SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

Many visitors to Puerto Rico never leave the streets and plazas of San Juan, and that's understandable, because this most beautiful of Caribbean cities can charm you in a way few tropical getaways can. Walk along the narrow cobblestone lanes and gaze at the wrought-iron balconies, archways, and plazas, and you are in an 18th-century Spanish colonial city, alive with antique shops, art galleries, and small cafés. By night, this is a city that lives by its after-hours diversions, set to the rhythms of hip-swiveling Salsa.

But there are also other, less familiar Puerto Ricos. Sun-and-sand lovers can choose among hundreds of beaches (among them, Rincon on the Porta del Sol western coast, home to the best surfing in the Caribbean), while divers can explore some of the least known dive sites in the West Indies, and horse fans can both bet on thoroughbreds at El Comandante racetrack and gallop along a beach on the island's renowned paso fino horses. Then again, you may be like many San Juaneros and think that the best of days is simply a preamble to the nightlife ahead…

NATURE Just an hour east of San Juan, El Yunque's vast rainforest (28,000 acres) is a treasure trove of towering trees, ferns, orchids, exotic birds (including the rare Puerto Rico parrot), and countless coquis, the tiny tree frog whose piercing call is a nightly lullaby for Puerto Ricans. A network of trails laces the park, including a relatively easy path to the often cloud-shrouded summit of El Yunque Peak. For a more relaxed outing, make the 30-minute trek through a fern gully to the cool pools of La Mina Falls.

GOLF Don't forget to pack your putter. Chi Chi Rodriguez helped put Puerto Rico on the world golf map, but the 18 championship courses scattered across the island are the landmarks a visiting golfer will remember. From the venerable Aguirre Golf Club (the island's oldest, built in 1926) to such modern challenges as Greg Norman's River Course, Puerto Rico can well lay claim to being the Caribbean's golf capital. (The World Amateur Team Championships will be held here in fall 2004.)

DINING You might well expect fine food with traditional Spanish and Caribbean accents, but how do you account for the classic French and Italian restaurants that garner some of the island's top culinary awards? If you want to feast like a local, fuel up for that late-late nightlife in Old San Juan with a dinner of traditional Puerto Rican fare: asopao (gumbo) and mofongo (mashed plantains fried and seasoned with garlic and pork) are tasty starters.