Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona Update #4

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Dear Group Leaders,

The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico experienced heavy rain and stormy winds from hurricane Fiona early in September. Thankfully, the government as well as local businesses and residents learned a lot from 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The island now possesses machinery, generators, and hurricane protocols that did not exist back in 2017. Below is an update on the recovery efforts of the island. As of today, the island as well as Vamonos are fully open for business. We have groups traveling with us even this month.

  • Electricity –95% of the population already has power; some of our staff members and family in San Juan already have electricity.
  • Water – 98% of the population has running water as compared to 8% three day ago.
  • Hotels and venues – major hotels, attractions, and venues are fully operational and welcoming guests.
  • SJU Airport and other airports – Open and fully operational
  • Ports – Open and are fully operational
  • Venues and tourist attractions are open. El Yunque is open, but some trails are still closed.
  • More information – For more info, visit: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/information-about-hurricane-fiona

Our team is gathering data regarding places and communities in need of service for future service-learning projects.


Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona Update #3

Thursday 29, 2022

Dear Group Leaders,

The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico experienced heavy rain and stormy winds from hurricane Fiona this past weekend. Thankfully, the government as well as local businesses and residents learned a lot from 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The island now possesses machinery, generators, and hurricane protocols that did not exist back in 2017. Below is an update about and from the island. We will keep you updated periodically.

  • Electricity – 81% of the population already has power; some of our staff members and family in San Juan already have electricity.
  • Water – 92% of the population has running water as compared to 8% three day ago.
  • Hotels and venues – most major hotels, attractions, and venues are fully operational and welcoming guests.
  • SJU Airport – Open and fully operational
  • Ports – Open and are fully operational
  • Most venues and tourist attractions are open, however, El Yunque will take a bit longer to recover. El Yunque has started opening some trails as of yesterday.
  • More information – For more info, visit: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/information-about-hurricane-fiona

Our team is gathering data regarding places and communities in need of service for future service-learning projects.


Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona Update #3

Wednesday September 28, 2022

Dear Group Leaders,

The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico experienced heavy rain and stormy winds from hurricane Fiona this past weekend. Thankfully, the government as well as local businesses and residents learned a lot from 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The island now possesses machinery, generators, and hurricane protocols that did not exist back in 2017. Below is an update about and from the island. We will keep you updated periodically.

  • Electricity – 81% of the population already has power; some of our staff members and family in San Juan already have electricity.
  • Water – 92% of the population has running water as compared to 8% three day ago.
  • Hotels and venues – most major hotels, attractions, and venues are fully operational and welcoming guests.
  • SJU Airport – It reopened on Monday and remains fully operational
  • Ports – Ports have reopened and are fully operational
  • Most venues and tourist attractions are already open, however, El Yunque will take a bit longer to recover.
  • More information – For more info, visit: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/information-about-hurricane-fiona

We ask upcoming Puerto Rico groups and travelers to stay tuned and wait at least 2-3 weeks before thinking about switching their tour destination. Our team is already beginning to gather data regarding places and communities in need of service for future service-learning projects. We will also soon find out how our hotel property in southwestern Puerto Rico (Hotel Villa Parguera) is doing. We plan to visit it in person this week.


Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona Update #2

Thursday September 22, 2022

Dear Group Leaders,

The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico experienced heavy rain and stormy winds from hurricane Fiona this past weekend. Thankfully, the government as well as local businesses and residents learned a lot from 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The island now possesses machinery, generators, and hurricane protocols that did not exist back in 2017. Below is an update about and from the island. We will keep you updated periodically.

  • Electricity – 40% of the population already has power; some of our staff members and family in San Juan already have electricity.
  • Water – 67% of the population has running water as compared to 8% three day ago.
  • Hotels and venues – most major hotels, attractions, and venues are fully operational and welcoming guests.
  • SJU Airport – It reopened on Monday and remains fully operational
  • Ports – Ports have reopened and are fully operational
  • Most venues and tourist attractions are already open, however, El Yunque will take a bit longer to recover.
  • More information – For more info, visit: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/information-about-hurricane-fiona

We ask upcoming Puerto Rico groups and travelers to stay tuned and wait at least 2-3 weeks before thinking about switching their tour destination. Our team is already beginning to gather data regarding places and communities in need of service for future service-learning projects. We will also soon find out how our hotel property in southwestern Puerto Rico (Hotel Villa Parguera) is doing. We plan to visit it in person this week.

Sincerely,

Jorge Pardo
Vamonos President


Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona Update

Monday September 19, 2022

Dear Group Leaders,

The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico experienced heavy rain and stormy winds from hurricane Fiona this past weekend. Thankfully, the government as well as local businesses and residents learned a lot from 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The island now possesses machinery, generators, and hurricane protocols that did not exist back in 2017. Below is an update about and from the island. We will keep you updated periodically.

  • Safety of our people – All of Vamonos’ groups, staff, and families are safe and well.
  • San Juan – the capital was spared – it received some rain and some wind, but there is little flooding and minimal damage in Greater San Juan.
  • Wind and flooding – The southern region of the island experienced category 1 hurricane winds and heavy rain. The wind force was minimal as compared to the category 4/5 Hurricane Maria. However, the amount of rain (in some places over 20 inches) far surpassed Hurricane Maria. There is considerable flooding damage in some areas.
  • School / business – Government, schools, and businesses will be fully operational as of Tuesday September 20th. Most places in San Juan remain open.
  • Electricity / water – power has already been restored to hospitals and some areas in San Juan. The majority of the population is still without power or water in their homes. Water should be fully restored in the coming days. The vast majority of hotels and tourist attractions have generators so a lack of power does not affect them.
  • Roads – Main roads and highways are open.
  • Airport – The San Juan International Airport is open and fully operational
  • Telecommunications / cell towers – They sustained very little damage.
  • More information – For more info, visit: https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/info/information-about-hurricane-fiona

We ask upcoming Puerto Rico groups and travelers to stay tuned and wait at least 2-3 weeks before thinking about switching their tour destination. For those of you who chose service-learning opportunities in your itineraries, rest assured that we will have plenty of opportunities to serve in flooding-hurricane-relief efforts.

Sincerely,

Jorge Pardo
Vamonos President


Covid Protocol Update for Puerto Rico

The Governor of Puerto Rico announced a new executive Covid Mitigation order on December 20th, 2021. This new protocol limits the access to non-vaccinated travelers arriving Puerto Rico. The three main protocol changes of this order are as follows:

  1. Negative PCR Test – Now all travelers arriving Puerto Rico, regardless of vaccination status, must present a negative PCR test upon arrival to airport.
  2. Quarantine time for non-vaccinated travelers – Travelers who are not fully vaccinated must present a negative PCR test and quarantine on the island for seven days.
  3. Vaccination proof – Restaurants, hotels, tourism industry vendors and attractions must now request evidence of vaccination card for all guests. Those not vaccinated must show proof of a negative Covid test taken in the last 48 hours.

Vamonos encourages schools, groups, and tour operators to have their own Covid protocol and procedures and adhere to them. In addition, Vamonos encourages passengers traveling to Puerto Rico to be fully vaccinated in order to comply with the local executive orders set in place. As always, the safety and wellbeing of our travelers is our top priority at all times.

For more information on the changes, check out Discover Puerto Rico’s FAQ.


Puerto Rico Leads the Way

The CDC announced this week that Puerto Rico’s COVID classification level dropped to a Level 3 status.

Puerto Rico also has the highest rate of vaccination doses administered (to eligible populations over 11 years of age) against COVID-19 among all jurisdictions of the United States, with 89% of the population having received at least one dose and 80.1% who are fully vaccinated*. The success of the vaccination and masking policies in Puerto Rico not only has led to some of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in the country but is likely contributing to visitor confidence and driving record lodging revenues.This makes the island the safest place to visit in the United States, and we invite you to come and find out for yourselves! Vamonos takes great care in providing a safe tour for your students. 

*.data taken from Puerto Rico’s Department of Health