A non-traditional Christmas in Puerto Rico

In this blog:

As I write this, I’ve been in Italy since May 6th. Time flew and I completely forgot to write about the awesome 3-week family vacation we had in Puerto Rico.

During this trip to PR, I decided to explore the town of Isabela and the rest of the northwest side of the island, and one area in the south of the island in the town of Lajas called La Parguera. To start off our trip, I wanted a very touristic weekend in the middle of the most sought-out area in San Juan: El Condado.

A Weekend in El Condado

We stayed at AC Hotel San Juan Condado. The room we had was a basic room with two queen beds. It had a gym, pool, and a really good rooftop bar and restaurant. Isis, Jovan, and I headed to the bar/restaurant as soon as we checked in for drinks and appetizers. Isis is 20, but you can legally drink on the island as soon as you turn 18.

Josiah had already been visiting Tristan since the beginning of December so he was staying with him and helping him with his El Yunque tour, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S National Forest System. All of us got together for dinner at a local restaurant for our first meal together. I wasn’t impressed with the restaurant, and much less with the service. We turned in after dinner to go back to the hotel.

Degetau Restaurant

El Yunque Tour – www.trankitours.com

The next morning I headed to breakfast on the rooftop bar and restaurant of our hotel. It was a really nice buffet with lots of choices, very American. This breakfast wasn’t included with the room. It was a separate charge of around $21 or $24 per person.

Rooftop Bar and Restaurant AC Hotel San Juan Condado

We didn’t spend our Saturday at the beach as you think we should have being that we stayed right by it. Tristan, as the natural-born tour guide he is, picked us up and took us to the river over an hour away. We spent time around mountains instead of the ocean. I always have a hard time choosing between mountains or ocean. The best times are when you don’t have to choose between the two but this wasn’t the case this time.

When I started planning this trip, I knew this might be the last holiday season for a while that we spend all together and I wanted it to be memorable. My lease would end April 2024 and I knew I wanted to get out of Florida as soon as Jovan announced wanting to return to homeschooling. I would no longer be tied to a location again, the way I like.

Josiah was graduating in March and, at 22, would start working on his career and his independence. Isis had the option to travel with me since she was taking a hiatus from college. Jovan was only turning 17 in April and he was going to finish the semester attending public school and would be homeschooling as a Junior in high school. He would go with me wherever I went.

This Saturday was spent at “El Hippie” in Naguabo, the south of El Yunque. We climbed rocks and jumped into the river. The boys rock climbed while Isis, an iguana, and I watched them. We swam, climbed, and messed around under the sun.

El Hippie, Naguabo

It was a beautiful sunny day out as it normally is in Puerto Rico, even during the holidays. We got back to the hotel to go out to dinner. Tristan picked a really nice restaurant called Que Mamey. The drinks and the food were amazing, but in our experience the service was lacking. Despite that, we had a really nice dinner. The place was beautifully decorated, it’s in a great location, and the food was good. However, I just found out that this place is no longer in business.

The Rental Car Insurance and Toll Program Scam (not just in Puerto Rico)

Back in San Juan after checking out of the hotel, I rented a car at NU Car Rental.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

It was last minute and all the car rental offices had closed at 5pm, so I was forced to go with a different company that was not based in the US. To me it seemed local, but still seemed to be run elsewhere. Turns out it was foreign and I didn’t catch on to the fact (because I was booking last minute for that day). So, it made me pay a $1K deposit through the site as opposed to when you reserve with American companies and reserve now, pay at the location. I was in such a hurry to get a car and was looking at such a limited supply that I just booked it in a hurry. As a traveler, I really kick myself when I do this and don’t check the reviews.

When I got there, he wanted me to pay more than I had paid on the website, plus insurance, which is insane in Puerto Rico. Major stress kicked in. Refunds will be partial, if any, and I would lose a ton of my money if I left and rented elsewhere like I wanted to.

The last time I visited Tristan, just a month or so before, I booked through Booking with pick up at the airport. Much better experience! I will stick to Booking next time! So far, they have not let me down. I had also just booked a rental car with them in California just a few months before during my trip in September.

I was there for over 3 hours. The guy moved on to his sales tactics of selling me on the “toll program” that would cover all tolls. I’ve learned my lesson by telling them, “No thanks, I’ll pay for them as I go.” He made it sound mandatory and I just said fine, so they made another $200 off me. This is what happens when you’re under stress. He went on to say I still needed tires and rim insurance because my insurance wouldn’t cover that! That’s when it became apparent I had fallen for the toll scam but I wouldn’t fall for the tire & rim one! Be aware of scammers, especially as a solo traveler. I took tons of pictures of the car to keep documentation even though they were doing the same and documenting it in an app.

I picked everybody up and headed off to the loft I had booked in Isabela with my three kids in tow. This was a memorable moment that took me back in time. My entire last 28 years have consisted of doing things with a full car and all the “kids in tow.” The last 6 years have included our two dogs as well. This trip, we got a pet sitter back in Florida through Rover to take care of them while we are away.

Christmas Day in Isabela & the Northwest Area

We loaded the small car to the top with our huge suitcases. The drive from San Juan to Isabella is 1 ½ hours. I rented a beautiful loft through AirBnB for 14 days. It was 2 bedrooms and so beautiful. Very, very spacious for all of us.

Entire loft in Isabela, Puerto Rico

I didn’t plan anything in particular except to visit as many beaches as possible. As is usually the case for most of my trips, I improvised as I went. On one of the days, we rented scooters from Ride PR to ride on Paseo Tablado, do a rest stop at Montones beach, and turn around at El Pozo de Jacinto. The trip was made better by Tristan finding places for us to go. I didn’t need to plan because my son is an explorer just like me.

Christmas Day was spent at Gozalandia, a waterfall in San Sebastian.

Gozalandia, San Sebastian

I loved that this was the 2nd time having a non-traditional Christmas. The last one was in 2022 when Jovan, my sister, my nieces, and I spent it in Brazil. To me, as long as you’re with your family, it doesn’t matter where you spend it. My culture (Puerto Rico) is very into traditions and I’m not an extremely traditional person. Once I left the island at 12 years old, the first holiday my mom stopped celebrating was Three Kinds Day celebrated on January 6th where kids would get a second set of presents. Any reason to celebrate, Puerto Ricans take it! We love to dance and party and spend time with extended family.