The nice hotels were like $200 a night and there were 5 of
us on the trip, so an Airbnb condo was definitely the best route. We rented a cute little spot for $125/night in
Condado, a very nice area a few blocks from the beach and quick drive to
downtown San Juan. We also rented a car
since taxi’n / Uber’n it around town would have gotten a bit pricey. Funny (actually not funny) to learn that there
is an intense amount of tension between the Taxi and Uber drivers in Puerto
Rico. It’s requested that when booking
an Uber, you do so nowhere near where the taxis line up as they are likely to
brawl. YIKES!!!
Selam and a few other others landed early Thursday
afternoon, but sadly I wasn’t able to arrive until late Thursday night. I did make it a point to turn the hell up on
the flight down there.
After I landed we
dropped of my stuff, had a shot, & promptly hit the town. Selam got the intel from the locals that La
Placita was the place to be on a Thursday night. During the day La Placita aka La Plaza del
Mercado in Santurce is a market with lots of shops and eateries. At night La
Placita is an endless sea of bars and small clubs. Free entry to all the spots
and the drinks were hella cheap #WINNING!
Friday afternoon was spent having lunch on the patio of a small
diner we stumbled upon and then chillaxing on the beach with our liquor and
chunes. Like I said before, the birthday
girl wanted a relaxing weekend on a tropical beach and we obliged!
Friday night we wanted to try to make it to Oceanos to have
dinner on the beach at sunset, but everyone was exhausted so we napped it
out. Instead headed to Oceanos for
dinner around 9pm, Oceanos is a mansion turned restaurant located on a beach in
the heart of San Juan. The ambiance was amazing, the meals were kinda pricey,
but the portions were huge and pretty dayym tasty. My to-go box lasted me 2
more meals so I guess it all worked out. I would definitely recommend it if you happen
to be in San Juan for a special occasional and feel like treating
yourself. I know I felt hella fancy, I usually
go to Golden Corral on my birthday. There were several bars within walking
distance of Oceanos so we did a lil bar hoping & enjoyed all the cheap
drinks the bars in San Juan had to offer.
We ended up going back to the Thursday night area “La Placita” and it
was all the way turned up. Thursday had 1 street of bars open, but Friday was
BLOCKS of bars and clubs.
Saturday afternoon we headed to Old San Juan. We found a $10 boat tour that
took us along the city to Fort San
Cristóbal and the operator gave us a quick history lesson on the area.
Afterwards we walked through the market and the streets lined with beautifully colored buildings. As the sun set the doors of these buildings began to open and once again there was a sea of bars and clubs. We ended up just staying in Old San Juan all night and walking & partying our lives away up and down the streets.
Afterwards we walked through the market and the streets lined with beautifully colored buildings. As the sun set the doors of these buildings began to open and once again there was a sea of bars and clubs. We ended up just staying in Old San Juan all night and walking & partying our lives away up and down the streets.
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| Salsa Time |
Sunday afternoon we headed to El Yunque Rainforest for a
hike. It is about a 45min drive from San Juan and there are several waterfalls
with moderate to difficult hikes. A park
ranger at the entrance directed us to a waterfall with a quick 20min hike. The water was frekkin FREEZING, but as Prince
would say, “You have to purify
yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka El Yunque.” So we
sucked it up and got in the dayym water.
Be sure to pack a bathing suit and shoes that you can both hike and swim
in if you ever decide to Purify Yourself in El Yunque.
We went back to Condado, bought a bottle of rum and chillaxed on that mosquito free beach for a few hours, actually till we smashed the bottle… Liquor gone = party DONE!
My first trip to Puerto Rico and I truly enjoyed it. The locals were OH SO nice, I wasn’t expecting
that level of hospitality from everyone.
My favorite part of any trip is the local alcohol I bring home for my bar!
Quick Photo Recap
