Kitesurf and Windsurf in Puerto Rico in July.

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Kitesurf and Windsurf in Puerto Rico in July.
July 02, 2010

Hey, all you wind addicts:

What is your midsummer vacation destinations menu like? You don’t have one? Let us give you our special of the month. How about a spectacular vibrant latino island in the Caribbean Sea under a sizzling salsa sauce? If you already guessed, you probably guessed right: this month special is Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico:

The island of Puerto Rico has long sandy beaches with a variety of water sports, as well as beautiful mountains, rainforests, underground caves and historical monuments which date back to the Spanish conquistadors. July brings flat water sailing and some 15-18 knots of steady trade winds; as for the nightlife, there are more options than any tourist can ever digest in one vacation. Although the place is a territory of the United States the official language is Spanish, so you should practice a few phrases before coming. (Don’t worry English is widely spoken in the tourist areas.)

We recommend staying either at San Juan Metro Area or at the North Shore of the island due to the variety of accommodation options. Punta Las Marías is located about 10 km (6 miles) east from San Juan’s downtown area. The wide, sandy beaches of Punta Las Marías with its steady sideshore winds are perfect for all levels of wind and kitesurfing. There are windsurfing and kitesurfing shops; rentals are available. Velauno the leading windsurfing, surfing and kitesurfing shop in the San Juan metro area rents a windsurfer for $75 US per day and Kitesurfing Board and Harness for $40 US per day.

Isla Verde is another wide, sandy beach only 800 m further east of Punta Las Marías, right next to the International Airport. This area is more popular among kitesurfers than windsurfers. The best accommodation is San Juan Water & Beach Club Hotel at Isla Verde and At Wind Chimes Inn which is half way between old San Juan and Punta Las Marías. The former is a newer hotel across the street from the beach at Isla Verder ($115 US per night) and the later is a nicely restored colonial spanish villa one block from the beach ($125 US per night).

Shacks and Jobos are famous beaches for kiting and windsurfing on the Northwest Coast of Puerto Rico. Jobos is about an hour drive from San Juan just after Arecibo. Shacks is located in the town of Isabela west of Jobos. Isabella is about an 80 minutes drive from San Juan. Warm water all year around, crystal clear water, no crowds and the best wind on the island. This is really the windiest spot in Puerto Rico. If you only had one sail, it would be a 5.0m2. Kiteboarders would sail every day with a 9 to 11m2 kites. This area also offers incredible snorkeling and scuba-diving experiences in the summer. El Rincon rental shop in the Aguadilla area will gear you up should you need rentals or lessons. Beachfront rental in that area is quite affordable. Our favorite is Villa Tropical (from $90). Those are oceanfront apartments directly on Shacks Beach with amazing patios overlooking the area.

If you have time to see something else except for the beach while in Puerto Rico go and explore Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, El Yunque Rainforest or unique to Puerto Rico the phosphorescent bays. Also do not miss this opportunity to dance Salsa. It will make your vacation more interesting. For more info go to our Puerto-Rico Attractions Page.

Check out more destinations in July at our Top Wind Destinations Page

Happy Sailing,

Windresorts Administration.

We don’t sell travel, our goal is to provide unbiased info and advice on wind destinations in the Caribbean.

Windresorts.com

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