Trip motivation: Spring Break 2022
In March 2022, we celebrated Carter’s Spring break by heading to Puerto Rico! Our kids were 4 and 7 on this trip and we had a great time. We often like to split up long trips by staying in a cheaper hotel closer to the action while exploring at the beginning of a trip and finishing off with a resort stay where we lounge all day and sip pina coladas.
See additional posts on this trip at the following links: Old San Juan, El Yunque, and Hyatt Grand Reserve.
Flight: BNA to SJU
Getting There: Nashville (BNA) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to San Juan (SJU)
Fri 6:07-9:17p/Sat 4:45-8:10p
Coming Back: SJU to Tampa to Nashville (BNA) Thu 1:20-4:35p/7:30-8:30p
Spirit Flights to Fort Lauderdale
When reviewing flight options to Puerto Rico, we couldn’t find any direct options on our preferred dates and so we decided to split up the flight with a cheap Friday night Spirit flight (using vouchers from our modified New Year’s Fort Lauderdale trip) and a Southwest flight from Florida to Puerto Rico the next day. When we arrived at the Nashville airport, the Spirit desk told us they were overbooked and were unable to accommodate all 4 of us. They don’t have many flights so if anything gets messed up through your fault or theirs, it’s harder to get a replacement flight. The team was not helpful at all and we decided in the Nashville airport to send Ben and the kids onto Florida without me while I stayed beyond to find another option to get to Fort Lauderdale.
Southwest
We love flying Southwest. Ben and the kids continued from Florida to Puerto Rico on Southwest and I was able to redirect my anger at Spirit to solutions-mode and paid for a Southwest flight. They were fantastic at helping me with standby options through bad weather and I was able to meet up with everyone all the way in Puerto Rico.
From Puerto Rico back to Nashville, we all flew Southwest through Tampa. We had promotional companion passes for this trip and will earn a full companion pass in 2022-2023 from credit card sign-ups. You can earn Southwest points from Southwest Credit Cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal. See more tips on using points and miles here.
Airport Lounges, Layovers and Other Perks
When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the website of the airport and the priority pass lounge website prior to the trip (link here). The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass access which gives you a card that gets you access to lounges at different airports. Often it is more common internationally. There is a minute suites currently at BNA and we were also able to enjoy a small lounge in Puerto Rico with food and drinks. In Tampa, Carter enjoyed an aquarium at one of the restaurants near our gate and learning fun facts!
Another perk we got from several credit cards is Global entry/PreCheck. PreCheck is a program that offers faster TSA lines at airports. There are separate lines for PreCheck travelers, and you don’t have to remove shoes, laptops, liquids, etc. It is amazing and has saved us so much time and makes it SO much easier to travel with kids. For more on this benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, see here.
Other Flight Details
The flights were straightforward. Puerto Rico is within the U.S. and we didn’t require passports or special forms. At the airport leaving Puerto Rico, we had to get bags inspected but everything else about the trip felt standard.
Carter has been loving the Magic Treehouse books and Ellie loves activities in the Magic Ink and small play pack coloring books (Amazon links). We have one iPad that the family shares and we use this case to protect it. On the plane, these are our favorite masks for adults and kids from Amazon. For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here. See this post here if you need tips for putting together a packing list.
Car Rental
The San Juan airport is about 20 minutes from Old San Juan and about 45 minutes from our resort. We calculated whether it made sense to take cabs or rent a car. If we had stayed in the Old San Juan and Condado area, it would have been more economical to take a cab and rent a car for the rainforest daytrips. Because we were traveling to the East side of the island (and we had free parking at the hotel) it made sense for us to have the car. We used a company called Charlie Car rental and the cost was $400 for the week.
Itinerary: 6 days
We thought 6 days/5 nights was perfect. When traveling with kids, it’s important to have down time and this schedule allowed us to see the sights we wanted to see and still have lots of free time. If we had more days, we would have considered doing more drives out to some of the unpopulated beaches on the east side of the island.
Day 1: Arrival
After our evening arrival, we stopped at a grocery store for beer, juice boxes, breakfast pastries, and snacks. Then we headed to the AirBnB to crash after our flight dramas.
Day 2: Old San Juan
We woke up and ate some quick snacks at the AirBnB before driving into Old San Juan for a day of exploring forts and cobbled streets. Ate lunch and drank some rum drinks at a nice restaurant with a rooftop patio. After a brief stop back at the AirBnB for some relaxing and TV time, we drove a few minutes away for dinner at Bebos cafe.
Day 3: Murals, Brewery Lunch, and Resort Time
We did a self-drive tour of Santruce murals and had lunch at Ocean brewing. After lunch, we headed to the Hyatt resort. At the resort, we spent the remainder of the day relaxing by the pool sipping pina coladas. For more on part 2 of our trip and our stay at the Hyatt Regency Reserve, see here.
Day 4: Rainforest Day
After our hotel breakfast, we drove 40 minutes to the rainforest. For our post on the El Yunque Rainforest, see here. This was an all-day adventure full of hikes, sights, and snacks. We arrived back at the resort for some additional pool time and watching Vanderbilt basketball in the lobby bar. Very fun!
Day 5: Resort and Beach time
The kids enjoyed time with other kids doing kids club activities such as painting, games, and chasing rubber ducks around the pool. The adults did some runs (not me), kdrama watching (definitely me), and pool time. After lunch, we spent some more time at the pool and then headed over to Luquillo Beach and some of the shacks nearby for souvenir shopping, drinks and dinner.
Day 6: Departure Day
One last buffet hotel breakfast and one last pool dip before heading to the airport!
Activities in Puerto Rico
See additional posts on this trip at the following links: Old San Juan, El Yunque, and Hyatt Grand Reserve.
