Things that make me happy... Puerto Rico

Its been a while since I visited PR, I figure I would mentions some things to do for anyone taking a trip to Puerto Rico in the near future.

PR has some much to see. The people are friendly and love to dance and party. Great food especially monfongo.  Lots of clubs and bars and of course beautiful beaches. Probably best part. Its easy to get to. No passport needed, hotels close to airports, don't need to know spanish... english is fine, and best of all they run deals all the time from major cities.
I stayed at the Ritz Carlton very close to the airport. Pros - Great service, good location, walking distance to lots of restaurants and bars in La Isla Verde area. But there are other good hotel options... Cons - pretty expensive, not much of a party scene.

The El San Juan which is a ton of fun and only a 10 minute ride from the airport. There was so much to do there: the pool was always lively and the wait staff at the pool keeps drinks constantly refilled; they flew in a DJ from NY and had a pool party on Saturday (not sure that's a regular thing but that was fun); the beach was nice and there are jet skis on the beach which is fun; loved Koco restaurant that is based on a coconut theme (try the coconut martini and the coconut mojito); and of course Club Brava.

Alternative Hotel - while we were there we checked out La Concha. It was recently opened after a 10+ year renovation and is absolutely grown and sexy. It's in the art deco part of town where all the expensive shops are and was a better area to just walk around or go for a run. There is a very nice restaurant there called La Perla (I think) and Budatai, a spanish Thai restaurant that I just loved loved loved is just steps away from there. Check out La Concha if you want something that is in San Juan but a little more quiet and sleek / sexy. Other hotels that are quiet, like the El Conquistador and Las Casitas, are nice but too far away from everything. I think your beat bet it El San Juan or La Concha.

Restaurants:
1) Budatai
2) Koko (in El San Juan Hotel)
3) Pikayo (set within a museum; art featured in the restaurant)
4) La Perla (in La Concha Hotel)
5) Acquaviva (in Old San Juan)
6) Toro Salao (in Old San Juan)
7) Dragonfly (in Old San Juan)
8) Parrot Club (in Old San Juan)
9) There is a small Puerto Rican restaurant with excellent Monfongo in shopping plaza down the road across from Old San Juan Hotel in Isla Verde.

Lounge / Club:
1) Club Brava is the hot spot in San Juan (in El San Juan Hotel)
2) Wet Bar is a rooftop bar in the Water Club, a small boutique hotel that is about a 10 minute walk from the El San Juan Hotel. Check them out on Friday or Saturday when there's a DJ.
3) Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Old San Juan.  Live music and salsa especially on weekends. Pretty casual place but good music.

Activities:
1) Caving - they only do it on Sundays. It involves ziplining across a cliff, rapelling 250 feet down the side of the cliff into caves that have bats and cockroaches. You have to run through mud and climb up rocks, jump into 15 ft deep water all while in the caves. We did it with Tierra Aventro (www.adventurespr.com) and we LOVED it. You can also do Canyoning on Saturdays (everything without the caves).
2) Golf - I recommend twilight golf at the Dorado del Mar (787) 796-3070 designed by Robert Trent Jones I think is his name - a famous golf course designer. Twilight is from 3-6pm and cost $55. Any other time and anywhere else in $100-$200. It's a 30 - 40 minute drive from the El San Juan Hotel. Everywhere else is too expensive.
3) Water Sports - we did that at the hotel. The beach at the El San Juan had everything.
4) The Bio Bay - this involves kayaking at night into a lake that has some very small organisms that causes your hand to glow in the dark if you dip your hand in the water. The water is like 2 feet deep so it's very safe. It was fun.
5) ATV tour through the rain forest. This was fun but caving was much more of a highlight for us.
6) Tour the two forts in Old San Juan. This was actually more fun than I thought. There was a good amount to see and the views from the forts were amazing. There is a free trolley that takes you from one fort to the other and you can stay on the trolley and do a full tour of Old San Juan.
7) Tour of the Bacardi Distillery - everybody does this when they go to PR. We wanted to but didn't have time.
8) Spa - the spa at the El San Juan was just OK. I did enjoy the message though because I was so worn out from all the activities.
9) El Yunque - Rain Forest (about 2-4 hours to drive up and hike around. Not a difficult hike but in summer its is hot... so bring water. There is a waterfall that people hike to.) Its about an 60 minutes from San Juan center.

So the must do activities Bio Bay - You can get deals for about $75 -$100 per person.
Walking around old san juan and grabbing food at little cafes.

Hope you plan a trip and visit this PR. There lots to do and see. Enjoy!!