I'm an island traveler now! In May 2023, I traveled to Puerto Rico. Yes I loved the warm weather, but I am not a big beach goer. There are too many lethal creatures or just ways to die at the beach. My health has already heightened my chances enough and I don’t need any more help in that department of my life. But, I do love Pina Coladas!

I was attending a conference in Puerto Rico, but I wanted to go sightseeing. I found another wheelchair bloggers page who had traveled to Puerto Rico ten years ago Diary of a Wheel Girl, and while that information helped, some information mentioned was out of date. I could not find any wheelchair accessible taxis, especially near the airport. Puerto Rico is within US territory and I would have hoped the US would have been more travel inclusive.

Before visiting, I emailed the hotel and asked about wheelchair accessible taxis, but they recommended luxury transportation. Dollar signs immediately flashed through my mind. I did find a shuttle with accessible access - GO Puerto Rico Shuttle. They charged a flat rate of $100 for wheelchair transportation to any destination on the island. They were super nice and our driver was a Puerto Rican local with lots of fun facts!

Later a guide told us, since Puerto Rico is US territory, everything on the island is imported from the US: cars, gas and accessible vehicles. I doubt they have amazon prime! I know accessible vehicles are far and few between on the island and are usually pricey. I don’t know if they’d be able to accommodate a call for a same day pickup, so make sure to plan ahead.

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton . The conference did have a room block for $150/night, but of course the block didn't contain any accessible rooms. I still got a discounted price of $220/night opposed to $450/night regular price, which I unexpectedly paid later.

We checked the hotel at 2pm, but our room wasn't ready, so we went to the hotel’s restaurant Rustica Ristorante. I got cheese stuffed meat balls, (balls of meat), and the freshest lemonade, without all the sugar! Then we walked around the hotel until the front desk sent us a text saying our room was ready.

As the bellhop brought our bags up to the room, I asked about the resident peacock that was mentioned on the hotel website. He said the peacock died 2 weeks ago and he was 20 years old. The peacock died, 2 weeks ago!!!!! I missed him by 2 weeks!

Our room was on the 8th floor, number 831, with a beautiful view of the ocean flowing into a bay with a little fort! Our room had two queen beds, a TV, and of course the bathroom. Yes, there was a roll-in shower, but there weren't any grab bars, which is what makes it accessible. Face palm. The lobby bathroom did have grab bars if you really needed them.

I spent Friday day at the conference, then at night we went to Morton’s Steakhouse, right off the hotel lobby. Then bed time and another early day Saturday. Saturday morning, we started our day off at Starbucks, which was also located in the lobby. I spent Friday morning at the conference and around noon, we took a break for lunch at Lola's Puerto Rican Cuisine, where I got shrimp stuffed mofongo. Then I finished up with the conference at 6pm.

After the conference, I decided to go in the pool. From what I researched online, I knew the pool had a chair lift, but to my surprise, there were actually three! We asked the pool attendant to use a lift, so he walkie talkied my request. We waited by the pool and eventually three people brought a battery for the lift, but it didn’t work. They said they hadn’t used any of the lifts in years! Luckily, they had a backup, and it worked! They helped me onto the chair, lowered me into the pool and then showed my mom how to operate it. The hotel had a hammock garden and I’m positive, if I asked they would have helped me in.

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I had a migraine so I stayed in bed all day. I also had to cancel my bioluminescence kayak tour; I was looking forward to that for months. I went to bed sad and with a sore throat.

By Monday, I woke feeling ready to go! I booked a rainforest tour with Access tours PR. I thought it would have been more jungel-ish, but it was still beautiful! We had lunch in the Visitor Center at El Portal Cafe. I had the best fish tacos ever with an amazing passion fruit beer!

We were dropped off at the San Juan castle and were given free admission since I only had access to the first floor. That’s when my phone died. We walked 45 minutes back to the hotel. No photos of the old town, the slanted sidewalks, the pastel buildings, the umbrella street or the random corners without curb cutouts to go down, even though they had them to go up.

Staying true to Puerto Rico, it rained and when I say it rained, it downpoured, but we didn't melt. I did cut my arm when I was holding my wheels while we went downhill, my mom asked for help so she wouldn’t slip out of her sandals. My arm got the brunt or it. #WheelchhairProblems

When we got back we weren’t feeling great and we both tested positive for Covid. We ended up staying two more nights, paying full price, while we just slept all day. We flew home Thursday with our masks on! The CDC may not have liked that, but we were feeling better.