For most West Coasters who’ve visited the Caribbean, Puerto Rico is the place you change planes to get almost anywhere else. In doing so, they’ve missed a tropical paradise that is becoming a prime destination for travelers.

Puerto Rico has a magnificent setting. The 100-by-35-mile island has classic beautiful beaches ringed with palm trees, a rugged mountainous heart containing a true rain forest, and history aplenty including massive stone forts and the fascinating 500-year-old walled city of San Juan.

What’s attracting a new class of visitors is a fusion culture that marries the best local traditions with influences from New York, California, Asia and Europe. Food, drink, music and dance reflect this fusion, resulting in a vibrant lifestyle that appeals particularly to Californians. Everyone you’re likely to encounter speaks English, which is required in school. The local Spanish is shot out in machine-gun torrents, making the Mexican Spanish familiar to most San Franciscans seem leisurely in contrast.

For a start, there’s Nuevo Criollo food, the new Creole cuisine based on indigenous ingredients and traditions prepared by chefs who’ve perfected their craft in West Coast and Asian restaurants. One example is Roberto Treviño of the trendy Parrot Club in Old San Juan, who’s from Sunnyvale and worked in several San Francisco restaurants before moving to the island.

Traditional Puerto Rican cuisine combines local tropical fruits, vegetables and seafood known to the Taino Indians who have a strong Spanish heritage, all fused by African cooks. The food features heavy stews, savory pastries and fried food, tasty but not particularly designed for today’s healthy lifestyle.

New chefs have lightened the food, adding Pacific touches any San Franciscan would recognize, to create a delectable cuisine that transcends traditional cooking.

Drinks, too, have changed. They still feature island rum and tropical fruit, like Daiquiris and piña coladas, but Bacardi, the huge rum maker that moved to its Puerto Rico distillery when Castro confiscated its plant in Cuba, now makes rums to suit almost any taste.

It’s in partying, however, where San Franciscans could learn a few things from young Puerto Ricans. They love to dress up and go out late in the evening, often hitting clubs with driving hot, live, local music and staying until early in the morning. Bands play both fierce Afro-Latin rhythms and alternative variations, and it’s impossible to sit still when their beat throbs through your body.

Fortunately, after a night on the town, visitors don’t have to get up early When they do arise, they can enjoy a breakfast of local tropical fruit and some of the world’s best coffee, then lie like lazy lizards on beautiful beaches between dips in the bath-like turquoise water.

The northern coast of the island features many world-class resorts including the new Westin Rio Mar with two golf courses just east of San Juan. There’s a whole resort row on the beach at Condado in town, and the resorts feature every amenity, including casinos and fine restaurants.

Some visitors stay in paradores, traditional "bed and breakfasts" scattered throughout the island, many on beaches on the southern (Caribbean) coast. For the ultimate relaxation, there are quiet inns on Culebra and Vieques, two small islands in the "Spanish Virgins" only a few miles from the American and British Virgins east of the island.

Puerto Rico’s heart lies in Old San Juan, a walled city that contains El Morro, a magnificent fortress that guarded the island’s excellent harbor for 500 years. Many of the most interesting restaurants, shops, dubs and museums are tucked in the old town, and though some of the buildings are still being restored, the dense area is a perfect place to explore on foot; only a local would be "loco" enough to drive on its narrow streets, much less try to park.

There are two superb hotels in Old San Juan. El Convento next to the cathedral was once a nunnery but you don’t have to take any vows to stay there now. The new Wyndham lies on the recently upgraded harbor within walking distance of the embarcadero that once again attracts Local families as well as visitors to its markets, music and museums.

Along with Old San Juan and the beaches, another prime attraction in Puerto Rico is the rain forest. High in the mountains, but only a short distance from San Juan, the park contains fascinating plants and animals you can enjoy from many hiking trails. You might even catch a glimpse of the rare native Puerto Rican parrot. The forest is easily accessible by tour or rental car.

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