Two friends and I took a long weekend vacation to Puerto Rico last month. Originally, I thought about just doing a regular itinerary recap but figured it may be helpful to add costs for anyone interested. So if you are planning to visit PR anytime soon, here are some details regarding my trip expenses. Of course, depending on your preferences, this trip can cost less or more. But hope this gives you an idea!
Flight + Accommodations
Depending on when and where you are flying from, a regular roundtrip ticket to San Juan can be less than $200. Mine from Tampa to San Juan was $220. BUT, I had $200 cashback from one of my credit cards that brought my cost down to $20!
Roundtrip Ticket = $20
We rented an Airbnb that was $850 total, split between the 3 of us. If you are looking into hotels, it seems like the average for 3 nights is $700-$1300. Airbnb is probably a better option if you are on a budget, averaging $350 to $700 for most right now. We got caught by the ~vibez~ and ended up with a slightly more expensive Airbnb with a picturesque bathtub but it wasn't even worth it. BTW I would not recommend the area we stayed in, Santurce. It had a lot of restaurants and was within walking distance of the beach. But it was not clean and I didn't feel very comfortable walking at night....
Airbnb = $283
Day 1 Itinerary
Because I didn't like the area we were in, we used Uber quite a bit. Luckily most rides were only $5-$15 so very affordable! I called 6 Ubers over the course of the day — 2 by myself and split the other 4.
Transportation = $30
Food and drinks that day included
Breakfast at the Dreamcatcher: Omelet and Juice $12
Lemon Gelato at San Juan Mall $5
Dinner at Delavida Restobar: 2 Fish Tacos, 1 BBQ Taco, Limonada 1361 (The alcohol in this hit me real quick!) $26
Mojito at Tulum La Placita $10
Daily Meals = $53
Day 2 Itinerary
We called 3 Ubers (split costs) and 1 bus today. Casa Bacardi was about 20 minutes from our Airbnb which is why it cost a bit more. And we planned to take the $0.50 ferry ride back to San Juan after Casa Bacardi but it was down that day so we bought a bus ticket for the same amount. Would definitely recommend using the ferry if you can though! Two restaurants were also in walking distance of our Airbnb.
Transportation = $18
Food and drinks that day included
Breakfast at Musa: Ropa Vieja Omelette/Pancakes, Soursop Juice $25
Mr. Weenies Waffles $9
La Factoria: Lavender Mule $11
Pizza Pirilo Pizza Rustica $14
Daily Meals = $59
We participated in a mixology class at Casa Bacardi that was fun! It included a welcome drink, a tour/info session, and materials to make a Pina Colada and Mojito. I'd definitely recommend it if this is something of interest to you. If you are staying in Old San Juan, take the ferry across instead of Ubering.
Mixology Class at Casa Bacardi = $75
Day 3 Itinerary
We called 5 Ubers today. Ubering to and from Carabali Rainforest Park was the most expensive ride of them all totaling $100 roundtrip. I heard that it can be hard to catch a ride back because it's considerably farther from San Juan but we got a ride back just fine so I'm not sure if this is true. The other rides were less than $10 each way. We split the costs among the three of us. We walked to the beach.
Transportation = $40
Food and drinks this day included
Breakfast at Numero Uno: Pancakes and Sober Pirate $28
Dinner at Eter Rooftop: Shrimp Mofongo and 2 Lucid Dreams $52
La Paleta: Nutella Popsicle $3
Daily Meals = $83
We started the day with beach yoga with an instructor from Airbnb for $20 per person. It was beginner-friendly which was great. After, we ate at a beach restaurant and relaxed for a while. We also did an hour-long UTV (Buggy Style ATV for up to 4 people) for 140 total, split among the 3 of us. But all things considered, I probably wouldn't recommend coming here for ATV riding. It's far away from the city and for an adrenaline junkie like me, the ATV ride is slow! Plus I found out afterward that there are ATVs in the Isla Verde area, which is much closer (IDK if they are better though).
Beach Yoga = $20
ATV = $47
Day 4 Itinerary
This was our last day in PR so we went to get breakfast and then left for the airport. We split these costs as well.
Transportation = $5
We ate breakfast at Playa Papaya which was probably my favorite meal of the trip.
Playa Papaya: Mallorca Sandwich and Beach Blondie Smoothie $18
Daily Meals = $18
Total Price for 4 Days/3 Nights in San Juan
My grand total was about $750 for the trip. If I could do my trip over, I would pick a less expensive Airbnb to save more money and skip the ATV ride. These 2 factors probably could have saved me almost $200. But you live and you learn!
As far as the experiences themselves, I'd recommend staying in Old San Juan instead of Santurce. I think I would have enjoyed my trip more this way. I also would have skipped ATVing to spend more time in Old San Juan because we didn't get to explore much while the sun was out.
*Accommodation, transportation, and the ATV expenses were split so only my portion is bolded. And all costs were rounded to the nearest dollar.
Have you been to Puerto Rico? If not, are you planning to go? Also, do you like this cost breakdown format or do you prefer regular travel guides? Let me know in the comments!
Bring goggles or sunglasses to the ATV or you'll get dirt in your eyes!