Puerto Rico's Flavorful Culinary Tours

A great food tour leads travelers to culinary experiences that are hard to find on their own.

Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, is well-known for its beautifully preserved Old City, which is just a short walk from most cruise ship docks. Visitors can take in the ancient city walls, cobblestone streets, imposing forts and nearly 500-year old cathedral.

One unique event visitors may find both convenient and fascinating is a food and culture tour in the heart of Old San Juan, one that combines a sampling of the best local cuisine with stories about Puerto Rico and its historical capital city.

The Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tour is for visitors who don’t have a lot of time but want to see and taste it all. Instead of dining at one restaurant in a city that has a dizzying array of options, visitors can experience a progressive dinner with drinks in many restaurants. It is an ideal way to experience an appetite-pleasing sample of some of the best food the city has to offer. A well-informed guide accompanies you and shares stories about the castles, hidden tunnels and ancient Caribbean battles.

A great food tour leads travelers to culinary experiences that are hard to find on their own. On the mainland U.S., “foodie” tours have taken off in practically every major city, including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Miami. Each food tour is different, of course, influenced by the kinds of food, the scenery, and the layout of each city.

The Flavors of San Juan food tour operates daily, offering both lunch and dinner, and takes an intimate group (between two and 14 people) throughout the city’s most historic sector. As they amble along the famous blue cobblestone streets, they stop to sip rum-laced Pina Coladas and mojitos, sample Puerto Rico’s famous fried plantain dish “mofongo” and learn about the historical landmarks and architecture they pass along the way.

The tour focuses on things genuinely Puerto Rican and visitors leave with a heightened appreciation of the city and an improved, well-rounded knowledge of its culture. Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tours are an experience created for the culturally curious and the “foodie” inside us all. For more information about the tour or reservations, visit www.sanjuanfoodtours.com or call 787-964-2447.

Additional food tours you might also want to consider include Get Shopped PR – a tour that combines shopping and fine dining, includes food and teaches participants how to make mofongo (787-381-2861 or www.getshoppedpr.com) – Legends of Puerto Rico, which offers Food, Rum and Historical Puerto Rico excursions with food tasting and rum sampling. Call 787-605-9060, email info@legendsofpr.com or www.legendsofpr.com - Also Spoon Food Tours offers a variety of unique and personalized Food Tour Adventures.

Leslie Padro is a writer (formerly with CNN) and founder and operator of Puerto Rico’s premier culinary tour company Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tours. Contact info: info@flavorsofsanjuan.com