Active vacationers have a wide choice of things to do in San Juan, from beaching to windsurfing. The beachside hotels, of course, offer lots of watersports activities.

Bike Rentals -- The best places to bike are along Avenida Ashford (in Condado), Calle Loiza (between Condado and Ocean Park), and Avenida Baldorioty de Castro (in Santurce). Other streets in this area may be too congested. Similarly, because of the traffic, biking in Old San Juan is not recommended.

Cruises -- For the best cruises of San Juan Bay, go to Caribe Aquatic Adventures. Bay cruises start at $25 per person.

Deep-Sea Fishing -- Deep-sea fishing is top-notch here. Allison tuna, white and blue marlin, sailfish, wahoo, dolphin (mahimahi), mackerel, and tarpon are some of the fish that can be caught in Puerto Rican waters, where 30 world records have been broken. Charter arrangements can be made through most major hotels and resorts.

Benitez Fishing Charters can be contacted directly at P.O. Box 9066541, Puerto de Tierra, San Juan, PR 00906 (tel. 787/723-2292 until 6pm). The captain offers a 45-foot (14m) air-conditioned deluxe Hatteras called the Sea Born. Fishing tours for parties of up to six cost $490 for a half-day excursion, $650 for a 6-hour excursion, and $850 for a full day, with beverages and all equipment included.

Golf -- A 45-minute drive east from San Juan on the northeast coast takes you to Palmer and its 6,145-yard (5,618m) Westin Rio Mar Golf Course (tel. 787/888-6000). Inexperienced golfers prefer this course to the more challenging and more famous courses at Dorado, even though trade winds can influence your game along the holes bordering the water, and occasional fairway flooding can present some unwanted obstacles. Greens fees are $165 for hotel guests, $190 for nonguests. A gallery of 100 iguanas also adds spice to your game at Rio Mar.

Horse Racing -- Great thoroughbreds and outstanding jockeys compete year-round at El Comandante, Calle 65 de Infantería, Route 3, km 15.3, at Canovanas (tel. 787/724-6060), Puerto Rico's only racetrack, a 20-minute drive east of the center of San Juan. Post time varies from 2:45 to 5:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Entrance to the clubhouse costs $3; no admission is charged for the grandstand.

Running -- The cool, quiet, morning hours before 8am are a good time to jog through the streets of Old San Juan. Head for the wide thoroughfares adjacent to El Morro and then San Cristóbal, whose walls jut upward from the flat ground. You might join Puerto Rico's governor, a dedicated runner, in making several laps around the seafront Paseo de la Princesa at the base of his home, La Fortaleza.

If you don't mind heading out into the island a bit from your base in Old San Juan, you might opt for a run through the palm trees of the Parque Central, near Calle Cerra and Route 2 in Santurce. Condado's Avenida Ashford is a busy site for morning runners as well.

Scuba Diving -- In San Juan, the best outfitter is Caribe Aquatic Adventures, P.O. Box 9024278, San Juan Station, San Juan, PR 00902 (tel. 787/281-8858), which operates a dive shop in the rear lobby of the Normandie Hotel that's open daily from 8am to 4pm. The company offers diving certification from both PADI and NAUI as part of 40-hour courses priced at $465 each. A resort course for first-time divers costs $100. Also offered are local daily dives in the waters close to San Juan, as well as the option of traveling farther afield into waters near the reefs of Puerto Rico's eastern shore. If time permits, we recommend a full-day dive experience; if time is limited, try one of the many worthy dive sites that lie closer to San Juan and can be experienced in a half day.

Snorkeling -- Snorkeling is better in the outlying portions of the island than in overcrowded San Juan. But if you don't have time to explore greater Puerto Rico, you'll find that most of the popular beaches, such as Luquillo and Isla Verde, have pretty good visibility and kiosks that rent equipment. Snorkeling equipment generally rents for $15. If you're on your own in the San Juan area, one of the best places is the San Juan Bay marina near the Caribe Hilton.

Watersports desks at the big San Juan hotels at Isla Verde and Condado can generally make arrangements for instruction and equipment rental and can also lead you to the best places for snorkeling, depending on where you are in the sprawling metropolis. If your hotel doesn't offer such services, you can contact Caribe Aquatic Adventures, which caters to both snorkelers and scuba divers. You can also rent equipment from Caribbean School of Aquatics, Taft No. 1, Suite 10F, San Juan (tel. 787/728-6606).

Swimmers, Beware--You have to pick your spots carefully if you want to swim along Condado Beach. The waters along the Condado Plaza Hotel are calmer than in other areas because of a coral breakwater. The beach near the Marriott is not good for swimming because of rocks and an undertow.

Spas & Fitness Centers -- If a spa figures into your holiday plans, the grandest and largest such facility in San Juan is found at Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa & Casino, Avenida de los Gobernadores 6961, no. 187, Isla Verde (tel. 787/253-1700). You get it all here: the luxury life, with state-of-the-art massages, body wraps and scrubs, facials, manicures, pedicures, and a salon guaranteed to make you look like a movie star.

In an elegant marble-and-stone setting, there are 11 rooms for pampering, including hydrotherapy and treatments custom-tailored for individual needs. The spa also features a 7,200-square-foot (669-sq. m) outdoor swimming pool.

The Ritz-Carlton facility is the only spa in the Caribbean to offer the exotic and ritualistic treatments known to spa lovers around the world as the Balinese Massage and the Javanese Lulur. The fragrant Balinese Massage uses compression, skin-rolling, wringing, and percussion and thumb-walking to "de-stress" the most uptight guests. The Lulur originated centuries ago in the royal palaces of Central Java as part of a ritual for royal brides-to-be. The Lulur was performed daily to beautify, soften, and "sweeten" the bride's skin. Today women and men alike enjoy it.

The only resort spa that challenges the Ritz-Carlton is the runner-up, the newly launched Olas Spa at the Carib Hilton, Calle Los Rosales (tel. 787/721-0303). The spa offers everything from traditional massages to more exotic body and water therapies, using such products as honey, cucumber, sea salts, seaweed, or mud baths. You can choose your delight among the massages, including one called "Rising Sun," a traditional Japanese form of massage called shiatsu that uses pressure applied with hands, elbows, and knees on specific body points. Among body wraps is one known as Firm Away, a super firming, brown and green algae body cocoon therapy for a soft, toned, and smooth skin.

The Hilton Spa has the town's best program for hair treatments, including thinning hair and "tired perm." It also has a state-of-the-art fitness center with Universal and Nautilus weight machines, aerobics and yoga classes, treadmills, aerobicycles, loofah body polishes, and facials.

After the extravaganza of these two spas, it's a bit of a comedown at the other leading resorts. The Plaza Spa at the Wyndham Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino, Av. Ashford 999 (tel. 787/721-1000), features Universal weight-training machines, video exercycles, a sauna, whirlpools, and a spa program of facials and massage. We'd recommend this mainly for people who want only minor spa or fitness-center facilities during their stay, and not for those who want to make a spa the number one goal of their sojourn in San Juan.

El San Juan Hotel & Casino Wyndham Resort, Av. Isla Verde 6063 (tel. 787/791-1000), offers a stunning panoramic view of San Juan that almost competes with the facilities. You'll find full amenities, including fitness evaluations, supervised weight-loss programs, aerobics classes, a sauna, a steam room, and luxury massages. A daily fee for individual services is assessed if you want special treatment or care.

If your hotel doesn't have a gym or health club of its own, consider working the kinks out of your muscles at International Fitness, Av. Ashford 1131, Condado (tel. 787/721-0717). It's air-conditioned, well equipped, and popular with residents of the surrounding high-rent district. Entrance costs $10 per visit, $35 for 5 days, or $45 for a week. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 5am to 10pm, Friday from 5am to 9pm, Saturday from 9am to 7pm, and Sunday 10am to 3pm.

Tennis -- Most of the big resorts have their own tennis courts for the use of guests. There are 12 public courts, lit at night, at San Juan Central Municipal Park, at Calle Cerra (exit on Rte. 2; tel. 787/722-1646), open daily. Fees are $3 per hour from 6am to 5pm, and $4 per hour from 6 to 10pm.

Windsurfing -- The most savvy windsurfing advice and equipment rental is available at Velauno, Calle Loíza 2430, Punta Las Marías in San Juan (tel. 787/728-8716). A 1-day rental costs $75; 3 days $100, and 1 week $225. This is the second biggest, full-service headquarters for windsurfing in the United States. The staff here will guide you to the best windsurfing, which is likely to be the Punta Las Marías in the Greater San Juan metropolitan area. Other spots on the island for windsurfing include Santa Isabel, Guánica, and La Parguera in the south; Jobos and Shacks in the northwest, and the island of Culebra off the eastern coast.