Puerto Rico is a great place to go for tropical weather and lots of great sites! You get a taste of Puerto Rican and Caribbean culture while not feeling like you're in a foreign country. Of course, in a way- you're not! While Puerto Rico is a separate country with its own laws and culture, it's also a territory of the United States. That means you can travel to Puerto Rico without a passport! They also use U.S. currency, and many Puerto Ricans speak English, which makes things much simpler while you're there!!

Problems with U.S. Airways

This was our first family 'flying' trip, so the kids were very excited. Our trip started out great. Our plane left on-time from Detroit Metro for a connection in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, when we got there, our U.S. Airways flight was listed with an eight hour delay!

After running through the airport to the U.S. Airways International terminal, we were lucky enough to get on a connecting flight after only a 1 hour delay. Unfortunately, our luggage was not so lucky! It was delivered to our hotel the following afternoon! Although we thought to bring extra food, and our camera in our carry-on luggage, we had no extra clothes, and NO bathing suits until then!

Puerto Rico Travel Tip: We learned the hard way- MAKE SURE you have everything you'll need to survive comfortably for at least 24 hours in case any of your luggage is lost. This means extra clothes, bathing suits, sunscreen, camera, toiletries, and anything else you would not want to be without on vacation. Of course, you should never pack ANY MONEY or valuables in your checked luggage!

 Embassy Suites, Dorado Puerto Rico

The main problem we ran into in booking a hotel is that Puerto Rico has strict fire codes for hotel rooms. Being a family of five, we needed to either book a suite, or two rooms. This severely limited our options. We considered staying near the airport in San Juan (the capital) but thought it would be too noisy and congested. We ended up staying at the Embassy Suites in Dorado, a small town on the north shore of the island, about 45 minutes west of San Juan.

The beachfront hotel and adjacent golf course were beautiful, and the staff very friendly and efficient. They have a full hot breakfast every day, and a "Manager's Reception" each evening from 5:00 - 7:00. The reception includes free drinks for grown-ups and soft drinks for the kids. The hotel also features entertainment by the pool during that time.

Puerto Rico Travel Tip: To help save money on your trip, find a hotel (like the Embassy Suites!) that includes free breakfast with your room. The Embassy Suites had a great breakfast including made-to-order omelets, pancakes, waffles, french toast, and MORE! For a family of five, we saved about $30-$40 a day!

Hotel pools and beach
The kids loved playing in the three pools (each connected by a waterfall), and on the beach which featured a break wall to protect swimmers from dangerous ocean currents. The beach was a good size, and pretty nice with plenty of lounge chairs, but could have used a little 'TLC'. There were also kayaks and pool toys available for hourly rentals. We had a blast in the two-person kayaks that we rented on our last day at the hotel.

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