The All Inclusive VIP Tours Blog

  Most visitors never leave the metro area — and that's exactly where the best food in Puerto Rico is hiding. Here are five stops we build into our island days, all of them a real drive from the city. 1. Guavate, Cayey — the Pork Highway Drive south into the mountains and the road starts to smoke. Guavate is a stretch of roadside lechoneras where whole pigs roast slowly over open fire, and the smell hits you before you even park. Order a plate, find a seat under the trees, and stay a while — the music usually starts before the food is gone. This is a weekend tradition for locals, not a tourist stop, and that's the point. 2. The Kioskos of Luquillo Just past the rainforest, a long row of little kitchens faces the water. You'll find everything from fried snacks and mofongo to fresh seafood, all eaten at picnic tables with your feet practically in the sand. Come hungry, walk the whole line first, then decide — that's how the locals do it. 3. Boquerón, Cabo Rojo — oysters...

Almost every first-time visitor plans Puerto Rico the same way — and it's backwards. Here's how it usually goes. You book a flight. You pick a hotel, almost always in San Juan, because that's the name you know. Then you fill the days with a list of must-sees — Old San Juan, El Yunque, a glowing bay or two — and you figure you'll sort out getting around once you land. It feels like a sensible plan. It's also the reason so many travelers fly home exhausted, having seen a small slice of the island. The problem: you planned around the airport Puerto Rico looks tiny on a map. It doesn't feel tiny from the driver's seat. Add traffic, narrow mountain roads, and the hunt for parking, and suddenly a "quick" trip across the island eats half your day. Meanwhile, the island's most unforgettable moments are spread out — the west-coast sunsets, the coffee-grower hills in the center, the seafood shacks in the southwest, the quiet beaches that never make the p...