Puerto Rico Travel Overview
Important facts
Capital: San Juan (See more on SIMPLYYELLOWPAGES.COM)
Official language: Spanish
Continent: North America
That of Arecibo’s ear
Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean that is administered by the United States.
Location of Puerto Rico
The island of Puerto Rico is a free state with US protection. Due to its location in the Caribbean, the island has slightly tropical weather, which can lead to violent storms, especially in the summer months. Caution is advised for travelers between June and November. West of Puerto Rico is the Dominican Republic, east of it is thetwo Virgin Islands.
Travel to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is a popular travel destination because it has something to offer for those interested in culture and nature lovers alike. On the one hand there are the rugged mountains of the island, riddled with caves, on the other hand the small sub-islands of the country, which offer a wide variety of nature. Spanish colonial heritage can be fascinating, as some of the 15th century forts are still well preserved.
Destinations in Puerto Rico
The capital San Juan is located on a peninsula in front of a spectacular cliff. Behind this exciting natural panorama you can visit the Catedral de San Juan (Cathedral of John the Baptist), as well as the two castles El Morro Fort and La Fortaleza.
Going camping in Puerto Rico ? No problem, because on the largest beach in the country, at Balneario La Monserrate, camping is allowed without restrictions. You can practice other water activities on the Costa Azul, where Playa Azul is very popular for snorkeling.
The island is mountainous and covered with dense tropical rainforests – for many the dream of oneCaribbean paradise. In addition to these natural beauties, there are some cultural highlights on the Caribbean island. Puerto Ricans are known in the region for their festivals and around the world for their music. Did you know that Ricky Martin himself and Jennifer Lopez’s parents are from this island?
Even a certain English film spy was there on duty. The Arecibo Observatory, the second largest radio telescope in the world, is located in a valley south of La Esperanza. Similar to CERN in Switzerland, it is open to all scientists in the world who work in this field. It was briefly used as a film set for the film Golden Eye.
Geography
Continent: North America
Geo coordinates: N 18 ° 13 ’15 ” W -66 ° -35′ -24.5″
Highest mountain: Cerro de Punta (1,338 m)
Total area: 9,104 km²
Mainland: 8,959 km²
Coastline: 501 km
Politics
Dependency: United States of America since 1898
Economy
GDP purchasing power parity: $ 76.3 billion
Electricity consumption: 23,270 million KWh
Gas consumption: 810 million m³
Oil consumption: 224,600 million m³
Cultivation area: 9.35%
Bovine: 408,000 pieces
Pigs: 116,000 pieces
Demographic data
Residents: 3,927,200
Residents in cities: 2,968,400
Average age: 34.7 years
0-14 years: 21.3%
15-64 years: 65.8%
> 65 years: 12.9%
Population growth: 0.4%
Birth rate: 12.77 / 1,000 residents
Death rate: 7.65 / 1,000 residents
Migration: -1.14 / 1,000 residents
Ratio men / women: 0.92
Fertility: 1.75 children / woman
Infant mortality: 9.14 ‰
Life expectancy men: 74.46 years
Life expectancy women: 82.54 years
Country codes and abbreviations
ISO 3166 Alpha 2: PR
ISO 3166 Alpha 3: PRI
ISO 3166 numeric: 630
Top Level Domain: pr
IOC country code: PURE
UN / LOCODE: PR
Source: Abbreviationfinder
Communication
Telephone connections: 1,430,000
Cell Phones: 1,490,000
Radios: 3,060,000
TV: 1,390,000
Computer: 830,000
Internet users: 1,060,000
Transportation
Railway lines: 96 km
Paved roads: 27,008 km
of which expressways: 442 km
Cars: 1,186,000
Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 2
Health
Number of doctors: 7,090
Daily food intake: 2,330 kcal / resident
HIV- infected people: 9,600
Education
Illiteracy: 5%
Religion
Main religious group: Christians
Crime
Prison inmates: 15,100
GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
Regular flights connect Puerto Rico with other cities and islands in the Caribbean. Airlines that fly to Puerto Rico are: Lufthansa (LH), United Airlines (UA), American Airlines (AA), British Airways (BA), Air Canada (AC), Iberia (IB), KLM (KL) and LIAT (LI) (Internet: www.liatairline.com) .
Lufthansa (LH) flies, among other things, directly from Frankfurt to New York (USA). In the code share with JetBlue (B6) Lufthansa will then offer onward flight options from New York and Boston to San Juan.
Flight times
Frankfurt – Puerto Rico: 9 hours 45 minutes; London – Puerto Rico: 8 hours; Miami – Puerto Rico: 2 hours 35 minutes
Arrival by ship
San Juan is Puerto Rico’s largest passenger port.
The following shipping lines regularly call at San Juan as part of cruises: Carnival (Internet: www.carnival.com), Celebrity (Internet: www.celebrity.com), Costa (Internet: www.costakreuzfahrten.de), Cunard (Internet: www .cunard.com), Norwegian Cruise Lines (Internet: www.ncl.de), Princess Cruises (Internet: www.princess.com), Royal Caribbean International (Internet:www.royalcaribbean.com) and Seabourn (Internet: www.seabourn.com).
ON THE GO
Traveling by plane
The airlines American Eagle (MQ) and Vieques Air Link (Internet: www.vieques-island.com/val) offer flight services within Puerto Rico from Ribas Dominicci Airport on Isla Grande or Aguadilla Airport.
On the way by car / bus
Rental cars from AAA, Afro, Atlantic, Avis, Budget, Discount and Hertz are available at the airport and in San Juan and in all major cities. Documentation: National driver’s license.
Traveling in the city
Bus: The local buses are called guaguas. There are stops in Bayamón, Catano, Country Club, Rio Piedras and in the capital. Many bus companies organize excursions and tours. Taxi: There are taxi ranks at the airport, in front of hotels and at the main attractions. Publicos (shared taxis / minibuses) have the sign P or PD on the license plate. The privately operated Publicos connect the island cities. The prices for taxis are fixed, advertised and affordable in the tourist areas. The linea-Service (between San Juan and most other cities) also has mandatory pricing and drops passengers off at will. Taxis outside the tourist areas have a meter and can be rented by the hour. Prices for excursions outside the urban taxi areas should be agreed in advance. Taxis can either be hailed in the street or ordered by phone.
On the way by ship
There are ferry connections from Fajardo or Old San Juan to the islands of Culebra and Vieques.