It seems everyone’s got their eyes set on an Italian or Greek island summer this year, but you know what we’ve always said: when those turquoise-water and piña colada cravings hit, there’s nowhere better to switch off and kick it back than the good ol’ Caribbean.
Now, we get it if you don’t want to deal with the whole wiffle-waffle of international travel.
It’s a very different travel landscape than the one you were maybe used to from a few years back, what with the growing web of restrictions, and the U.S. passport dropping in power each passing year—not sure what we’re on about?
Have a read here—but you don’t actually need a passport to tap into that Caribbean magic.
Forget the Cozumels, Punta Canas, and Jamaicas of the world.
One of the trendiest Caribbean islands right now actually welcomes Americans without a passport… and before you know it, you’ll be disappearing down a proper Bad Bunny rabbit hole wondering whether moving there full-time is genuinely a terrible idea.
Puerto Rico Is The Most Convenient Caribbean Getaway This Summer
Between Southwest adding more nonstop flights from Florida, to tourism revenue growing 13% year-on-year, it’s safe to say La Isla del Encanto has never been trendier than it is at the minute.
Surely, this might have something to do with Bad Bunny fans flocking there for a DtMF-soundtracked summer, but even if you’re not particularly a huge fan of the Puerto Rican superstar, the sun, Latin culture, and lush coastal scenery is sure to win you over.
Unlike most Caribbean destinations, however, Puerto Rico is accessible to American citizens without a passport.
Sorry to hammer it home like your 9th-grade geography teacher, but as you surely know at this point, the island is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
No, it is not a state, and the fact it has its own flag, and Puerto Ricans themselves proudly claim a distinct nationality and cultural identity probably has you wondering whether you’ve got your facts wrong, but Puerto Rico is every bit as much a part of the U.S. of A. as, say, Hawaii or Alaska are.
What ID Can You Use To Travel To Puerto Rico As A U.S. Citizen?
Voting peculiarities and territorial quirks aside, Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and on an international level, it’s Washington that handles foreign affairs and defense.
This means you can fly to Puerto Rico just as easily as Maui, without carrying an internationally-valid passport on you, so long as you’re able to present one of the following alternatives:
- A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID (the one with the star)
- A U.S. passport card
- A Trusted Traveler card (Globaly Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI)
- Military ID
- Other TSA-approved IDs (find the full list here)
Naturally, the above only apply to U.S. citizens. If you fly to Puerto Rico as a non-U.S. citizen, you will still need your internationally valid passport.
Traveling internationally has become a bit of a pain now that countries are doubling down on security and tightening entry rules again following the post-COVID travel boom.
Thailand has just cut down the number of days Americans can stay in the country from 60 to 30 days, and if you’re headed to Europe this summer, you might want to prepare for long border delays and airport queues due to mandatory fingerprinting and new EES registration.
If flying abroad to anywhere that’s not PR this summer, do run a little destination check on the Entry Requirement Checker to avoid any issues at the boarding gate.
Going to Puerto Rico, on the other hand, is as breezy as it ever was.
Old World Charm Everywhere You Look
Speaking of Europe, you actually don’t need to fly halfway across the glone to soak up all of that Old World charm:
San Juan, the boricua capital, has all the Old World charm and Mediterranean flair of a Spanish city, minus the fingerprinting and Schengen bureaucracy.
Built by the Spanish upon their conquest of the island back in the 1500s, it is a cobble-paved maze of colonial churches, shaded plazas, and brightly-painted façades that could easily fit somewhere in Andalusia.
It has not one, but two massive oceanfront castles, Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal, the kind of typically European landmarks you don’t usually see on this side of the pond, a scenic waterfront promenade in Paseo de la Princesa, which looks just as beautiful as it sounds, and palm-lined streets that somehow never seem to lose their buzz.
Wondering how safe Puerto Rico is to visit?
Due to its U.S. territorial status and unique status under the U.S. Constitution, it just happens to be one of the most stable, tourist-friendly destinations in the Caribbean.
Though risks can never be exactly downplayed, pickpocketing, violent crime, or other kinds of petty crime that plague much of Latin America happen on a significantly smaller scale here, and travelers generally feel safe when visiting.
The island currently scores an exemplary 85 out of 100 on the Traveler Safety Index, indicating strong overall safety conditions for visitors:
The Beaches Here? Stunning.
The Metropolitan San Juan also has some stunning beaches to its name. This is the Caribbean, after all:
Though it’s not an island, per se, Isla Verde sure feels like one, with its long stretch of soft, golden sands backed by skyscraper-high palm trees, beachfront resorts, and laid-back cocktail bars.
Over in Condado, where all the high-rise hotels and nightlife spots are centered, you’ll find more powdery sands, turquoise waves, and beach clubs, and for the snorkeling enthusiasts out there, El Escambrón is known for its coral reefs and calmer waters.
Outside San Juan, the one day-trip you want to make sure you book is El Yunque: this is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest system, and it’s packed with waterfalls, jungle hikes, swimming holes, and Costa Rica-esque misty mountain scenery.
Time allowing, take a little detour out to Ponce, Puerto Rico’s elegant second city. It has all the colonial charm of San Juan, with Spanish-built plazas, museums, and family-owned restaurants, except it’s much more slow-paced.
Any surfers on here?
Rincón, on the western side of the island, is where you head straight for: think tall crashing waves, beach bars playing reggaetón round-the-clock, and a relaxed surf-town atmosphere that feels more like a Pacific coastline proper than the Caribbean.
Hungry for more PR? Check out this incredible lesser-known beach town that was recently named the island’s top affordable summer getaway.
Stacie Harris is a local resident and reporter of the Maple Grove area. Stacie reports on medicine and science for the Maple Grove Report.
