A different view of travel to Puerto Rico

I came across a nice little article from Anne Banas, a staff writer for SmarterTravel.com. I find here article refreshing because it offers, if you will, a different perspective of Puerto Rico than we usually accept. In her column "Escapes Under $500", she illustrates that, depending on where you live in the United States, it is possible to enjoy a nice four night stay in Puerto Rico for a very reasonable price. With luxury resorts like Palmas and El Conquistador (among many other really nice hotels), I'm afraid there is a general perception that Puerto Rico represents an expensive vacation. (And for just a few dollars more, you can visit can take a ferry to Blue Beach in Vieques, which is shown here...)

In the article, Banas points out the valuable new campaign by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. The re-new Puerto Rico NOW promotion gives travelers $250 back upon check out, this is the same promotion used last year by the PRTC. To qualify you must:

• stay for four nights
• select a participating hotel (*)
• use the PRTC booking engine at gotoPuerto Rico.com
• travel before April 30th, 2008
• Book the trip before Jan 21st.

There are some limitations to the offer, however. It is only cash back on purchases within the hotel of food and drinks. Which, looking at the list of hotels, $250 in food and drinks shouldn't be difficult to attain. A couple of breakfasts, a lunch or two, and one night eating in the hotel should do the trick.

* Participating hotels include the Caribe Hilton, El Convento, Holiday Inn San Juan, Radisson Ambassador, San Juan Marriott and the Normandie Hotel in the San Juan metropolitan area; the Gran Melia and the Wyndham Rio Mar in the northeast; the Howard Johnson in Porta Caribe in the southern region, and the Rincon Beach Resort and Western Bay in the west in Porta del Sol.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: sandcastlematt