Puerto Rico and the Caribbean

Discover why Puerto Rico does it better...

Puerto Rico brings you the best of the Caribbean: over 270 miles of white-sand beaches, balmy temperatures throughout the year (we never get into the triple digits), tropical flavors and rhythms, and of course, plenty of rum! But did you know that, even among its fellow Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico stands out? Take a closer look at what makes our island special… even by Caribbean standards.

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Our island lies between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and is part of an archipelago known as the Antilles, which stretches across the Caribbean from Florida to Venezuela.

The Antilles is divided into the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles. Puerto Rico is the easternmost island of the Greater Antilles, which also includes Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

A few facts about our place in the Caribbean:

San Juan has one of the best and deepest natural harbors in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico is the largest Caribbean island under U.S. jurisdiction.
San Juan is the largest capital in the Caribbean.
Like all of our Caribbean neighbors, Puerto Rico has a hurricane season, which begins in June and runs through November. The peak month for hurricanes is October.
Puerto Rico has the largest and most technologically advanced convention center in the Caribbean.
The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) is the Caribbean’s largest institution of higher education.
The largest mall in the Caribbean is our own Plaza Las Américas in San Juan. It houses the largest J.C. Penney store in the world, as well as the highest-grossing Sears store in the world.
Puerto Rico is one of the world’s top biopharmaceutical manufacturing centers.
All doctors in Puerto Rico are board certified to U.S. standards.