San Juan questions, pre-cruise stay

[ready2gosailing]

Hi everyone.

 

We are spending three days in San Juan prior to our cruise on the Victory in May. We're staying at the Howard Johnson in Old San Juan. We planned these extra days into our vacation so we could see all of the sights of San Juan. I do have a few questions, if someone can help me out.

 

We want to see both forts, can this be done in a day?

 

Hubby is really wanting to see El Yungue (hope I spelled that right). We had planned to take a taxi (or a bus, whichever is best) to the rain forest. I remember reading on one of these boards that they take you to an entrance. Are you on your own then, or are there guided hikes? How long does the hike take? He's so excited, I really want to include this on our trip.

 

We also want to see the cemetery in Old San Juan. I have seen tons of pictures of this online, but can't recall ever seeing a picture with anyone actually inside the cemetery. Do they allow people to enter it to take photos, or can you only see it from outside the walls?

 

We also try to always hit the Hard Rock Cafe wherever we travel. Has anyone been there? Any good?

 

I'm sure I will have more questions, but that's all the come to mind right now.

 

Thanks!

[jtmalt]

Hi everyone.

 

We are spending three days in San Juan prior to our cruise on the Victory in May. We're staying at the Howard Johnson in Old San Juan. We planned these extra days into our vacation so we could see all of the sights of San Juan. I do have a few questions, if someone can help me out.

 

You didn't ask, but if you're not already aware, most of the rooms at the HoJo Old San Juan are interior rooms, without windows. If that matters to you, make sure you book a room with a balcony, they are the only ones with an exterior view.

 

We want to see both forts, can this be done in a day?

 

Yes, you can see both forts in a single day. In fact, you can purchase a discounted combined ticket that will allow you access to both sites.

 

Hubby is really wanting to see El Yungue (hope I spelled that right). We had planned to take a taxi (or a bus, whichever is best) to the rain forest. I remember reading on one of these boards that they take you to an entrance. Are you on your own then, or are there guided hikes? How long does the hike take? He's so excited, I really want to include this on our trip.

 

You can't take a taxi or a bus to El Yunque. You really have two options if you want to go there: either rent a car for the day, or use an organized tour. The organized tours can be expensive...check out viator dot com to get an idea of the pricing. I believe most would agree that your best bet is to go with a car rental.

 

We also want to see the cemetery in Old San Juan. I have seen tons of pictures of this online, but can't recall ever seeing a picture with anyone actually inside the cemetery. Do they allow people to enter it to take photos, or can you only see it from outside the walls?

 

The cemetery is open to the public, but it borders a dodgy neighborhood called La Perla, and I've heard differing opinions on whether it is safe to visit. Perhaps Ray or Rainforestgirl will offer their ideas and opinions on that?

[ready2gosailing]

Thanks so much for your help. I did make sure to book a balcony room at HoJo's. We are really looking forward to seeing everything. I'll look into different tours for El Yunque. Any idea what a rental car would run, or where to get them other than the airport? I could have sworn I saw something about a bus to El Yunque, but I've been slightly obsessed about our first cruise so I have probably lost my mind.

 

I do remember something about a self-guided walking tour... like where to start, and there was a specific route to take. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

 

I saw pictures online of a Cathedral that I'd like to see, could someone tell me where that would be in relation to our hotel, or for that matter, how far our hotel is from the cruise ship pier? Can we walk from hotel to pier with rolling luggage, or do we need a taxi?

 

I just found cruisecritic recently, and this site is awesome. The amount of info here is amazing.

 

Thanks again!

[seashinesunshine]

Old San Juan is a wonderful old city and you can see it all in one day. There is a free trolley that goes thru the old city and you can hop on and off at many stops. The two forts are within walking distance, but the trolley goes between them too. I think it is only 5$ for both forts for the day. If you are there on a Sunday, you will see lots of families flying kites in the grassy meadow between the forts. The cemetary is between the forts, I am not sure if you can get to it and walk around, but you can see it. If you get the chance, the sidewalk beneath the city walls is really fun to walk along. There are lots of feral cats that live along the sidewalk. Fun to see them. There is so much to see in the old city, you will be glad you are taking the extra time to be there!

[jtmalt]

Thanks so much for your help. I did make sure to book a balcony room at HoJo's. We are really looking forward to seeing everything. I'll look into different tours for El Yunque. Any idea what a rental car would run, or where to get them other than the airport? I could have sworn I saw something about a bus to El Yunque, but I've been slightly obsessed about our first cruise so I have probably lost my mind.

 

I know there's a car rental counter at the Sheraton in Old San Juan. Sorry, I don't know the pricing, but it should be easy enough to find.

 

I do remember something about a self-guided walking tour... like where to start, and there was a specific route to take. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

 

I know two sites that have extensive info on Old San Juan, including extensive walking tours, visit-the-coqui dot com and puertoricodaytrips dot com. Give them a try.

 

I saw pictures online of a Cathedral that I'd like to see, could someone tell me where that would be in relation to our hotel, or for that matter, how far our hotel is from the cruise ship pier? Can we walk from hotel to pier with rolling luggage, or do we need a taxi?

 

The Cathedral is on the same street as your hotel, about three short blocks up the hill. Walking from the pier to the hotel is easy, but doing with luggage might be tougher, as the sidewalks are very narrow, and the streets are cobblestone. I'm sure it would be much easier to take a taxi. (You can't really take luggage on the tourist trolley).

 

I've been to Old San Juan twice, and really enjoyed it. I hope you do to!

[Deckhandoug]

Thanks so much for your help. I did make sure to book a balcony room at HoJo's. We are really looking forward to seeing everything. I'll look into different tours for El Yunque. Any idea what a rental car would run, or where to get them other than the airport? I could have sworn I saw something about a bus to El Yunque, but I've been slightly obsessed about our first cruise so I have probably lost my mind.

 

I do remember something about a self-guided walking tour... like where to start, and there was a specific route to take. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

 

I saw pictures online of a Cathedral that I'd like to see, could someone tell me where that would be in relation to our hotel, or for that matter, how far our hotel is from the cruise ship pier? Can we walk from hotel to pier with rolling luggage, or do we need a taxi?

 

I just found cruisecritic recently, and this site is awesome. The amount of info here is amazing.

 

Thanks again!

 

Yes, we walked from that exact hotel with our rolling luggage and it was no problem, it was actually faster than a Taxi with all the traffic that day.

[rainforestgirl]

You have gotten good advice so far.

If you search on the 2 sites jtmalt gave you, you will find most of the info you need. I know the second site intimately.;)...it has detailed info.

 

You can see both forts,and other stuff in OSJ in a day (as long as you don't poop out from the heat and the hills walking).

I go in every few weeks and do about 5 hours before I am "done". But great places to eat there and even some places to get some drinks for free.

The Cathedral is just up a block and then turn left, then it is just on the right on Cristo Street.

The cemetery is only open 8a-3p week days and 1am-12n on weekends. I have been inside and outside the gates a few times without issues during the day. I would avoid it after dark.

The hotel is about 10 blocks from the cruise pier (but luckily it is downhill or flat to the cruise ship!) It is do-able with rolling luggage (though not the funnest thing to do).

 

Rent a car for your El Yunque day. No taxis go there. Once you get there, you are on your own (unless you have a great do it yourself trail guide- which you will find on that second .dom site jtmalt mentioned...!) There is a short guided tour available from the rangers that is interesting, but the trails are all well maked and easy to follow.

You should be able to find a small car for about $30-35/d . But if you keep it overnight, you will have to pay for parking in OSJ....

If you rent a car, it is so great because then you have the opportunity to do other things on your own schedule. That day you can also do a beach and maybe even a Biobay if the moon is good.

 

enjoy!

[ready2gosailing]

Thanks, Rainforestgirl and everyone, for the tips. I will definitely check out the websites.

 

I'm looking forward to pictures of the cemetery, but will do so in the daytime. We've found neat old cemeteries pretty much everywhere we have visited, it always makes for interesting pics.

 

I'll look into renting a car for the forest visit. Hubby really wants to do it on our own so we have no time constraints as far as 15-minutes here or there with an organized tour. Are there driving directions on that website?

 

Another question... since we have three days in San Juan before we cruise, is there anything else you would suggest? We plan to see all of OSJ, El Yunque, not sure what else. Should we go from OSJ into SJ to see anything? We'd love suggestions from any of you.

 

I'm so excited about this trip.... Hubby just keeps laughing at me. ;-)

[gypsy mom]

We went into the cemetary in Dec. after seeing El Morro. The statuary was amazing, so much to see. Unfortunately, we were there on a Sat., and didn't have time to see much, as the workers were getting ready to close the gates. We felt perfectly safe there in the daytime.

 

Sharon

[rainforestgirl]

The cemetery is only open 8a-3p week days and 1am-12n on weekends.

 

oops- my bad-

7am-12 noon weekends.

[fammingo]

You can reserve a car online at Charlie. They have good service, good price

www.charliecars.com

You can pick it up at the airport at dropp off at Condado. They can give you free shuttle to the cruise port

[welldone60]

We just did a 4 day pre cruise stay at the Howard Johnson Plaza De Armas hotel. We loved it. Do your Old San Juan tours on thursday or friday, then do the rain forrest on sat. It is alot less crowded and you can make use of the free trolly. Sat & sun the trolly is tied up in so much traffic and is very crowded. Take the trolly up to the forts and then just walk back thru town to your hotel, mostly downhill. As far as walking to the pier, yes you can do it but a taxi will only cost you about $6-7. There is some construction work being done on some of the streets and the sidewalks and streets are very narrow in all of OSJ. There is alot of nightlife to enjoy, lots of places to eat and have a drink or two. The police station is right next door to the hotel. We felt at ease walking around OSJ at all times. Just for your info beware of the elevator in the hotel. It is slow...and I mean slooooww. The Plaza across the street from the hotel has a food stand open 24/7. Across the plaza is a Walgreens, Bank, Radioshack, McDonalds, Marshall's is just around the corner. It really is a great place to stay.

[ready2gosailing]

Thanks for the info, welldone60! I've been wondering about our choice of hotel. I kept reading about the sheraton and others, but haven't seen as much about HoJo's. It looked good to us, and we saw that it was centrally located, so that's why we chose it. I did see pictures of the elevator on flickr... looks interesting. I'm very excited about seeing all of the sights (the fountain pics I saw were really awesome).

 

Love this website!!

[jtmalt]

Thanks for the info, welldone60! I've been wondering about our choice of hotel. I kept reading about the sheraton and others, but haven't seen as much about HoJo's. It looked good to us, and we saw that it was centrally located, so that's why we chose it. I did see pictures of the elevator on flickr... looks interesting. I'm very excited about seeing all of the sights (the fountain pics I saw were really awesome).

 

Love this website!!

 

If you haven't already, feel free to check out my San Juan Webshots album from our May, 2009 visit.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/572189323ziopNh?start=0