Puerto Rico Holidays

A tree-shaded, traffic-free promenade, 2 marinas and a beach have made Puerto Rico a popular holiday resort. Nearly everything has been built since the 1960s, in a simple modern Mediterranean style, with plain white blocks crawling up parched escarpments. The resort exists entirely for tourists; it is safe, clean and well maintained, with tumbling flowers and the inevitable Canary palms and cacti. This resort is mainly for Families and couples with a preference for a compact, modern, purpose-built destination offering a good range of facilities and vibrant nightlife. Popular with British and northern Europeans. It is located On the SW coast, 45 mls SW of Las Palmas, 10 mls W of Playa del Ingles. 28 mls SW of airport. There is a small, gently shelving, man-made cove with fine, light-coloured sand and clear water, packed with rows of loungers; suitable for children. Various water sports on offer. Larger, attractive beach of Amadores, 1 ml NW along the coast. Entertainment - Daytime: minigolf, tennis, bowling, wind surfing, sailing, water-skiing and fishing. Nightlife: choice of bars, restaurants and discos, mainly located at the 2 commercial centres. Many apartments and hotels provide regular evening shows. Pavement cafes and restaurants to suit most budgets and tastes, including fast-food joints, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, German and international. Regular buses serve the area, as well as various points along the coast, including Las Palmas. Taxis are cheap, but can be a little difficult to flag down; better to call for one. Hire cars are plentiful and roads usually well marked; parking is easy, with parking tickets required (cheap) from ticket machines on some main streets. The island's 538 sq mls can be explored by tour bus, jeep or hired car. Various theme parks include Sioux City, Wild West theme park, Aqua Sur water park, Camel Safari park, Palmitos animal park and crocodile park. Organised cruises aboard yachts or old schooners or a day's sailing around the whole island. Las Palmas, a sizeable city and port, offers the best shopping opportunities and has some good duty-free bargains; La Vegueta is the historic quarter where Columbus called en route to the New World.