YOUR MISSION: Get the same quality beaches and relaxation as found in San Juan's priciest hotels - but enjoy it all in Ocean Park's tranquil beachfront neighborhood dotted with flowering trees, charming guesthouses and excellent restaurants.
DAY ONE: From the airport, you'll zip past the high-rise condos of Isla Verde and enter a 10-block gated community of Spanish Colonial-style houses shaded by flamboyant and almond trees. After checking into your guesthouse, hit the mile-long beach just outside your door. Splish-splash or just get some sun. Today is your day to decompress. Take a break to make dinner reservations at Pamela's Restaurant in the Número Uno guesthouse on Santa Ana Street. Pamela's seaside setting and fabulous Caribbean fusion menu have been a closely guarded insider secret for years.
DAY TWO: One of the best shots of espresso in San Juan is just beyond Ocean Park's gates - Kasalta Bakery on McCleary Street. Breakfast on tostadas (crispy Spanish bread toasted with a smear of butter), hot café (if you want milk, ask for con leche) and jugo de china natural (fresh orange juice) - or you can get bacon and eggs. Buy some flaky pastelillos (pastry-wrapped meats and cheeses or stuffed potato puffs) for a snack.
Get ready to make a day trip to El Yunque, the USDA National Forest System's only rain forest. About one hour away, El Yunque offers easy hikes and waterfalls for leisurely soaking. A nearby option is the three-and-a-half mile seaside bike path in Pi-ones, east of the airport. Rent bicycles at Condado Bicycles (US$20), where you can also get directions for the 22-mile road trip. With advance reservations, they'll drop you and your bikes off at the path entrance, where you can cool down in the ocean and fuel up on fried goodies sold at beachside shacks.
BIG NIGHT OUT: Old San Juan's restaurants, bars and exuberantly chic nightlife are a 15-minute, US$10-$16 cab ride away. The dining hot spots are centered around SoFo (South Fortaleza Street) and include The Parrot Club for nuevo latino, Dragonfly for Asian-Latino, Il Grottino for authentic wood-oven pizza and Trois Cent Onze for contemporary French. Enjoy cocktails at one of Hotel Convento's cafes on Cristo Street and stroll, stroll, stroll.
Before going home, catch Sunday brunch at Dunbar's. Expect classic offerings, a new menu daily and unusual specialties, including Caribbean French toast with bananas and blackberries, and Orgasmic Croissants with prosciutto, melon and eggs. This cheerful, upscale pub atmosphere is sprinkled with a variety of Sunday newspapers and eclectic magazines for voracious readers and slow eaters.
WHERE TO STAY: Hosteria del Mar is an airy and relaxing place with the beach as your back yard. Enjoy slow-paced meals in its breezy beachfront restaurant that offers daily Creole, vegetarian, ayurvedic and macrobiotic specials. Rates: US$90-$165 winter, US$66-$110 summer. Apartments cost US$185-$195 in winter, US$80-$185 in summer.
L'Habitaci-n Beach isn't as spiffy as other guesthouses, but what it lacks in window dressing, it makes up for in spirit. Long a favorite of gay travelers, it's a friendly place with a popular beach bar out back. Rates: US$70-$91 winter, US$51-$78 summer.
WHAT TO AVOID: Stiletto heels in Old San Juan; if the rum doesn't get you, the cobblestones will. Walking on the beach at night isn't encouraged, even though security has become tighter recently and the police patrol regularly. If you must take an evening stroll, stay near your guesthouse.
E.T.A. FROM AIRPORT: Ten minutes from San Juan's airport to the front door of your guesthouse.
Natalia de Cuba Romero, editor of American Eagle's Latitudes, lived in Ocean Park for five years.
Posted online 12/01/00.
