Puerto Rico

Hi Readers! 

I am so so happy to be back. My family is double vaxxed, and we are ready to get back into the world. As an epidemiologist, it is very encouraging to see COVID infection rates falling. We chose to travel to Puerto Rico for Memorial Day Weekend because I wanted a warm destination, but was worried about COVID rates in FL at the time of booking. Additionally, PR has a Chabad where you can order food and attend Shabbat services. 

A Disclaimer: While PR is extremely COVID-conscious, I do not believe that the Island itself is ready for so many travelers. In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated PR (along with many other places in the Carribean) and they have not completely recovered. Therefore, COVID was an even bigger hit. The reason PR is so COVID-conscious is they do not have much hospital capacity, so if they had many cases, they would not be able to treat them so easily. 

Now, with that said, PR still has some very cool attractions, and luckily has a Chabad and lovely weather all year round. 

Flights:

We flew into San Juan from Boston on May 27th in the afternoon (this was a Thursday). We used Jetblue, and arrived at around 8pm. One of the best things we did was bringing a checked bag full of kosher snacks, as it is not so easy to find these on the island (more on that later). Because our flight was completely packed (holiday weekend), we were able to check the bag for free at the gate as an incentive not to bring the bag as a carry-on. Like many great Jewish women before me, I packed kosher sandwiches for the airport and grabbed a starbucks coffee as well. Just note that the TSA may be interested in your food. 

Upon arrival, the PR health department will check that you have properly uploaded your vaccination status and/or COVID testing results to their traveler portal. They generate a barcode and they scan it to let you out of the airport. More info here: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/travel-guidelines 

Hotel:

We stayed at the Fairmont El San Juan in Isla Verde which is about a 20 minute ride from Old San Juan. Conveniently, this hotel is 5 mins from the airport. We were also able to get a really good rate through the Chabad coupon code that they list on their website: https://www.jewishpuertorico.com/. The El San Juan is not the only hotel listed. They have many hotels with coupon codes including the Royal Sonesta (formerly Intercontinental) next door. Another option for those who would like a kitchen in-unit is the ESJ towers (also in that area, and owned by a Jewish family). 

To be quite honest, this hotel was packed with Americans who were partying the entire time. Lots of people were drunk in the public spaces, and so we would not go back. For families, I might try the Royal Sonesta or ESJ towers. 

Food:

We ordered many of our meals from Chabad in San Juan, which was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It was a very convenient location, but the hours were not so great. By the time we landed at 8pm, Chabad was closed, and so we could not grab dinner. Additionally, they are not open until about 12pm, so we were not able to get breakfast either. This is why we chose to bring our suitcase full of kosher snacks, and boy, were we happy we did! We loaded up at Trader Joe’s on granola bars, nuts, cookies and crackers before our trip. We also froze sliced cheese, put it in a cooler bag, and stuck it in our food suitcase. Lastly, we were there for shabbos, so we brought 2 bottles of wine in bubble wrap (https://www.amazon.com/Wine-Wings-Reusable-Protector-Luggage/dp/B01F6CDE40/ref=asc_df_B01F6CDE40/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198100853899&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2167717081400846841&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002058&hvtargid=pla-413984963277&psc=1).

We had our food delivered to us at around 4pm on Friday after we were back from exploring. The hotel has fridges in the room, so I piled everything in there, and we had food for the next 3 days. We were able to get shabbos food (challah, entrees, sides, dessert) as well as food for the week. Additionally, if you go to Chabad during their daytime hours, you can get a limited number of hot lunch dishes available for takeout. They do not currently have dining-in at Chabad because of COVID restrictions. 

*a note: the El San Juan does not let Chabad drop the food with security or the front desk, so you need to be available to pick it up from the front yourself. With 20-20 hindsight, I can say it was much more convenient to walk over and pick up. 

The hotel is also somewhat difficult about heating. They charge a $75 fee to store your food in their kitchen, and a $25 fee any time you want them to heat your food. This is another reason I might choose ESJ towers, as you would have your own kitchen. We ate our food cold to avoid any mixups in the kitchen with our food because the hotel was at maximum capacity during our stay. 

In terms of a supermarket, there is a 24-hour Pueblo near the hotel (about a 7 min walk). They have some basic American food products there, however, they will not have some of your regular brands for milk and bread. We found one brand of Kosher bread and after much research, I determined that since they are part of the USA, the plain milk was Kosher (Chalav Stam, check with your own LOR). 

We were told that Anita Gelato in Old San Juan is Kosher, but unfortunately, when we arrived, the people behind the counter told us it was not true (Hoping I can go get some in NY one day). 

Activities:

This was my favorite part of the trip. We went to El Yunque rainforest on Friday morning with a wonderful tour guide, Marcy Schub (PM for details). Marcy is part of the Jewish community in PR, and came highly recommended by Chabad. Additionally, her prices were very reasonable, and she included private transportation in her car. The ride from Isla Verde to El Yunque is about 45 minutes. We enjoyed speaking with Marcy about the history of the forest, and about her background in the PR Jewish community. She toured us around on a few trails, and we were able to see some incredible natural beauty and views. She also let us stop at the Chabad to tour their building. When we got back to the hotel, we took some much needed time at the beach. 

Shabbat was as expected. We ate the Chabad food in our room overlooking the nice view of the ocean, and spent lots of time reading on the beach. One of the most helpful tools we have used is the Shabbat Away Travel Kit: https://www.theshabbatcollection.com/products/shabbat-away-travel-kit. It is TRULY a lifesaver for anyone who is Shabbat-observant (includes candle holders, matches, wine flask, challah cover, salt shaker, bencher, kippah, and havdalah set) and it fits in any bag. Whenever we needed to be let into our room with an electric key card, hotel security was happy to assist. 

On Sunday, we did not do much in the way of activities, but we did go to the hotel spa which I cannot say enough good things about! I got a tension release massage which was amazing and relaxing. The views of the pool and ocean from the top floor are excellent. 

On Monday, we took an uber into Old San Juan and toured around El Moro. It was $10 a person for entry, and we came at 10am which was a very good time both from a weather and crowd perspective. The fort is an architectural beauty with sweeping views of the ocean and city below. If you are sensitive to the sun, I would pile on the sunscreen and wear a hat because I even got burned in my scalp! After touring El Moro, we walked around Old San Juan. The city is so beautiful and almost feels like you are in a European town. We searched for some famous Puerto Rican coffee, but we were not the only ones doing so! So many Americans were waiting in line at the coffee shops. However, I heard this cafe has good coffee: https://cuatrosombras.com/. After buying some trinkets for our family, we hopped into another uber and went back to the hotel to eat lunch and then get on the plane.