Recommend January 2014 - (Page 50)

PUERTO RICO San Juan First-timers are often surprised by how cosmopolitan San Juan is. Need an Apple store or a necktie for a meeting? Got it. San Juan also has exceptional museums and historic sites. Many resorts are close enough so guests can alternate beach days with sightseeing. Puerto Rico is convenient for weddings and meetings, too, because attendees from the U.S. don't need passports. BEST PLACE TO STAY The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, east of San Juan, offers capacious rooms digniﬁed with tan hues and dark wood. The head chef is Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and the environmental education, watersports, spa, and ﬁtness facility are tops. The Iguana Children's Club delights little ones, and duffers can plan a Troon Golf-managed Robert Trent Jr. course. BEST NATURE EXPERIENCE El Yunque is unforgettable, but so is Piñones, a string of undeveloped beaches east of San Juan, some with calm waters and others with dramatic surf. Piñones has ﬁsh- and bird-ﬁlled mangrove wetlands, too, where visitors can rent kayaks. Bonus: Here you'll ﬁnd the best street food in Puerto Rico. BEST CULTURAL EXPERIENCE Near Old San Juan's El Moro is Casa Blanca Museum, one of the oldest colonial homes in the New World. Ponce de Leon's family built the house in 1523 and lived there for 250 years. The museum illuminates colonial life with historic furniture, art, maps, weapons, and kitchen implements. BEST SPORTING LIFE Velauno, right in San Juan's Condado Lagoon, is one of the best operators in the Caribbean for stand-up paddleboarding. The lagoon's water is calm, the shores teem with big iguanas, and walrus-whiskered manatees bob up to eyeball bipeds on boards. BEST KEPT SECRET The Condado's afﬂuent hipsters know about Roberto Trevino's Bar Gitano, and visitors should, too. This resto-bar, with its brick walls, outdoor seating, and friendly bartenders, specializes in traditional and updated tapas, such as the slightly spicy Japanese shishito peppers. FACTS BEST TIME TO GO: December through May FUN FACT: El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System GETTING THERE: Delta ﬂies from Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and New York (JFK) to San Juan ENTRY DOCUMENTS: Government ID for U.S. visitors; valid passport for Canadians CURRENCY: U.S. Dollar MUST-TRY NATIVE FOOD: Asopao, a stew-like chicken soup that can also have pork, shellﬁsh, beans and olives BEST BUYS: Santos, the locally carved statuettes of saints INFORMATION PLEASE: Puerto Rico Tourism Company- seepuertorico.com C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 28 D28-D35.indd 28 12/20/13 8:59 AM http://www.seepuertorico.com http://www.marriottsanjuan.com http://www.marriottsanjuan.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2014

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Aloft Hotels
Tour Talk: Swain Destinations
Uniworld's Queen Isabel
Disney Magic
Delta Air Lines Travel Guide 2014
Macau
Egypt Update
Scandinavia Exposed
B Hotels & Resorts
What's New in Las Vegas

Recommend January 2014