Salinas Overview

On the surface, Salinas looks like any other city in southern central Puerto Rico, with congested streets and a town square surrounded by cafeterías. But just south of town is Playa Salinas, one of the island’s largest ports and the best place for wandering island-hoppers to find passage on vessels traveling throughout the western hemisphere. The activity centers around Marina de Salinas & Posada El Náutico, a hotel complex with a bulletin board that travelers use to coordinate carpools. Playa Salinas also offers scrumptious seafood, some boating opportunities, and a funky international charm rarely found in small Puerto Rican towns.

Transportation. Two of Puerto Rico’s major thoroughfares, Rte. 1 and Rte. 3, meet in downtown Salinas. From San Juan take Hwy. 52 south to the final intersection with Rte. 1; this road becomes Calle Muñoz Rivera. Públicos travel to Guayama (30min., $1.55) and Playa Salinas (5min., $0.45). To reach the plaza from the público station, turn left onto C. Amadeo and walk one block.

Orientation And Practical Information. The convergence of Route 1 and Route 3 is Salinas’s main street; off the central plaza, Rte. 1 is called C. Amadeo, and to the east, Rte. 3 becomes C. Barbosa. C. Muñoz Rivera runs perpendicular to this street along the plaza. To reach Playa Salinas, drive west on Route 1, then turn south on Route 701, which follows the bay. All of the services are located near the town center, about 1 mi. north of Playa Salinas. Banco Popular, C. Muñoz Rivera 1, on the plaza, has two ATMs. (☎824-3075. Open M-F 8am-4pm.) Grande supermarket, on Rte. 7701 across from the post office, has a MoneyGram service. (☎824-1400. Open M-Sa 7am-8pm, Su 11am-5pm. AmEx/MC/V.) The police station, C. Muñoz Rivera 500, is a quarter mile north of the plaza. (☎824-2020. Open 24hr.) Sur Med Medical Center, C. Colón Pacheco 8, lies east of town off Rte. 3, behind the Esso Station. (☎824-1100 or 824-1199. 24hr. emergency room. Open 24hr.) It also has a well-stocked pharmacy inside (Open M-Sa 8am-10:30pm, Su 9am-10:30pm.) The post office, Rte. 7701 #100, off Rte. 701 near the intersection with Rte. 1, has General Delivery. (☎824-2485. Open M-F 8am-4:30pm, Sa 8am-noon.) Postal Code: 00751.

Accommodations And Food. Marina de Salinas Posada El Náutico , C. Chapin G8, on Rte. 701, past the seafood restaurants, is both an upscale yachters’ marina and the best hotel in Salinas. Colorful rooms with nautical paintings have A/C, cable TV, wicker furniture, and nice showers. Spacious suites come with a full kitchenette. The hotel also has laundry facilities, a restaurant, a book exchange, a small pool, a waterfront snack bar, and a playground area. (☎824-5973 or 824-3185; www.marinadesalinas.com. Check-in 2pm. Check-out 1pm. Doubles $77; quads $88-99; suites $110-150. Extra person $15; children under 11 free. AmEx/D/MC/V.)

Food options tend to clump together in Salinas. C. Muñoz Rivera and C. Amadeo, near the plaza, have several inexpensive comida criolla lunch options. The seafood restaurants near Playa Salinas, along Rte. 701, are somewhat more expensive, but offer fresh surf ’n’ turf on patios overlooking the water. Few come close to El Balcón del Capitán , C. A 54, on Rte. 701. The restaurant’s balcony provides seating directly over the water, with incomparable views and a cool sea breeze. El Balcón specializes in seafood flavored with the local favorite, mojo isleño, a tomato-based sauce. (☎824-6210. Entrees $7-27. House tropical drink $5. Open M-Th 11am-10pm, F-Sa 11am-10:30pm, Su 11am-9:30pm. AmEx/MC/V.)

Outdoor Activities. The many off-shore islands provide ample opportunity for nautical exploration. Marina de Salinas & Posada El Náutico rents kayaks ($15 per hr., $40 per day) and waterbikes ($15 per hr., $60 per day). Or, forget the kayaks and bikes and hop on La Paseadora, a fun-filled, music-blasting boat that takes groups on tours of the bay ($3, children $2) or drops people off at a nearby island ($5, children $3). The boat leaves every weekend; for more info contact Ity Jiménez (☎824-2649) or wait on the dock next to El Balcón del Capitán (see Food, above) in the morning. Playa Salinas’s only swimming area is at Polita’s Beach, Rte. 701 Km 2.1. There is no sand, but a lively kiosk and bar offers jet ski rental ($5 per hr.) and parking for $3. (☎824-4184. Open Sa-Su and holidays 9am-dusk.)