Puerto Rico obviously has a Caribbean heart. But with something else. It has predictable pristine beaches, a tropical climate, crystal clear sea, and photo-perfect coconut trees that will cheer up friends back home. But at the same time, in addition to the undisputed Spanish colonial heritage, the island is now part of the United Nations (along with the Marianas). This means that it has the infrastructure you expect in a land of “stars and stripes” mixed with traditional Latin American culture. As a result, burgers are just as popular on the tables as traditional foods like sancocho. And the highways connect the slums with the luxury hotels of the coastal skyscrapers with strips of asphalt on many lanes.
The capital San Juan
San Juan is the island’s capital and is home to nearly a third of Puerto Rico’s four million inhabitants. Your flight will land in the heart of this vibrant and cosmopolitan city at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, located just minutes from major hotels and trendy restaurant streets. And the island is easily accessible thanks to the international transport network. Being at the top of the list of things to do here in Puerto Rico, we have definitely positioned the historic city center. The entire neighborhood of Old San Juan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and as you stroll its cobbled streets lined with colorful houses, statues and plazas, you’ll breathe the winds of the past. Then you can’t miss the huge and emerging stone walls of Fortaleza San Felipe del Moro, which date back to the 16th century, six floors above the ocean and which offer the widest and most unforgettable panorama of old San Juan. Its towers, passages and imposing cannons were built by the Spanish conquistadors who also connected this citadel to the fortress of Castillo de San Cristóbal, built between 1634-1783. Currently, two remarkably preserved fortresses are managed by the federal Park Service agency and have a full calendar of events. 
The Ponce Museum
Back on the main island, the journey continues – take your car and head south on Highway 52 to Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second largest city. Ponce has developed around the Plaza de las Delicias, from where a free train departs from which you can explore a city considered a bastion of local culture, up to the city’s treasure: the Museo de Arte de Ponce, one of the largest museums in Italy. art of the Caribbean. Among the 4,500 works in the museum’s permanent collection, there are masterpieces of European and local art, with one of the most important collections of Pre-Raphaelite art. It was founded in 1959 and is one of the most important in the Americas.
Old San Juan
Old San Juan recently entered Puerto Rico’s most popular destinations as the music video scene for one of the greatest hits of all time, the famous song “Despacito”. Since then, Viejo San Juan has become a mecca for lovers of picturesque and exotic places. Old San Juan perfectly reflects Puerto Rico’s long Spanish colonial history. Here you will not find beaches or luxury hotels, nor many unspoiled natural landscapes, as in the rest of the island: this is the past! With nearly 500 years of history, Old San Juan is the place to be if you want to immerse yourself in the island’s local culture. Stroll through the cobbled streets of the city, among colorful buildings with a slightly tropical flavor that will make you truly feel in the Caribbean from ancient times.
Culebra Island
Of the two islands not far from the national territory of Puerto Rico, Culebra is the smallest inhabited island. It’s easy to imagine, it’s a world apart: a completely different vacation than you usually do here! Despite being a land of low and dry vegetation, Culebra is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean … not to mention its tragic, but still instructive, past. Before the arrival of the European colonizers, Culebra was inhabited by the Arawak and Taino populations. From the 18th century there was no trace of them: some were exchanged for the slave trade, others unfortunately died or moved to friendlier islands. During this period, Culebra became the ideal destination for pirates who were destroyed by the Spanish crown only after 1880.
El Yunque National Forest
Botany enthusiasts will appreciate El Yunque for its diversity – we believe this forest has over 240 species of plants and trees, each unique and different. And those who love birdwatching cannot help but pass by. Colorful birds like San Pedrito or the El Yunque thrush can be seen almost everywhere in the park – they move in pairs, eat insects and chirp happily. Anyone who comes to Puerto Rico in search of animal species must know the somewhat sad story of the Puerto Rican parrot. It is believed that during the Spanish colonization, in the first half of the 1600s, there were millions of individuals of this wonderful bird. Over the years, as the human population has increased, deforestation has become so common that in 1973 there were only 13 parrots among the millions of parrots.
El Yunque National Park is also famous for the presence of frogs and, of course, mosquitoes. We recommend that you wear repellent for protection, but if you do, make sure you don’t immerse yourself in local water sources. Indeed, chemicals can threaten the already fragile ecosystem of the place.
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