Puerto Rico

I visited Puerto Rico as a short vacation with a boyfriend before college. It is a trip I compare all others to. It was short, relaxing, exciting, and yet simple.We stayed in San Juan for the first day or so, our small hotel sat beach side away from downtown, and had the cutest back patio with sparkling lights. We stayed out pretty late the first night just listening to the waves and absorbing the humidity our skin desperately needed.While in San Juan we visited a 1783 Spanish fort, Castillo de San Cristóbal. The fort hugs the coast of the city while it's turrets endure the crashing of shallow waves (the very top photo). We traveled the walking pier that wraps around the fortress and explored some of the more colonial homes in downtown San Juan which were brightly colored plaster buildings with minuscule iron-rod balconies and lush overgrown plants.The rest of the trip was spent on the east side of the island in Rincón. The tiny surf town was absolute perfection. It was quiet, friendly, and full of beach time. We spent many days on the beach front enjoying the sand and chatting with the sole bartender who made us as many pina coladas as we wanted.During the trip we took an amazing adventure tour where we went zip lining, caving, hiking, and 250ft rappelling - in the rainforest! Visiting the Angeles Cave is something I highly recommend to everyone. We also took a day trip over the ferry, visited some national parks and saw some pretty amazing sunsets.Puerto Rico is a great destination to visit, especially for US travelers. I highly suggest staying in San Juan for only a day or two and then moving along. There are so many other beaches, resorts, and things to do across the whole island - like an impromptu swimming stop underneath a huge waterfall! (for real)