Bacardi Distillery

[saldino]

Hi,

Has anyone been on the Bacardi tour? What did you think?

Thanks.

[sprockie]

We liked it very much. Mind you, this was about 10 years ago, but we got a tropical rum drink and bought some really good rum. The grounds/factory etc was very interesting.

[Putterdude]

We did it last week...glad we did but wouldn't rush back. You don't get into the actual distillery but you get a lot of history, pix, and so forth. At the end they show you how to make some rum drinks, you go through their gift shop and then get two free drinks. If it is part of your tour then great but having been there I wouldn't pay extra to go all the way out there.

[saldino]

We did it last week...glad we did but wouldn't rush back. You don't get into the actual distillery but you get a lot of history, pix, and so forth. At the end they show you how to make some rum drinks, you go through their gift shop and then get two free drinks. If it is part of your tour then great but having been there I wouldn't pay extra to go all the way out there.

 

That was the part we were looking forward to...getting into the distillery...bummer.

Still sounds o.k.

Thanks.

[stones902]

We did it last week...glad we did but wouldn't rush back. You don't get into the actual distillery but you get a lot of history, pix, and so forth. At the end they show you how to make some rum drinks, you go through their gift shop and then get two free drinks. If it is part of your tour then great but having been there I wouldn't pay extra to go all the way out there.

 

We visited back in November and I would agree with this poster's assessment.

[sealeggs]

Yeah but their Mojito's were great!

[Putterdude]

Yeah but their Mojito's were great!

 

Agreed!:D

[lovemylab]

We went at the end of November and enjoyed it. Would I pay to do this through a ships excursion? No. It is makes for an inexpensive afternoon if you do it on your own though.

[terisu10]

We went at the end of November and enjoyed it. Would I pay to do this through a ships excursion? No. It is makes for an inexpensive afternoon if you do it on your own though.

 

Do you advise taking a taxi and just going there? How much does it cost to get in?

[klepton]

Do you advise taking a taxi and just going there? How much does it cost to get in?

 

I haven't done this tour yet (doing it next week) but from what I understand it's a $1 round trip ferry trip from OSJ, and then a $3 each way cab ride from the ferry terminal to the Distillery. Aside from that the tour is free. So for under $10pp you can do the same thing that some cruise lines and tour companies charge $30-$40 for.

 

I found directions on how to get there here:

 

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/bacardi-rum-factory/

 

*near the bottom of the page they have how to get there from OSJ

[terisu10]

I haven't done this tour yet (doing it next week) but from what I understand it's a $1 round trip ferry trip from OSJ, and then a $3 each way cab ride from the ferry terminal to the Distillery. Aside from that the tour is free. So for under $10pp you can do the same thing that some cruise lines and tour companies charge $30-$40 for.

 

I found directions on how to get there here:

 

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/bacardi-rum-factory/

 

*near the bottom of the page they have how to get there from OSJ

 

Thank you so much. I speak fluent Spanish and have traveled a lot so I will definitely do this. My DS wants to go and I thought it would be fun. For $10 it is well worth it. It would cost more to buy two drinks in town :D

[klepton]

Thank you so much. I speak fluent Spanish and have traveled a lot so I will definitely do this. My DS wants to go and I thought it would be fun. For $10 it is well worth it. It would cost more to buy two drinks in town :D

 

Not trying to talk you out of it, but just so you know there is a place in osj that gives free rum samples. I think the name is casa don Q or something like that. I found it on the same site. Since someone noted you don't actually get to tour the distillery anymore, this might be a better option if all you're after is free samples.

 

Me? I think I'll do both! :)

[Tugboatbob]

We did the tour two weeks ago and both of us enjoyed ourselves. It was very informative and the two free drinks were a bonus. We now know the significance of the fruit bat on the Bacardi label.

[BroncosFan2010]

I did this tour last March. It was pretty good... we booked through RCCL. I believe it was $28 per person, and included airport drop off. We had a late flight, and this was a great way to kill time in between. We were given 2 free drinks, but the bar-tenders were generous. The tour itself was just "okay" I think I would have just enjoyed sitting outside enjoying the warm weather, beautiful plants, and a drink the whole time.

 

This tour is free if you can get there yourself and don't have to worry about catching a flight home.

[cleob]

We did this tour a few years ago through the ship and were quite disappointed. The tour was rather early in the AM when the rum drinks were somewhat less of a treat. You don't see anything of the actual distillery. Thats not true of other Carribean islands which have much better rum factories to tour.

I would skip it although Barcadi remains my favorite rum!

[terisu10]

Not trying to talk you out of it, but just so you know there is a place in osj that gives free rum samples. I think the name is casa don Q or something like that. I found it on the same site. Since someone noted you don't actually get to tour the distillery anymore, this might be a better option if all you're after is free samples.

 

Me? I think I'll do both! :)

 

Thanks! That may be just as good. Our ship is only in port from 7 - 2 PM. That is not a lot of time to venture away from OSJ. I think we'll take your advice and check out the Don Q and stay close to port.

[klepton]

Thanks! That may be just as good. Our ship is only in port from 7 - 2 PM. That is not a lot of time to venture away from OSJ. I think we'll take your advice and check out the Don Q and stay close to port.

 

Not sure when you sail, but I'll probably do the bacardi factory tomorrow and casa don q Friday or sat, so I'll post back after my cruise with more concrete info.

[WeRCruzAholics]

Not sure when you sail, but I'll probably do the bacardi factory tomorrow and casa don q Friday or sat, so I'll post back after my cruise with more concrete info.

 

 

Looking forward to your report - as we are trying to decided about making the trip from the port to the Bacardi factory ourselves next month.

[PimpDaddy2Kool]

Are you going to other islands in the caribbean? If so, I would skip visiting the Bacardi "factory." Besides, Bacardi rum is not that good. Why taste Bacardi when you can have English Harbor, Mt Gay, or Pyrat? Better use your limited time in PR to explore OSJ and the fort.

[scooch63]

We did it last week...glad we did but wouldn't rush back. You don't get into the actual distillery but you get a lot of history, pix, and so forth. At the end they show you how to make some rum drinks, you go through their gift shop and then get two free drinks. If it is part of your tour then great but having been there I wouldn't pay extra to go all the way out there.

do you know if it is possible to just go to the gift shop without taking the tour? We want a bottle of the reserve!

[rainforestgirl]

do you know if it is possible to just go to the gift shop without taking the tour? We want a bottle of the reserve!

 

Yes, you can go to the gift shop and have your 2 free drinks and not go on the tour if you want.

[Kikkycat]

I'll add my voice to say the tour isn't "all that", and certainly nothing you'd want to pay $25-30 for. It's a decent, cheap way to waste a couple hours. For me, the true highlight was being able to purchase the special "Reserva" rum. They claim it's not sold anywhere else - I've looked in several places for it and so far have no reason to doubt that claim. It's a wonderful rum! However, purchasing it will turn a "cheap way to waste a couple hours" considerably less inexpensive.

[benjispice]

I really liked it!! Was it "wild and exciting" - no, but I found it really interesting and I really like the drink-mixing demonstration at the end.

 

It's also a really awesome gift shop... 1.14L of rum for $10!! You can't go wrong. And the other items are great too..we got some shirts.

 

The two free drinks - well our driver handed out extra tickets, so we got 4 each.

 

We booked through the cruiseline, and would again, hands down. I suppose it depends on your plans, but we did it between disembarking and heading to the airport. If I did it on my own, I'd be lugging my luggage around and carryons, etc, etc... Through the cruise line, our luggage when straight from pier to airport, and all we had were our carry ons, which we could leave very safely and securely on the bus. And hey, our driver was handing out extra drink tickets!

 

Paying a little extra for convenience means ALOT to me! Well worth it!!

[klepton]

Well, back from my trip, sorry for the delay in posting. We actually didn't go to the bacardi factory, we just went to Casa Don Q and got our free drink there. We decided we didn't want to waste the few hours with so much else to do in OSJ, and we visited the Rum Distillery in St. Lucia anyway. They actually have a rum buffet for $4.

 

Casa Don Q was a nice break for a few minutes, and a good drink. No tour, but some stuff to read on the legend of Don Q. Don Q is actually a local rum from Puerto Rico, whereas Bacardi originally started in Haiti I believe.

[benjispice]

.........whereas Bacardi originally started in Haiti I believe.

 

Cuba. And the rum tasted better when it was made in Cuba vs Puerto Rico. VERY noticeable difference. :(