Tired of Ontario? Discover Puerto Rico Offers Live Guided Tours Through Google Earth

In May, Discover Puerto Rico and Patria Tours are co-providing three live guided tours of the Island … [+] utilizing Google Earth. Shown is San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan.

Discover Puerto Rico

Like other tourism boards, Discover Puerto Rico has been aiming to keep their destination in the thoughts of past and potentially new visitors through videos and Instagram Live sessions. Now this DMO is taking virtual experiences of the island a step further by launching live guide tours with Google Earth.

In working with Discover Puerto Rico, Jorge Montalvo, founder of Patria Tours, will host a series of three live guided tours kicking off the week of Sunday, May 3 through Saturday, May 9. Starting in timing with National Travel and Tourism Week, the trifecta of Google Earth tours will introduce viewers to various facets of this U.S. territory.

Via a media statement, Discover Puerto Rico’s CEO Brad Dean said the tourism board wants to continue offering travelers ways that they can vacation virtually.

“Through these and other activations we’ve been offering, we’ve not only been able to keep Puerto Rico top of mind, reminding travelers of everything that will be waiting for them when the time is right to travel again,” said Dean, “but it’s also given us the opportunity to highlight valued members of the local tourism industry.”

Free live guided tours of Puerto Rico highlight natural wonders including Domes Beach in Rincón.

Discover Puerto Rico

Each of the free live guided tours lasts 30 minutes and can be seen by tuning in to Discover Puerto Rico’s Facebook page. All of them start at 5 p.m. EST. The overall schedule, and what each tour is about, is as follows.

Tuesday, May 5: “Discover the natural wonders of Puerto Rico” features El Yunque (the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service), bioluminescent bays in Vieques (Puerto Rico has three of the world’s five), Playa Negra (a famous “black sand beach”) and Cueva Ventana (a historical cave with an iconic window-like opening that looks out over the lush surroundings).

Friday, May 8: “Off the beaten path in Puerto Rico” offers an overview of Ponce (the second largest city in Puerto Rico), Rincón (where major surfing competitions take place), Culebra and Flamenco Beach (rated as one of the best beaches in the world), and Gilligan’s Island (a mysterious mangrove Island where travelers can find shallow crystal water that’s ideal for snorkeling).

Wednesday, May 13: “Road-tripping across Puerto Rico” includes cultural sites such as historic lighthouses and colonial buildings like Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal (which together form part of the San Juan National Historic Site), the Guajataca Tunnel (built in 1904, this tunnel crosses the mountain from Playa Guajataca to Playa Mirador) and Cara del Indio (an impressive rock sculpture of the Cacique (chief) Mabodamaca).

The Guajataca Tunnel connecting Isabela and Quebradillas will be featured on Discover Puerto Rico’s … [+] May 13 live guided tour.

Chase Walker

Patria Tours’ Jorge Montalvo said that these specific places in Puerto Rico were chosen for the videos in order to showcase the island’s ecological and architectural marvels.

“Puerto Rico has a variety of experiences that make you say ‘wow, this is something else!’,” explained Montalvo. “We wanted to highlight those locations that make our island a unique destination and organized the experiences into three virtual tours, focused on natural wonders, ‘off-the-beaten-path’ attractions, and an island-wide road trip.”

El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service, is one of the … [+] attractions to be shown in the Discover Puerto Rico’s live guided tours.

Discover Puerto Rico

The series also presents an opportunity to apply a fresh approach to tourism promotion. It’s said that Puerto Rico is the first destination to conduct live guided tours of the island using Google Earth. This computer program renders a 3D representation of a location that’s based primarily on satellite imagery.

“Utilizing [this] platform alongside our partners at Patria Tours was a unique way to highlight some of the aspects that truly make Puerto Rico unique by virtually transporting [viewers] to Puerto Rico, as if they were actually there,” said Dean. “Partnering to do this via a live guided tour seemed natural, and something we haven’t seen any other destination offer.”

For those who can’t catch them live, all three tours will become available for later viewing on Discover Puerto Rico’s Virtual Content Hub.