San Juan 2025 Recap & Outfits

Why San Juan???

Direct Flight from ATL
No Passport required
No customs
Beachy Island Vibes, but lots to do outside of hanging at beach or pool
Yummy Food!

Where We Stayed…

This was my 6th trip to San Juan, and 5th time staying at the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Resort.

We love this hotel because…

The Marriott Points (I have the Marriott Visa)
Waterslide (for Sienna)
Hotel has pool walkout rooms
Great location on the beach
Walkable to several yummy restaurants.

Tip….to be closer to the pool, book a room in the Cabana building.

Other Hotel Options : Caribe Hilton, La Concha Resort, Condado Vanderbilt, Fairmont El San Jan

Getting Around:

This last trip we did not rent a car and just ubered everywhere. I would only rent a car if you are planning to go to the Rainforest or other parts of the island (like the Bio Bay in Fajardo). Else, many things are walkable, and ubers are easy.

Where We Ate:

In case it matters….Sienna and I are vegetarians, Jonathan eats everything (but will eat vegetarian with us a lot).

Lunch – We pretty much ate at the pool each day. The food menu offered at the pool is pretty decent. I got veggie tacos one day that were amazing. They also have a smoothie / acai bowl bar (which was new since our last visit). If you order a Acai bowl be careful…they were very heavy handed with the Almond butter and it was a little much 🙂

Dinner:

Serafina – located at La Concha Hotel. We shared a couple pizzas for dinner, and they were delicious!
Denko Asian Eatery (at District T-Mobile) – I highly recommend this area, even if you don’t go to this specific restaurant. There are so many dining options to choose from. At Denko, we got a rocket table, where your food is delivered to you by a little rocket on a conveyor belt. Jonathan thought it might be cheesy, but it was actually really fun! I got a Tofu Hot Pot, Jonathan got Sushi, Sienna had fried rice.
La Casita de Rones – Located in Old San Juan by the Cruise Terminal. A great place to dine outside or have snacks and drinks, We have eaten lunch here in the past, but just went for snacks on our last visit.
Verde Mesa – Located in Old San Juan. This might be my favorite place I’ve eaten at in San Juan. Jonathan and I share the Vegan Tomato Ceviche and Verde Mesa Rice. We all shared the Purple Cloud for dessert.

Dessert & Snacks:

Dulcinea Ice Cream & Churros (at District T-Mobile) – Stopped here after dinner at Denko. Sienna got a Churro/Ice Cream concoction
Señor Paleta – Ice Cream Pops, and you can have them drizzled with chocolate and toppings added! Jonathan and I shared the new Dubai Chocolate Paleta
Barrachina – Located in Old San Juan. One of the 2 places that claims to be the birthplace of the Pina Colada. They have food also, but we just went for a drink
Caribar at Caribe Hilton – This is the other place that claims to be the birthplace of the Pina Colada. We went here to give their version a try as well. We split the Plant Based Nachos while enjoying our fruity drinks.

Other Dining Options (most we have visited on past trips):

Julius Restaurant and Grill – Grab a festive drink in a Pineapple here!
Cocina Abierta – A nicer dining option with a coursed menu. It is pretty much right across from our hotel. We usually eat here every trip, but their menu did not look super vegetarian friendly this time around
Lote 23 – Lote 23 is described as a Gastronomic Park. It is like a food truck park, but most of the restaurants are in permanent kiosks. We have been here a couple times, and they always have so many yummy options
PokeBar – Build your own poke bowl place with a ton of ingredients to choose from. They even have tofu for us vegetarians. Located about a block from our hotel.
Atabey – A cute little spot with a couple tables outside for dining (though it has been too windy each time we have gone). They have lots of vegetarian options!
Pirilo Pizza – Who doesn’t love pizza? This one comes highly recommended and we have been to both the Old San Juan and Condado locations.
Casa Cortes Choco Bar – This place is always on our list, but we never go. It will be a fun place to eat if you are visiting with kids.
El Yunque Treehouse – Great little spot right outside the rain forest. We ate here in 2023. The menu had tons of Puerto Rican food choices, including vegetarian options. Make sure to go visit the parrots they have outside (far corner of building)
Tacos & Tequila – Fancy-ish Mexican, located at the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. We ate here in 2023 and enjoyed it! An easy walk from our hotel.

Things to Do:

Things We Did on our recent 2025 Trip….

Hang out at Pool and Beach
LED Kayak Night Glow Tour in Condado Lagoon – Make sure to book a later tour. We went at 6pm, and it wasn’t dark enough for us to glow…but still fun
Visit Old San Juan and Walk Around
- Parrots at Plaza Colón
- Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park)
- Eat & Drink – Señor Paleta, Barrachina, Verde Mesa, a Casita de Rones
- Visit the Forts. There are 2, Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo de San Cristobal . Castillo San Felipe is large and is definitely a must see. It has a large open field that is perfect for flying kites (San Juan can be super windy). Make sure you have cash to buy one.

Other Stuff to Do (from Previous Trips):

Visit the Bio Bay – The Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo, PR is a bay filled with these tiny organisms that glow at night. If you put your hand in the water and stir it around, you can see them glow. It is such a cool experience. I have been to the bio bay 3 times. The first 2 times I did a Kayak Tour. The last time we went in a motor boat since Sienna was only 5 and not much of a kayaker yet.
- Here is the Kayak Company we used in 2017 – Kayaking Puerto Rico
- Here is the Motor boat tour we did on our last trip – Bio Island PR
- Tips:
  - Make sure to apply Bug Spray before going on this tour. I cannot stress this enough. I was attacked and had bug bites the size of a golf balls on my thighs. I recovered, but it was definitely not a good look for me
  - Fajardo is about an hour from San Juan. We got caught in really bad traffic, and it took us almost 2 hours. We almost missed our tour. Give yourself plenty of time to get there!
  - The Bio Bay is really close to the El Yunque National Rainforest. If you plan to do both, I would plan to do these 2 things on the same day.
El Yunque National Rainforest
- Make sure to make a reservation! Make reservations to El Yunque Here!
- When we visited in 2023 some El Yunque areas, such as Puente Roto and Angelito trail did not require a reservation (but make sure to research ahead of time)
- Afterwards stop at El Yunque Treehouse for a bite to eat
Sunset Sail – in 2023 we did a Sunset Sail with East Island Excursions. The boat departs from Old San Juan, so a perfect way to end your day after touring the city. Drinks and snacks were provided
Visit Casa Bacardi – Bacardi Museum with different tours you can book. We went in 2017 and did the Tour and Mixology class. This tour is not Kid friendly (Sienna did not come with us this trip). We had so much fun in our mixology class…maybe too much fun 🙂
Visit Culebra Island– This has come highly recommended, but I have never done it. When I have researched, you have to catch a super early ferry to get over there. I am sure you can book a tour if you plan ahead. It is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, so if you go….let me know!