Planning a winter get away vacation? For many, that includes somewhere you can lounge on a white sandy beach. But how about looking for a little bit more and take in the local history and culture too?
Look no further than the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. It’s a vacation spot and all-around family destination that offers a variety of activities to suit an array of tastes.
Puerto Rico is packed with enough attractions and sights to occupy you for weeks.
There are beaches and marinas; gardens like Montoso Gardens, a 90-acre botanical garden in Maricao; wildlife reserves such as the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge; museums such as Casa del Libro and Casa del Rey; historical sites and forts like Castillo San Felipe del Morro; churches such as Porta Coeli, the oldest in the country to remain intact; cemeteries; children’s events; theaters; shopping; and a nightlife scene full of clubs, bars, restaurants and casinos.
Puerto Rico’s newest cultural attraction, and one that you won’t want to miss, is the Casa Bacardi Visitor Center which shares the almost 150-year-old history of the Bacardi family, brand and company.
It is located just outside of San Juan on the campus of the Bacardi distillery in Catano, the world’s largest premium rum distillery. It overlooks El Morro Castle, a castle that was built in the 1500s.
Visitors are guided through a 90-minute tour of seven historically accurate rooms. Following ambient sounds that transport visitors to another time and place, the story of the Bacardi family, company, and the process of premium rum production is explored through many attractions, which include:
• “Nosing” booths that invite visitors to take in the delicious smells of eight Bacardi rums.
• A recreation of the company’s prohibition era executive bar – an Art Deco masterpiece visited by Spanish royalty during the 1930s.
• Learning the secrets of the Bacardi rum-making success, including the secret strain of yeast isolated in 1862 that is still used today.
• Demonstrations by professional bartenders making Bacardi classics such as the Cuba Libre, Mojito, and daiquiri from the company’s “Golden Cocktail Age.”
• State-of-the-art technology allows visitors to send e-video messages to their friends from Puerto Rico.
With all of Puerto Rico’s diverse attractions to consider, including the Casa Bacardi Visitor Center, not to mention its year-round balmy temperatures, its no wonder Puerto Rico is the ideal vacation spot for everyone to travel to any time of year.
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