Experience the best of Isla Verde

Isla Verde is a district of the municipality of Carolina, on the north coast of Puerto Rico east of San Juan's Condado and Ocean Park districts and beside Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. Its long beach of pale sand and Atlantic surf is backed by high-rise hotels, casinos and restaurants, and a quieter stretch known as Pine Grove sits under casuarina trees.

Old San Juan, with its forts of San Felipe del Morro and San Cristóbal, its blue cobbled streets and its colonial plazas, is a short ride west. To the east, Piñones is a coast of mangroves and long beaches with a bicycle path and roadside kiosks. Further along, the rainforest of El Yunque rises in the Luquillo mountains, and the seafront at Luquillo has food stands.

Piñones is known for frituras: alcapurrias, bacalaítos, or salt-cod fritters, and pastelillos, fried in crisp batter and eaten beside the sea. Mofongo, rice with pigeon peas and roast pork are staples, and rum drinks, including the piña colada, which Puerto Rico claims as its own, are served in beach bars. The climate is warm and humid, with the drier months from December to April.