Kate & Olivia Honeymoon | Puerto Rico
In May 2019, we set off on our 10-day honeymoon to the beautiful archipelago of Puerto Rico. After researching the perfect destination for months, we knew PR would be everything we were hoping for: safe and welcoming for queer womxn and a good balance of beach and city life. Living in NYC, Puerto Rico is very accessible by direct flight. Without needing to worry about passports or currency exchange, it’s a great way to visit the Caribbean easily. Enjoy this recap of our honeymoon in paradise!
For more details on the beaches or the restaurants and bars we visited, check out our other posts that are coming soon!
Day 1: Aguadilla
We took a midnight flight on a Friday in to Saturday out of JFK International Airport in NYC to Rafael Hernández International Airport in Aguadilla. After a quick and easy flight, we landed around 4:30 in the morning, picked up our rental car from Enterprise, and drove to a small loft we rented on Airbnb for a very brief nap. Upon waking up, we set out for our first day of adventure! We stopped for breakfast at Mona before heading to the highly recommended Crash Boat Beach to break in our new GoPro and experience the first of many beautiful beaches!
Highlight: Crash Boat Beach
Day 1-2: Rincón
After spending the afternoon at Crash Boat, we drove down to our next Airbnb rental which was a cozy beach bungalow in Rincón, a laidback surf town on the east side of the main island. At the suggestion of our host, who offered lots of advice on the best things to do and see, we checked out a few places downtown. We walked around Plaza Pública de Rincón, stopping in to Café 413 for dinner, Rincón Beer Company for local beers, La Barca Snack Bar by the ocean, and the tiny dive bar El Scorpion.
The next morning we visited Jack’s Shack for one of the best breakfasts we’ve ever had! Then started the beach hopping! We went down to Domes, which was the most crowded beach of the day, but barely had any visitors. After a little sun bathing, we popped in to Mango Beach Shop for a couple of souvenirs, then TAMBOO for a cold beer before walking along the shore at Sandy Beach. Seeing some rain in the forecast, we made our way to Steps and set up our umbrella under a little cluster of trees. After a few minutes, the skies opened. It was one of the most memorable moments: Olivia running through the rain with the GoPro while Kate tried to stay dry.
For dinner with a sunset view after the storm, we drove up 413 to The Beach House. We chatted with the owner, listened to some amazing live music by Babylons Most Wanted, and enjoyed the chill atmosphere with a one-of-a-kind view of the ocean. After the sun set, we drove back down 413 for a quick stop at Calypso Café and Tropical Bar before heading back to the Airbnb (for Olivia to watch the Game of Thrones finale).
Highlight: The Beach House
Day 3: Boquerón, Yauco, Ponce
One of the highlights of our entire trip was when we visited the small town of Boquerón in Cabo Rojo. Since 2003, they have hosted Orgullo Boquerón, a growing celebration of LGBTQ+ culture with 50K attendees annually, rivaling San Juan’s Pride weekend which began in 1991. It was important to us to support this area, even though we missed the main event by a few weeks.
We visited early on a weekday, so many places were closed, but we were able to have a drink at Sunset Sunrise, a small bar with lots of rainbow decor. The bartender told us stories about the queer history in the area, and about the lesbian couple who began the western Pride parade. We were thrilled to have a conversation with a local who was kind enough to share stories with us.
Before hitting the road again, we grabbed a snack at The Copy.
Highlight:
Yauco was a must see for the local art installation, Yaucromatic2. After walking through the neighborhood of bright colors, we stopped into La Funeraria Sports Bar for a refreshing beer after the heat. This is also a very special shout out to the 11-year-old playing basketball who called out “Hello, tourists!” to us as we walked through; very funny in the moment and a reminder that locals see hundreds of tourists and that this is their home.
The next stop was another Airbnb in the historic district of Ponce, the second largest city on the island. This was meant to be a resting stop on our drive along the southern coast so, but with a casino and interesting architecture, we didn’t get as much rest as we planned to. It was already close to sundown when we arrived. On our way to dinner at Lola Electric Cuisine, we walked around the fountain at Plaza Las Delicias. From there, we hit the roulette tables at Ponce Plaza Hotel & Casino. We ended up taking a walk looking for a specific gay bar only to find out that it had unfortunately closed permanently. We returned back to the casino, hit our limit, and headed back to the Airbnb for some much needed sleep. In the morning, we grabbed some breakfast and continued our trip westward.
Day 4: Farjardo/Ceiba
We quickly returned our rental car to Enterprise in Fajardo and took a short Lyft ride to the Ceiba airport to catch our flight to Vieques! The driver told us about the efforts of The Satos Project, which rescues stray dogs in the area and works to get them adopted.
Upon arriving at the small airport, we checked in for an unforgettable 10-minute flight over the Caribbean waters in a puddle-jumper. We landed at the even smaller airport on Vieques and grabbed a cab to pick up our Jeep from Vieques Car Rental.
Day 4-5: Vieques
Casa Arena, our Airbnb on Vieques was a private room in a house on the north side of the island. Once we arrived, we took some time to relax, laying in the hammock on the balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean. After resting, we got ready for a “night on the town”, starting with dinner at Coqui Fire for their special Taco Tuesday menu. After dinner we watched the sunset from the patio at Saint Voodoo's Mar Azul overlooking the beach and enjoying margaritas. Once the sun was down, we hung out for awhile longer, playing darts and shooting tequila with the bartender before calling it a night.
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast sandwiches to-go from Buen Provecho before meeting our tour guide at Colon Horseback Riding. Our guide, Mandy, was funny, attentive, and provided a lot of great information about the beaches we rode on. There were a few dogs who joined us as we rode through the neighborhoods leading to the beach. They stayed with us for the entire tour and were very playful and fun to watch.
After the horseback ride, we drove out to Mosquito Pier, which had the most beautiful calm turquoise waters. We then stopped by Playa Negra, and Playa Caracas, passing lots of wild horses while driving across island, many in the protected lands of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge.
We traveled down to Esperanza, on the south side of the island, and had dinner at Bananas before our late night bioluminescent bay kayak tour with Fun Brothers. Before the 9 PM tour, we grabbed a quick nap in our car since the sunset was around 6:45. It was a near perfect night to see the bioluminescence; no moon and clear weather. Fun Brothers has a fleet of clear bottom kayaks, which made watching the glowing all around us even more prominent. They recommend leaving all personal items behind, which we didn’t mind since images don’t do the luminescence justice.
The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Rising Roost and spent some time hanging out at Buga’s Mexican Restaurant before returning our Jeep and catching another 10-minute flight to Culebra.
Day 6-7: Culebra
We landed in Culebra and decided to rent a golf cart, which we suggest doing to get around. Once we dropped our luggage at our Airbnb, Casa Rosado, we went to Zaco’s Tacos for dinner before catching an amazing sunset at Melones Beach.
The next morning we visited Blac Flamingo for breakfast and started our beach day with snorkeling at Tamarindo Beach. After a brief stop at Tamarindo, we went to Flamenco Beach where we happily spent the rest of the daylight. We ate dinner at El Eden and moved to Dinghy Dock for some drinks before calling it a night. The morning was a slow start for us. We checked out of the Airbnb and went straight to the airport for our flight back to the main island.
Day 8: Old San Juan
For the third and final time during our trip, we picked up a rental car for the hour drive from Fajardo to San Juan. Once we returned the car, we took an Uber into Old San Juan. We arrived prior to check-in for our next Airbnb so we stopped for a quick lunch at St. Germain around the corner. After dropping off the bags, we took off to explore Old San Juan, strolling down the mile long historical Paseo del Morro, taking in beauty and history of the city and the colorful architecture. Dive bars are our typically our favorite places to hang out in so we went to El Batey for a few cold Medallas, which was highly recommended by friends. After a short rest back at the apartment, we visited Raices for a traditional Puerto Rican dinner.
Day 9-10: San Juan
We had an early reservation at The Loft for their all-day Sunday brunch at La Concha Resort in Condado, San Juan. Following a deliciously boozy start to the day, we checked into our oceanview room on the top floor, and settled in to enjoy the gorgeous view from our balcony. We went down to play some roulette at Casino Del Mar, then visited the Stellaris Casino, Casino Metro, and back to Casino Del Mar before calling it an evening.
The next morning, we returned to The Loft for another breakfast, which was included with our room this time. We had a full day of fun and adventure planned in Isla Verde! First up was parasailing with Watersports 4U. The ocean and cityscape views from so high up were amazing. After recovering from a small bout of motion sickness, we rented a jet ski from WOW Surfing School and Jet Ski Adventures. Kate enjoyed the full 60 minutes, but Olivia only lasted about 20 minutes before heading back to the beach (motion sickness strikes again). We relaxed and strolled along Ashford Avenue for the rest of the evening, enjoying dinner at Orozco’s and the beautiful weather.
La Concha has three pools to visit; two for people of all ages and one that is adults only. We spent time in all three but really enjoyed the Ocean Terrace infinity pool, the adults only pool. We spent our last few days lounging, swimming, relaxing, and soaking up the sun.
Since our 2019 visit to Puerto Rico, which we have recommended to many other queer couples, there have been at least five transgender people who have been killed on the island. As cis women, we recognize our privilege within the LGBTQ+ community. We stand with the Human Rights Campaign in their call for elected officials to reinstate LGBTQ+ protections and law enforcement to fully investigate and prosecute crimes against the trans community. Trans Lives Matter.
All photos and videos taken on GoPro Hero Black 7, iPhone 7+, and iPhone 8.
“Caribbean Girls (Instrumental)” performed by “Eddie Grey,” licensed from Triple Scoop Music.