Most cars in Puerto Rico lack a front license plate, the area looks tropical and Spanish is the dominant language. Cars in Puerto Rico typically have no front license plate. For me, this is one of the easiest ways to recognise Puerto Rico. Spanish is the dominant language in Puerto Rico although English appears on occasions. Puerto Rico uses the word ‘PARE’ on their stop signs like South America. The Dominican Republic in Central America also use ‘PARE’ on stop signs. Puerto Rico uses kilometres in contrast to the USA which uses miles. In Puerto Rico, you will see these small rectangular signs every 100m or so on main roads. The number (in this case 21.2) informs you of how far away San Juan is in kilometres. If you are travelling on the other side of the road, the number will also be 21.2. These numbers are very helpful in terms of telling you where in the country you are located. If you are in south-western Puerto Rico, you will see numbers up to 180km (the furthest point from the capital). If you are on the ring road that circles Puerto Rico, you may see a sign with 80km on it. This means you can be 80km clockwise or anti-clockwise from the capital. You can tell which of these location you are positioned in by travelling eg clockwise and noting whether the numbers get smaller or bigger. These red and white ‘Clasificados Online’ signs are everywhere in Puerto Rico. There are a wide range of utility poles in Puerto Rico. Many of the poles are painted with a white or gray base. Some cities in Puerto Rico and parts of San Juan can be identified thanks to the colour combination that the base of their utility poles are painted. For example, many utility poles in Fajardo are pained with two shades of light blue. I won’t list every colour combination-city combination here however if you are a Puerto Rico-fanatic, this information is useful. There is quite a tropical feel in Puerto Rico. Much of the land is undulating and there are often many electrical wires connecting utility poles. The Puerto Rico landscape can be quite varied. In general, Puerto Rico is relatively tropical looking and green. 

Puerto Rico is a United States overseas territory. As such, it is counted as the US for country streaks purposes.

The entirety of Puerto Rico uses (787) as their regional phone code. This number can be seen in front of phone numbers using this format: (787) XXX-XXXX

Spanish, instead of English, can commonly be seen on signs around Puerto Rico.

American store chains, such as Wal-Mart, are very common in Puerto Rico. This will help distinguish Puerto Rico from other nearby Latin American countries and territories, where American stores are not common.

Front plates are not mandatory in Puerto Rico. Therefore, seeing cars with front plates is rare. This helps differentiate between Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.

A very large part of the coverage in rural Puerto Rico is taken on large divided highways.

Here is an example of what highway shields in Puerto Rico look like. From top left to bottom right they are: primary highway shields, primary urban highway shields, secondary shields, and tertiary shields. These will not be present in any other state or territory of the US.

Speed limit signs in Puerto Rico are identical in shape and size to speed limit signs seen in the mainland US. The major difference is that these signs will always be in Spanish, instead of English.

Stop signs in Puerto Rico say ‘PARE’ instead of stop.

Puerto Rican kilometre markers are tall, green and with “km” written at the top, followed by a number written vertically in large text.

Most homes in Puerto Rico are made of concrete and have flat rooftops. Metal gates in front of homes are common features as well, especially in urban areas.

Homes in other areas of Latin America can have a similar appearance.
