Having just returned from the Caribbean’s "newest" island, I can say that travel advisors have a wonderful chance to entice and delight their clients.
Perhaps newest isn’t the best way to describe Puerto Rico. As it was first settled by Europeans in 1521, it’s been delighting visitors for over 400 years. But the “Enchanted Isle” just doesn’t get much traction from Canada, and that’s too bad.
No doubt it’s for a pair of reasons: The island doesn’t currently have any non-stop service, much less the convenience of back-to-back charters with the Sunwings and ACVs of this world. (I flew sked on UA, necessitating a stop in each direction.) And there are no all-inclusives, which can make it a hard sell in this market.
Yet Puerto Rico, which is actually smaller than Jamaica, has so much going for it.
It’s a shame that most Canadians experience the island only en route to a cruise, keen to get afloat as soon as possible. They will be waving goodbye to an island which in my opinion combines so many of the features your sun-seeking clients are after. Beaches? There are almost 300. Golf? Some 30 courses. Food ranges from familiar fast-food to local specialties and seafood to some of the most sophisticated restos in the Caribbean.
There are casinos (not every island can say that). Shoppers will delight in the boutiques and malls, including the largest in the Caribbean. Adventure seekers will be thrilled with the surfing, the hiking in El Yunque National Forest and kayaking in bioluminescent bays. Culture gurus will love national Museum of Art with its old masters and 2 acre sculpture garden.
Puerto Ricans love to party, so clients looking for vibrant nightlife of every stripe will love the after-dark scene – not to mention the countless festivals across the island, almost once a week.
And the client who is happiest in an English-speaking destination will be right at home – though the island boasts a cultural mix of American, Spanish, African and Indigenous heritage.
History buffs will in heaven, strolling around wonderfully preserved Old San Juan, just 10 minutes from downtown San Juan, which is the capital and home to the sleek international airport. This little city-within-a-city features narrow cobblestones streets, pleasant plazas, wrought iron balconies, and a host of small and eclectic eateries/bars and boutiques. Its grid pattern measures just 6 streets by 7 - meaning that even someone as directionally-challenged as me can’t get lost.
As I wandered the streets, I kept doing those mental burps you do when you have a few countries under your belt. Was I in Italy? Merida, Mexico? New Orleans? Old San Juan combines a little of these and much more.
I was lucky enough to spend four nights in Old San Juan at the Villa Herencia, a 200 year old former private home and now 8 room inn, brimming with charm, antiques and whimsey (a bust of Mozart in the reception area sports a pair of sunglasses). No resto, no bar, no pool, and internet service can be moody. Yet none of that bothered me – or my fellow guests, who hailed from Puerto Rico, Sweden, India, and Austria – one bit. We all simply fell in love with the charm and peace of the place.
So: next time you are putting the finishing touches on a cruise vacation for a client who's sailing from SJU, why not suggest that they extend their pre-stay and make it two vacations in one? Chances are they will thank you and come home raving about the “newest” destination in the Caribbean.
“We are,” as my Puerto Rican seatmate EWR-SJU proudly told me, “A big little island.”
More information about Puerto Rico on its tourism board website here.
