rdbrown

Hi All:

I am traveling to Puerto Rico for the first time, by myself, in mid - April 2020. 52 yr professional male, divorced 3 yr ago. I have traveled a lot of the world, so I have no problems doing that, but this is my first time there. Looking to go for about 10 days. Going to relax, take it slow, enjoy myself, see and do things, eat well, smoke cigars, etc. Redheaded, nerdy guy, that like to see, learn, and do, but sunburns . Doesn't mind time on the beach, outside, or on the water, as long as I have something to hide under.

1. Trying to figure out what area to stay in - people have mentioned see San Juan, but stay in Rincon. What do you think? Any preferred locations?
2. What places / things I should do and see? I want to hit the high points everyone should see, but I am more interested in the less touristy areas. I like pretty much anything, but I don't do golf, casinos, drunks / drugs, or loud. That is not what I am going for.
3. Where to go from little local places to luxury places. I am interested in it all.
4. Good food, drink, treats, coffee, cigars - where?
5. Scuba? Deep Sea Fishing?
6. Night life that isn't loud.
7. Finding out about groups of other people that might be there at the same time?
8. Great places for photography?
9. What should I avoid? Anything, in particular, I should consider being on my own?
10. Things to buy while I am there and bring back?

I am looking for any and all input I can get. I haven't done this kind of thing, by myself, in a long time. Also, I am a Vet, so if anyone has places to recommend that are vet friendly, that would be great.

Thank you in advance for your time and effort. It is appreciated.

Respectfully,
Russ Brown

suze

First off, welcome to the forum! Now to say, sorry I am of no help with Puerto Rico but I do love to travel solo. Besides any replies you receive here, if you haven't already, do read and post also on the Trip Advisor destination forums (different from the reviews section). For most places Caribbean and Mexico you will find many more posters there than these branches of Fodor's. You may also find Meet & Greets organized (per you 7 question above).

Things to consider solo for me are mostly about logistics. Make sure you have your plane tickets, reservations, local currency, debit card, a couple credit cards, passport, etc. in order and kept safe. Carry ID on your person and the business card from where you are staying. Have whatever electronics you want in order (if you travel with smartphone or tablet or laptop), camera, etc.

I wish you well in planning this. I'd also probably buy one decent hard-copy guidebook if you don't have one already. I enjoying reading the history, looking at maps and photos in print (sometimes online research can seem overwhelming).

Cheers!! Wear that sunscreen

schmerl

Ummm...they were traveling a year ago. I doubt they went due to Covid.
I would love to spend ten days in Puerto Rico.

RoamsAround

Not sure your assumption that rebrown was "traveling a year ago" is correct. Since he just posted his question yesterday he probably inadvertently typed April 2020 instead of April 2021.

schmerl

Oooops...so he did. He wrote April 2020 both in the title and in the post itself. I didn't look at the date it was posted.

schmerl

rdbrown,, there are some covid restrictions in place so you might want to look into that.
We loved El Yunque National Rain Forest. There are some restrictions on tours there now. You can find info here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque
We have stayed in Isla Verde and in the Luquillo Beach area.
I don't know if you are interested in visiting one of the bioluminescent bays, but you can find info here:
https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/a...minescent-bays.
Are you renting a car? That might make a difference as to where you choose to stay.

ethrush

With cruise ships not sailing yet, things are likely to be quiet, especially in San Juan. That might be better for you. There are some companies that do very good tours- I do restaurant tours in new cities, and when I'm on my own, it's a nice way to meet people and learn some things. When I was there, people were very happy to see us- they were just getting electricity back after the hurricane. I'm assuming you meant Aoril 2021, so I hope you're still planning on going