Puerto Rican Playas & More

Getting to Puerto Rico was a breeze and renting a car thereafter similar: we rented a car at the airport and an AirBnB in advance for our weeklong trip.

Pack Light. It’s an island and thereby circumscribed in coasts so while some stuff seems obvious to pack—a bunch of bathing suits to match the length of your stay—the best tip would be to pack comfortable shoes, as any trip into the island’s mountainous interior will likely require a hike of some sort. Consider color coordinating a mini travel wardrobe for added simplicity. 

TSA Checkpoint. As a US territory, while you need not have a passport to travel to Puerto Rico now, beware that the Real ID Act, extended until May 7, 2025, will require all adult travelers to present a Real ID-compliant driver’s license, identification card, or other TSA-acceptable form of identification at airport security for domestic air travel. So you may soon have to present a passport if your state guidelines aren’t READ ID compliant: check with homeland security here to see (but why travel through an airport without a passport, especially if you have one). 

Traveling with a dog? We did and it was smooth; here are some tips: 

• crate train your dog beforehand
• pack vaccination records (just in case)
• keep your pet on a lease or in your travel carrier and by your side as all times (the airport is a busy, unfamiliar place after all)

During the flight check-in your dog may be visually inspected; during the TSA check-in your pet does not have to go in a bin at the x-ray scanner, so be ready to take yours out and send the empty crate along while you carry or walk your dog through the screening machine. Thereafter, wait for a TSA officer to swab for hands for explosive residue (and a possible pat down) before claiming your belongings. After checking in find a Pet Relief Area to clear your dog’s bladder before getting on the plane, as they will have to stay in the crate at your feet for the entire flight.

Hate lines? Consider becoming a trusted traveler by applying and paying for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry for expedited clearance.

On an island rooted in coffee cultivation and the resurgence of its prestigiousness amid the underhanded grasps of the man & mother nature, each morning after catering to the kids the grown folks searched for our morning serving of filtered bean juice at a local café. While most days our travels took us in a different direction, one slow morning we stole way for lattes con leche de almendra at Cremo Latte: the spot had a hipster vibe with couches and food for lounging. We took ours to go though: had to meet up with the crew to swing on a mountain.  

La Manada Ribs V8 The Place Km 0.3, PR-3131, 00656, Puerto Rico 18.0618° N, 66.7690° W 

We found a pit master on a mountain side so we had to make reservations and drove on a Saturday to indulge in some smoked meat (and just so happened to get the pit master himself to bring out two of his pitorros for two rounds of shots with the crew). They're only open on Saturdays through the afternoon,so you'll want to set a reservation and your food order early. 

Why walk when you can kick, push, and coast instead? We embraced skate culture one again as adults in Philly one summer afternoon following a trip to the Jersey shore that would flourish into six years of tandem cruises through the mean streets of Philly/ through the streets of brotherly love with a bulldog named Rufus, so we visited Tres Palams in San Juan—a surf shop with gear for water and concrete waves alike—and though though we wouldn’t get any boards this trip, we did cop some merch and talked shop with the manager.