Renting a motorcycle in Puerto Rico 🌴
It’s been 10 years since I’ve been eaten a Mallorca bread sandwich in San Juan and I surely won’t let another 10 years pass before I come back again.
Puerto Rico was a much needed escape from a brutal New York winter. If you know where to look, you can find almost anything you want to do — from ziplining through the jungle to abundant beach days, night life, foodie tours — and in my case ripping it on two wheels.
Though it was difficult to find reliable information about renting and riding in Puerto Rico, in the end it was worth absolutely worth it. Every lead I chased down online was a dead end. I reached out to a few websites who either never replied back to told me they were out of business. I almost gave up hope but I’m so glad it worked out. A rider in Arizona connected me with a rider in San Juan (enter: Moto Adventures PR). I was so happy I got to experience this place on a bike. What was I going do? Sit around all winter while my bike is in storage and slowly go insane? Nope.
As I explored Old San Juan, little flashes of my time here a decade ago came back to me. The sunny and colorful streets of Old San Juan were a welcome break from gloom and snow. I drank coffee on the beach in Piñones and rode through the rainforest roads in El Yunque. I sat by Ocean Park and just watched the waves for a long time.
El Yunque was unreal. The roads are very tight here, winding, with hardly enough space for two cars to squeeze past each other. Lanes are not marked and there are no dividers in the rainforest. If you’ve spent some time on mountain roads, say in the western Catskills in upstate New York, this kind of riding will be familiar to you. The only difference is the climate.
Nobody was dragging knee in El Yunque — be warned that the roads are carrying tour buses and the roads are fairly active with tourists in general, as there are attractions and group hikes through the park. The road surface is generally wet with and rain makes the vegetation even more slippery. Just keep your wits about you and you’ll be fine.
City riding around San Juan’s neighborhoods was not unlike riding around New York city. I got so many warnings about the road conditions here and how unsafe it was. In reality nothing was really out of the ordinary, the highway was no worse than the BQE in Brooklyn on a mild day. I say go for it — don’t let the unknown stop you.
You know what they say about New York — if you can make it here you can make it anywhere. Thank you El Yunque 🙏🏽
It was my first time riding away and I’m totally hooked. I’m already planning my next trips… Bikers, this is your sign to book yourself a mid-winter getaway to warmer lands.