January 30, 2025 • 44 mins
Watch this before visiting Puerto Rico. Travel Lemming local creator Vanessa Ramos walks us through everything you need to know to plan the perfect Puerto Rico vacation. Vanessa tells us her essential places to go, things to do, travel tips + hidden gems you don’t want to miss.
This episode also includes the most turbulent flights of 2024, an Isochronic map from 1881, and how to practice yoga while traveling.
📰 Articles from Travel Lemming.com
-All Puerto Rico travel guides: https://travellemming.com/puerto-rico/
-Things to do: https://travellemming.com/things-to-do-in-puerto-rico/
-Safety: https://travellemming.com/is-puerto-rico-safe/
-Places to visit: https://travellemming.com/places-to-visit-in-puerto-rico/
-Bio Bays: https://travellemming.com/bioluminescent-bays-in-puerto-rico/
-Hurricane season: https://travellemming.com/hurricane-season-in-puerto-rico/
-When to visit: https://travellemming.com/best-time-to-visit-puerto-rico/
-On a budget: https://travellemming.com/puerto-rico-on-a-budget/
💻 Perspectives from TravelLemming.com
-Yoga tips for travel: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/yoga-travel-tips/
-Puerto Rico tourist guide studies: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/studying-to-be-a-tourist-guide-and-appreciating-puerto-rico/
-What Puerto Rico’s tourism industry could learn from Peru: https://travellemming.com/perspectives/puerto-rico-tourism-industry-should-learn-from-peru/
🎙️ Other Links Mentioned:
-Puerto Rico ebook: https://travellemming.com/product/puerto-rico-a-locals-travel-guide/
-San Juan community meetups: https://www.meetup.com/travel-lemming-san-juan/
-1881 Isochronic map: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Isochronic_Passage_Chart_Francis_Galton_1881.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
-The most turbulent flight routes of 2024: https://www.travelandleisure.com/most-turbulent-flight-routes-2024-8771077
#PuertoRico #CaribbeanTravel #SanJuanPuertoRico
Segment Timestamps
00:00:00 – Preview
00:00:59 – Introduction
00:03:49 – Meet Vanessa
00:05:22 – Tour Guide Studies
00:08:13 – Why Puerto Rico?
00:09:50 – Who should go?
00:10:20 – Best time to visit
00:13:22 – Places to visit
00:20:06 – Top Experiences
00:25:17 – Hidden Gems
00:26:54 –
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
If you're planning a trip to PuertoRico, this episode is for you.
, If you want to avoid a month, let it be September.
But honestly, you might save alot of money if you come then.
like literally lights up.
I mean it looks like a scene out ofAvatar when you kind of touch it.
there is a tank, literally,tank in the beach.
So you can take photos with it.
You can climb.
There's two actually.
(00:21):
You could be coming to PuertoRico 20 times and each time you'll
find a different experience.
Where are the essential places, to visit
the essential places, the places thatyou can't miss in Puerto Rico are
I sat down for a really interestinginterview with Vanessa, who is
Travel Lemming's Puerto Rico expert.
We go through basically everythingyou need to know in order to
(00:43):
plan a trip to Puerto Rico.
We talk about where to stay, thedifferent places to go, whether you
should rent a car, we talk aboutsafety, what time of year to visit.
How to visit during the hurricaneseason and some of her favorite hidden
gems It really if puerto rico has beenon your bucket list You're going to
want to listen to this episode becausewe've got so much information in
here Vanessa really is an incredibleexpert on all things puerto rico.
(01:07):
, and i'm really excited For this interview,but you're going to also want to stick
around afterwards when Betty and Iare going to go over our what's new
in travel segments, and we're going toshare some of our favorite travel lemming
perspectives, including, how long doyou think it took in 1881 to travel from
London to wherever you live in the world?
Well, if you stick around, we'vegot a map that is going to help
(01:27):
you figure out exactly how longthat was and show just how travel
has changed in the last 150 years.
We'll also talk about the mostturbulent flight routes of 2024 and
how to travel if you practice yoga.
But first, let me introducemy co host, Betty.
Betty, how are you doing today?
Hi, Nate.
I'm doing great today.
I'm actually getting ready tomove from Phoenix to Los Angeles
(01:49):
in just a couple of weeks.
So been super busy with that,but I'm super excited to hear
your interview with Vanessa.
I've been planning to visit PuertoRico for so long, and I'm actually
going to do it this year with friends.
So super stoked to hear everything thatyou guys discussed in that interview.
And I'd love to hear a little bitmore about it from you right now.
Yeah, I mean, I think you'regoing to Puerto Rico, like, this
(02:10):
is going to be a great interview.
Vanessa I think all of travel lemmingswriters really know her stuff, but
Vanessa takes it to the next level.
She is quite literally studying to becomea licensed tour guide in Puerto Rico.
They have a certification process.
It's quite difficult tobecome tour guide there.
And about a year ago, she told me thatshe wanted to embark on that journey.
(02:31):
And so.
You know, we've sent her toschool, to go through this process.
She's getting close to getting done.
And she talks a bit about thatprocess is quite intense.
They have to go through all thesedifferent exams, including like
in the field exams, they have tolearn about Puerto Rico history.
Vanessa's a prettyincredible, travel, expert.
And so there's just like somuch interesting stuff in here.
(02:52):
I think this interview is one thatyou're going to really want to listen
to at least once or twice beforeyou plan a trip to Puerto Rico.
So let's go ahead and dive intothat interview with Vanessa and
remember to stick around afterwardsbecause we've got some really
interesting stories to share with you.
I'm telling you this map,you're going to want to see it.
It's really interesting,but here's Vanessa.
Okay, so our guest fortoday is Vanessa Ramos.
(03:13):
Vanessa is Travel Lemming'sPuerto Rico expert.
She lives just outside of San Juan.
She's got hundreds of guidesto all different aspects of
planning a trip to Puerto Rico.
really excited to haveyou here today, Vanessa.
How are you doing?
I'm good, and you Nate, how are you?
Oh, I'm all right.
I'm so thrilled to talk to you aboutPuerto Rico because I know for about
the better part of the last year, you'vebeen studying To, become certified
(03:37):
as a tour guide in Puerto Rico.
So you've been learning all aboutthe island, all about tourism there.
And of course you've got so many guides.
I think our Puerto Rico section is ourmost in depth section on travel lemming.
So really excited to hear aboutall of your knowledge today.
For the listeners at home, who maybehaven't met you before, maybe give us
a brief introduction about yourself.
So, you already mentioned my name.
(03:58):
I'm Vanessa.
I'm a local to Puerto Rico.
I've been working to travel, Imean, like, for three years now,
writing travel guides for peoplethat want to come to Puerto Rico,
want to learn more about Puerto Rico.
And, yes, for the last sevenmonths, I've been studying to become
a And honestly, even as a local,I've gained so much knowledge.
(04:21):
I've gained a group of peoplethat loves Puerto Rico like I do.
And I've been visiting so manyplaces and I can see them.
With different eyes and I hopeto help you look at Puerto Rico
that way and help you love PuertoRico as much as I do as a local.
Very cool.
, so I just, before we dive in, I wantto talk briefly about, you've got
(04:41):
a couple perspective articles upon travel, I mean, that talk about
your studies, for this program.
As I understand it, Puerto Rico is oneof only a handful of places that really
has a very strict certification processfor tour guides where they have to kind
of go through all of this in order to beable, to work in the tourism industry.
And about a year ago at yourprompting, you sort of decided
(05:01):
you wanted to take this on.
Why did you do it and what is thatprocess like and what have you learned?
So I decided to become certified becauseI was already working for Travel and
Living for three years and I was wonderingwhat would the next step be and in my
professional life regarding Puerto Rico,regarding writing about Puerto Rico,
(05:22):
guiding people through Puerto Rico.
And I thought that was a verylogical step to get certified.
Tell us a bit about that.
What does that look like?
What do you have to do to be certified?
To be certified as a tour guidein Puerto Rico, you have to
take seven months of classes.
From Monday to Thursday, youhave to make practice hours, and
(05:46):
take excursions and do excursionseven before getting certified.
And you also have to take anoral exam and a reading exam.
So, it's bit complicated, but it'sa process that actually pays off.
Makes the best out of you as a tour guide.
So you're actually going out there,you're visiting sites in Puerto Rico,
and then there's some kind of testthat's about like history and making
(06:06):
sure that you, you know, all your stuff.
Yes.
It's like any doctor or lawyer would do.
We have to take a test to makesure like we know our history and
we know our geography and we knowwhat we're talking about when we
get out there to the real world.
Very cool.
Well, I mean, you definitelyknow what you're talking about.
And super cool that you'regoing through that process.
So Vanessa is your expert folks.
(06:28):
If you want to plan a tripto Puerto Rico, I mean, she's
literally studying this stuff.
And of course, she's out there every dayvisiting places and building these guides.
So let's go ahead and dive in and talk.
about Puerto Rico.
So here's what I have planned forthis interview for the listeners.
, let's talk first about the why.
Like, why go to Puerto Rico?
Then we'll kind of talkabout who should go.
And then after that, we'll get intothe nitty gritty of where do you go?
(06:51):
What are the sort of bestexperiences to build a trip around?
, I'll maybe ask you, Vanessa, tohelp us build out sort of a sample
itinerary that people might follow.
And then we'll go through all those sortof basic trip planning questions around
when to visit, safety, budgeting, how tosave money, and just some general tips.
So that's kind of an outlineof what we've got planned.
(07:12):
So we'll try to cover all those bases.
It's a lot to move through,but let's just back up from a
30, 000 foot level, Vanessa.
Okay.
Puerto Rico is an interestingdestination, it's an island
territory of the United States.
You can go there without a passport,which makes it attractive to a lot of
Americans who don't have a passport,but it still has a very distinct
culture and a lot going for it.
(07:34):
I visited before and I loved it a lot.
I actually went after I studied forthe bar, you're talking about exams
earlier, I did a big trip for like amonth through there as part of my bar
trip after, I studied to become a lawyer.
And so I have great memories becauseit was so great to just, like,
relax on the beaches of Viequesafter, after having done that.
But for people out there who areplanning a trip, what do you think
are the main, the main reasons to pickPuerto Rico as your destination to go?
(07:58):
So Nate, you mentioned if you're inthe United States, Puerto Rico, it's
incredibly, incredibly accessible.
It's easy to access.
You don't need a passport.
You just buy a ticket.
It could be for this weekend.
Buy a ticket and you can get here.
There is no complications to coming here.
But what makes Puerto Ricospecial, it's a combination of
(08:18):
history, culture and outdoors.
And regardless of your taste, you arebound to find something to do here.
When it comes to outdoors, PuertoRico has over a thousand beaches.
It has, the only rainforestin the U. S. forest system.
It has a multiple reserves.
It has a mountainous range.
(08:41):
So Puerto Rico has a lot of outdoors,rivers, beaches that you can enjoy.
And most of the time for free.
When it comes to history and culture,if you're not too outdoorsy, Puerto
Rico has, one of the oldest andbest preserved Spanish colonial
cities in the American continent.
(09:01):
So, even if you don't want to go farfrom the Capitol, you can stay in Old
San Juan and enjoy historical buildings,enjoy museums, and enjoy a lot of the
culture that takes place in San Juan.
So even if you want to make a tripand you don't want to rent a car or
(09:21):
go out of the capital city, you'llbe enjoying your stay in Puerto Rico.
Very cool.
So, what type of traveler inparticular do you think should
book a trip to Puerto Rico?
So, either if you're a historicalentusiast, or if you're a Beach lover,
Puerto Rico is your destination.
If you're into hiking, camping, PuertoRico has lots of great places for this.
(09:48):
Whether you're a solo traveleror you're traveling with a family
group, Puerto Rico, it's alsoa good destination for you.
Very cool.
Okay, so now if I'm thinking aboutvisiting, what time of year is
typically, I think we're, rightnow we're recording this in January.
This is, I think, roughlyabout the start of high season.
Is that right?
So it's a high season for the U. S.travelers and people who come from
(10:16):
cold weathers, who are seeking warmth,that escape from the cold weather.
a high season for Puerto Rico.
Tourists specifically from theUnited States, but the high season
for locals is actually summer
Oh, that's interesting.
So locals are out of school, they're out,and so they're out traveling internally
to Puerto Rico during the summer monthswhen it's, presumably pretty hot in the
(10:36):
Caribbean in the summer, but then in thewinter you get a lot of the, tourists
coming from mainland United States and
funny because for us locals this timeof the year the beaches are kind of
cold so you wouldn't see many localsactually swimming in the beaches
because we consider them cold andalso the tides are aggressive or
(10:57):
higher so we kind of wait until mayjune to actually go to the beaches You
But the tourists are swimming right now.
Oh, yes, yes.
And, you'll find locals,but not as many as in summer.
If you're living in New York city,it's probably a nice tropical
retreat, but that makes sense to me.
Okay.
So a lot of people visit betweenwhat's like January to March is
(11:18):
big spring break destination.
But when would you say, somebodyshould plan a trip or are there any
particular months that they shoulddefinitely go or that they should avoid?
So if you're planning a trip to PuertoRico, come during December and January
to catch the holidays and festivals likela fiesta de la calle San Sebastian.
If you want warm weather andlower tides, come in summer.
(11:41):
If you want to come, duringthe time that's everything
cheap, come on September.
This is sadly the hurricaneseason, but Puerto Rico doesn't
have hurricanes all year.
So it's a matter of justkeeping an eye on the weather.
So, I'd say that's thebest time to save money.
So is there any month when youwould say don't come to Puerto Rico?
(12:01):
Puerto Rico, it's an all year destination.
Like, you can come to Puerto Ricoany month of the year, and there's
something to do, there's festivalsto catch, and it's warm all year.
So, yeah, you can comeany time of the year.
And if you are visiting during hurricaneseason, as Vanessa says, you need to plan,
but Vanessa's got a whole guide to PuertoRico in the hurricane season on travel.
(12:22):
So if you're visiting, that's whatroughly from end of July through beginning
of October or something like that.
Yes, the hurricane season in PuertoRico goes from late June to November.
With the peak season being inSeptember, September, October.
But, as I said, Puerto Rico doesn't,receive hurricanes all years.
(12:44):
It's just something thathappens every now and then.
And you could savemoney if you just do it.
Keep an eye on the weather.
If you want to avoid amonth, let it be September.
But honestly, you might save alot of money if you come then.
So the best time to go toPuerto Rico is whenever you can.
Well let's talk about how to plan a trip.
So Puerto Rico has got onebig main island, a couple
(13:05):
smaller islands off the coast.
Where are the essential places, to visitand where kind of the places that people
should go and should think about basingthemselves as they plan out a trip.
So, the essential places, the placesthat you can't miss in Puerto Rico are
Old San Juan, Ponce, Piñones, and Vieques.
You should try to fitthose in your itinerary.
(13:27):
Old San Juan, It's a colonial city.
It's Spanish colonial city.
It has 500 years of history.
It has, some of the besthotels in Puerto Rico.
So it's a great place to settle.
It's, , uh, pedestrian friendly area.
So if you don't want torent a car it's great.
And it has lots of museums and restaurant.
It's also one of the best placeswith, nightlife in Puerto Rico.
(13:50):
So yeah, it's a great destination.
Ponce is very similar to San Juan.
It's a historical city, it has museumstoo, it has beaches, and it has one
of the few Taino archaeological sitesavailable to the public in Puerto Rico.
It's very famous.
Piñones is a place to go ifyou want to eat local fritters,
(14:13):
mofongo, alcapurrias, bacalaitos.
If you want to hang out by thebeach, if you want to surf or
bike, Piñones is your destination.
It's very popular,especially during the summer.
during the weekends.
And Vieques.
Why Vieques?
Vieques is considered to have someof the best species in Puerto Rico.
They have high versatility, greatcoral reefs, and also what's considered
(14:36):
the brightest bio bay in the world.
It has a secluded vibe.
It's great to slow down.
Very different to
Outdoor lovers should definitelyinclude it in their itinerary.
And Vieques, for listeners, is asmaller island off the, I think,
eastern coast of Puerto Rico.
So I've been there.
I went there as part of my trip.
(14:57):
And that bio bay is like super cool.
I think there's severalbio bays in Puerto Rico.
Vanessa's got a guide tothis on Travel Lemming.
But You go in a boat and the water,because of a plankton or something
inside of it, like literally lights up.
I mean it looks like a scene out ofAvatar when you kind of touch it.
And it does depend a bit upon whatthe natural conditions are as to
which day you go and all sorts ofthings as to how bright it is, but
(15:21):
it was quite bright when I saw it.
You could like drag your hand throughthe water and you would get this sort
of like blue aura tracing behind you.
I think, Still years later, likeit's one of the most memorable
travel experiences I ever have.
So I think absolutely worthtaking the ferry and going
over to Vieques just for that.
Very cool.
Yes.
Vieques, it's a bit of a hassle to getthere, but as you said, it's worth it.
(15:44):
Either by plane or by ferry,just take a day or two.
And I should mention that youshould also add El Junque to your
essentials, like the rainforest.
It's the only tropical rainforestin the U. S. And it's It has
waterfalls, hiking trails, landmarks.
So it's a place that if you love hikingat El Yunque, it is the place for you.
(16:07):
Yeah.
And El Yunque is, you can do it asa day trip from San Juan, or how
would you recommend people visit?
So if you're short on time, a daytrip from San Juan will be enough.
Like, you can see the main attractionsin El Yunque and that would be enough.
If you're really into hiking, justtake a few days to stay in Rio Grande.
(16:28):
where the main access to El Yunque is.
There's lots of great hotels there,including some of the most luxurious
hotels in Puerto Rico, and you canstay there and just plan to cover the
different hiking routes and the differentplaces that El Yunque has to offer.
Very cool.
So you're saying maybe base yourselfin San Juan, spend a few days
in Vieques, maybe a few days in,in Ponce and then visit Pignones
(16:51):
along the way and also El Yonque.
Is that, that right?
And then, what other destinations?
Let's say if I have more time thanthat, what are some other ones
that I might be interested in?
you have more time, add Culebra to yourlist, especially if you're a beach lover.
And that's another island?
Yes, Vieques and Culebraare both islands, outside the
(17:12):
east coast of Puerto Rico.
You can get there eitherby ferry or by plane.
So, it's a bit of a hassle, buttotally worth it, and it's great
for beach lovers and to slow down.
So, you should add Culebra to your list.
Especially Flamenco Beach,which is considered one of the
top 10 beaches in the world.
And besides that,
(17:34):
has that tank on it?
There's like a tank washed up
yes, yes, because it seems incredible,but the area was actually used as
a bombing range, for the Marines.
So there is a tank,literally, tank in the beach.
So you can take photos with it.
You can climb.
There's two actually.
The second one, it's not aseasy to spot from the beach.
(17:55):
You kind of have to hike to, tothe coast, but it's there too.
There's two of them.
Really interesting.
Okay, so where else?
So besides Culebra, Cueva del Indio andArecibo, it's, beachfront rocky shelter,
or a cave if you want to call it, andit has, lots of Taino petroglyphs.
And getting there, it's a combinationof an outdoor experience and a
(18:17):
historical experience because youkind of have to, , hike, over the
coastal rocks and later you have todescend into the cave through a hole.
It's a whole adventure, but it'sreally impressive to watch the
carvings in the wall, along with thesunlight getting through the cave.
If you are a historicallover, you should try it.
(18:38):
really add that to your itinerary.
Besides that, Fajardo, Cabezas de SanJuan in Fajardo, which also has a bio bay.
It's actually a lagoon, buteveryone's call it a bay.
It has seven seas beach.
One of the top beaches in Puerto Rico.
Besides that, Toro Verde AdventurePark, which has the second
longest zip line in the world.
(18:58):
Juanica Dry Forest, which isthe counterpart of El Yunque.
Luquillo, the beaches in Luquilloare great and the food is too.
Especially in the Luquillo foodkiosk and Casa Bacardi, if you're
looking for rum experiences to see,the distilleries in Puerto Rico.
And I'd say Las Cavernasde Camuy, the cave park.
(19:20):
It's actually one of the mostimpressive sites in Puerto Rico, too.
So there's a lot, there's alot to see if, if you want to
There's a lot.
of activities.
No, there's a lot.
I can not possibly cover everything,here, but I got lots of guides that
you can read and depending on yourtaste, you can choose where to go
(19:41):
Okay.
So let's go about sort of the tripplanning process a different way.
We talked about kind of the main placesthat you might build a trip around.
Some travelers like to buildtheir trips around experiences.
What are sort of the big thingsthat somebody might try to center
their trip to Puerto Rico in termsof experiences or what are the
best things to do in Puerto Rico?
(20:02):
If we were to sum up Puerto Ricoin experiences, I'd say food, it's
one of the most important parts.
And Puerto Rico actuallyhas four gastronomic routes.
One of them, and I'd say the most famousone is known as Pork Highway in Guavate.
That's a place to go to eat roastedpork, Lechona as we call it.
(20:23):
that pork highway?
Just like sort of set the scenefor what that, looks like for the
it's a gastronomic route, whichbasically means it's a road, which
is lined side by side by restaurants.
It goes through from, through Calle.
And you'll find lots ofrestaurants known as lechoneras.
Lechoneras are restaurants thatare specialized in roasted pork.
(20:48):
So you go there to have pork.
what I'd say the mosttraditional Puerto Rican food.
Besides roasted pork, you'llfind rice, you'll find beans,
you'll find lots of things thatPuerto Rican love in their food.
So it's a gastronomic route.
You go restaurant hopping totry everything there is to
try in Puerto Rican cuisine.
(21:09):
You said it's one of four.
Yes, puerto Rico actually has moreThen a port highway, the one in
Guavate is the most famous one, butthere is other in Trujillo, which is
kind of closer, but people prefer theone in Calle because , you can go to
waterfalls there and also a few spotsthat you can take great pictures.
(21:31):
Besides that, there's also a routein known as La Ruta de la Longaniza,
which goes through, Orocovis and,Longaniza, it's a type of sausage.
So there's also a festival with that.
So eating food, it's one of theexperiences to, have in Puerto Rico,
whether it's in the mountainous range inSan Juan, going to Pinones, eating food,
(21:52):
it's part of traveling to Puerto Rico.
And pinones is a beach sort of town.
And there's like food vendors alongthe beach or something like that.
Yes.
Pinones, it's, a Loizathat's a beachfront area and
it has lots of food kiosks.
It's very, don't expect any luxury here,but it's one of the best places to eat.
(22:14):
authentic local food, everything frommofongo to alcapurrias you can find in
piñones and also the seafood in thisarea it's also great it's fresh and
has one of the best taste in puertorico it's this one is actually very
near san juan so it takes maybe a 20minute ride from san juan to get here
(22:35):
so even if you're here on a weekendyou can visit piñones to try local food
Very cool.
so if you're a foodie, you're set withbetween pinones and the gastronomic
routes, what are some other experientialreasons or things to do in Puerto Rico
that you might build a trip around?
Besides the food, I say dancing.
It's another thing that it's verycharacteristic of Puerto Rico.
(22:56):
And I say if you're visiting,take a salsa or a bomba class.
Salsa, well, many people know Salsa andPuerto Ricans love it . You can take a
class or you can go to a place known asla, which is a local hotspot, there
you can just learn from locals andyou don't necessarily have to pay you.
(23:17):
Grab a partner and they'll teach you.
Bomba class, Bomba, it'smore, Puerto Rican folklore.
So, it's a bit harder to learn,but it's a very traditional dance.
It's a very cultural dance and somethingthat Puerto Ricans are really proud of.
So, either take classes of either thetwo or the two if you're into dancing.
(23:37):
Besides dancing, Puerto Ricois very famous for its beaches.
if you love, , the beach, you can eithergo snorkeling or diving in Puerto Rico.
Here you can snorkel with, turtles,and you can dive with sharks too.
So the coast in Puerto Rico offers a lotto do, and it's an experience itself.
Even if you're not getting into thewater experiences, Puerto Rico's beaches,
(24:00):
it's one of the things you need to do.
Surfing.
It's very popular on the West coast.
Or going island hopping PuertoRico, it's an archipelago,
so you can go island hopping.
Many experiences in PuertoRico, are around the beaches.
So you can get out on the water, you canbuild a trip around food, you can build it
around history, and you mentioned outdoorsis one of the main reasons as well.
(24:22):
We've talked about a rainforest andhiking and mountains, so it really
seems like there's a lot of differenttrips that you could have to Puerto Rico.
Is that
definitely.
You could be coming to PuertoRico 20 times and each time you'll
find a different experience.
Each time you can have a differenttrip, depending if you're looking
(24:43):
for outdoors, if you're lookingfor adrenaline, if you're looking
for cultural experiences, museums.
Each time you'll finda different experience.
okay?
So we've covered the sortof essential Puerto Rico.
trip.
Now I want to ask you a bit about anyof your sort of personal favorites or
any hidden gems that maybe are lesserknown, but you in particular, like,
(25:06):
So hidden gems, it's really achallenge today to have any of
those because of social media.
But there's a few spots thatI've come to like, and when I
visit them, they're not crowded.
It's very local.
I'd say one of my most preferredspots, it's, Guayane in Manatee.
It's a spring, cold spring.
And you have to hike about 10 minutesto get there and getting down to it.
(25:31):
It's It's a rough, but the experienceyou're surrounded by trees, et cetera.
silent, it's a whole differentexperience, very relaxing, it's free,
and if you go during the day, earlymorning, you'll often find it empty.
It's one of my favorite spots, I'vebeen there maybe three, four times
(25:51):
already, and it's very near San Juan,it's about 30 minutes from San Juan.
cool.
So what are some other, any otherhidden gems that people might look into?
yes, Punta Guaniquilla inCabo Rojo, it's a reserve.
Finca Iguaca, also inCabo Rojo for camping.
La Soplaera in Peñuelas,which is a waterfall.
(26:12):
And Punta Ballenas Reserve in Guanica.
Cuelva del Arco in Utuado, and HaciendaLa Esperanza in Manatí, their reserve.
Ah, very cool.
Well, you've got lots of optionsfor where to go in Puerto Rico.
Vanessa has given you plenty ofideas to how to build a trip.
Now let's.
talk a bit about those the nittygritty of trip planning questions.
(26:32):
So okay, I've decided to go toPuerto Rico, I've kind of a vague
sense of where the places are.
Now, some questions people are likelyto have are how long do they need to
kind of have a trip to Puerto Rico?
You can take anything from threedays to ten days in Puerto Rico.
A weekend trip, it's enough to coverSan Juan and Oyunque, but I recommend
(26:55):
staying about ten days in Puerto Rico.
Okay, so you got 10 days.
So that fits nice, you takea week off work, and you got
the weekends before and after.
How would you structure, what would yousay, obviously there are many ways to
do this, but what would you say is likean ideal itinerary for that time frame?
So I'd say spend about two daysin San Juan, in Old San Juan,
(27:16):
covering also Condado and Santurce.
which that would take about two days.
I'd say to include Arecibo,Isabela and Aguadilla.
In Arecibo itself, you couldspend a whole day or two days.
On the west coast, cover,Rincon and Cabo Rojo.
And that should take about a day,two days, to the south coast.
(27:38):
Don't miss out on Bajas,Guanica and Fonse.
and you can spend about two, threedays in Culebra, Vieques and Fajardo.
Definitely a day in RioGrande and Luquillo.
So it's a lot to cover, and of courseyou got to plan for those ferries
to get out to the other islands.
In terms of how to do all that, Is thisthe sort of place where you should rent
(27:59):
a car or how else can you get around?
The main way to get around in Puerto Rico.
It's by renting a car.
There's taxes available, but the feesfor taking you, to other towns outside
San Juan, it's pretty expensive.
So if you're on a mid rangeor budget, traveling to Puerto
(28:19):
Rico, it's better to rent a car.
It's more efficient that way.
And also gives you more flexibility.
There's virtually.
No public transportation outsideSan Juan in the metro region,
the cities around San Juan.
So for readers who, are from the UShave maybe never, you know, are, are
used to, to driving, in the US and aremaybe nervous about driving in Puerto
(28:43):
Rico, what can you say, to them,to get them potentially comfortable
with the idea of renting a car?
So, driving in Puerto Rico is verysimilar to driving in the United States.
The same signs, the same traffic system.
So if you're nervous about drivingin Puerto Rico, but still want that
flexibility, I say to keep to the coast,avoid the mountainous range entirely,
(29:09):
where it could be a bit more challengingto drive and stick to the coastal towns
where it's mostly highways and it'seasy to move around, but, it's not as
complicated as many people might think.
It's very similar to the United States.
And about how long does it taketo drive the, the main island
(29:30):
from one end to the other?
in theory it's possible, at least,let's say, from west to east, but
you can't actually cover the islandentirely without, like, stopping.
It's not a realistic, , goal whencoming to Puerto Rico to cover the
island in a day, , we're not that small.
(29:50):
So I'd say if you can coverthe North coast, maybe.
Without stopping about six hours.
Just to give folks abit of a sense of scale.
Okay, very interesting.
Let's talk about budget.
If someone's planning a tripto Puerto Rico, what should
they expect in terms of costs?
So if you're planning a trip toPuerto Rico, you should know Puerto
(30:12):
Rico, it's not as budget friendly asother destinations in Latin America.
It's really not.
It's more similar to the UnitedStates in its prices and its, hotel
prices and restaurants prices.
So if you're coming to Puerto Rico,you should budget as if you're
traveling to the United States.
If you're a couple in a midrange visiting Puerto Rico, you
(30:34):
could expect to pay almost 2,000 for a week, during your stay.
You could pay even more depending on whatyou're doing and where you're staying.
Bye.
Luxury travelers will pay a lotmore because luxury hotels can
go up to 900 a night, so you canexpect for a week over 8, 000.
(30:54):
Very interesting.
Any tips for folks to make it a little bitmore budget friendly on how to save money?
Yes, if you're on a budget and you'rereally committed to it, you can do
Puerto Rico, in maybe, 800 a week,but it would take some dedication.
Puerto Rico has a lot of free attractions.
you could go couch surfingor stay at a hostels.
(31:16):
We got plenty of those in Old San Juan.
You could stay in, anapartment rental to do.
Do meal prep and avoid in and out.
Also bring your own water bottle.
Puerto Rico has potable water, so youcan bring your own water bottle and
reuse that instead of buying water bottle
.Another common question people have is around safety.
(31:38):
So, is Puerto Rico safefor folks to visit?
Puerto Rico is safe.
It's a place that you cancome as a solo traveler.
You can come as a woman solotraveler, as a family, as a couple,
you can come to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico, it's safe.
There is a few things you needto think about when coming to
(31:58):
Puerto Rico, but these are things
you would do in any other country,like not walking alone at night.
Not going into placesthat might seem sketchy.
Maybe not leaving stuff in your carand your rental car, not leaving your
bags in your rental car and keep yourbelongings with you at all times.
Do not leave belongings and tablesat the beach, without supervision.
(32:22):
It's.
Stuff that you would doin any other country.
But besides that, Puerto Rico,it's completely safe for tourists.
And what about language?
So, can you get by if youdon't know any Spanish?
You can get by.
There are many Puerto Ricans thateither speak or understand English.
Specifically in the capital cityand the metropolitan region, which
(32:43):
are the cities around San Juan.
You will find a lot ofpeople that speak English.
But if you're planning to go, into theless touristy towns, into the mountainous
range, I suggest you have a plan.
basic Spanish prepared in case youneed to ask directions or ask for
(33:03):
help, because anything happens.
So basic Spanish isrecommended, but not mandatory.
So if you're going to old San Juanand, you're kind of doing tours and
you're sticking to the main trail,you'll be accommodated in English just
You'll be completely fine.
Yes.
that book that trip to Puerto Rico, folks.
And hopefully we've addressed all yourobjections, but if you have any other
doubts, , leave a comment and Vanessawill be happy to help while we're
(33:27):
coming to the end of the interviewhere, before we wrap up, do you have
any particular tips for folks whoare looking to go to Puerto Rico?
So if you're looking to come to PuertoRico, I would say, depending on the
time of the year, like keep an eye onthe weather for the hurricane season.
Always, watch out forthe ocean conditions.
(33:48):
Many people come to beaches, butthere's sometimes injuries to swimming.
So watch out for ocean conditions.
Ask locals if you're in doubtif it's safe for swimming.
Also, same with the rivers, there's alot of flash floods because it rains a
lot, so people like to just get in theriver whenever they see one, but you
need to keep an eye on the weather, andI'd say just know your basic Spanish and
(34:15):
just be friendly, I'd say you'll be fine
Okay, perfect.
Well, if you're sold, then you'reready to plan a trip to Puerto Rico.
Vanessa has almost 200 guides toalmost every subject in every place
that you can imagine in Puerto Rico.
And if you can't find the informationthat you need in her guides, you can
leave her a comma on any one of thoseguides, or you can go to YouTube for this
(34:35):
podcast and leave her a comment there.
She really has everything you need toplan the perfect trip to Puerto Rico.
Vanessa, thank you somuch for being here today.
Is there anything else that youwant to say before we sign off?
with that.
I think we're good!
If you want to know more, just Justgo to the guides, I answer comments,
on the website, so if you have anydoubt you can leave a comment and I'll
be answering you as soon as I can.
(34:57):
So just, as you said, book thatticket, and you'll be welcome
here in this Caribbean paradise.
All right.
Thank you, Vanessa.
I hope you enjoyed thatinterview with Vanessa.
Before we get into the next segment,I want to briefly tell you about
Vanessa's guide to Puerto Rico.
, in addition to all of the many.
free guides that she has on TravelLemming, which you can find by just
(35:17):
searching Travel Lemming PuertoRico or wherever destination you
want to explore in Puerto Rico.
Vanessa actually has an ebook.
It's available for purchase.
You just search for a local's guideto Puerto Rico or search for the
Travel Lemming Puerto Rico ebook.
And, this is a complete travel guide.
Like she really put a lotof effort into covering.
Everything that you need for the island,and so it's available in a PDF download.
(35:41):
You can add it if you have like ane reader, there's a way that you
can add that to your e reader andit gives you everything that you
want, to travel to Puerto Rico.
Also, if you're planning to travel toPuerto Rico, check our San Juan meetup
calendar because if you're comingthrough San Juan, when we have community
meetups, you can meet Vanessa andsome of our other community members.
In addition to San Juan, wealso have meetups in seven other
(36:03):
cities around North America.
So be sure to check that outand come meet us in person.
And also lastly, I want to say verysoon, , we'll be coming out with itinerary
planning services where Vanessa willactually plan your entire trip for you.
If you really need help for a big specialoccasion, maybe you need a honeymoon
or you're just a family who's reallybusy and wants someone else to help you
(36:23):
plan, that's going to be coming verysoon on the Travel Lemming website.
So again, you know, if you'replanning a trip to Puerto Rico,
search Travel Lemming Puerto Rico.
For all of your trip planning needs.
All right, let's go ahead andjump into our next segment.
So we're bringing back,what's new and travel.
And mine isn't actuallyso much a news story.
It's more something thatwent viral on social media.
(36:45):
So it's a map from 1881.
So not exactly brand new, but it recentlyreally got millions of views across
different social media platforms theRoyal Geographic Society published this
isochronic passage chart for travelers.
And what an isochronic map does, is itshows you the travel time between places.
(37:06):
So usually when you look at a map, you'rekind of thinking about distances, but
because of Water because of mountains,because of geographical barriers,
that's not always representative of howlong it takes to get between places,
particularly in the 1880s, when itreally mattered whether you were close
to like a train line or whether or notyou were close to shipping passage.
And so.
(37:26):
This map could tell you how longit takes to get from London to
different places around the world.
And for viewers on YouTube, we'll goahead and put it up on the screen.
For the listeners at home, it's acolor coded map with these sort of like
concentric circles going out from London.
And everything that's within greenis a place that you can travel
within 10 days from London in 1881.
And so that's mostly Europe and alittle bit of Northern Africa, like
(37:49):
Cairo, the northern part of Morocco.
And a very small bit ofNewfoundland in very eastern Canada.
Then after that, it sort of goes out.
It took about 10 to 20 days to getto most of the eastern seaboard
of the U. S. to get a little bitfurther into the Middle East.
Or you could actually get all the wayto San Francisco in that time because
of the intercontinental railroad.
(38:11):
20 to 30 days, that'll get you throughall of the United States into Mexico.
Starting to get into South America, butyou still, in that time frame, can't get
to East Asia, you can't get to Australia,that's going to take you as much as 30
to 40 days to get to, for example, Japan.
So it's really crazy when you thinkabout it, like how far travel has come.
(38:31):
When I look at this map, it justgives me so much appreciation
for the time that we live in.
Because, you know, today you can bealmost anywhere in about 24 hours,
and at max probably 40 hours or so.
And that's, you know, if you thinkabout what it would have taken to do
some of the journeys that I did lastyear, I mean, I would have spent the
entire year traveling just to go betweenthe places that we went last year.
(38:52):
And, I think it's, what atime to be alive, right?
I don't know.
Betty, what do you, what do you think?
Yeah, it's seriously mind blowing thatit could take up to a month to get
to some of these places that nowadaysyou can get to within 12 hours.
It's really insane.
And this map is really interesting.
I've never seen anything like it before.
So definitely check this out.
If you're not listening tothis episode on YouTube,
(39:15):
Yeah, we'll put a link to the map onour Wikicommons in the show notes.
very cool.
Well, what I've brought to the tabletoday is a, an article that was just
posted by travel and leisure aboutstudies revealing the most turbulent
flight routes of 2024, so I won't listthem all, but here are the top five.
We have Albuquerque to Denver,Denver to Jackson hole, Wyoming.
(39:36):
Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Salt LakeCity, Denver to Salt Lake City,
and Bozeman, Montana to Denver.
So if you're traveling to a comparablelocation soon, here's some background on
why these flights are bumpier than others.
So many of these airports arelocated near large mountain ranges.
For example, Denver's near the RockyMountains, Salt Lake City is near
the Wasatch Mountains, and JacksonHole's right next to the Grand Tetons.
(39:59):
So The reason these are bumpier flightsis because mountains create a complex
air current, and wind shear, which isa change in wind speed or direction.
So as air masses move over themountains, this leads to bumpier flights.
And, there's also different airtemperatures at different altitudes,
which further increases turbulence.
So if you're flying over mountains thisyear, Remember that turbulence is more
(40:21):
likely on these routes, and it's normal.
Just something to keep inmind in case you're not a fan
of those bumps in the air.
Yeah, I mean, I used to live inDenver, for a number of years and
would fly in and out all the time.
And it is definitely one of those airportswhere you never know, what's going to
happen when you're coming in and out.
Really interesting.
Should we go ahead and share a couple ofour favorite travel lemming perspectives?
(40:42):
Yes, of course.
So moving right along to our segment onthe travel lemming perspective pieces.
So these are articles that our talentedteam of local experts have written about
their personal experiences abroad, whichyou can check out at travellemming.
com slash perspectives.
We have new ones comingout every single week.
So my pick for today isClaudia sets article titled my
(41:02):
secrets as a seasoned yogini.
tips for practicing yoga while you travel.
So Claudicet talks about how yogais one of the easier hobbies to
take with you while you travel.
And in fact the very first thing thatshe packs on her trips is her yoga mat.
So in this piece she talksabout investing in yoga gear.
She even lists some of the gear thatshe uses like her yoga mat, as well
(41:25):
as her gym tote bag and the links forthose products are in the article.
She talks about booking accommodationswith yoga in mind, whether that's
having a room that's spacious enoughto roll out your mat and be able to
have a little yoga session in yourhotel room, or just finding a place
that's close to local yoga studios.
She also said you can look into a yogaretreat, which I know is something that's
(41:48):
gotten a lot more popular in recent years.
I haven't personally triedone, but I really liked it.
They sound very relaxing.
It's kind of like a mental reset.
You can also look for a localwellness event near wherever you go.
You can practice yoga in nature.
So yeah, it was a really interestingarticle from Claudicet, she
has some really great tips forbringing this mindful practice
(42:09):
with you wherever you travel.
Interesting.
Well, I, I don't practice yoga, so Idon't have a lot to comment on that.
But my perspective for todayis from Vanessa but it's not
about Puerto Rico directly.
It's actually about a tripthat she recently took to Peru.
So because Vanessa is such amazingwriter, she actually was recently hired
by one of the big guidebook companies.
(42:29):
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say whichone, but she was hired by them to go to
Peru and to help write the next editionof their Peru guide and it's again.
It's one of the companies that you woulddefinitely know and very proud of her for
doing that and she wrote a piece on Comingback on that with some reflections on
What Puerto Rico could learn from what shesaw of Peru's tourism industry because of
(42:50):
course Peru has a very developed Tourismindustry, it's very reliant on tourism
and Vanessa is really becoming a leaderin the tourism space in Puerto Rico.
She's really looked up to locally andI'm really proud of this article, but
it's her, giving some reflections forPuerto Rico, for her local tourism
industry on Puerto Rico can continueto develop, its tourism industry
(43:12):
and what it can learn from Peru.
So she says, for instance, she talks alot about the transportation network,
and that is one challenge in Puerto Ricois that there's not much of a public
transportation network beyond San Juan,as she mentioned earlier in the interview,
it's really ideal to have a rental car,if you're planning to travel around Puerto
Rico, but of course, many people don'twant to drive, and, it would be great if
(43:33):
Puerto Rico could kind of build that out.
She talks about theme tours, whichis something that she learned in
Peru about how they have tours thatcater to particular interests or
maybe follow particular routes.
And we talked a bit about this earlierabout some of the, gastronomical
routes that they have in Puerto Rico,but she has some suggestions for
other potential tour routes there.
And also about how they kind ofpromote their tourism industry.
(43:54):
So look, if you're into the nitty grittyof how the tourism industry works, I
really suggest go checking that out.
And I think it's, it's just incredibleto kind of see Vanessa's leadership for
the Puerto Rico tourism industry there.
Yeah, Vanessa is such an excellentwriter and she's obviously doing big
things for Puerto Rico and travel lumbingand beyond, so make sure you check
out her author page on travel lumbing.
(44:16):
All right, folks.
Well, I think that's all wehave for you in this episode.
Again, if you're planning a tripto Puerto Rico, be sure to Google
travel lemming, Puerto Rico, andyou'll find all of Vanessa's guide.
She's got that ebook.
You can go to her meetup andactually meet her in San Juan.
or very soon we'll be coming out withthose custom itinerary planning services.
And if you'd like Puerto Rico, youprobably also will like Mexico's
(44:37):
Yucatan state, which I think one ofthe biggest hidden gems in Mexico.
We did a whole episode aboutthis a couple months back.
So you can go ahead andcheck that out next.
Thank you so much.
And we'll see you in the next one.
Yes, thank you so much forjoining us and we'll see you soon.
If you're planning a trip to PuertoRico, this episode is for you.
, If you want to avoid a month, let it be September.
But honestly, you might save alot of money if you come then.
like literally lights up.
I mean it looks like a scene out ofAvatar when you kind of touch it.
there is a tank, literally,tank in the beach.
So you can take photos with it.
You can climb.
There's two actually.
(00:21):
You could be coming to PuertoRico 20 times and each time you'll
find a different experience.
Where are the essential places, to visit
the essential places, the places thatyou can't miss in Puerto Rico are
I sat down for a really interestinginterview with Vanessa, who is
Travel Lemming's Puerto Rico expert.
We go through basically everythingyou need to know in order to
(00:43):
plan a trip to Puerto Rico.
We talk about where to stay, thedifferent places to go, whether you
should rent a car, we talk aboutsafety, what time of year to visit.
How to visit during the hurricaneseason and some of her favorite hidden
gems It really if puerto rico has beenon your bucket list You're going to
want to listen to this episode becausewe've got so much information in
here Vanessa really is an incredibleexpert on all things puerto rico.
(01:07):
, and i'm really excited For this interview,but you're going to also want to stick
around afterwards when Betty and Iare going to go over our what's new
in travel segments, and we're going toshare some of our favorite travel lemming
perspectives, including, how long doyou think it took in 1881 to travel from
London to wherever you live in the world?
Well, if you stick around, we'vegot a map that is going to help
(01:27):
you figure out exactly how longthat was and show just how travel
has changed in the last 150 years.
We'll also talk about the mostturbulent flight routes of 2024 and
how to travel if you practice yoga.
But first, let me introducemy co host, Betty.
Betty, how are you doing today?
Hi, Nate.
I'm doing great today.
I'm actually getting ready tomove from Phoenix to Los Angeles
(01:49):
in just a couple of weeks.
So been super busy with that,but I'm super excited to hear
your interview with Vanessa.
I've been planning to visit PuertoRico for so long, and I'm actually
going to do it this year with friends.
So super stoked to hear everything thatyou guys discussed in that interview.
And I'd love to hear a little bitmore about it from you right now.
Yeah, I mean, I think you'regoing to Puerto Rico, like, this
(02:10):
is going to be a great interview.
Vanessa I think all of travel lemmingswriters really know her stuff, but
Vanessa takes it to the next level.
She is quite literally studying to becomea licensed tour guide in Puerto Rico.
They have a certification process.
It's quite difficult tobecome tour guide there.
And about a year ago, she told me thatshe wanted to embark on that journey.
(02:31):
And so.
You know, we've sent her toschool, to go through this process.
She's getting close to getting done.
And she talks a bit about thatprocess is quite intense.
They have to go through all thesedifferent exams, including like
in the field exams, they have tolearn about Puerto Rico history.
Vanessa's a prettyincredible, travel, expert.
And so there's just like somuch interesting stuff in here.
(02:52):
I think this interview is one thatyou're going to really want to listen
to at least once or twice beforeyou plan a trip to Puerto Rico.
So let's go ahead and dive intothat interview with Vanessa and
remember to stick around afterwardsbecause we've got some really
interesting stories to share with you.
I'm telling you this map,you're going to want to see it.
It's really interesting,but here's Vanessa.
Okay, so our guest fortoday is Vanessa Ramos.
(03:13):
Vanessa is Travel Lemming'sPuerto Rico expert.
She lives just outside of San Juan.
She's got hundreds of guidesto all different aspects of
planning a trip to Puerto Rico.
really excited to haveyou here today, Vanessa.
How are you doing?
I'm good, and you Nate, how are you?
Oh, I'm all right.
I'm so thrilled to talk to you aboutPuerto Rico because I know for about
the better part of the last year, you'vebeen studying To, become certified
(03:37):
as a tour guide in Puerto Rico.
So you've been learning all aboutthe island, all about tourism there.
And of course you've got so many guides.
I think our Puerto Rico section is ourmost in depth section on travel lemming.
So really excited to hear aboutall of your knowledge today.
For the listeners at home, who maybehaven't met you before, maybe give us
a brief introduction about yourself.
So, you already mentioned my name.
(03:58):
I'm Vanessa.
I'm a local to Puerto Rico.
I've been working to travel, Imean, like, for three years now,
writing travel guides for peoplethat want to come to Puerto Rico,
want to learn more about Puerto Rico.
And, yes, for the last sevenmonths, I've been studying to become
a And honestly, even as a local,I've gained so much knowledge.
(04:21):
I've gained a group of peoplethat loves Puerto Rico like I do.
And I've been visiting so manyplaces and I can see them.
With different eyes and I hopeto help you look at Puerto Rico
that way and help you love PuertoRico as much as I do as a local.
Very cool.
, so I just, before we dive in, I wantto talk briefly about, you've got
(04:41):
a couple perspective articles upon travel, I mean, that talk about
your studies, for this program.
As I understand it, Puerto Rico is oneof only a handful of places that really
has a very strict certification processfor tour guides where they have to kind
of go through all of this in order to beable, to work in the tourism industry.
And about a year ago at yourprompting, you sort of decided
(05:01):
you wanted to take this on.
Why did you do it and what is thatprocess like and what have you learned?
So I decided to become certified becauseI was already working for Travel and
Living for three years and I was wonderingwhat would the next step be and in my
professional life regarding Puerto Rico,regarding writing about Puerto Rico,
(05:22):
guiding people through Puerto Rico.
And I thought that was a verylogical step to get certified.
Tell us a bit about that.
What does that look like?
What do you have to do to be certified?
To be certified as a tour guidein Puerto Rico, you have to
take seven months of classes.
From Monday to Thursday, youhave to make practice hours, and
(05:46):
take excursions and do excursionseven before getting certified.
And you also have to take anoral exam and a reading exam.
So, it's bit complicated, but it'sa process that actually pays off.
Makes the best out of you as a tour guide.
So you're actually going out there,you're visiting sites in Puerto Rico,
and then there's some kind of testthat's about like history and making
(06:06):
sure that you, you know, all your stuff.
Yes.
It's like any doctor or lawyer would do.
We have to take a test to makesure like we know our history and
we know our geography and we knowwhat we're talking about when we
get out there to the real world.
Very cool.
Well, I mean, you definitelyknow what you're talking about.
And super cool that you'regoing through that process.
So Vanessa is your expert folks.
(06:28):
If you want to plan a tripto Puerto Rico, I mean, she's
literally studying this stuff.
And of course, she's out there every dayvisiting places and building these guides.
So let's go ahead and dive in and talk.
about Puerto Rico.
So here's what I have planned forthis interview for the listeners.
, let's talk first about the why.
Like, why go to Puerto Rico?
Then we'll kind of talkabout who should go.
And then after that, we'll get intothe nitty gritty of where do you go?
(06:51):
What are the sort of bestexperiences to build a trip around?
, I'll maybe ask you, Vanessa, tohelp us build out sort of a sample
itinerary that people might follow.
And then we'll go through all those sortof basic trip planning questions around
when to visit, safety, budgeting, how tosave money, and just some general tips.
So that's kind of an outlineof what we've got planned.
(07:12):
So we'll try to cover all those bases.
It's a lot to move through,but let's just back up from a
30, 000 foot level, Vanessa.
Okay.
Puerto Rico is an interestingdestination, it's an island
territory of the United States.
You can go there without a passport,which makes it attractive to a lot of
Americans who don't have a passport,but it still has a very distinct
culture and a lot going for it.
(07:34):
I visited before and I loved it a lot.
I actually went after I studied forthe bar, you're talking about exams
earlier, I did a big trip for like amonth through there as part of my bar
trip after, I studied to become a lawyer.
And so I have great memories becauseit was so great to just, like,
relax on the beaches of Viequesafter, after having done that.
But for people out there who areplanning a trip, what do you think
are the main, the main reasons to pickPuerto Rico as your destination to go?
(07:58):
So Nate, you mentioned if you're inthe United States, Puerto Rico, it's
incredibly, incredibly accessible.
It's easy to access.
You don't need a passport.
You just buy a ticket.
It could be for this weekend.
Buy a ticket and you can get here.
There is no complications to coming here.
But what makes Puerto Ricospecial, it's a combination of
(08:18):
history, culture and outdoors.
And regardless of your taste, you arebound to find something to do here.
When it comes to outdoors, PuertoRico has over a thousand beaches.
It has, the only rainforestin the U. S. forest system.
It has a multiple reserves.
It has a mountainous range.
(08:41):
So Puerto Rico has a lot of outdoors,rivers, beaches that you can enjoy.
And most of the time for free.
When it comes to history and culture,if you're not too outdoorsy, Puerto
Rico has, one of the oldest andbest preserved Spanish colonial
cities in the American continent.
(09:01):
So, even if you don't want to go farfrom the Capitol, you can stay in Old
San Juan and enjoy historical buildings,enjoy museums, and enjoy a lot of the
culture that takes place in San Juan.
So even if you want to make a tripand you don't want to rent a car or
(09:21):
go out of the capital city, you'llbe enjoying your stay in Puerto Rico.
Very cool.
So, what type of traveler inparticular do you think should
book a trip to Puerto Rico?
So, either if you're a historicalentusiast, or if you're a Beach lover,
Puerto Rico is your destination.
If you're into hiking, camping, PuertoRico has lots of great places for this.
(09:48):
Whether you're a solo traveleror you're traveling with a family
group, Puerto Rico, it's alsoa good destination for you.
Very cool.
Okay, so now if I'm thinking aboutvisiting, what time of year is
typically, I think we're, rightnow we're recording this in January.
This is, I think, roughlyabout the start of high season.
Is that right?
So it's a high season for the U. S.travelers and people who come from
(10:16):
cold weathers, who are seeking warmth,that escape from the cold weather.
a high season for Puerto Rico.
Tourists specifically from theUnited States, but the high season
for locals is actually summer
Oh, that's interesting.
So locals are out of school, they're out,and so they're out traveling internally
to Puerto Rico during the summer monthswhen it's, presumably pretty hot in the
(10:36):
Caribbean in the summer, but then in thewinter you get a lot of the, tourists
coming from mainland United States and
funny because for us locals this timeof the year the beaches are kind of
cold so you wouldn't see many localsactually swimming in the beaches
because we consider them cold andalso the tides are aggressive or
(10:57):
higher so we kind of wait until mayjune to actually go to the beaches You
But the tourists are swimming right now.
Oh, yes, yes.
And, you'll find locals,but not as many as in summer.
If you're living in New York city,it's probably a nice tropical
retreat, but that makes sense to me.
Okay.
So a lot of people visit betweenwhat's like January to March is
(11:18):
big spring break destination.
But when would you say, somebodyshould plan a trip or are there any
particular months that they shoulddefinitely go or that they should avoid?
So if you're planning a trip to PuertoRico, come during December and January
to catch the holidays and festivals likela fiesta de la calle San Sebastian.
If you want warm weather andlower tides, come in summer.
(11:41):
If you want to come, duringthe time that's everything
cheap, come on September.
This is sadly the hurricaneseason, but Puerto Rico doesn't
have hurricanes all year.
So it's a matter of justkeeping an eye on the weather.
So, I'd say that's thebest time to save money.
So is there any month when youwould say don't come to Puerto Rico?
(12:01):
Puerto Rico, it's an all year destination.
Like, you can come to Puerto Ricoany month of the year, and there's
something to do, there's festivalsto catch, and it's warm all year.
So, yeah, you can comeany time of the year.
And if you are visiting during hurricaneseason, as Vanessa says, you need to plan,
but Vanessa's got a whole guide to PuertoRico in the hurricane season on travel.
(12:22):
So if you're visiting, that's whatroughly from end of July through beginning
of October or something like that.
Yes, the hurricane season in PuertoRico goes from late June to November.
With the peak season being inSeptember, September, October.
But, as I said, Puerto Rico doesn't,receive hurricanes all years.
(12:44):
It's just something thathappens every now and then.
And you could savemoney if you just do it.
Keep an eye on the weather.
If you want to avoid amonth, let it be September.
But honestly, you might save alot of money if you come then.
So the best time to go toPuerto Rico is whenever you can.
Well let's talk about how to plan a trip.
So Puerto Rico has got onebig main island, a couple
(13:05):
smaller islands off the coast.
Where are the essential places, to visitand where kind of the places that people
should go and should think about basingthemselves as they plan out a trip.
So, the essential places, the placesthat you can't miss in Puerto Rico are
Old San Juan, Ponce, Piñones, and Vieques.
You should try to fitthose in your itinerary.
(13:27):
Old San Juan, It's a colonial city.
It's Spanish colonial city.
It has 500 years of history.
It has, some of the besthotels in Puerto Rico.
So it's a great place to settle.
It's, , uh, pedestrian friendly area.
So if you don't want torent a car it's great.
And it has lots of museums and restaurant.
It's also one of the best placeswith, nightlife in Puerto Rico.
(13:50):
So yeah, it's a great destination.
Ponce is very similar to San Juan.
It's a historical city, it has museumstoo, it has beaches, and it has one
of the few Taino archaeological sitesavailable to the public in Puerto Rico.
It's very famous.
Piñones is a place to go ifyou want to eat local fritters,
(14:13):
mofongo, alcapurrias, bacalaitos.
If you want to hang out by thebeach, if you want to surf or
bike, Piñones is your destination.
It's very popular,especially during the summer.
during the weekends.
And Vieques.
Why Vieques?
Vieques is considered to have someof the best species in Puerto Rico.
They have high versatility, greatcoral reefs, and also what's considered
(14:36):
the brightest bio bay in the world.
It has a secluded vibe.
It's great to slow down.
Very different to
Outdoor lovers should definitelyinclude it in their itinerary.
And Vieques, for listeners, is asmaller island off the, I think,
eastern coast of Puerto Rico.
So I've been there.
I went there as part of my trip.
(14:57):
And that bio bay is like super cool.
I think there's severalbio bays in Puerto Rico.
Vanessa's got a guide tothis on Travel Lemming.
But You go in a boat and the water,because of a plankton or something
inside of it, like literally lights up.
I mean it looks like a scene out ofAvatar when you kind of touch it.
And it does depend a bit upon whatthe natural conditions are as to
which day you go and all sorts ofthings as to how bright it is, but
(15:21):
it was quite bright when I saw it.
You could like drag your hand throughthe water and you would get this sort
of like blue aura tracing behind you.
I think, Still years later, likeit's one of the most memorable
travel experiences I ever have.
So I think absolutely worthtaking the ferry and going
over to Vieques just for that.
Very cool.
Yes.
Vieques, it's a bit of a hassle to getthere, but as you said, it's worth it.
(15:44):
Either by plane or by ferry,just take a day or two.
And I should mention that youshould also add El Junque to your
essentials, like the rainforest.
It's the only tropical rainforestin the U. S. And it's It has
waterfalls, hiking trails, landmarks.
So it's a place that if you love hikingat El Yunque, it is the place for you.
(16:07):
Yeah.
And El Yunque is, you can do it asa day trip from San Juan, or how
would you recommend people visit?
So if you're short on time, a daytrip from San Juan will be enough.
Like, you can see the main attractionsin El Yunque and that would be enough.
If you're really into hiking, justtake a few days to stay in Rio Grande.
(16:28):
where the main access to El Yunque is.
There's lots of great hotels there,including some of the most luxurious
hotels in Puerto Rico, and you canstay there and just plan to cover the
different hiking routes and the differentplaces that El Yunque has to offer.
Very cool.
So you're saying maybe base yourselfin San Juan, spend a few days
in Vieques, maybe a few days in,in Ponce and then visit Pignones
(16:51):
along the way and also El Yonque.
Is that, that right?
And then, what other destinations?
Let's say if I have more time thanthat, what are some other ones
that I might be interested in?
you have more time, add Culebra to yourlist, especially if you're a beach lover.
And that's another island?
Yes, Vieques and Culebraare both islands, outside the
(17:12):
east coast of Puerto Rico.
You can get there eitherby ferry or by plane.
So, it's a bit of a hassle, buttotally worth it, and it's great
for beach lovers and to slow down.
So, you should add Culebra to your list.
Especially Flamenco Beach,which is considered one of the
top 10 beaches in the world.
And besides that,
(17:34):
has that tank on it?
There's like a tank washed up
yes, yes, because it seems incredible,but the area was actually used as
a bombing range, for the Marines.
So there is a tank,literally, tank in the beach.
So you can take photos with it.
You can climb.
There's two actually.
The second one, it's not aseasy to spot from the beach.
(17:55):
You kind of have to hike to, tothe coast, but it's there too.
There's two of them.
Really interesting.
Okay, so where else?
So besides Culebra, Cueva del Indio andArecibo, it's, beachfront rocky shelter,
or a cave if you want to call it, andit has, lots of Taino petroglyphs.
And getting there, it's a combinationof an outdoor experience and a
(18:17):
historical experience because youkind of have to, , hike, over the
coastal rocks and later you have todescend into the cave through a hole.
It's a whole adventure, but it'sreally impressive to watch the
carvings in the wall, along with thesunlight getting through the cave.
If you are a historicallover, you should try it.
(18:38):
really add that to your itinerary.
Besides that, Fajardo, Cabezas de SanJuan in Fajardo, which also has a bio bay.
It's actually a lagoon, buteveryone's call it a bay.
It has seven seas beach.
One of the top beaches in Puerto Rico.
Besides that, Toro Verde AdventurePark, which has the second
longest zip line in the world.
(18:58):
Juanica Dry Forest, which isthe counterpart of El Yunque.
Luquillo, the beaches in Luquilloare great and the food is too.
Especially in the Luquillo foodkiosk and Casa Bacardi, if you're
looking for rum experiences to see,the distilleries in Puerto Rico.
And I'd say Las Cavernasde Camuy, the cave park.
(19:20):
It's actually one of the mostimpressive sites in Puerto Rico, too.
So there's a lot, there's alot to see if, if you want to
There's a lot.
of activities.
No, there's a lot.
I can not possibly cover everything,here, but I got lots of guides that
you can read and depending on yourtaste, you can choose where to go
(19:41):
Okay.
So let's go about sort of the tripplanning process a different way.
We talked about kind of the main placesthat you might build a trip around.
Some travelers like to buildtheir trips around experiences.
What are sort of the big thingsthat somebody might try to center
their trip to Puerto Rico in termsof experiences or what are the
best things to do in Puerto Rico?
(20:02):
If we were to sum up Puerto Ricoin experiences, I'd say food, it's
one of the most important parts.
And Puerto Rico actuallyhas four gastronomic routes.
One of them, and I'd say the most famousone is known as Pork Highway in Guavate.
That's a place to go to eat roastedpork, Lechona as we call it.
(20:23):
that pork highway?
Just like sort of set the scenefor what that, looks like for the
it's a gastronomic route, whichbasically means it's a road, which
is lined side by side by restaurants.
It goes through from, through Calle.
And you'll find lots ofrestaurants known as lechoneras.
Lechoneras are restaurants thatare specialized in roasted pork.
(20:48):
So you go there to have pork.
what I'd say the mosttraditional Puerto Rican food.
Besides roasted pork, you'llfind rice, you'll find beans,
you'll find lots of things thatPuerto Rican love in their food.
So it's a gastronomic route.
You go restaurant hopping totry everything there is to
try in Puerto Rican cuisine.
(21:09):
You said it's one of four.
Yes, puerto Rico actually has moreThen a port highway, the one in
Guavate is the most famous one, butthere is other in Trujillo, which is
kind of closer, but people prefer theone in Calle because , you can go to
waterfalls there and also a few spotsthat you can take great pictures.
(21:31):
Besides that, there's also a routein known as La Ruta de la Longaniza,
which goes through, Orocovis and,Longaniza, it's a type of sausage.
So there's also a festival with that.
So eating food, it's one of theexperiences to, have in Puerto Rico,
whether it's in the mountainous range inSan Juan, going to Pinones, eating food,
(21:52):
it's part of traveling to Puerto Rico.
And pinones is a beach sort of town.
And there's like food vendors alongthe beach or something like that.
Yes.
Pinones, it's, a Loizathat's a beachfront area and
it has lots of food kiosks.
It's very, don't expect any luxury here,but it's one of the best places to eat.
(22:14):
authentic local food, everything frommofongo to alcapurrias you can find in
piñones and also the seafood in thisarea it's also great it's fresh and
has one of the best taste in puertorico it's this one is actually very
near san juan so it takes maybe a 20minute ride from san juan to get here
(22:35):
so even if you're here on a weekendyou can visit piñones to try local food
Very cool.
so if you're a foodie, you're set withbetween pinones and the gastronomic
routes, what are some other experientialreasons or things to do in Puerto Rico
that you might build a trip around?
Besides the food, I say dancing.
It's another thing that it's verycharacteristic of Puerto Rico.
(22:56):
And I say if you're visiting,take a salsa or a bomba class.
Salsa, well, many people know Salsa andPuerto Ricans love it . You can take a
class or you can go to a place known asla, which is a local hotspot, there
you can just learn from locals andyou don't necessarily have to pay you.
(23:17):
Grab a partner and they'll teach you.
Bomba class, Bomba, it'smore, Puerto Rican folklore.
So, it's a bit harder to learn,but it's a very traditional dance.
It's a very cultural dance and somethingthat Puerto Ricans are really proud of.
So, either take classes of either thetwo or the two if you're into dancing.
(23:37):
Besides dancing, Puerto Ricois very famous for its beaches.
if you love, , the beach, you can eithergo snorkeling or diving in Puerto Rico.
Here you can snorkel with, turtles,and you can dive with sharks too.
So the coast in Puerto Rico offers a lotto do, and it's an experience itself.
Even if you're not getting into thewater experiences, Puerto Rico's beaches,
(24:00):
it's one of the things you need to do.
Surfing.
It's very popular on the West coast.
Or going island hopping PuertoRico, it's an archipelago,
so you can go island hopping.
Many experiences in PuertoRico, are around the beaches.
So you can get out on the water, you canbuild a trip around food, you can build it
around history, and you mentioned outdoorsis one of the main reasons as well.
(24:22):
We've talked about a rainforest andhiking and mountains, so it really
seems like there's a lot of differenttrips that you could have to Puerto Rico.
Is that
definitely.
You could be coming to PuertoRico 20 times and each time you'll
find a different experience.
Each time you can have a differenttrip, depending if you're looking
(24:43):
for outdoors, if you're lookingfor adrenaline, if you're looking
for cultural experiences, museums.
Each time you'll finda different experience.
okay?
So we've covered the sortof essential Puerto Rico.
trip.
Now I want to ask you a bit about anyof your sort of personal favorites or
any hidden gems that maybe are lesserknown, but you in particular, like,
(25:06):
So hidden gems, it's really achallenge today to have any of
those because of social media.
But there's a few spots thatI've come to like, and when I
visit them, they're not crowded.
It's very local.
I'd say one of my most preferredspots, it's, Guayane in Manatee.
It's a spring, cold spring.
And you have to hike about 10 minutesto get there and getting down to it.
(25:31):
It's It's a rough, but the experienceyou're surrounded by trees, et cetera.
silent, it's a whole differentexperience, very relaxing, it's free,
and if you go during the day, earlymorning, you'll often find it empty.
It's one of my favorite spots, I'vebeen there maybe three, four times
(25:51):
already, and it's very near San Juan,it's about 30 minutes from San Juan.
cool.
So what are some other, any otherhidden gems that people might look into?
yes, Punta Guaniquilla inCabo Rojo, it's a reserve.
Finca Iguaca, also inCabo Rojo for camping.
La Soplaera in Peñuelas,which is a waterfall.
(26:12):
And Punta Ballenas Reserve in Guanica.
Cuelva del Arco in Utuado, and HaciendaLa Esperanza in Manatí, their reserve.
Ah, very cool.
Well, you've got lots of optionsfor where to go in Puerto Rico.
Vanessa has given you plenty ofideas to how to build a trip.
Now let's.
talk a bit about those the nittygritty of trip planning questions.
(26:32):
So okay, I've decided to go toPuerto Rico, I've kind of a vague
sense of where the places are.
Now, some questions people are likelyto have are how long do they need to
kind of have a trip to Puerto Rico?
You can take anything from threedays to ten days in Puerto Rico.
A weekend trip, it's enough to coverSan Juan and Oyunque, but I recommend
(26:55):
staying about ten days in Puerto Rico.
Okay, so you got 10 days.
So that fits nice, you takea week off work, and you got
the weekends before and after.
How would you structure, what would yousay, obviously there are many ways to
do this, but what would you say is likean ideal itinerary for that time frame?
So I'd say spend about two daysin San Juan, in Old San Juan,
(27:16):
covering also Condado and Santurce.
which that would take about two days.
I'd say to include Arecibo,Isabela and Aguadilla.
In Arecibo itself, you couldspend a whole day or two days.
On the west coast, cover,Rincon and Cabo Rojo.
And that should take about a day,two days, to the south coast.
(27:38):
Don't miss out on Bajas,Guanica and Fonse.
and you can spend about two, threedays in Culebra, Vieques and Fajardo.
Definitely a day in RioGrande and Luquillo.
So it's a lot to cover, and of courseyou got to plan for those ferries
to get out to the other islands.
In terms of how to do all that, Is thisthe sort of place where you should rent
(27:59):
a car or how else can you get around?
The main way to get around in Puerto Rico.
It's by renting a car.
There's taxes available, but the feesfor taking you, to other towns outside
San Juan, it's pretty expensive.
So if you're on a mid rangeor budget, traveling to Puerto
(28:19):
Rico, it's better to rent a car.
It's more efficient that way.
And also gives you more flexibility.
There's virtually.
No public transportation outsideSan Juan in the metro region,
the cities around San Juan.
So for readers who, are from the UShave maybe never, you know, are, are
used to, to driving, in the US and aremaybe nervous about driving in Puerto
(28:43):
Rico, what can you say, to them,to get them potentially comfortable
with the idea of renting a car?
So, driving in Puerto Rico is verysimilar to driving in the United States.
The same signs, the same traffic system.
So if you're nervous about drivingin Puerto Rico, but still want that
flexibility, I say to keep to the coast,avoid the mountainous range entirely,
(29:09):
where it could be a bit more challengingto drive and stick to the coastal towns
where it's mostly highways and it'seasy to move around, but, it's not as
complicated as many people might think.
It's very similar to the United States.
And about how long does it taketo drive the, the main island
(29:30):
from one end to the other?
in theory it's possible, at least,let's say, from west to east, but
you can't actually cover the islandentirely without, like, stopping.
It's not a realistic, , goal whencoming to Puerto Rico to cover the
island in a day, , we're not that small.
(29:50):
So I'd say if you can coverthe North coast, maybe.
Without stopping about six hours.
Just to give folks abit of a sense of scale.
Okay, very interesting.
Let's talk about budget.
If someone's planning a tripto Puerto Rico, what should
they expect in terms of costs?
So if you're planning a trip toPuerto Rico, you should know Puerto
(30:12):
Rico, it's not as budget friendly asother destinations in Latin America.
It's really not.
It's more similar to the UnitedStates in its prices and its, hotel
prices and restaurants prices.
So if you're coming to Puerto Rico,you should budget as if you're
traveling to the United States.
If you're a couple in a midrange visiting Puerto Rico, you
(30:34):
could expect to pay almost 2,000 for a week, during your stay.
You could pay even more depending on whatyou're doing and where you're staying.
Bye.
Luxury travelers will pay a lotmore because luxury hotels can
go up to 900 a night, so you canexpect for a week over 8, 000.
(30:54):
Very interesting.
Any tips for folks to make it a little bitmore budget friendly on how to save money?
Yes, if you're on a budget and you'rereally committed to it, you can do
Puerto Rico, in maybe, 800 a week,but it would take some dedication.
Puerto Rico has a lot of free attractions.
you could go couch surfingor stay at a hostels.
(31:16):
We got plenty of those in Old San Juan.
You could stay in, anapartment rental to do.
Do meal prep and avoid in and out.
Also bring your own water bottle.
Puerto Rico has potable water, so youcan bring your own water bottle and
reuse that instead of buying water bottle
.Another common question people have is around safety.
(31:38):
So, is Puerto Rico safefor folks to visit?
Puerto Rico is safe.
It's a place that you cancome as a solo traveler.
You can come as a woman solotraveler, as a family, as a couple,
you can come to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico, it's safe.
There is a few things you needto think about when coming to
(31:58):
Puerto Rico, but these are things
you would do in any other country,like not walking alone at night.
Not going into placesthat might seem sketchy.
Maybe not leaving stuff in your carand your rental car, not leaving your
bags in your rental car and keep yourbelongings with you at all times.
Do not leave belongings and tablesat the beach, without supervision.
(32:22):
It's.
Stuff that you would doin any other country.
But besides that, Puerto Rico,it's completely safe for tourists.
And what about language?
So, can you get by if youdon't know any Spanish?
You can get by.
There are many Puerto Ricans thateither speak or understand English.
Specifically in the capital cityand the metropolitan region, which
(32:43):
are the cities around San Juan.
You will find a lot ofpeople that speak English.
But if you're planning to go, into theless touristy towns, into the mountainous
range, I suggest you have a plan.
basic Spanish prepared in case youneed to ask directions or ask for
(33:03):
help, because anything happens.
So basic Spanish isrecommended, but not mandatory.
So if you're going to old San Juanand, you're kind of doing tours and
you're sticking to the main trail,you'll be accommodated in English just
You'll be completely fine.
Yes.
that book that trip to Puerto Rico, folks.
And hopefully we've addressed all yourobjections, but if you have any other
doubts, , leave a comment and Vanessawill be happy to help while we're
(33:27):
coming to the end of the interviewhere, before we wrap up, do you have
any particular tips for folks whoare looking to go to Puerto Rico?
So if you're looking to come to PuertoRico, I would say, depending on the
time of the year, like keep an eye onthe weather for the hurricane season.
Always, watch out forthe ocean conditions.
(33:48):
Many people come to beaches, butthere's sometimes injuries to swimming.
So watch out for ocean conditions.
Ask locals if you're in doubtif it's safe for swimming.
Also, same with the rivers, there's alot of flash floods because it rains a
lot, so people like to just get in theriver whenever they see one, but you
need to keep an eye on the weather, andI'd say just know your basic Spanish and
(34:15):
just be friendly, I'd say you'll be fine
Okay, perfect.
Well, if you're sold, then you'reready to plan a trip to Puerto Rico.
Vanessa has almost 200 guides toalmost every subject in every place
that you can imagine in Puerto Rico.
And if you can't find the informationthat you need in her guides, you can
leave her a comma on any one of thoseguides, or you can go to YouTube for this
(34:35):
podcast and leave her a comment there.
She really has everything you need toplan the perfect trip to Puerto Rico.
Vanessa, thank you somuch for being here today.
Is there anything else that youwant to say before we sign off?
with that.
I think we're good!
If you want to know more, just Justgo to the guides, I answer comments,
on the website, so if you have anydoubt you can leave a comment and I'll
be answering you as soon as I can.
(34:57):
So just, as you said, book thatticket, and you'll be welcome
here in this Caribbean paradise.
All right.
Thank you, Vanessa.
I hope you enjoyed thatinterview with Vanessa.
Before we get into the next segment,I want to briefly tell you about
Vanessa's guide to Puerto Rico.
, in addition to all of the many.
free guides that she has on TravelLemming, which you can find by just
(35:17):
searching Travel Lemming PuertoRico or wherever destination you
want to explore in Puerto Rico.
Vanessa actually has an ebook.
It's available for purchase.
You just search for a local's guideto Puerto Rico or search for the
Travel Lemming Puerto Rico ebook.
And, this is a complete travel guide.
Like she really put a lotof effort into covering.
Everything that you need for the island,and so it's available in a PDF download.
(35:41):
You can add it if you have like ane reader, there's a way that you
can add that to your e reader andit gives you everything that you
want, to travel to Puerto Rico.
Also, if you're planning to travel toPuerto Rico, check our San Juan meetup
calendar because if you're comingthrough San Juan, when we have community
meetups, you can meet Vanessa andsome of our other community members.
In addition to San Juan, wealso have meetups in seven other
(36:03):
cities around North America.
So be sure to check that outand come meet us in person.
And also lastly, I want to say verysoon, , we'll be coming out with itinerary
planning services where Vanessa willactually plan your entire trip for you.
If you really need help for a big specialoccasion, maybe you need a honeymoon
or you're just a family who's reallybusy and wants someone else to help you
(36:23):
plan, that's going to be coming verysoon on the Travel Lemming website.
So again, you know, if you'replanning a trip to Puerto Rico,
search Travel Lemming Puerto Rico.
For all of your trip planning needs.
All right, let's go ahead andjump into our next segment.
So we're bringing back,what's new and travel.
And mine isn't actuallyso much a news story.
It's more something thatwent viral on social media.
(36:45):
So it's a map from 1881.
So not exactly brand new, but it recentlyreally got millions of views across
different social media platforms theRoyal Geographic Society published this
isochronic passage chart for travelers.
And what an isochronic map does, is itshows you the travel time between places.
(37:06):
So usually when you look at a map, you'rekind of thinking about distances, but
because of Water because of mountains,because of geographical barriers,
that's not always representative of howlong it takes to get between places,
particularly in the 1880s, when itreally mattered whether you were close
to like a train line or whether or notyou were close to shipping passage.
And so.
(37:26):
This map could tell you how longit takes to get from London to
different places around the world.
And for viewers on YouTube, we'll goahead and put it up on the screen.
For the listeners at home, it's acolor coded map with these sort of like
concentric circles going out from London.
And everything that's within greenis a place that you can travel
within 10 days from London in 1881.
And so that's mostly Europe and alittle bit of Northern Africa, like
(37:49):
Cairo, the northern part of Morocco.
And a very small bit ofNewfoundland in very eastern Canada.
Then after that, it sort of goes out.
It took about 10 to 20 days to getto most of the eastern seaboard
of the U. S. to get a little bitfurther into the Middle East.
Or you could actually get all the wayto San Francisco in that time because
of the intercontinental railroad.
(38:11):
20 to 30 days, that'll get you throughall of the United States into Mexico.
Starting to get into South America, butyou still, in that time frame, can't get
to East Asia, you can't get to Australia,that's going to take you as much as 30
to 40 days to get to, for example, Japan.
So it's really crazy when you thinkabout it, like how far travel has come.
(38:31):
When I look at this map, it justgives me so much appreciation
for the time that we live in.
Because, you know, today you can bealmost anywhere in about 24 hours,
and at max probably 40 hours or so.
And that's, you know, if you thinkabout what it would have taken to do
some of the journeys that I did lastyear, I mean, I would have spent the
entire year traveling just to go betweenthe places that we went last year.
(38:52):
And, I think it's, what atime to be alive, right?
I don't know.
Betty, what do you, what do you think?
Yeah, it's seriously mind blowing thatit could take up to a month to get
to some of these places that nowadaysyou can get to within 12 hours.
It's really insane.
And this map is really interesting.
I've never seen anything like it before.
So definitely check this out.
If you're not listening tothis episode on YouTube,
(39:15):
Yeah, we'll put a link to the map onour Wikicommons in the show notes.
very cool.
Well, what I've brought to the tabletoday is a, an article that was just
posted by travel and leisure aboutstudies revealing the most turbulent
flight routes of 2024, so I won't listthem all, but here are the top five.
We have Albuquerque to Denver,Denver to Jackson hole, Wyoming.
(39:36):
Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Salt LakeCity, Denver to Salt Lake City,
and Bozeman, Montana to Denver.
So if you're traveling to a comparablelocation soon, here's some background on
why these flights are bumpier than others.
So many of these airports arelocated near large mountain ranges.
For example, Denver's near the RockyMountains, Salt Lake City is near
the Wasatch Mountains, and JacksonHole's right next to the Grand Tetons.
(39:59):
So The reason these are bumpier flightsis because mountains create a complex
air current, and wind shear, which isa change in wind speed or direction.
So as air masses move over themountains, this leads to bumpier flights.
And, there's also different airtemperatures at different altitudes,
which further increases turbulence.
So if you're flying over mountains thisyear, Remember that turbulence is more
(40:21):
likely on these routes, and it's normal.
Just something to keep inmind in case you're not a fan
of those bumps in the air.
Yeah, I mean, I used to live inDenver, for a number of years and
would fly in and out all the time.
And it is definitely one of those airportswhere you never know, what's going to
happen when you're coming in and out.
Really interesting.
Should we go ahead and share a couple ofour favorite travel lemming perspectives?
(40:42):
Yes, of course.
So moving right along to our segment onthe travel lemming perspective pieces.
So these are articles that our talentedteam of local experts have written about
their personal experiences abroad, whichyou can check out at travellemming.
com slash perspectives.
We have new ones comingout every single week.
So my pick for today isClaudia sets article titled my
(41:02):
secrets as a seasoned yogini.
tips for practicing yoga while you travel.
So Claudicet talks about how yogais one of the easier hobbies to
take with you while you travel.
And in fact the very first thing thatshe packs on her trips is her yoga mat.
So in this piece she talksabout investing in yoga gear.
She even lists some of the gear thatshe uses like her yoga mat, as well
(41:25):
as her gym tote bag and the links forthose products are in the article.
She talks about booking accommodationswith yoga in mind, whether that's
having a room that's spacious enoughto roll out your mat and be able to
have a little yoga session in yourhotel room, or just finding a place
that's close to local yoga studios.
She also said you can look into a yogaretreat, which I know is something that's
(41:48):
gotten a lot more popular in recent years.
I haven't personally triedone, but I really liked it.
They sound very relaxing.
It's kind of like a mental reset.
You can also look for a localwellness event near wherever you go.
You can practice yoga in nature.
So yeah, it was a really interestingarticle from Claudicet, she
has some really great tips forbringing this mindful practice
(42:09):
with you wherever you travel.
Interesting.
Well, I, I don't practice yoga, so Idon't have a lot to comment on that.
But my perspective for todayis from Vanessa but it's not
about Puerto Rico directly.
It's actually about a tripthat she recently took to Peru.
So because Vanessa is such amazingwriter, she actually was recently hired
by one of the big guidebook companies.
(42:29):
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say whichone, but she was hired by them to go to
Peru and to help write the next editionof their Peru guide and it's again.
It's one of the companies that you woulddefinitely know and very proud of her for
doing that and she wrote a piece on Comingback on that with some reflections on
What Puerto Rico could learn from what shesaw of Peru's tourism industry because of
(42:50):
course Peru has a very developed Tourismindustry, it's very reliant on tourism
and Vanessa is really becoming a leaderin the tourism space in Puerto Rico.
She's really looked up to locally andI'm really proud of this article, but
it's her, giving some reflections forPuerto Rico, for her local tourism
industry on Puerto Rico can continueto develop, its tourism industry
(43:12):
and what it can learn from Peru.
So she says, for instance, she talks alot about the transportation network,
and that is one challenge in Puerto Ricois that there's not much of a public
transportation network beyond San Juan,as she mentioned earlier in the interview,
it's really ideal to have a rental car,if you're planning to travel around Puerto
Rico, but of course, many people don'twant to drive, and, it would be great if
(43:33):
Puerto Rico could kind of build that out.
She talks about theme tours, whichis something that she learned in
Peru about how they have tours thatcater to particular interests or
maybe follow particular routes.
And we talked a bit about this earlierabout some of the, gastronomical
routes that they have in Puerto Rico,but she has some suggestions for
other potential tour routes there.
And also about how they kind ofpromote their tourism industry.
(43:54):
So look, if you're into the nitty grittyof how the tourism industry works, I
really suggest go checking that out.
And I think it's, it's just incredibleto kind of see Vanessa's leadership for
the Puerto Rico tourism industry there.
Yeah, Vanessa is such an excellentwriter and she's obviously doing big
things for Puerto Rico and travel lumbingand beyond, so make sure you check
out her author page on travel lumbing.
(44:16):
All right, folks.
Well, I think that's all wehave for you in this episode.
Again, if you're planning a tripto Puerto Rico, be sure to Google
travel lemming, Puerto Rico, andyou'll find all of Vanessa's guide.
She's got that ebook.
You can go to her meetup andactually meet her in San Juan.
or very soon we'll be coming out withthose custom itinerary planning services.
And if you'd like Puerto Rico, youprobably also will like Mexico's
(44:37):
Yucatan state, which I think one ofthe biggest hidden gems in Mexico.
We did a whole episode aboutthis a couple months back.
So you can go ahead andcheck that out next.
Thank you so much.
And we'll see you in the next one.
Yes, thank you so much forjoining us and we'll see you soon.
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