"~ Ah....the good life! ~" Dorado by lolabunny

I would never have visited Puerto Rico had it not been for my boyfriend who had to go for work. I was up for a free visit (frequent flyer miles & hotel/food paid for by work!) and had time to spare at work.

Well, that was a year ago and I've been there 3 times since. :-) It's not a destination spot that I would go to if the circumstances were different. It's known more for the pit stop for lots of cruises or jumps to more "resort/tourist" spots.

Keeping that in mind, I did like the place we stayed. We have always frequented the Embassy Suites Dorado, which is on the ocean. It's about 40 minutes east of San Juan. Most people there speak fluent english and you'll only run into a few people that do not.

The weather is beautiful there. I went in March, April & February and all were favorable. It does rain a bit but seems to be in spirts and doesn't last too terribly long.

We went horseback riding in Isabella, which was fantastic. It's with a group of people (so you aren't alone) and you ride horses along the beach.

We visited the Camuy Caves which was interesting but not very exciting.

We took a day trip on our own to El Yunque, the natural rainforest. That was fun, though the weather is the forest is...well, wet. :-) We hiked to some waterfalls and went swimming. Very cool!

We most recently took a day trip on a catamaran to go snorkeling (this was based out of Fajardo). This was by far the best "fun" trip we did. The snorkelin was a blast and we met some fun people while drinking on the trip back to dock

If you like sushi, there are two places that I would recommend. The first is Zen Garden, which is located in the Hyatt Cerromar Hotel (Dorado). YUM! The second is actually in San Juan, located right next to the Marriot. This is the Cherry Blossom.

My absolute favorite though is Van Gogh's, again located near the Marriott (in the Condado area). I look forward to this each time we go. A bit on the pricey side but WELL WORTH IT! The chef/owner used to be Ricky Martin's personal chef. She visited our table and I couldn't stop raving about the fabulous food. Plantains are plentiful there. They are very similar to a banana but you cook them (usually used like a potato). At Van Gogh's to our meals were flash fried spinach (YUM!), smashed plantains wrapped in a banana leafe and a tropical/mango slaw. MMmm, my mouth waters just thinking about it!!!!

• Pros:Tropical atmosphere - warm weather & beautiful waters
• Cons:CRAZY drivers!!!!
• In a nutshell:Not necessarily a vacation spot but a nice pit stop!