City overview
Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and U.S. territory, with San Juan as its capital and the arrival point for almost every visitor. The draw is the combination: 500-year-old Spanish fortifications and colourful colonial streets in Old San Juan, a rainforest and bioluminescent bays within an hour’s drive, and beach-resort strips in Isla Verde and Condado right beside the airport. Orthodox Jewish life on the island runs through Chabad of Puerto Rico in Isla Verde, minutes from the airport, which provides the daily minyan, the community eruv, kosher takeout, a kosher store and communal Shabbos meals. The island’s only certified kosher restaurant is in Miramar, San Juan.
El Yunque National Forest — El Portal Rainforest Center
Puerto Rico · $8 per person for the visitor centre; $4 with a U.S. national parks pass
The only tropical rainforest in the U.S. national forest system, with waterfalls, lookout towers and trails an hour east of San Juan.
Time needed
Half a day
Hours
Visitor centre open daily 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Tips
Arrive around 8:00 AM — parking at the popular trailheads fills fast. Much of the forest, including the scenic pull-offs and Yokahú Tower, is free; the ticket is only for the visitor centre. Needs a car.
Phone
787-888-1880Address
PR-191, Río Grande, PR 00745Neighborhood
Río Grande — about an hour east of San Juan
Activity providers
Kosher map of Puerto Rico
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.