see if the pictures below you can walk in front of the governor’s home. As you walk around ao ahead and grab an ice cream or piragua. Especially if you are there during the summer. There are so many places to grab lunch or dinner. Old San Juan is one of the places to see when you are in Puerto Rico.
Ponce
Ponce is located south of the middle of Puerto Rico. Every time we get to Puerto Rico we have to go here. There are a few things to see and visit while you are in Ponce. The Parque de Bombas is in the Pueblo of Ponce. Located at Plaza las Delicias, Ponce, 00731, Puerto Rico. It was established in 1883. While you are there you can see other historical buildings.
Since you are already in the Pueblo. Right across from the Parque de Bombas you will see an ice cream shop. It’s the best there is. When we lived on the island we would drive the 45-55 min just to get this ice cream. The name is the Place is Kings Cream Helados. They are located at 9223 Marina, Ponce, 00730, Puerto Rico.
While you are there you can drive to the Museo Castillo Serrallés. This is an old Mansion built-in 1930. You are able to go inside and view the place. Please be careful at visiting times for this place because it was closed when we arrived at 3pm. Maybe they had a special function, but it was supposed to be open until 5pm. Entrance is $10 unless you have a student ID its $5. Prices can change at any time. They are located at 17 Calle El Vigia, Ponce 00730-2926, Puerto Rico and their website is http://www.museocastilloserralles.com/
El Yunque National Forest
The El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rain forest in the national forest system in the United States. You can easily do a google search and find this one on google maps. I can tell you this to make sure to dedicate time to visiting here. When the weather is ok you will be able to do a lot. If it’s raining a lot there isn’t much to do because they close certain areas for safety reasons. Here is something many people will not tell you or choose to leave out. On your way to El Yunque, you will go up some roads that are a little crazy and scary. But don’t let that stop you. Just let someone else drive and take it slow. There are a lot of walking trails and things to see while you are there. On your way up you will see a small waterfall. It’s Beautiful and if it was raining recently which it usually always is. You will see a little or a lot of water. See the picture below. Like we said earlier there are a few trails to walk on. Depending on what trail you take is where you will end up. There is a trail that leads to a large waterfall that you can get in the water. There is another waterfall that leads to a high part of the rainforest. So be careful which one you take. I can tell you from experience. There is a lot of walking. Depending on if it rained recently the ground may be a little slippery. So make sure to put the right kind of shoes on. There isn’t much to eat when you are up there. There are a few small places to buy a snack or water. So if you are planning to spend a lot of time int he rainforest prepare for it. This last time we went it was raining a lot a few hours before and that week. We were not able to go all the way up to walk any of the trails because of safety. Even though we didn’t we still had a nice time with what we were able to do. As you can see from the picture below we went to the small waterfall that you see on your way up and to the tower. To get to the El Yunque its about 45 min from San Juan. For more information, you can go to their website here.
