Post Congress Tour

EspaƱol

Meet Puerto Rico

  • 1 night / 2 days
  • Price per person  € 465.00
Date and Time Departure:  Saturday, 20 August, 08.00 hours
 
Arrival:         Sunday, 21 August, 17.30 hours

Day 1: Camuy Caves

You will be picked up from designated hotels before you are transported to the northwest side of the island. Your ride will carry you past the haystack hills that typify geography where the lime-stone washes away over the centuries leaving behind hundreds of little heavily vegetated hills where more durable rock was left. The extensive subterranean cave systems of the park are reported to be the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Your visit to the park begins with a short video as you wait to board the open air trolleys, which twist and turn their way through the road carved out of verdant foliage before reaching the moss lined entrance to the cave. After this ten-minute trolley ride, multilingual cave guides will escort you on foot through the enormous cave, 200 feet high and a half-mile long. A large opening at one end of the cave allows light to filter through part of the cave, creating beautiful photographic opportunities. From this opening you will see one of the many sinkholes carved out by the Camuy River, the world’s third largest underground river. Lunch will follow at a local restaurant.

Parador Villa Parguera (Lajas)

You will then head to Parador Villa Parguera, one of the most attractive Paradores (Country Inns) of Puerto Rico. It contains seventy-four beautiful and comfortable rooms bordered by the imposing Caribbean Sea that comes in through our patio between tropical palm trees and gardens that give a natural enchantment to our Parador. There is a magnificent pool with transparent water and a picturesque structure of two decks for sun bathing during the day and contemplation of our enchanting starry sky at night. Tours to the world famous Bioluminescence Bay, boat rides, diving and snorkeling, swimming and fishing going out from our next door piers. Dinner will be at the hotel, before heading out by boat to the Phosphorescent Bay.

Boat excursion on Phosphorescent Bay

La Parguera Phosphorescent Bay glows with the millions of microscopic organisms known as dinoflagellates that sparkle when disturbed. This phenomenon occurs only in the tropics, typically in mangrove-protected bays like this one. La Parguera, on the southwest coast about 45 minutes west of Ponce and 20 minutes from Guanica, is one of two areas in Puerto Rico that have this remarkable night time attraction. The tour boats travel to a small bay to the east of Lajas. Normally this is one of the driest parts of the island but you might hope for a light rain. Then, the whole bay will light up, spectacularly glowing green, pink and blue as the raindrops hit the water. When it really pours, the boats don’t go out.

Day 2: Ponce “Majestic City”

After enjoying a breakfast at La Parguera, you will then head out for walking tour of Ponce. Ponce is also known as the “Ciudad Señorial” (majestic city), because of its many beautiful neoclassical buildings and facades. It was Spain’s capital of the southern region until it fell to the U.S. in 1898. Ponce lies 5 km (3 mi) from the south central coast of the island. Nearly one half a billion dollars have been spent preserving the colonial core of Ponce.

Ponce, Puerto Rico

The heart of Ponce dates from the late 17th century and has been declared a national treasure. It consists of plazas and churches and highly decorative colonial homes, some glorious fountains and a unique fire station. Ponce is an important trading and distribution centre, and has a port of entry; Playa de Ponce Port is one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean area, handles tobacco, coffee, rum, and sugar cane. Lunch will be provided before heading out to see the Seralles Castle, en route back to San Juan in the early evening.

Last update: 29 June 2011