Personality: Big Island or Small Islands
Puerto Rico feels farther from home than a four-hour flight suggests. Spanish is the language of daily life, salsa drifts out of bars on a weeknight and dinner leans on plantains, roast pork and fish caught that morning. San Juan has a real restaurant scene and nightlife that locals use. Most couples combine two or three regions in a week to ten days, perhaps Old San Juan, Vieques and either Dorado or the surf town of Rincón on the west coast.
The USVI feel more like a beach weekend with excellent snorkeling. English is spoken everywhere, though you will hear Virgin Islands Creole and some Spanish on St. Croix. The culture blends West African, Danish, British and wider Caribbean roots. Good morning before any question goes a long way. The islands are small enough that the pace is set by the water: snorkel early, hike or nap, then find a deck for sunset. Couples who want a little city energy will prefer Puerto Rico. Couples who want to switch off will prefer St. John.
Beaches and Snorkeling
This is where the USVI shine. St. John's north shore is a string of national park bays backed by forest instead of condo towers. At Maho Bay, green turtles graze in water you can wade into. Trunk Bay has an underwater snorkel trail with signs. Waterlemon Cay has healthier coral and eagle rays. On St. Croix, Buck Island has its own underwater trail and the territory's best diving is nearby.
Puerto Rico's best beaches are on its small islands. Vieques has empty sand and the brightest bioluminescent bay in the Caribbean. Culebra is built around Flamenco Beach with some of the best snorkeling in the territory, including at Tamarindo. The main island's north coast has beaches with strong currents and no lifeguards, so swim only where locals swim. Dorado has long, quiet resort sand. For daily snorkeling from the beach, the USVI win. For a mix of beaches and everything else, Puerto Rico competes well.
Beyond the Beach
Puerto Rico has far more to do on land. Walk the city walls to El Morro early before the heat, take a long lunch on Calle Fortaleza and dance one night in Santurce. Spend a day in El Yunque National Forest for waterfalls and rainforest trails, with lunch at the roadside kiosks in Luquillo. On Vieques, book the Mosquito Bay tour for your darkest night near the new moon, since a full moon washes out the glow. You see it from a kayak or an electric boat, because swimming is not allowed. Ponce on the south coast and the lighthouse at Rincón each earn a day.
The USVI's land activities are gentler. On St. John, more than 20 marked trails cross the park, past the stone windmill at the Annaberg sugar mill ruins and petroglyphs. Ram Head is a hot late-afternoon hike to a windy headland. On St. Croix, wander the 18th-century Danish streets of Christiansted, taste rum and kayak the bioluminescent bay at Salt River. St. Thomas offers Charlotte Amalie's old warehouses and the 99 Steps.
Where You Will Stay
Puerto Rico has wide range. In San Juan, the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel is a 1919 oceanfront landmark with butler suites, ten minutes from Old San Juan. Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is the full-luxury splurge, set on Laurance Rockefeller's old plantation retreat with three miles of coast. On Vieques, Hacienda Tamarindo has seventeen rooms and a view down to Esperanza Bay, Hix Island House offers open-air lofts cooled by trade winds and El Blok sits on the Esperanza waterfront. On Culebra, Club Seabourne is a small hillside hotel with bay views.
In the USVI, most St. John visitors rent villas. For a honeymoon that is often the best choice: look for a pool and a view toward the British Virgin Islands. Hotels on St. John include Gallows Point Resort by the Cruz Bay ferry dock, The Westin St. John Resort Villas on Great Cruz Bay and Lovango Resort + Beach Club, with treehouses and glamping tents on a tiny cay. St. Thomas holds the larger full-service resorts on its east end.
Cost Comparison
Puerto Rico usually costs less, with the exception of its top resorts. These are rough, approximate high-season figures. Good guesthouses and smaller hotels in San Juan or on Vieques typically cost $180 to $350 a night. Beachfront resorts in Condado and Isla Verde often run $350 to $700. Top resorts in Dorado and Río Grande can climb well past $1,000 a night in winter. A kiosk lunch can come in under $25. Flights are often cheaper because so many airlines compete for the route.
The USVI are not a budget destination, since almost everything is shipped in. Guesthouses and condos often start around $250 to $400 a night, good beach resorts commonly run $500 to $900 and top suites and villas go well past $1,000. A one-bedroom St. John villa with a pool often runs about $400 to $900 a night in winter. Jeep rentals on St. John often cost $90 to $150 a day. Dinner for two at a nice restaurant runs about $150 to $250. Summer rates can drop by a third or more.
Flights, Ferries and Getting Around
San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) has nonstops from more than 30 mainland cities, about 2.5 hours from Miami and close to 4 from New York. Skip the car in San Juan, where Uber and walking work. Outside the capital a car is close to essential. For Vieques and Culebra, ferries from Ceiba are cheap but sell out on weekends and can be delayed or canceled. Small planes from San Juan take about 30 minutes and are far more reliable. Rent a jeep or golf cart on the island rather than bringing a car over.
St. Thomas's Cyril E. King Airport (STT) has nonstops from more than a dozen US cities. New York to St. Thomas takes about four hours. For St. John, take a taxi to Red Hook, then a 20-minute ferry. St. Croix (STX) has fewer flights. Book your St. John jeep when you book flights, since the island runs out of cars in high season. Driving is on the left in the USVI but on the right in Puerto Rico.
Seasons and Combining the Two
The calendars match. December through April is dry and busy in both, with highs in the low to mid 80s and the highest prices around Christmas and spring break. May and June are a sweet spot in both, with lower rates and fewer people. Hurricane season runs June through November, with the highest risk from August into October. The 2017 storms Irma and Maria hit both hard. If you book late summer or fall, buy insurance that covers named storms. Some USVI properties close in September.
Combining them works well because they are so close. Short flights link San Juan with St. Thomas and St. Croix. A ten-day honeymoon could be three nights in Old San Juan, a few on Vieques and a final stretch on St. John for snorkeling and villa time. Both islands have dengue-carrying mosquitoes, so pack repellent. If you're pregnant or hoping to be soon, check CDC travel health notices. Bring passports anyway if you want a boat day to the British Virgin Islands.
