Quick answer: No passport needed, Puerto Rico is a US territory, so a government ID gets you there just like flying to any other state. Rent a car and budget for tolls, the mountain roads outside San Juan are narrow, pothole scarred, and sometimes missing a lane entirely where the edge has washed out. Drive the Pork Highway in Guavate for slow roasted pork and roadside dancing, take a salsa lesson on the beach together, and learn a little Spanish before you leave San Juan, even a little goes a long way. This is a different trip than our family Puerto Rico post, this one was just the two of us, on our honeymoon.
Not the Same Trip
If you’ve read our other Puerto Rico post, the ten day family trip with teenagers, a baby, and three generations, this is a different visit entirely. This one was our honeymoon, just John and me, years earlier. Same island, completely different trip, and honestly a good example of how the same place can give you two totally different kinds of connection depending on who you bring.
One thing that made a trip like this an easy yes: no passport required. Puerto Rico is a US territory, so flying there from the mainland is treated like a domestic flight, a government-issued ID is all you need. One less thing to plan for on a honeymoon that came together fast.
We went in early November, right at the tail end of hurricane season, which is technically a gamble. It paid off for us, clear skies and beautiful weather the whole trip, but go in knowing you’re betting on it that late in the year. We spent around $4,000 total for the trip and ate extremely well the entire time, this was not a cut-corners honeymoon, and it still didn’t feel extravagant for what we got out of it.
We stayed in Levittown at the Comfort Inn & Suites, close enough to Old San Juan for easy day trips and right in the neighborhood for our paella night at La Cava del Mar.
The Pork Highway Will Change How You Think About Pork
Route 184 through Guavate, up in the mountains south of San Juan, is known locally as La Ruta del Lechón, the Pork Highway. Roadside lechoneras line the road, whole pigs slow roasted over charcoal for hours until the skin turns crackling and golden. Most of these places have live music going, and more than one had people up and dancing salsa between tables. We ate more pork than either of us wants to admit to and did not regret a single bite.
Roads That Will Test Your Marriage, and Your Rental Car
Rent a car. You’ll want one to get up into the mountains and away from the resort areas, but go in knowing what you’re signing up for. Puerto Rico’s toll roads add up, so budget for them. Outside San Juan, potholes get big enough to genuinely worry about, some the size of a small car, and we drove sections of mountain road where the edge had simply washed away, no shoulder, no barrier, just less road than there used to be. Blinkers and functioning bumpers seem to be optional. People run red lights more often than not. The roads narrow fast once you’re off the main routes. None of this is a reason to skip the mountains. It’s a reason to drive slowly, stay alert, and treat it as part of the adventure instead of a surprise.
A Little Spanish Goes a Long Way
San Juan runs on English easily enough for most tourists. Once you leave it, that changes fast. You don’t need to be fluent, we weren’t, but knowing basic directions, numbers, and a handful of polite phrases made a real difference every time we left the city.
Paella and a Restaurant With No Website
We shared a seafood paella at La Cava del Mar in Levittown, a tapas and wine spot with no website and no real online footprint beyond word of mouth and Google Maps, which somehow made finding it feel like we’d been let in on something. Get the paella to share, order a bottle of wine, and settle in.
The National Park Hike I Did in Flip-Flop Wedges
El Yunque, Puerto Rico’s rainforest national park, is beautiful and the hike is genuinely difficult in a good way, the kind of hike that earns the view at the end. I did it in flip-flop wedges. People commented on that more than once along the trail. I hike in whatever I happen to be wearing that day and it has never once caused a problem, don’t judge me, I’ve climbed three mountains in those same flops. John will tell you it’s a whole personality trait at this point.
Three hours into that hike, we hadn’t passed another soul. We found a swimming hole tucked off the trail, still hadn’t seen anyone, and let’s just say we took full advantage of having a piece of a national park entirely to ourselves. Newlyweds, alone in the rainforest for hours, you can fill in the rest. It’s the kind of thing that only happens when you’re far enough off the beaten path that the rest of the world genuinely disappears for a while.
Snorkeling, Cave Tours, and John’s Coffee Order
We did cave tours together, but the water was mine alone. John doesn’t snorkel. He sits on the beach with a coffee and, in his words, keeps watch in case I get eaten. It’s become a running joke between us on every trip since, but it’s also just true: connection doesn’t mean doing every single thing together. Sometimes it’s him being right there on the sand the whole time I’m out past the reef.
The Salsa Lesson That Made the Trip
Somewhere on a beach, we took a salsa lesson together. Neither of us is a dancer. We were bad at it, laughed through most of it, and it’s one of the moments from that whole trip we still talk about. That’s the real case for a trip like this: it hands you a reason to do something neither of you is good at, in public, together, and there’s something about being equally terrible at the same thing that gets you closer than a good dinner ever will. San Juan has flamenco shows too if dancing together isn’t your speed and watching it is more your thing.
What Stuck With Us
Puerto Rico doesn’t hide its contrasts. Chickens and stray dogs run loose everywhere, even in nice neighborhoods. You’ll pass multimillion dollar homes within a few blocks of houses that are barely standing. And near the cruise ship docks, we came across an elderly local man who had been beaten and robbed, almost certainly by someone targeting the cruise crowd. It shook us. We’re including it because leaving it out would make this a prettier post and a less honest one, and honest is the whole point of this site.
Avoid the Docks
Practically speaking: stay alert around the cruise ship docks specifically, more than anywhere else we visited on the island. It’s a small piece of an otherwise incredible trip, but it’s worth knowing before you go instead of finding out the hard way.
Why We’d Do It Again
This trip didn’t need a passport, a huge budget, or a perfect itinerary to work. It needed narrow roads, a language we didn’t fully speak, a dance we were bad at, and hours alone with each other far enough off the map that nothing else could reach us. That’s the whole case for a honeymoon like this: it’s not about the island being flawless, it’s about what two people figure out together when the plan falls apart a little. We’d go back tomorrow.
Related Reading
If you want the other side of this island, our Puerto Rico Road Trip With Teenagers and a Baby covers the same country with three generations and a very different pace. And if you’re curious why we keep choosing trips like this over things, Connection Through Adventure: Why We Choose Experiences Over Things is the belief behind all of it.
FAQ
Do you need a passport for Puerto Rico?
No. Puerto Rico is a US territory, so US citizens travel there the same way they’d travel to any other state, a government-issued photo ID is enough. It’s one of the easiest honeymoon-worthy islands to get to for exactly that reason.
How much does a Puerto Rico honeymoon cost?
We spent around $4,000 total for our trip, flights, lodging, a rental car, and eating well the entire time without holding back. It’s possible to do it cheaper, but that number reflects a honeymoon that didn’t feel like we were cutting corners.
When is the best time to visit Puerto Rico?
We went in early November, right at the tail end of hurricane season, and got clear skies and beautiful weather the whole trip. That late in the season is a real gamble, if you want more certainty, aim for December through April instead.
Do you need to rent a car in Puerto Rico?
Yes, if you want to see anything outside San Juan, including the Pork Highway. Budget for tolls, and expect narrow, pothole heavy roads once you’re in the mountains.
Do you need to speak Spanish in Puerto Rico?
Not in San Juan. Outside it, basic Spanish, directions, numbers, polite phrases, makes a real difference. You don’t need fluency.
What is the Pork Highway in Puerto Rico?
La Ruta del Lechón, along Route 184 through Guavate in the central mountains south of San Juan. It’s a strip of roadside lechoneras slow roasting whole pigs, often with live music and dancing.
Is Puerto Rico safe for tourists?
Overall yes, but use normal city caution, especially near the cruise ship docks, where opportunistic crime targeting tourists and locals alike does happen.
Is El Yunque worth hiking, and what should you wear?
Yes, it’s beautiful and the trails are a genuinely fulfilling difficulty. Real hiking shoes are the smart, recommended choice for footing on wet rock and roots. Full honesty: I did it in flip-flop wedges and it worked out fine for me, but that’s my own stubborn habit, not something we’re recommending you copy.
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