25 hours in Aruba and a hotel with a boat shuttle to a private island; a night in Panama discovering “Old City”; and 5 days in Puerto Rico, which includes everything from beaches, the “Old City” and the Rainforest. This was the most fast-paced week-long trip we’ve ever done, but we did it right. Perhaps this was our attempt to travel with a limited amount of time and still use the generous routing rules to see more on the trip.
- Where and how we booked it
- Renaissance Aruba
- Radisson Decapolis Panama
- Exploring Old City Panama
- InterContinental San Juan
- Exploring Puerto Rico
- Gran Melia Golf Resort Puerto Rico
- Radisson Ambassador Plaza Hotel San Juan
- Conclusion
Why Aruba? Why Panama? Why Puerto Rico?
They’re all new places that have appeal, and it worked out to see these three the best. Essentially I had 18,000 miles in a couple of United accounts that I wanted to burn and this was the best way that I could think of to maximize those miles. That and I had some Southwest points I didn’t mind burning too. Here is why:
A one-way to an island in the caribbean is 17,500 miles and Southwest had just taken over a flight to Puerto Rico. So I knew that we could get to Puerto Rico and back to Baltimore. San Juan, Puerto Rico to Baltimore turned out to be only 8,000 Southwest Points. And as I explained in “how to book a long layover“, you can book layovers on United and that, for some reason, it allows Aruba and Panama as layovers. The layovers had to be under 24 hours and thus I chose Aruba. When you land, see if you can print your boarding pass with Copa so you don’t have to get to the airport too early. We showed up an hour early and didn’t print our boarding pass and the lady at checkin scolded us. So if you’re like me and want to maximize your time in Aruba, see if you can print passes when you arrive – assuming you don’t check luggage.
United has a flight from Newark to Aruba that lands in Aruba at 1:49 p.m. and Copa (based in Panama) has a flight that leaves Aruba at 1:32 p.m., both on a regular basis. So I booked a layover that was supposed to be 23 hours and 43 minutes. Fortunately, my flight into Aruba was very early and we ended up with nearly 25 hours in Aruba. Of course I could have chosen another island other than Aruba. I briefly looked at Trinidad and was hoping to find a combination of flights to St. Maarten. If I was using 35,000 miles and doing a roundtrip on United, I would have gladly made St. Maarten a few day stopover.
I’ll write more about this routing and the other options with the same concept.
Copa’s hub is Panama and there are a few options for flights to Puerto Rico and thus I was able to pick a flight departing Panama 17 hours after our landing in Panama. While there are many combinations of Islands, the best Star Alliance hub to get from one island to another was Panama City with Copa. We rented a car and dashed into Panama City to enjoy the afternoon and evening there.
How do you earn United points?
United is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards (and so is Southwest). So between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Ink Bold, you can have enough points to do this route a few times.
Hotels
Renaissance Aruba
First we picked the Renaissance Aruba. For a 24 hour stay this seemed like a great choice. The renaissance has a private island with a boat shuttle that comes into the lobby and takes you to the island straight from there every 15 minutes. Sold.
How much did it cost?
I used a category 5 certificate. I just wrote a piece on how to get free nights with Marriott that explains how to combine their promos including a category 5 certificate. Also, you get these certs from the credit card every year you pay the annual fee. But the annual fee is not free, it’s $85. Worth it.
Radisson Decapolis Panama City
I wasn’t impressed by the outside of the hotel, but once we were in the room, I knew I made the right decision. The hotel had free parking and free valet parking (although it’s kosher to tip). As gold members they set aside a large two room suite for us with a great view of the water, and gave us $20 toward the bar (bar in the lobby or the pool). The hotel honestly made my Panama experience better.
How much did it cost?
We paid with points. 28,000 points didn’t seem like a bad trade as it was going for nearly $200 that night. Pretty average-level redemption for Club Carlson Points I’d say. Most of our points were earned in their promotion where they gave 50,000 points for one stay.
InterContinental San Juan
The IC is the only InterContinental Hotel Group property on the east side of the island. While it had mixed reviews online I found the hotel to be worthy of the InterContinental name. It had a pretty grand aura and one of the best beach locations in San Juan. It’s also one of the closest beaches to the airport. If the hotel is free, you really can’t go wrong.
How much did it cost?
It was free. Free free. No points, no cash, just a $0 bill. In case you’re unfamiliar, IHG has a best rate guarantee which means that if you find a cheaper rate, you’ll get your first night free. Since it was a stay only one night long, it was a free stay. Read about the different best rate guarantee policies that give free nights and how to get a free night with IHG’s best rate guarantee.
Gran Meliá Puerto Rico
This was our first stay at a Meliá brand hotel and it was great. The rooms were enormous, the resort was classy and it was cheap. The real reason we went over to this hotel was because we simply wanted to be on the east side of the island for a night and it’s what Priceline gave us.
How much did it cost?
The hotel was a Priceline bid at $89 that really comes out to $120 after taxes and resort fees. I hate resort fees.
Radisson Ambassador Plaza San Juan
The Art Deco styled hotel I’m sure was stunning decades ago but as a Gold member, my experience with Radisson is continually positive. In some ways it’s kind of a wash. The hotel was not my favorite but it certainly provided me with the most uncharged food. Expedia rates it as a 3.5 star hotel… I’ll be generous and concede on the .5 extra stars.
How much did it cost?
Although I loved the east coast I decided to give the Radisson a shot. Couldn’t justify dropping 38,000 points on the hotel and the AAA rate was $90. Which came out to about $100. While Radisson points are sometimes given away, I value them enough to save them for a better value and I’m still earning a decent amount.
Comfort Inn San Juan
Well the hotel isn’t worth writing about but it’s definitely worth mentioning hotel stays that are completely free.
How much did it cost?
Nada. It was free free. No points and no cash. The Choice Hotels best rate guarantee is one way to get a completely free night. Oddly enough, they didn’t even change the rate for days and my friend got it later. They just don’t seem to care.
One note about car rentals in Panama
We heard the taxi into town is $20 and I saw the car rental was $9 for 1 day. However, they do add a $13 “mandatory” insurance fee. I’m not too sure if it’s actually a law but I ended up paying it. Also, make sure you have $8 in cash for tolls. I’m not sure if it will get you a roundtrip but you do need cash.
Our Airfare and Hotels Total
- 35,000 United miles for two people (17,500 x2) and $55.
- 16,000 Southwest Points for two oneways from SJU – BWI
- 16,000 Southwest Points for a friend’s roundtrip ticket to Puerto Rico
- 1 Category 5 Marriott certificate for the Renaissance Aruba
- 28,000 Radisson points for the Radisson Panama
- $0 for the InterContinental San Juan
- $0 for the Comfort Inn San Juan
- $120 for the Gran Melia
- and $100 for the Radisson San Juan
= 98,000 points + $275 for two people to fly to Aruba, Panama and Puerto Rico and another person roundtrip to Puerto Rico and 6 different hotels (sometimes with multiple rooms).
Despite the Radisson’s poor condition, if we had stayed two nights in a row there on points, it would have been 38,000 points for both nights because we have the credit card. this would have eliminated all of the money spent on hotels. So we really payed over $200 to be on the east side of the island.
While it’s actually well over my normal 7 day budget for travel, this is also the shortest international trip I’ve ever done (excluding a couple of short trips to Canada). This was so much more fast paced than my normal travel preference that I was willing to pay for a hotel closer to the east coast and for some reason thought paying for the Radisson was a good idea. Plus, Puerto Rico is not nearly as cheap as Mexico for example. I guess this is more the way normal people travel. If you have a limited amount of time, you end up compromising on price. To each his own, but this is why “normal” isn’t sustainable for us. Either way, it was a wonderful trip and I hope you enjoy reading about it.
