Extended stay in Old San Juan

I need some local advice please!

We have stayed extra days in Old San Juan either pre or post cruise four times now. I have come to love OSJ and the Condado area as a result and would happily move to Puerto Rico if I could convince my husband. We will be visiting again in November and we are skipping the cruise (i will miss MY Adventure) and be staying in a rental apartment for a week! :D

What are the best "basic" eateries? Although I love my Cafe Mallorca, I know I will need something different at some point. I'm good with rice and beans and the more hearty local foods but the more exotic choices scare me :eek:

What are the areas to steer clear of? I already know about La Perla (although I believe it may not be as bad as the hype says it is) but what other areas should we be aware of.

If we rented a car for a day, what beach would you recommend? We went to Mar Chiquita last time and loved it. Is the other side of the island better?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Highly recommend Luquillo beach and the food kiosks in that area. The rainforest is on your way. I adore Cafe Mallorca and crave it so that is my only breakfast place because I can't get them in Indiana. We accidentally walked into La Perla never felt uncomfortable. I've rented an apartment across from Coast Guard once and an apartment 2 or 3 streets up from the square. I loved them both for different reasons. One thing locals say is if there is a heavy police presence it's needed and I did see that on a few days. They say to be careful after dark but again I have never felt uncomfortable in San Juan. It is advised not to leave anything in your vehicle unattended. Hoping next time to check out Rincon and the other coasts. Fajardo is cool with the Bio Bay also from there you can ferry to Vieques or Calebra. We spent a day on Calebra snorkeling with turtles. If you do biobay do an early tour so you can enjoy the mangroves on your way out because you wouldn't see anything otherwise. Trip advisor will steer you in the right direction for food. There is pizza, Italian, steakhouses honestly anything you could imagine. Fattys is good. Down on the square are SO many restaurants then condado has more touristy place.

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Puerto Rico is so beautiful and a fantastic place to vacation. As for good places to eat, we honestly rarely eat out, so my knowledge is somewhat limited, but we love Cafeteria Mallorca (which you already found), Cuatros Sombras is my favorite coffee shop in Old San Juan, and their pan de agua with guava butter is super yummy. My kids say they have the best quesittos on the island as well. There is a pizza place, Pirrilos, that has great pizza and in addition to the typical types they have unique island pizzas. I really like the one will amarillo and the one with mango sauce.

Other than La Perla, which I really would avoid, you are relatively safe most everywhere. Like any big city, if it looks shady you might reconsider, but most places, especially the places tourists care to go, are safe.

As for beaches, it depends on how far you want to drive. I prefer the beaches leaving San Juan and heading west, especially all the way on the west coast. Crash boat beach is one of my favorites. It is in Aguadilla on the west coast, is very beautiful and has a long pier that you can jump off of into the ocean, which my kids think is fun. However, that is a two to two and a half hour drive. Closer in Mar Chaquita is one of the more beautiful beaches, although a little rocky. We like Puerto Nuevo. It is pretty and the beach is protected so it doesn't usually get to wavy.

Going the other direction, Luquillo is fun because in addition to the beautiful beach, there is a row of kiosks (food stands) just past the beach where you can try a wide variety of Puerto Rican delicacies.

I highly recommend checking out the website puertoricodaytrips.com. They have tons of info about all sorts of things to do on the island, including GPS coordinates for places, which can be really helpful in finding your way around.

So this La Perla that everyone is saying to steer clear of, it's right beside the graveyard by the fort? We had planned on walking there when we stayed in OSJ on this last cruise but ran out of time. It's something that I really wanted to see. Is it not safe to walk to the grave yard or the fort?

Are you restricting your travels to just beaches and San Juan?

The mountains are incredible, and while the drive is slow and very curvy- it's spectacular.

There's also an idea to drive to coffee country- which is in the south west mountains.

And if you are ok with driving farther away- drive to Guavate and get some of the best pork in the world.