By Anita R. Paul
If you’ve got a few days to spare and want to soak up some sun, consider spending your time in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A beautiful city for a weekend escape alone or with friends, San Juan offers EXceptional beaches and year-round temperatures in the neighborhood of 75 degrees, just perfect for touching up the tan and melting away any EXcess stress.
Just a 2 ½ hour flight from Atlanta, Georgia and you’ll be in the city known as “La Ciudad Amurallada” – the walled city. Welcomed at the airport by a lively percussion band that you can imagine is there for you, and you alone, you’ll begin to feel the EXcitement of San Juan and get a small taste of how Puertorican culture saturates practically every experience in the city.
A 10-minute taxi ride from the airport will take you to the hotel district of Isla Verde, where you’ll find a host of EXcellent homes away from home – from the luxurious Ritz Carlton Resort & Spa, to the moderate Inter-Continental Hotel, to one of San Juan’s newest and trendiest boutique hotels, The Water Club. No matter where you choose to rest your head, Isla Verde is a prime location to stay and play. Restaurants and hotel casinos line the main drag, offering many choices for nighttime fun and delicious authentic Puertorican fare.
By day, the area’s clean, uncrowded beaches welcome you for sunning and watersports. Spread your towel on the warm sand and soak up the sun’s rays, or rent a surfboard and try to catch a few waves. Pine Grove is well known as one of Isla Verde’s best surfing spots.
If sightseeing is more your interest, rent a car, grab a taxi or take the city bus to the historic city of Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan). It isn’t the old Spanish village you might image. You’ll find no Spanish-style buildings made of stucco and adobe, no bell towers, churches or dirt roads. What you will find in Viejo San Juan is a bustling city of trade and commerce on the one hand, a history buff’s dream come true on another hand, and the best place for dancing and night life in the entire city.
