Back in 2023, I decided to go on a Solo trip to Puerto Rico for my Birthday (June 12th). It was a great time! In this post, I’ll share some details about where I went and what I saw during my time there.

Trip Itinerary:

• 6/10/23 – JFK to SJU – 10:00 AM to 13:56 PM
• 6/15/23 – SJU to JFK – 14:41 PM to 18:41 PM

Budget: $1385.90

• Flight: $280.40
• Car Rental (3 Days): $151.35 – 6/12/23 to 6/15/23
• Day Pass Resort: $119.77 – 6/12/23
• Hotel: $464.38 – 6/10/23 to 6/15/23
• Food: $200.00
• Gas: $120.00 (2 full Days of Driving around)

Summary of activities each day:

Day 1: Walk around and hang out near Castillo San Felipe Del Morro and Explore Downtown Viejo San Juan + Nightlife.

Day 2: Walk to Castillo San Cristobal. Beach walk from Playa del Capitolio to Balneario del Escambron and back. Explore Downtown Viejo San Juan + Nightlife.

Day 3 (Birthday!): Rented car and spent the entire day at Royal Sonesta San Juan Resort.

Day 4: Full day of driving to various Beaches along the West Side of Puerto Rico. Beautiful!

Day 5: Visit Luquillo Beach and Drive around the East Side of Puerto Rico to visit a few beaches.

Day 6: Sleep In, slow morning/afternoon and prep for Trip back home.

Now I’ll go into more detail about each day so you can see the nice places I was able to visit! Puerto Rico was a wonderful place to visit, and I would definitely go back so I can check out the rest of it! El Yunque is definitely on my list.

Day 1:

I decided that my first day in PR would be a great opportunity for me to walk around and get to know the Old San Juan Area and get to see one of the awesome castles the had around there. The Walk to the San Felipe del Morro Castle was really nice, check out the view!

As I got closer to the castle, it was great to see an open area in front of the main castle where people could gather around and hang out to enjoy the warm sun and the nice view. It was a bit windy that first day.

In the main castle area, there were a few cannons, strategic lookout areas and really nice views all around!

After a few hours walking around the historic district, I went to check out the downtown area and stopped by a few bars. It was a pretty chill vibe.

I that night I ended up running into some people I knew back in high school. Small world. It ended up being a pretty awesome first night there!

Day 2:

I ended up getting a pretty late start to day 2. After brunch, I started my walk over to the east side of Old San Juan. One thing I forgot that ended up being really unfortunate was sunscreen. It was really hot out there and I did not wear any sunscreen while walking out under the sun for 4-5 hours. Definitely not doing that again. Lesson learned.

My first stop was at the Castillo San Cristobal. This was another castle in Old San Juan similar to the one I saw on Day 1. Just a bit smaller.

Next stop was Playa del Capitolio, where I started my Beach walk for the day:

On my way to Balneario del Escambron, I passed by a really cool abandoned area on the beach.

A few more pictures that I took along the way on my beach walk below. The walk was actually not what I expected at all! The Last stretch along that inclined wall was a bit of a challenge, but I made it.

By the time I made it to the Balneario del Escambron, the sun had already been giving me a beating, so I decided to chill around in the shade and got myself a nice cool drink to enjoy there.

On my way back I took the sidewalk instead of the sand. I didn’t take too many pictures, but here are a few. At this point the heat was pretty extreme, so I decided to stop by a cool bar near the water as I got closer to my hotel.

After a nice drink, I decided to walk over to explore a different area in Old San Juan. Caught this really nice sunset video.

Also Caught a few cool pictures while I was there:

I decided to head back to the hotel and just chill after that. I was pretty exhausted from walking all day in the sun. The place I stayed at had a cool place to chill at the roof.

Day 3:

I decided to pick up my rental on day 3. Got myself a Toyota Corolla. I figured that it would be nice to treat myself to a day at a really nice resort. A few pictures and Videos below of the resort:

I was also able to catch a wonderful Sunset on the beach! Such a relaxing moment.

I waited until after sunset and then I head back home so that I could get an early start to Day 4. It was honestly a great way to spend my birthday!

Day 4:

I decided to take a nice drive around PR on my fourth day. My goal was to stop by and check out a few beaches along the way. Below you can see my trajectory for day 4.

Before my trip started, I grabbed some coffee at the local coffee shop and after that I was ready to go!

My first stop was in a Beach in Vega Baja. This place was awesome! It was a bit cloudy, but the beach was packed, and it was beautiful and warm!

The water was very clean. I was able to capture this cool picture.

After that, I made at stop in Arecibo. A place called La Poza del Obispo. This place was very unique, and the views were awesome!

My next stop was at Aguadilla. I stopped by Crash Boat Beach. It was raining a bit when I got there, but regardless there were many people, and it was a nice vibe.

This seemed like a very popular beach. There were Jet-skiis for rent, Food Trucks with a variety of food, and people jumping off of docks.

After that I drove over to Cabo Rojo, and this was honestly my favorite spot. I stopped a Stopped at Playa Buye. Got some really nice pictures there and had a great time in the sand chilling under the wonderful sky.

For my last stop I drove over to Santa Beach in Guanica. I was able to get there in time to see the beautiful sky change colors throughout sunset.

Day 5:

To start off Day 5 I had another delicious breakfast at the local coffee shop.

Below you can see my trajectory for day 5. Not too many stops, so it was a nice and relaxing day where I could enjoy each stop and not be in a hurry.

For my first stop, I made my way to Luquillo Beach.

After a really chill time at Luquillo beach, I went to find a spot to eat. This place had a great view. I don’t remember what city this was in, but it was about an hour away from Luquillo.

After eating I made my way to my last stop of the day. I ended up spending a few hours here. I only saw 2 other people there and stayed through the sunset.

It was interesting that the sand was partially back.

One of my favorite things about sunsets is how the sky changes colors very gradually. Caught this wonderful pic of the beginning of that wonderful change.

And that was the end of it!

I had a wonderful time in Puerto Rico and I am looking forward to going back to get to know the rest!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Let me know if you have any recommendations for places I soul check out the next time I go. I’m thinking next time I will want to see less beaches and focus more on all the other Natural beauty PR has to offer!