The Single Girl Travel Guide: My Spontaneous Trip to Puerto Rico
I began this year telling myself that I was going to travel as often as possible. So when the opportunity came up to go to Puerto Rico with a friend, I jumped immediately! It was comical how it all worked out — I was working on something for Single Girl Club and my good friend Julie (past woman crush, contributing writer, and bff) , reached out to me asking if I would be interested in traveling somewhere with her at the end of January. I instantly responded with a YES with not knowing where we would be going. We wanted to go somewhere warm, sunny, and tropical and eventually decided on Puerto Rico.
After the decision was made, I asked all of my friends from the island for a list of restaurants and tourist attractions to check out. We found reasonably priced flights on JetBlue and a nice hotel around the corner from Old San Juan.
As time got closer to our departure date we researched the weather and things we might need for travel and packed our bags accordingly. Before we knew it the time had come for a much needed vacation!
AC Hotel by Marriott San Juan Condado
We stayed at the centrally located AC Hotel by Marriott San Juan Condado. We both feel in love with this spot because the hotel gives a complimentary welcome drink to new guests and the first thing we did was grab ourselves a Piña Colada. This spot has a well-equipped gym, rooftop pool, and restaurant. Additionally, they serve a buffet breakfast until 11 am which consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, yogurt, and bagels as well as coffee. We were walking distance from the beach, and the street had a plethora of restaurants, making it hard for us to choose where we would enjoy our next meal.
Both Julie and I are certified food lovers! Julie did some extensive research before we arrived on the island and created a pretty great list of eateries in the area. Although we ate at some pretty stellar places, the following three were beyond my favorite!
Marmalade
Our first stop was Marmalade. This Michelin star restaurant has a creative blend of eclectic and nutritionally inspired ingredients. Since we were on vacation, we decided to allow ourselves to indulge and tried the tasting menu and opted to include the wine pairing option with our meal.
The tasting menu allowed us to select 5 beautifully crafted and well-balanced courses. I chose the Ceviche with red snapper cured with citrus, grapefruit & avocado smoked chili dressing & tostones paired with Domaine Skouras, Salto, Moscofilero, Greece for my appetizer. For my two Intermediate options — I selected the Risotto of Lobster with Maine lobster & green onions with acquerello rice paired with Arrels de Clos Pissarra, El Sol Blanc, White Garnacha, Montsant, 2017 and the Japanese Cauliflower that combined organic edamame and honshimeji glazed with non-GMO miso and Japanese mustard that rested beneath sesame spiced kale chips paired with the Tablas Creek, Cote de Tables, Viognier-Marsanne-Grenache Blanc-Roussanne, Paso Robles, 2017.
For my entree, I enjoyed the Halibut with organic white corn-parmesan grits, toasted cornbread crumbles with avocado-red onion & black bean salsa resting in a froth of sweet corn and jalapeno paired with Arrels de Clos Pisarra, El Sol Blanc, WhiteGarnacha, Montsant, 2017.
Lastly, for dessert, I had the delicious bread pudding with a generous shot of bourbon that balanced well with the caramel and vanilla from the dish. Needless to say, after dinner, I was a little inebriated and enjoyed a goodnight’s sleep.
Jose Enrique
Next stop was the self-titled restaurant, Jose Enrique by the well renowned local chef. This spot is incredibly charming and is located in Condado.
I tried the highly recommended Red Snapper, which laid beautifully over mashed potatoes and a yam avocado chutney. The texture of the fried fish and the balance of sweet and acidic flavors danced on my tongue and made me hum from enjoyment throughout the entire meal.
La Lanterna
No matter where I am in the world, I will always find a nice Italian restaurant. Ironically, before Julie and I stopped in for dinner and before knowing we had made reservations to this spot, I captured a beautiful photo of their outdoor dining area while we were day shopping in Old San Juan. I loved the design of the patio and the tranquility the space possessed. It was a full circle moment when we returned for dinner later that evening.
I had a delicious watermelon margarita with mezcal and a salted rim and Julie and I shared the classic Caprese salad as an appetizer. For my entrée I had the Paccheri, salmone e asparagi and completed the meal with a decadent tiramisu. The romantic ambiance sparked excitement for my upcoming trip to Italy that I was planning for later in the year. You can read more about it here.
Excursions
We didn’t come to Puerto Rico just to eat, although I wouldn’t be totally upset if that is all we did. We also enjoyed some fun excursions in and outside of the city too! While we wandered through the streets of Old San Juan we stumbled upon the home of Felisa Rincón De Gautier. She was the former Mayor of Puerto Rico and the first female Mayor in the Americas. She had a beautiful pink house, so I was naturally drawn to it, and after being greeted by a tour guide, I learned that she created a childcare program called Maternal Schools which was used as a foundation for the Head Start program here in the US. It was such an incredible experience walking through her home and reading about all of her accolades. She was adored by many and made incredible contributions to her town and for her people!
Towards the end of our vacation, we booked an Airbnb experience with Jerry Adventures and took a guided hike to a hidden waterfall. Our tour guide showed us a breathtaking view of the island and safely got us to a 130-foot natural waterfall. I highly recommend you try this excursion but be warned that this hike isn’t for everyone. We blazed through running streams and climbed a few rocky areas. It was more of an intermediate hike that required waterproof hiking boots. However, the destination was stunning and made the somewhat strenuous hike was completely worth it.
If you ever find yourself in Puerto Rico, I hope you give these places a try! I had such a beautiful time getting to relax and unwind during this trip. I loved that I was able to spontaneously book this getaway and gained a deeper appreciation for my singleness because it allowed me to do it without the consent from someone else.
If you’ve been to the island, where are some places you’ve tried and would recommend other visitors check out? Let us know in the comments below.
References
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/felisa-rincon-de-gautier-dona-fela
https://www.marmaladepr.com/food
https://www.yelp.com/biz/josé-enrique-san-juan-3?osq=Jose+Enrique
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