Puerto Rico Shopping

Shopping

Shopping Puerto Rico is full of modern shopping malls and outlet centers. The most notable of which, Plaza las Americas, is currently the largest such shopping mall in the Caribbean and offers a wide array of stores, eating facilities and a large movie theatre. Most major U.S. mainland and European retailers are located in the mall. The Condado section of San Juan is home to fine designer stores such as Cartier, Gucci, Ferragamo, Mont Blanc and Dior. You might want to check out the Belz Factory Outlets and the Prime Outlets of Puerto Rico. They house stores like Polo, Hilfiger, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers. All big cities also have a large regional mall with very familiar international stores. There are plenty of ATM machines around the commonwealth.Most are linked to the cirrus, plus, american express and discover networks. If you're looking for local crafts of all sorts, and want to pay less than in Old San Juan while getting to know the island, try going to town festivals. Artisans from around the island come to these festivals to sell their wares: from typical foods, candies, coffee and tobacco to clothing, accessories, paintings and home décor. Some of these festivals are better than others, though: be sure to ask for recommendations. One of the most popular (yet remote) festivals is the "Festival de las Chinas" or Orange Festival in Las Marías. Duty free One of the interesting facts about Puerto Rico that might not be emphasized enough in travel guidebooks is that since Puerto Rico is self governing due to its Commonwealth status, there are no federal taxes or import duties paid on on commodities like gasoline (about $0.50/liter for 87 octane in San Juan, as of 10/29/06) or rum. This might be an important consideration when planning how much empty luggage to bring, as a 750 ml bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label costs only $120 in the duty-free airport shop vs. $200+ on the mainland. Bacardi liquor brands are very inexpensive as well -- paying $8.00 for a 750 ml bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin can be something of a shock, after paying $9.00 for a single 4 oz martini of the same booze at La Guardia only 4 hours earlier.