Punta Santiago Apartment: Spacious, Friendly, And A Bit Noisy Dog Lover’s Delight

Punta Santiago Apartment: Spacious, Friendly, And A Bit Noisy Dog Lover’s Delight

First of all, Bonnie, Tony, and the boys and girls are a delight, wonderful human beings and dogies (all 10) who made our stay in Punta Santiago comfortable and caring … THANK YOU ALL!

Found on AirBnB at $75 a night, the apartment was the most expensive of the three we reserved during our 3-week stay, but it is an entire private one-bedroom/one-bath apartment with a kitchen/dining room, living room, and a HUGE terrace just a few blocks from the beach.

Furnishings are basic and somewhat dated, but in working order with the exception of the stove which we were unable to use. There are AC units in the bedroom and living room and were sufficient in providing cool sleeping conditions. The apartment gets plenty of air from trade winds, so the AC really is not necessary much of the time. There is an older color TV with cable in the living room (be sure to ask Tony how to get rid of the “blue” screen) and the wireless internet worked well the entire week we were there.

There is a market down the street with most everything you need at reasonable prices and several small restaurants (see Taco Rico review) and bars just across the street, so food is abundant. Playa Naguabo (ten minute drive North) has several seaside restaurants including Waterfront Cantina and an outdoor cafe with three food stalls that serves fresh fish to hundreds at a time arriving on busses.

The towns of Humacao and Fajardo are close by, so restaurants are abundant and the islands of Vieques and Culebra are a little over an hour away by ferry from Fajardo. The Humacao Nature Reserve is less than a 10-minute drive, offering trails, a secluded beach, wildlife, and mangrove swamps.

The primary drawback as other guests have mentioned is the noise at night from the bar across the street, blaring music at decibles in the hundreds as well as the occasional vehicles with custom stereo blaring music at all hours of the day and night running up and down PR-3 adjacent to the house. Bring earplugs and/or a white noise machine as we did and unless you are a very light sleeper, you should not have any problems.

If you love dogs, the sea, friendly people, and life in a relatively quiet fishing village, you will love the time you stay with Bonnie and Tony in Punta Santiago.

CombatCritic Gives Bonnie and Tony’s Punta Santiago Apartment 7 Out of 1o Bombs … BOMBAS ARE BUENAS!

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Humacao Nature Reserve: Lizards Birds, Turtles … Manatees and Monkeys?

Humacao Nature Reserve
Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
$$$$$

The Humacao Nature Reserve, on Hwy P3 between Humacao and Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico, is a small, free natural park with trails, bathrooms, souvenirs, and the opportunity to kayak through mangrove swamps (for a fee). 

There is a breathtaking beach stretching for several miles about one-half of a mile Southeast of the parking lot, otherwise there are dirt roads and small trails winding through the park allowing a leisurely stroll through the swamps and views of lizards, several flora and bird species, reported turtles and iguanas, and bugs the size of Volkswagens. I also read that manatee and a small population of monkeys inhabit the area although that report was unverified elsewhere.

We decided to take an hour-long hike on our way to look at some properties in Vista del Mar, a huge resort community a few miles South of Humacao on the sea. It was serenely quiet and oddly beautiful as we made our way down the soggy road looking for our first iguana, said to grow up to 12 feet in length!

We saw several large lizards (up to 18 inches long), a large beetle of some type, a few birds, but no iguana, turtles, manatees, or monkeys along our journey. The park is well worth the detour if in the area, but bring some stable shoes, ones that you do not mind getting muddy and soggy along the way.

CombatCritic Gives Humacao Nature Reserve 7 Bombs Out of 10 … BOMBAS ARE BUENAS!

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