puerto rico: I know Spanish almost fluently btw. i was wondering if there is a lot of violence going on in Puerto Rico like there is and some of the other hispanic countries right now? and what would be the best and safest place to visit, somewhere on or near the ocean?|||If you wish to visit Puerto Rico, I suggest you stick to old San Juan. It's a major tourist point. You will be close to the best beaches, such as Ocean Park. From the airport, you can drive to the biggest rain forest in the Caribbean, El Yunque. (Around 1/2 drive). In the forest there are trails, hundreds of tropical plants and wild life, and a river/pond like area you can swim in with rainfalls and all. Fajardo is not far from San Juan, and there you can enjoy from more beaches. If what you want is purely beaches and no site seeing, then Rincon is the best place to stay, but it's expensive and you will need to make reservation with time. (Mostly surfers enjoy these beaches because of the awesome waves, but can be dangerous to people who lack swimming skills). If you want white sand, and crystal clear waters, then Culebras is the small island for you, it has world fame and it's very beautiful. This island is just off the east coast of the main island and has a LOT to offer. From scuba diving to fishing activities. Of course, this place is among the most expensive on the island and timely reservation is a must. Next to Culebras is Vieques, also a tiny island with beautiful beaches. The places I am mentioning are all tourist safe attractions . I suggest you keep out of night clubs in the towns close by to San Juan, unless you have a guide or a big group, since any country you don't know well enough can be dangerous. Puerto Rico has its downsides like any other country but can be a very nice place to vacation in, if you do your research right. http://www.facebook.com/prdetour?ref=ts This facebook page is a locals guide to internal tourism, with hidden and magnificent places known mostly to locals. Look up the beaches on their site for more visual information and directions on how to get there. I CAN'T STRESS THIS PART ENOUGH, when visiting a beach in Puerto Rico, please be sure you can handle the tide there. Recently we have been having many USA tourist who have been getting into dangerous beaches because they look nice and have drowned. Just because locals are jumping off the cliffs doesn't mean it's safe, most of them know how the currents work and even some locals have died due to dangerous rip tides this past summer. So please be careful and ask locals if you have doubts.|||Puerto Rico is very safe compare to some other countries, although like any place, there are places where you would probably want to stay clear from. I always go to palmas del mar on the southeast coast and thats a safe place. I would also recommend isla culebra for a great couple of beaches and a more secluded look compared to the mainland.|||I have visited PR twice within the past 2 years. PR is very safe except for LOIZA . My family and I are constant travelers to PR and we once stayed in Loiza for about a week. On the 3rd night while playing a little putt-putt at the resort we heard gun shots so please stay away from it as much as possible even though we decided to stay there for the rest of our trip and nothing happened to us of course. but PR is so gorgeous we ended up visiting it twice within 2 years.We dont know ANY spanish and was able to get around with a simple GPS navigation system so you knowing spanish wont have a problem at all. the best beaches in my opinion are red beach, playa media luna and flamenco beach|||For me there's nothing like Wisconsin dells. My family loves to go back there over and over again because the place was amusing. I tried to book it from http://www.dells.com and they were really a great help to me|||Very safe, probably the safest place for travel in the Caribbean or Central / South America.|||Just use some common sense and avoid the same kind of areas you would avoid in any city in the US and you will be OK|||Puerto Ricans are friendly. The crime there isn't as bad as some other islands.|||Very!!|||it is best that you go on a cruise and just go near the area of your cruise ship. If you like Spanish the go to Spain. All South American countries are so corrupted and full of crimes to me.