Puerto Rico Travel

Puerto Rico is a tropical island with Caribbean beauty. It is a major Caribbean travel and vacation destinations. Puerto Rico is also a nation with world famous beauty and actress. The Puerto Rican beauty queen Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza was named Miss Universe 2006 over runner-up Miss Japan Kurara Chibana.

Situated between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, and east of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico has total land area about 8,959 square kilometers, slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island of the United States.

Puerto Rico is an important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan of Puerto Rico is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean. With tropical marine mild climate with little seasonal temperature variation, Puerto Rico is mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in the north and sandy beaches along most coastal areas.

Puerto Rico has 3,927,188 (2006 estimate) population, including white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9%. Spanish and English are the official languages in Puerto Rico.

Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the Puerto Rico Island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Columbus' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917 and popularly elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self-government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998 voters chose to retain commonwealth status.

Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 2004. Puerto Rico uses US dollar as its currency.

Puerto Rico has modern telephone system which is integrated with that of the US by high-capacity. Based on 2005 estimate, Puerto Rico has 1 million Internet users.

San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, is a charming city situated along the north coast. With 16th century historic buildings, museums, colonial churches and mansions, San Juan is one of Puerto Rico's major travel destinations.

You can reach San Juan, Puerto Rico by airplane. All major airlines provide discount flight services to San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport from the United States, Canada and international cities.

Some other travel destinations are Ponce, a city with fine art museum; Mayaguez, a place with botanical gardens; Rincon, a town with spectacular scenery; Vieques, a peaceful and relaxing island with rolling hills.

El Yunque tropical forest and bird sanctuary, Luquillo, Fajardo, Seven Seas Beach, Las Croabas Beach, Cayo Santiago (monkeyisland), beautiful villages Patillas and Maunabo, Guayama are some other travel destinations and tourist attractions of Puerto Rico.