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Where to stay for one night and where to stay after cruise


KCmomof5
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We are flying in on Dec 29. Our cruise leaves Dec 30th. RC Freedom of the Seas. Orginally we were going to fly in a few days early but those plans fell through so I am back at the drawing board of finding an inexpensive room for the one night before we board. I have never been to San Juan. Should we stay close to the airport or close to the port. I have no clue where the port is or how far from the airport it is. Any help would be appreciated.

After the cruise we are staying for 3 days so that we can tour San Juan. Would you recommend staying in Old San Juan? Would we need to rent a car or is transportation easy to find. Thanks!!!

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We are flying in on Dec 29. Our cruise leaves Dec 30th. RC Freedom of the Seas. Orginally we were going to fly in a few days early but those plans fell through so I am back at the drawing board of finding an inexpensive room for the one night before we board. I have never been to San Juan. Should we stay close to the airport or close to the port. I have no clue where the port is or how far from the airport it is. Any help would be appreciated.

After the cruise we are staying for 3 days so that we can tour San Juan. Would you recommend staying in Old San Juan? Would we need to rent a car or is transportation easy to find. Thanks!!!

The Sheraton Old San Juan is a great location....transportation is easy to use....I have never felt it's worth the hassle (parking/traffic/logistics) to rent a car.

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We are flying in on Dec 29. Our cruise leaves Dec 30th. RC Freedom of the Seas. Orginally we were going to fly in a few days early but those plans fell through so I am back at the drawing board of finding an inexpensive room for the one night before we board. I have never been to San Juan. Should we stay close to the airport or close to the port. I have no clue where the port is or how far from the airport it is. Any help would be appreciated.

After the cruise we are staying for 3 days so that we can tour San Juan. Would you recommend staying in Old San Juan? Would we need to rent a car or is transportation easy to find. Thanks!!!

 

 

We have reservations at the Sheraton in Old San Juan after our cruise as it appears everything is within walking distance. Staying at Embassy Suites (close to airport) night prior to our cruise. Royal Caribbean docks at the Pan Am pier in Old San Juan. I used booking dot com to find our places to stay.

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We have reservations at the Sheraton in Old San Juan after our cruise as it appears everything is within walking distance. Staying at Embassy Suites (close to airport) night prior to our cruise. Royal Caribbean docks at the Pan Am pier in Old San Juan. I used booking dot com to find our places to stay.

We use Hotels.com working towards getting that "free night stay" Sheraton was booked so we went with Hotel Milano for the one night. After the cruise we are staying for 3 nights in an Airbnb, in old San Juan

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We have reservations at the Sheraton in Old San Juan after our cruise as it appears everything is within walking distance. Staying at Embassy Suites (close to airport) night prior to our cruise. Royal Caribbean docks at the Pan Am pier in Old San Juan. I used booking dot com to find our places to stay.

 

FYI, the Pan American cruise terminal is not in Old San Juan, it is across the harbor in an area called Isla Grande, adjacent to the small Isla Grande airport, and you will have to take a taxi to get from Pan American to the Sheraton in Old San Juan.

 

You can see where the Pan American piers are on this map:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pan+american+pier+san+juan&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=18458707,-66097787,33&tbm=lcl&ved=2ahUKEwiUu_yzyOvcAhVLPN8KHclkBdAQtgN6BAgAEAQ&tbs=lrf:!2m1!1e2!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:2&rldoc=1#rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:!1m3!1d315.37919887132864!2d-66.09716795000001!3d18.4587074!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i37!2i16!4f13.1;tbs:lrf:!2m1!1e2!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:2

Edited by njhorseman
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My suggestion? Take one day to tour Old San Juan, rent a car and explore other places as well! There are so many other places to explore outside the tourist area in SJ that, unfortunately, people miss. If you can, explore SJ the day before the cruise and when you return explore the north and west coast from Arecibo to Cabo Rojo. There's a huge radio telescope in Arecibo along with a statue of Christopher Colombus that's allegedly higher than the Statue of Liberty (someone else's words, not mine), and the Window Cave (Cueva Ventana). You can see (or do) some surfing in Isabela, Aguadilla and Rincon. BTW, Rincon has some of the most amazing sunsets you'll see! There are lost of great restaurants along the coast of Joyuda and you can see the cliffs, a natural rock bridge and the old lighthouse at Cabo Rojo. Or just relax in one of the many hotels, guest houses or even AirBnB's in the area.

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I did a quick scan on Priceline and saw that the hotels and resorts are running very high for the 29th. But deals are to be found. Check out their express deals. I saw a 3 star hotel being listed in Condado for $94. (Probably the Best Western)

I’ve stayed there a couple times. Small pool but right near Ashford Avenue. For one night and not break the bank, I would recommend looking at this option for checking rates. I would make sure you stay at a 3 star or better place.

My favorite places are the Intercontinental and La Concha.

Depending on the number of days that you are staying, I would like you to consider looking at Rio Grande, Ponce and Rincon hotels. You will need to rent a car but all locations are within 2 hours of San Juan. feb08b34b62e847df6f7c7a38b1031f1.jpgIntercontinental

02d76dde444a356f7e035b2d7d36c8e3.jpgLa Concha

440aab21d3203f51ae11e59f06902aad.jpgCondado beach

 

 

 

 

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My suggestion? Take one day to tour Old San Juan, rent a car and explore other places as well! There are so many other places to explore outside the tourist area in SJ that, unfortunately, people miss. If you can, explore SJ the day before the cruise and when you return explore the north and west coast from Arecibo to Cabo Rojo. There's a huge radio telescope in Arecibo along with a statue of Christopher Colombus that's allegedly higher than the Statue of Liberty (someone else's words, not mine), and the Window Cave (Cueva Ventana). You can see (or do) some surfing in Isabela, Aguadilla and Rincon. BTW, Rincon has some of the most amazing sunsets you'll see! There are lost of great restaurants along the coast of Joyuda and you can see the cliffs, a natural rock bridge and the old lighthouse at Cabo Rojo. Or just relax in one of the many hotels, guest houses or even AirBnB's in the area.

We are planning on renting a car for one day so that we can go to the rain forest. I have now added the places you mentioned. I appreciate your time. These places look fantastic and just what we are looking for!! I had heard of the Cave Window but did not know where it was..so thank you for the advice! Thanks again for taking time to give such great detailed information.

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We are planning on renting a car for one day so that we can go to the rain forest. I have now added the places you mentioned. I appreciate your time. These places look fantastic and just what we are looking for!! I had heard of the Cave Window but did not know where it was..so thank you for the advice! Thanks again for taking time to give such great detailed information.

 

No problem! Always glad to help anyway I can. In fact, if you're driving to El Yunque there are also some interesting things in that area as well. I don't know how many of the trails will be open by January 7-9 (which I'm guessing are the dates you'll be spending in PR after the cruise) but if you can get to the rain forest early in the morning you could drive over to Fajardo to the Las Cabezas de San Juan natural reserve. There's a not-for-profit organization that run tours around the reserve and they have one tour daily in English at 2pm with a check in time half an hour before the tour. The tour runs roughly two hours on an open-side tram with various spots that range from walking over mangroves on boardwalks and a working lighthouse among others. You can check out the tour at (https://reservaciones.paralanaturaleza.org/event/a053900000MjQgzAAF/)

 

 

Note to CC: Hopefully this doesn't get taken down since a) this is a non profit organization running the tours and b) it's the ONLY way to see the reserve.

 

After the reserve you could relax for a bit in the nearby Seven Seas public beach were there's facilities, including showers (some outside ones) and a bar/restaurant. Get something to eat in the area and head to Las Croabas after dark for a Bio-Bay tour. Search for Fajardo Bio Bay tours for info on the various operators offering this. Being and weekday, I'm guessing most (if not all) of the restaurants near Las Croabas will be close so you might have to make-do with some fast food before the Bio Bay tour. I might be mistaken since I have honestly having been in the area on a weeknight for quite some time. It might sound a bit of stressed for time but if you do it right, it will be so worth it!!

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No problem! Always glad to help anyway I can. In fact, if you're driving to El Yunque there are also some interesting things in that area as well. I don't know how many of the trails will be open by January 7-9 (which I'm guessing are the dates you'll be spending in PR after the cruise) but if you can get to the rain forest early in the morning you could drive over to Fajardo to the Las Cabezas de San Juan natural reserve. There's a not-for-profit organization that run tours around the reserve and they have one tour daily in English at 2pm with a check in time half an hour before the tour. The tour runs roughly two hours on an open-side tram with various spots that range from walking over mangroves on boardwalks and a working lighthouse among others. You can check out the tour at (https://reservaciones.paralanaturaleza.org/event/a053900000MjQgzAAF/)

 

 

Note to CC: Hopefully this doesn't get taken down since a) this is a non profit organization running the tours and b) it's the ONLY way to see the reserve.

 

After the reserve you could relax for a bit in the nearby Seven Seas public beach were there's facilities, including showers (some outside ones) and a bar/restaurant. Get something to eat in the area and head to Las Croabas after dark for a Bio-Bay tour. Search for Fajardo Bio Bay tours for info on the various operators offering this. Being and weekday, I'm guessing most (if not all) of the restaurants near Las Croabas will be close so you might have to make-do with some fast food before the Bio Bay tour. I might be mistaken since I have honestly having been in the area on a weeknight for quite some time. It might sound a bit of stressed for time but if you do it right, it will be so worth it!!

Fantastic information! The tour sounds extremely interesting. Hopefully they will have them running when we are there. We are on a back to back cruise so we will be staying in San Juan from January 13th- 16th. Just missing the San Sebastian Festival ...wished we had planned better.

I have not heard of the Bio Bay tours. Thank you for mentioning this or we would not know anything about it. We have never been in a Kayak before but it looks like they give instructions. We have been in a canoe before so I think we could navigate a Kayak....hopefully...because it sounds like a lovely way to end our night.

Thanks again for these great ideas!

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I used Home away (just like air b&b) a few years ago. Had an amazing flat in old San Juan with 4 Verandas, 2 beds, 2 baths, full kitchen, and marble floors throughout. It’s probably the nicest place I’ve ever stayed, and only cost $100 per night. I’d look into something like that if you’re not set on staying at a hotel.

 

 

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We have reservations at the Sheraton in Old San Juan after our cruise as it appears everything is within walking distance. Staying at Embassy Suites (close to airport) night prior to our cruise. Royal Caribbean docks at the Pan Am pier in Old San Juan. I used booking dot com to find our places to stay.
We just stayed at the Embassy Suites - two couples and a toodler. We had a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom suite. The hotel was great, rooms, service, location, etc. We ate at The Outback and it was better then any Outback we have visited. Within walking distance was CVS, a grocery store and a wine store (prices were better at CVS).

 

Highly recommend this hotel.

 

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I used Home away (just like air b&b) a few years ago. Had an amazing flat in old San Juan with 4 Verandas, 2 beds, 2 baths, full kitchen, and marble floors throughout. It’s probably the nicest place I’ve ever stayed, and only cost $100 per night. I’d look into something like that if you’re not set on staying at a hotel.

 

 

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Wow.. I need to check them out!!! Thank you

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I used Home away (just like air b&b) a few years ago. Had an amazing flat in old San Juan with 4 Verandas, 2 beds, 2 baths, full kitchen, and marble floors throughout. It’s probably the nicest place I’ve ever stayed, and only cost $100 per night. I’d look into something like that if you’re not set on staying at a hotel.

 

This ^^^ is great as is http://AirBnB.com .

 

Being fairly new, folks tend to think of a conventional means for overnight (hotels, etc). Still, Airbnb is a great way to do it.

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Old San Juan is a must do and stay kind of place:) Yes great location, I stayed at the S.J suites as well not bad for the price and its location. I have mixed up my stays with Isla Verde too. Have to get some beach in too:)

 

I agree. We are staying in Old San Juan at Hotel Milano. Then after the cruise staying in Old San Juan for 4 days at an Airbnb
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  • 3 weeks later...

Daughter & I plan to stay 2 days before our Cruise as this will be our first visit. Should we stay closer to the Pan American Terminal or in Old San Juan and what areas do you recommend. We really want to spend the day after we arrive touring Old San Juan. Our cruise isn't until a year from next March but love to research.

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I would stay in Old San Juan for the first stay.

 

Daughter & I plan to stay 2 days before our Cruise as this will be our first visit. Should we stay closer to the Pan American Terminal or in Old San Juan and what areas do you recommend. We really want to spend the day after we arrive touring Old San Juan. Our cruise isn't until a year from next March but love to research.
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We will most likely be there Friday afternoon, then take Sat to sight see before going over to the cruise terminal on Sunday. I also will go over final arrangements with the daughter before booking the hotel. We don't need a high price hotel yet want something nice and in a good location. Thank you.

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Daughter & I plan to stay 2 days before our Cruise as this will be our first visit. Should we stay closer to the Pan American Terminal or in Old San Juan and what areas do you recommend. We really want to spend the day after we arrive touring Old San Juan. Our cruise isn't until a year from next March but love to research.

I found some fantastic places on Airbnb in old San Juan. Safe and not expensive. We are going in January I can report back what we think.

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