Puerto Rico

Feliz Año Nuevo! New Year’s and Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico

Program No. 22153RJ
Experience the traditions of Puerto Rico and discover the island’s incredible culture while celebrating New Year’s and Three Kings Day! Explore the city, villages, museums and more!

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At a Glance

Learn about and share in the New Year’s traditions of Puerto Rico. Join in local celebrations of the New Year and Three Kings Day — the Epiphany — and survey the variety of regional music, art, folklore and cuisine across the island. In bustling San Juan, explore the Old City and visit Haciendas in Ponce and Manati. Meet locals in the north while discovering small fishing villages and an underground cave system, and celebrate New Year’s Eve itself with live music at a beautiful resort at Ponce in southern Puerto Rico.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walk 2 miles some days; standing indoors up to 20 minutes.

What You'll Learn

  • Celebrate New Year’s Eve in authentic Puerto Rican fashion at a beautiful resort in southern Puerto Rico.
  • Explore Camuy Caves, one of the largest subterranean cave systems in the world and the only one of its size to boast an underground river
  • During San Juan’s City at Night celebration, walk from one small restaurant to the next sampling authentic local food while you peruse art galleries, craft shops and city plazas.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
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9 days
8 nights
22 meals
8 B 7 L 7 D
DAY
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
San Juan - Isla Verde
D
Hampton Inn & Suites San Juan

Activity note: Hotel check-in available from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously).

Afternoon: After checking in at the hotel and getting your room assignment, ask the front desk for the location of the Road Scholar meeting room where we will have our Orientation session. Program Registration: 5:00 p.m. As you register with the program staff, you will get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will learn from the Group Leader and a series of local experts who will give lectures and lead field trips. Meals will be at the hotel and local restaurants unless otherwise noted. Unless specified otherwise, transportation will be primarily by motorcoach and will require going up and down a few steps. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: At a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.

Evening: At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

DAY
2
Caguas & La Ruta Criolla, New Year’s Eve in Ponce
Ponce
B,L,D
Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Activity note: Bring baggage to lobby for loading on motorcoach. Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving 40 miles, approximately 1.5 hours riding time. Walking up to 1.5 miles; paved road, uneven in places.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: After checking out of the hotel, we’ll board our motorcoach to Ponce. En route, we’ll stop in the small city of Caguas to explore La Ruta del Corazón Criollo — The Route to the Heart of Creole — meaning the people of Puerto Rico and their culture. During this expert-led walking field trip, we’ll see some of the dozen places of interest including museums, cultural institutions, and the cathedral. This journey through local history offers a unique view into the cultural influence of this important city in the valley as we visit museums and small craft shops.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Continuing our ride, we’ll reach Ponce on the south of the island and check in to our hotel with some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.

Dinner: At the hotel.

Evening: At the hotel, we’ll attend a New Year’s Eve party with live music, food on the terrace, a glass of sparkling wine, and stew at midnight.

DAY
3
Puerto Rico Overview, Ponce City, Cooking Lesson
Ponce
B,L,D
Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Activity note: Getting on/off a trolley; riding and walking up to 1/2 mile; paved road, uneven in places.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We’ll gather for a late morning presentation by our Group Leader, providing an overview of Puerto Rico.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Led by a local expert, we’ll take a field trip by trolley and on foot to explore Ponce, second-largest city in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1692 by the great-grandson of Juan Ponce de Léon who explored Puerto Rico and Florida, allegedly in pursuit of the Fountain of Youth. Ponce today is notable for its impressive neo-Classical architecture in the old colonial center that has been declared a national treasure. We’ll see the historic, beautiful, and unique Ponce Firehouse, Ponce Cathedral, and Delicias Square.

Dinner: At a popular restaurant, we will learn how to cook an authentic savory dish, Mofongo — made of mashed plantains and other tasty ingredients — as well as appetizers. We’ll then dine on our creations.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
4
Tibes Indian Center, Serralles Castle Museum
Ponce
B,L,D
Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving 10 miles, approximately 1/2 hour riding time. Walking up to 1.5 miles throughout the day; periods of standing.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: For our first field trip today, we’ll ride on the motorcoach to the Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center, where an expert will give a presentation. The Tibes Center is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Caribbean featuring a significant number of artifacts and structures of pre-Taino Indians dating back to 600 CE. Excavations began in 1975 when Tropical Storm Eloise caused landslides, exposing the ancient site. Since then archaeologists have uncovered seven ball courts, two ceremonial plazas, burial grounds with at least 180 skeletons, as well as various pieces of pottery, tools, and charms.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: We will check out of the hotel, we’ll board our motorcoach and depart for San Juan. En route, we will stop at Castillo Serralles Museum.This castle is the family home of the best selling rum brand in Puerto Rico, Don Q. This incredible castle and much of the entire city of Ponce, was build as part of the vast Serrallés family fortune. Built in 1930, this four story concrete castle sits on top of a hill overlooking downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico. The former family mansion turned museum is Spanish Revival or Spanish Moroccan architecture designed in the 1920’s

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
5
Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, Porto Coeli Chapel
Ponce
B,L
Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving 40 miles, approximately 1.5 hours riding time. Hiking about 1 mile, approximately. 1 hour; some rubble and loose terrain. Bring walking shoes with good ankle support.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: On our way via motorcoach to visit Los Morrillos Lighthouse, we will stop at the salt flats in Rojo Cabo, located in the far southwest of the island. Take in the beautiful scenery as the sun sparkles and reflects off the dry salt and learn how the salt collects on the flats with a local expert who will give a presentation. At the tip of the small peninsula sits Los Morrillos Lighthouse, constructed in 1882 by the Spanish to help guide ships from the Caribbean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. The lighthouse sits atop 200-foot cliffs and is surrounded by salty lagoons and marshes. From the top of the hill, enjoy impressive vistas of the beautiful crescent shape bay beach with calm, clear blue waters. The area is also a local birding spot allowing for the chance to see a variety of herons, egrets, sandpipers, plovers and some of the island's indigenous birds.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Our next field trip will take us to the town of San German and the Convento de Porto Coeli, notable as the second-oldest church in the New World (1609). After centuries of gradual decline, it was seriously damaged in 1949 and sold to the government of Puerto Rico. It has since been reinvented as a museum of religious art. After the field trip, we’ll return to our hotel with some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.

Evening: At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer to Manati tomorrow.

DAY
6
Arecibo Lighthouse Overlook, Manati City
Manati
B,L,D
Hyatt Place Manatí

Activity note: Bring baggage to lobby for loading. Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving 20 miles, under 1 hour riding time. Hiking about 1 mile, approximately 1 hour; uneven terrain.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: After checking out of the hotel, we’ll board our motorcoach for the transfer to Manati, transiting La Cordillera Central, the island’s main mountain range.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Resuming our journey to Manati, we’ll stop in Arecibo to see the Arecibo Lighthouse, then proceed to our hotel for check-in.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
7
Camuy River Cave Park, Free Time
Manati
B,L,D
Hyatt Place Manatí

Activity note: Hiking about 2 miles, approximately 1 hour. Trails gently descend 200 feet through a fern-filled ravine to yawning, cathedral-like caverns; the slippery footing in cave. Bring a flashlight or headlamp and good hiking shoes. Walking and other free time activities according to personal choice.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We’ll board our motorcoach for a field trip to Camuy River Cave Park, where a local expert will give a presentation. This is one of Puerto Rico’s most popular natural wonders, a lush 268-acre park containing the world’s third-largest cave system, formed over the course of a million years by the action of the Camuy River. The river still runs through some of the vast subterranean caverns. While archaeological evidence shows that the native Taíno Indians knew it for centuries, it was “discovered” in 1958. Led by a local resident expert, we’ll hike approximately 2 miles inside the cave. Our experience will begin with a trolley ride down the steep rolling mountainside while enjoying the lush tropical foliage covering the grounds and towering above. At Cueva Clara, which is about 170 feet in height, we’ll walk with a local expert through marvelous stalagmites, stalactites, and other gorgeous natural works of art formed over thousands of years by Rio Camuy. During our exploration, we’ll feel the heat of hundreds of sleeping bats and enjoy sights and sounds of an underground river at a sinkhole of about 150 feet deep.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Free time.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer to San Juan tomorrow.

DAY
8
Three King Day Festival, Old San Juan
San Juan - Isla Verde
B,L,D
Hampton Inn & Suites San Juan

Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach. Hiking/walking about 1 mile, approximately 1 hour; uneven terrain, high humidity.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Three Kings Day is one of the most important holidays on the Puerto Rican holiday calendar. Known in other places as Epiphany, it venerates Los Reyes Magos — the Three Kings, Wise Men, or Magi — who came bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. This is traditionally the day of gift giving in Latin America. Along with our Group Leader, we’ll observe and participate in festivities with the people.

Lunch: At a local restaurant a short walk from the hotel.

Afternoon: Led by a local expert via motorcoach, we’ll explore Old San Juan and such famed sites as Fort San Felipe del Morro and La Muralla. Both are part of the San Juan National Historic Site. Puerto Rico was once known as the “Gibraltar of the Caribbean” due to its strategic location. The fort, where construction began in 1539, was not completed until 1787 and became one of the largest Spanish colonial fortifications in the region. Our expert will give us a presentation.

Dinner: At a restaurant in San Juan. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

Evening: At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

DAY
9
Program Concludes
San Juan - Isla Verde
B

Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At the hotel. This concludes our program.

Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!






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