Travel Blog- Puerto Rico with our 3 year old

Discovering Puerto Rico: A Family Adventure

Our journey to Puerto Rico was filled with excitement as we embarked on a 5-night getaway to explore the wonders of this beautiful island. With an early morning flight and a brief layover, our travel time totaled 7.5 hours, landing us in San Juan around 3 pm. By 4 pm, we had arrived at our hotel, ready to kick off our tropical adventure. For my immigrant readers, please note that Puerto Rico is a part of US & doesn’t require passport/visa stamp!

Getting Around:
Renting a car at the airport was our go-to choice for convenience, but if you’re looking to save on airport fees, a taxi to your hotel and renting a car later is another option. We usually rely on Hertz for both car rentals and car seats, but it’s good to note that car seats can be scarce in Puerto Rico, so confirming availability beforehand is wise.

Choosing the Perfect Resort:
With a plethora of resorts boasting private beach access and pools, we carefully considered our options. The Hilton Caribe, renowned for its family-friendly amenities and proximity to Condado’s lively scene, caught our eye. La Concha’s prime location in the heart of Condado tempted us, but reviews of air conditioning issues gave us pause. Ultimately, the allure of the Royal Sonesta, with its Instagram-worthy landscape, spacious and newly renovated rooms and beachside charm, won us over, despite it being a little away from the Condado area. While it does have restaurants and super markets etc. nearby, if you are not renting a car, it maybe a little difficult for you to get to Condado area. We absolutely LOVED the resort though!

Day 1: Resort & T-Mobile Arena
After settling into our hotel around 4:30 pm, we wasted no time in slipping into our swimsuits and exploring the resort’s pool and beach areas. A quick nap on the plane left us feeling refreshed and ready to dive into our Puerto Rican adventure. For dinner, we ventured to the T-Mobile Arena, a lively hub of activity, and thankfully it wasn’t too crowded as it was a weekday. We dined at Sazon Restaurant known for its Puerto Rican cuisine, including the famous Mofongo, accompanied by a delightful kids’ menu. The arena buzzed with energy, offering fun seating options and entertainment for the whole family. As the night wound down, we indulged in churros with ice cream from a local shop, savoring every sweet bite.

Day 2: Old San Juan

Eager to delve into Puerto Rico’s rich history and culture, we set off early for Old San Juan. There are quite a few Public parkings (you can just navigate ‘Public Parking’ on Google maps), but make sure to carry $20 bills as not all places take cards. I would recommend carrying some cash in general. We had Brunch at the famous Cafe Berlin which was great followed by a stroll through the colorful streets of this historic district. With plenty of photo opportunities and local eateries to explore, we soaked in the charm of Old San Juan before returning to our hotel for an evening at the beach and dinner at Serrefina in Condado (Service was slow here).

Important: There is going to be a lot of walking, so I highly recommend comfortable shoes & a travel stroller for younger kids. See my Blog post on Best Travel Strollers of 2024. There were a couple of times when we had to fold & lift the stroller but it was still a pretty stroller friendly city.

Day 3: Day Trip to Vieques

We booked our plane tickets from Ceiba Airport to Vieques (it’s a short 10 mins plane ride in a small plane . The drive from San Juan to Ceiba Airport is around an hour, so we just did a quick breakfast at Starbucks and started our drive around 9:30am as our flight was at Noon. They usually recommend  checking in at least 45 mins before the flight. You can park overnight in the Airport’s parking lot and it’s pretty safe. We took the flights one way for about $50 per person. Take a small carry-on suitcase with you for this day trip and review their baggage rules here . A lot of folks do both Culebra & Vieques together but we didn’t want a lot of back to back things and wanted to keep this vacation relaxed but you can totally plan a couple of days for these 2 islands. 

Before you plan your Vieques day trip- Know a few things-

• The Bioluminescence Bay is better in Vieques, so check for the days before the new moon to get a dark night. Check this out- https://www.puertorico.com/when-is-the-best-time-to-see-bioluminescence
• If you’re planning for Bioluminescence Bay tour in Vieques, you have to stay there overnight as there is no flight or ferry late night (the tours are usually between 7-10pm). 
• We did not check-out of our San Juan hotel, so technically we paid for 2 accommodations the night we were in Vieques but we didn’t want to pack everything up and leave in the car at the airport, but you could do that. 
• Flight- https://www.viequesairlink.com/ ($50 per person one way)
• Ferry- https://www.puertoricoferry.com/ ($4 per person one way)

What to pack for Vieques- 

• Basic Beach essentials including float for the kids – the beaches are beautiful and they’ll want to get into the water. We just took a couple of small beach toys to Vieques to keep the luggage weight less. 
• Take a couple of towels from the hotel.
• A couple of change of clothes of course. One long sleeve outfit for Bioluminescence Bay.
• Chargers/Basic Toiletries and any medicines. 

Accommodations in Vieques- This is a small island where there are not a hot of hotels but guest houses, Air BnBs and small boutique hotels. Some of the hotels don’t allow children, such as El Blok etc. We stayed at Old Crow Hotel which was nice and newly renovated. However it’s not on the Ocean like some others such as Malecon House (our friends have stayed there in the past and shared good reviews). We planned our Vieques trip only a week before our vacation, so a lot of things were already booked, so I definitely  recommend booking in advance. 

Renting a Car- You will need a car in Vieques and they will pick you up from the Ceiba airport. The information desk at the Airport will call them for you. The cars are mostly Jeep but the car seat was in a terrible condition. We were very disappointed but there was no other option. Anyways, since our check-in time was 4pm and we reached Vieques around Noon, we went straight to the beach. 

Things to do-

Beaches–

Exploring the beaches is a must on this island! The beaches here have stunning vistas, and while some opt for beach hopping, we found sticking to one spot maximized our enjoyment. There is a small strip of restaurants (we dined at Lazy Jacks for lunch) and then drove to the Sun Bay beach.
Pro tip: Grab some cold drinks and snacks from the market/shops at this strip before heading to the beach, as there aren’t any shops on the beach itself. If you’re arriving early and your room isn’t ready, consider changing into swimsuits either in a restaurant restroom or in a secluded spot in your car. Some hotels might even loan you beach chairs ahead of check-in. Sun Bay beach captivates with its picturesque scenery, complete with horses and crystal-clear waters. We used Car’s trunk to change her and cleanup and carried coverups for ourselves. 

After the beach time, we got to our hotel – Old Crow, which had all the basic toiletries and was very clean and nice. We all showered and stepped out for dinner before our Bioluminescent tour. We dined at Bananas – The service was quick and food was good. Our pickup point for Bioluminescent tour was right opposite to El Blok Hotel and we Parked our car in a nearby parking. 

Bioluminescent Bay Tour-

There are 2 options- Kayak tour & a Boat tour. The boat tour is more popular  amongst families with kinds under the age of 6 and the elderly people or anyone else who may not be able to Kayak. Below is the top we booked via Viator- Isla nena Bioluminescent Boat Tour. The same company has Kayak tours as well.

The tour guide will send you a text message on the morning of the tour with pickup details (including the Van details that will pick you up). Make sure you are on time as it’s a good 10 minutes VERY bumpy ride from the pickup point to the Bay. Once you get to the bay, because these boats are small, the tour pretty much starts right away and the guides share a lot of info, which was good to know! 

The Bay is absolutely stunning & is a once in a lifetime experience! Its not legal to swim or put hands in the wanter anymore, so the boat tour gave us sticks to make the water glow and also a bucket of Bay water to put our hand in. We did not face any mosquitos but we have heard that you may face some if you visit in June/July timeframe. Here is the bug spray we carried with us- Bug Spray (Safe for kids).

The tour lasts for about an hour and it was time for a bumpy ride back to the pickup point. Most of the restaurants close by this time, so make sure you have a plan in case you get hungry later. The El Blok hotel had one restaurant open, so we dined there after the tour and then got back to our Hotel.

Day 4: Ferry Adventure & more Beach Time

We had booked a ferry (https://www.puertoricoferry.com/) for 10am in the morning as the next one was at 1pm and we didn’t want to wait that long. I would recommend waking up early to grab breakfast (if not included in your hotel) as you have to reach ferry an hour before departure after returning your car. The rental car folks will drop you to the ferry station BUT there is nothing to eat there and it’s a one hour ride. I had read mixed reviews on Ferry but our experience was pretty smooth. The only thing is you have to take a Taxi from Ferry station in Ceiba to the Airport parking if you take our approach of Airplane one way and ferry the other way. But there are plenty of Taxis available. We dined at “the Brunch Spot” in Ceiba and then drove back from Ceiba to San Juan.
Pro Tip: There are a couple of Walmarts on the way back, so we grabbed a couple of smoothies (the pre-packed kids smoothies) for Aaira as that work well on a vacation to keep them full. You can also grab fruits if needed.

Alternate plan: You could do the El Yunque National Forest Park on your way back from Ceiba as long as you have your hiking essentials in the car. We skipped it this time as based on the reviews it could be a little steep for Aaira’s age and due to some rains in the night, it can be wet and slippery. But I know plenty of people who might want to do that even with younger kids and since it is an hour drive from San Juan, this would be a good day to fit it in while you’re already in the area!

We got back to the hotel & rested for an hour or so (Aaira took a nap in the car) and then got ready for some Pool Time! Our resort had multiple Pools and a Hot tub, so we enjoyed some pool food and drinks while spending time in the water. The beautiful weather added to our fun time. See my Blog Post Beach & Pool essentials for Toddlers to prepare for a Beach/Pool Vacation. We dined out in Condado again at Burrito Social!

Day 5- Old San Juan Forts

We kept this whole day for Old San Juan as there is so much to explore! We started our day in Condado at a famous brunch spot- Semilla Kitchen & Bar and the food was delicious! Our first stop in Old San Juan was the El Morro fort, and one entry ticket (bought at either of the forts ) gives you entry to both forts ( El Morro & Cristobal) for 2 days! There is a lot of history and we loved learning more about it. The forts were stroller friendly for the most part but the lighter you travel, the better it is. There is a huge park by the El Morro fort and lots of folks were flying kites there and we did that too (there are vendors selling them), and Aaira loved it!

The forts pretty much took up our entire morning and then we headed straight to the Barrachina restaurant in the heart of San Juan which is known as the Birthplace of Pina Colada! There was a wait but we could get the drinks to-go. We then went to dine in at Chocobar Cortès where as the name suggests, there was a lot of chocolate!

After the lunch, we went around some local shops to buy gifts for our friends and some goodies for ourselves. Some gifts that we suggest bringing back are Puerto Rican coffee beans or ground coffee for coffee lovers, hot sauces, local chocolates, rum cakes, hats or cute dresses/shirts for the kids.

We got back to our hotel around 4pm and took a couple of hours of rest (Aaira took a late nap), did some initial packing and wrap up as our flight was next morning. We went back to Old San Juan for dinner as we wanted to see the night life, especially on a weekend. We walked by the ocean- they have a lot of restaurants, local stalls and food trucks by the ocean walk and also the I love Puerto Rico sign near Walgreens. We also saw a huge cruise up-close as it was parked in San Juan for a stop.

Day 6: Traveling Back to Home
We had a Noon flight and since we lived close to the Airport, we were able to make a quick trip to Old San Juan to take some pictures with the I love Puerto Rico in daylight and had a quick Starbucks breakfast! We reached the Airport around 10am and returned our rental car.
Important- Make sure you reach the Airport at least 2 hours before your flight as they have an Agricultural check before check-in and while it wasn’t too busy for us, you never know, so I’d take the margin. They will put a sticker on your luggage, which is a must before you check-in your baggage.
Checkout my ‘Travel Tips Story highlight’ to see how to access the Lounges at the airport with your credit card benefits. We had a smooth flight back & enjoyed looking back at pictures from our trip in the airplane and also caught up on some sleep 🙂

As we said goodbye to Puerto Rico, we carried with us the warmth of its people, the stunning beauty of its landscapes, and the anticipation of future adventures. Until we meet again, Puerto Rico, adiós. Comment below if you have any questions or reach out to me on Instagram. You can also shop our Vacation looks and essentials on my Shop LTK profile!