Touching down at Ponce Mercedita Airport in Ponce places you close to cities like Coamo, Guanica, and San German, all easily reachable. Ponce is Puerto Rico's second city, on the island's sunny south coast, known as the Pearl of the South. It is proud, artistic, and a little grand, with plazas, fountains, and colonial architecture.

Things to do in and around Ponce: - Snap photos of Parque de Bombas, the striped red and black firehouse on the main plaza - Stroll Plaza Las Delicias and visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe - See European masterpieces at the Museo de Arte de Ponce - Tour Castillo Serralles, the hilltop mansion of a rum dynasty - Climb El Vigia Cross for views over the city and coast - Walk the boardwalk at La Guancha and grab seafood from a kiosk - Explore Hacienda Buena Vista, a restored coffee plantation in the hills - Visit the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center to learn about Taino culture - Take a ferry to Caja de Muertos island for hiking and snorkeling

Ponce is perfectly placed for the south and west. Coamo and its hot springs are about half an hour east, and Guanica, with its dry forest reserve, is about forty minutes west. San German, one of the island's oldest towns, sits a little farther, and the mountain town of Jayuya offers cool air and coffee. Locals celebrate Carnaval each February, with vejigante masks covered in spikes and bright colors. Come for the plazas, stay for the food, and Ponce will charm you.