Ideas to Build Your New Year Getaway in Puerto Rico

The Year Starts with Food!

There is no better way to kick off your year than with a culinary experience like no other at Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián. Also referred to as Las SanSe, the official closing of the Puerto Rican Christmas season started as a religious procession in the 19th century and evolved into an Island-wide street fair and party to declare “the year has started.” Celebrated on the third weekend of January, the SanSe transforms Old San Juan into a food and culture weekend, with restaurants, kiosks, and rum brands lining up to sponsor the events.

There, you can find and sample most of Puerto Rico’s staple dishes – from mofongo and other delicacies in restaurants to alcapurrias and bacalaítos sold on the street. In addition to the infectious joy and warmth of the locals, you’ll find music playing live across different stages set up within the walled city, special promotions by local beer brands, lots of crafts made by local artisans for sale, and people singing various chants to batucada and pleneros rhythms – the most popular one being “Voy subiendo, voy bajando…”  in reference to people walking up and down the streets partying.

Celebrate Old San Juan's 500th anniversary!

During the same month, you can plan to partake in the Maratón Cervecero in Naguabo. For one day, people from across the Island visit the eastern town for the biggest chinchorreo party; all centered on beer. For the past 25+ years, the Holidays in Puerto Rico have included the so-called beer marathon starting from one business and hopping to the next just to grab a beer and have a good time. But there are rules to this festival: since it is a walking festival, you can’t use your car to move around businesses (it is a marathon after all), you must buy at least one beer at each stop (so pace yourself), and you can’t obstruct the public roads. People also make t-shirts about the event and everything… it is the whole shebang!

Start the Year Outdoors

And while most festivals take place outdoors and in open spaces, some events showcase Puerto Rico’s great outdoors. For example, during our warm sunny days of winter (from November to March), the ultimate surfing competition in the Caribbean takes place on the west coast of Puerto Rico. It is the Corona Pro Surf Circuit. For the past 35+ years, international pro surfers like Brian Toth have gathered around the beaches with the best surf breaks of Isabela, Aguadilla, and Rincón for the most important professional competition.

But, you don’t have to be a professional surfer to attend. While the competition is taking place, many stages, kiosks, and restaurants are ready to receive you and show you a good time, west coast style! Each year, the Corona Pro Surfing Circuit showcases concerts with local and international bands once the competition part has concluded for the day. In addition, the beaches on the west region of the Island turn into a hub of cultural events, from music representations to street fairs and everything in between. So, a sports event with some of the most mesmerizing sunsets you’ll ever see and a concert to close the night? Is that bucket-list-worthy or not?

Find an off-the-beaten-path beach to relax this year

Make a note to include in your agenda a visit to the Guajataca Tunnel during the weekend, an area that gets filled by local artisans, food kiosks, and crafts. A small train offers a short ride through the tunnel, recreating the route taken by the Puerto Rican railway in the early 20th century.

Watch: Sounds Like Puerto Rico Surfing Episode

For History and Culture Buffs

As you may notice by now, Puerto Rico is not short on festivals that take place throughout the year and across the Island, and each of them elevates culture, history, and the overall essence of what it is to be a Boricua.

Perhaps the second largest festival on the Island is the Carnaval Ponceño, a cultural and vibrant party you don't want to miss. If you're in Puerto Rico in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, then you should set your GPS for the south region's version of Mardi Gras. The festival dates to the 1800s and is an explosion of color, dance, and culture. The carnival originated as a masquerade dance that continued and turned into a town parade. The main attraction is the vejigantes, who are people in costume carrying blown cow bladders that make sound and hit people with. As you see, many people covering their faces with the horned paper maché masks (as it is traditionally from Ponce) hear and see a lot of bomba, plena music, eat a lot of staple foods, and partake in cultural and artistic representations. The Carnaval ends with the "burial of the sardine," a mock funeral to mourn the end of the carnival.

Another festival you should be on the lookout for when planning your next trip to Puerto Rico is the Fiesta Nacional de la Danza, which occurs yearly around April and May. Also, in the town of Ponce, this homage to the origins of the Puerto Rican Danza (which also originated in Ponce) navigates the Island's traditional classical sounds. The festival is celebrated during the birthday week of Juan Morel Campos, a distinguished composer who is said to have elevated the Danza music genre to what it is today. During the festival, chamber orchestras perform under the stars at Plaza de las Delicias in their best clothing, as the Danza was the music of the high society in yesteryear. In addition, the concerts celebrate the music of string quartets of the 19th century, and competitions take place with demonstrations by couples and people around.

To complement your trip around the south, be sure to visit the Museo de Arte de Ponce and many other museums and architectural gems that tell the story of the earlier Puerto Ricans. 

Check out Ponce's Street Art tour