I am going to Puerto Rico, alone, to celebrate my 29th birthday?

If I was you I would stay in Condado, Isla Verde or Old San Juan. Condado is very close to Old San Juan, but is modern with designer boutiques, restaurants, clubs and bars. Old San Juan has it's historic buildings, streets with shops, restaurants and more right by all the historic attractions that San Juan has to offer. Isla Verde has lots of great hotels, and restaurants and is the closest to the airport.

Depending on your budget you can stay in any of the great resorts located in these areas. In Condado there is the Mariott, in Isla Verde the El San Juan is amazing and in Old San Juan there is the Sheraton. If your budget won't allow for a resort, which can be upwards of $200/nt then there are other options. Such as a boutique hotel, like the Wind Chimes Inn suggested by others in Condado. A place in Condado I love to eat is Ropa Vieja, yummy mofongo with many Puerto Rican dishes to choose from

Or in Old San Juan there is a european hostel inspired hotel that's affordable and located above the world famous Nuyorican Cafe. It's affordable, hip, and right in the heart of the Old City, http://dahousehotelpr.com/dahouse.html

Another suggestion is getting a vacation rental. A place with your own kitchen, which makes vacations a lot more affordable. In Isla Verde right on the strip and by the El San Juan Hotel is the ESJ towers, this condo rents for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room but comes with all the amenities. It's location is prime with access to lots of stuff http://www.vrbo.com/161766. At the end of the main strip in Isla Verde is a great, and very affordable, restaurant called Metropol.

Make sure to get out of the metro area for at least a day, to see the amazing things PR has to offer. Take a day of beach sun and snorkeling on a catamaran tour of the Islas Palominos. Call and they can arrange transportation for an extra charge.

http://www.shoreadventures.com/excursions.aspx?id=...

And look for a tour of El Yunque, the rain forest.

I'm trying to plan a trip, too and never been either. I have puerto rican background also. So Here is what I came up with.

Hotel: El Conquistador Hotel (North east) The hotel has their own waterpark El Coqui Waterpark I think that may be cool.

Restaurants: in San Juan, there is one called Restaurant Barrachina, try the Pi~a Coladas there because that's where they were invented,

Try Richie's Cafe and order the chicken mofongo, and order arroz con gandules that is a pretty common dish. Now i looked these places up online, so hopefully they are still there and didn't close, or get renamed u know

Also experience the culture, make sure you go see a Bomba and Plena performance

go to El Yunque tropical rain forest, El Morro, Ponce... thats all I can think of.

Why don't you rent a car? That way you can go to other cities

I am going to Puerto Rico, alone, to celebrate my 29th birthday?

* Only you can answer that question. : ) Happy birthday !

Any suggestion of where to stay, eat?

Check hotels at Condado area (San Juan) or Isla Verde (Carolina).

* Caribe Hilton Hotel.

* The Ritz Cartlon (if you can afford it).

There are plenty restaurants to choose, if you eat out of the hotel you will find better prizes. Also, there are plenty of fast foods available. Try our typical cousine, and taste things like tostones, arroz con pollo (chicken with rice puertorrican style), pernil asado (pork roasted), etc.

What are the taxi prices for airport to hotel and back?

* Well that depends how far are the hotels from the airport. Hotels at Isla Verde area are closer to the airport than hotels at Condado.

You should stay in Old San Juan in Condado Plaza Hotel because that is were all the tourist stay. You don't need a car in Old San Juan because you basically can walk every were and you have everything there (restaurants, pubs, bars, stores, the beach, parks (El Morro)...etc.... Places you must visit are: "Las Cavernas de Camuy"..."El Yunke National Forest" "Luquillo Beach" "Isla Verde Beach" etc.. And definitely you have to visit the biggest mall in the Caribbean "Plaza Las Americas"

Hi - the poster above mentioned the At Wind Chimes Inn - this is a super cute place to stay in San Juan if you stay in that part of the island. It has a lot of character and is close to the beach. Old San Juan is great and El Covento Hotel is stunning. For more budget (but still super cool) check out "Da House" hotel in OSJ.

My favorite part of the island is Rincon. It has a small town surfer vibe and is known for great beaches, great beach bars and is a wonderful and safe area to visit.

check out http://www.rinconvacations.com/

http://www.ca2pr.com/

http://www.rinconlife.com/

stay? San Juan, countless places around for nightlife, identifying to purchase, sightseeing hire a automobile and circulate sightseeing places out of San Juan metro section: * El Yunque - in basic terms rain woodland in usa or its territoties. * Luquillo sea coast * Bioluminicense Bays (l. a. Parguera, Fajardo, or Vieques), circulate kayaking. * Las Cuevas de Camuy * Radiotelescope at Arecibo's Observatory (Seeing at 007's Goldeneye & touch movies) * Flamenco sea coast at Culebra * Bacardi Rum production facility * Horseback using at Hacienda Carabali

I've always wanted to try The Wind Chimes Inn, but, I was never in town long enough. They have a minimum stay of ???? four days? I can't really remember.

Check it out. They have their own website. If you decide to stay there, please, let me know how you liked it. I've been tempted to make a special trip just tp try the place.

Joe