What to do in San Juan before a late flight

[mlmbar]

On Adventure Sept 12 and our flight home is 3:20. What to do to avoid sitting in the airport for many hours? Checked into bacardi tour but that is only from 8-10:30. Do not want to traipse through rainforest and then fly for 4 hours. No valet offered on this ship. Any suggestions?

[NemoCrownie]

We did the RCI excursion to El Yunque this year. We'd been to El Yunque before but it was a very good excursion, RCI handled the baggage, and it was a great way to pass some time.

[welldone60]

We did the Segway tour. They will keep your bags in their office.

 

http://www.segwaytourspr.com/

[mlmbar]

Thanks for the info. We don;t want to do rainforest and then fly home exhausted a sweaty/ What does the excursion entail?

[pjhootch]

There are lots of drivers organizing debarking passenger tours of San Juan/Old Town and then taking people to the airport in the afternoon. They are actual tour companies and perfectly safe. When you get through customs and outside, they will be congregating near the pick up/drop off area. They will organize you onto a bus with other airport passengers leaving flying around the same time frame.

 

It is $ reasonable, and it is safe. They load your suitcases onto the bus and they stay there while you are in and out of the bus at the various stops for photos, lunch or whatever else is going on. It is an excellent way to avoid spending 6 extra hours in the airport and still be comfortable and unstressed.

[teecee60]

If you are a science/astronomy geek, the largest radio telescope on the planet is located less than an hour's drive west of San Juan at Arecibo. (google "Arecibo radio telescope") You can hire a cab or van to take you there. ;)

 

Nice visitors center with tons of informative displays, restaurant, gift shop and a theater. :)

 

The view from the observation platform looking 600 feet down to the antenna, which is 1,000 feet across and built into a limestone sink hole is fairly impressive. :cool:

Edited June 24, 2015 by teecee60

[Clarea]

On Adventure Sept 12 and our flight home is 3:20. What to do to avoid sitting in the airport for many hours? Checked into bacardi tour but that is only from 8-10:30. Do not want to traipse through rainforest and then fly for 4 hours. No valet offered on this ship. Any suggestions?

There is a restaurant called Barranchina's that will hold your luggage for free. You could drop your bags there, take a walk around Old San Juan, maybe check out one of the forts, have lunch, then go to the airport.

[mlmbar]

There are lots of drivers organizing debarking passenger tours of San Juan/Old Town and then taking people to the airport in the afternoon. They are actual tour companies and perfectly safe. When you get through customs and outside, they will be congregating near the pick up/drop off area. They will organize you onto a bus with other airport passengers leaving flying around the same time frame.

 

It is $ reasonable, and it is safe. They load your suitcases onto the bus and they stay there while you are in and out of the bus at the various stops for photos, lunch or whatever else is going on. It is an excellent way to avoid spending 6 extra hours in the airport and still be comfortable and unstressed.

 

This sounds like a good idea. We will keep this in mind as it seems what we would like

 

There is a restaurant called Barranchina's that will hold your luggage for free. You could drop your bags there, take a walk around Old San Juan, maybe check out one of the forts, have lunch, then go to the airport.

 

This is also another great idea!!! Thanks so much for the valuable input

[pcur]

There is a restaurant called Barranchina's that will hold your luggage for free. You could drop your bags there, take a walk around Old San Juan, maybe check out one of the forts, have lunch, then go to the airport.

 

Within less than 1/2 block, if not right at the door, the free Old San Juan trolley has a stop. It's hop on/off. Great way to see OSJ.

[island lady]

On our last PR cruise disembarkation, we shared a taxi to the airport

with a great couple we met on the ship. The four of us all had late flights.

We simply checked in our baggage at the airport, then took another taxi

into Old Town for the day. Had a great time touring, a nice lunch, some

Margaritas, and then back to the airport in time for our flight that we

were already checked in for.

 

BTW: Don't be surprised if this thread gets moved to the ports

section.

Edited June 24, 2015 by island lady

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I think you are misguided about being "exhausted and sweaty" after the rainforest tour. The Rainforest is much cooler than lower elevations, especially in the Old San Juan area. We have done the ship tour and it is pretty low impact. The "hike" is more of a lesurely stroll, not far into the forest and is at an easy level. You can stay on the bus and not do the walk if you do not want.

 

On the other hand, OSJ is hot! We love it there, but visiting the forts and shopping in the OSJ area is a much sweatier experience than observng the beautiful mountain area of El Yunque from an a/c bus and a leisurely walk through the higher elevations of the forest. If you do decide to stay in OSJ I would recommend the Segway tour, also. It is an easier way to see OSJ than having to climb those hills in the heat by foot. The luggage storage is a plus. We have also done that tour and it is one of our favorite past experiences.

 

I am a personal fan of the post-cruise ship tours with airport drop-off. They are a relaxed and easy way to spend the day without having to worry about schlepping your luggage around town or finding a place to store it. Better yet, next time plan to spend some extra time in San Juan. It is a beautiful place to visit with a wide variety of things to do. It is one of my favorite places.

Edited June 24, 2015 by Sunny AZ Girl

[mlmbar]

I think you are misguided about being "exhausted and sweaty" after the rainforest tour. The Rainforest is much cooler than lower elevations, especially in the Old San Juan area. We have done the ship tour and it is pretty low impact. The "hike" is more of a lesurely stroll, not far into the forest and is at an easy level. You can stay on the bus and not do the walk if you do not want.

 

On the other hand, OSJ is hot! We love it there, but visiting the forts and shopping in the OSJ area is a much sweatier experience than observng the beautiful mountain area of El Yunque from an a/c bus and a leisurely walk through the higher elevations of the forest. If you do decide to stay in OSJ I would recommend the Segway tour, also. It is an easier way to see OSJ than having to climb those hills in the heat by foot. The luggage storage is a plus. We have also done that tour and it is one of our favorite past experiences.

 

 

 

I am a personal fan of the post-cruise ship tours with airport drop-off. They are a relaxed and easy way to spend the day without having to worry about schlepping your luggage around town or finding a place to store it. Better yet, next time plan to spend some extra time in San Juan. It is a beautiful place to visit with a wide variety of things to do. It is one of my favorite places.

 

Thank you for the valuable information. Maybe we will reconsider the rainforest. We cannot stay an extra day as work calls and we are already arriving then day before. WWe were in SJ in November so this is not our first time

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the valuable information. Maybe we will reconsider the rainforest. We cannot stay an extra day as work calls and we are already arriving then day before. WWe were in SJ in November so this is not our first time

 

You are welcome. I understand about work interfering with vacation. It happens to me, too. Bummer. Another thing to be aware of in San Juan when you do have some flex time in your schedule is that the airlines are aware of when the ships come in. Sometimes, but not always, you can spend less $$ and have an extended vacation in San Juan by booking a flight home a day or two after you disembark. Last year, it made no difference for us, but for this coming October we will save by staying two extra nights in San Juan and flyng home on Tuesday rather than flying home on Sunday when the cruise is over. I have run into that in San Juan in the past, also. Of course it helps to be able to book your hotel through a discount site such as Priceline or LMT, too.

Edited June 24, 2015 by Sunny AZ Girl

[mlmbar]

Thanks again! Unfortunately we cannot do the rain forest after all because it is for flights after 4pm. Guess we will

Just play it by ear. Probably will not leave out of San Juan again. Next cruise is freedom from port canaveral

[Kelly04]

We sailed on the Celebrity Summit out of San Juan this past March. Our flight got delayed so my father in law got a "day rate" at the Hilton Condado Plaza. It was a reasonable price to get to use the room and all the facilities. We just sat by the pool all day. They also had paddleboarding and other watersports nearby (For a charge) so it could keep you busy until you head to the airport.

[NemoCrownie]

Thanks for the info. We don;t want to do rainforest and then fly home exhausted a sweaty/ What does the excursion entail?

A driving tour, the visitors center, a relatively short guided walk, a tour of some waterfalls and a lookout (I don't remember the names) with a beverage stop. We didn't get hot and sweaty, the guide was great and it was a good way to enjoy the day not sitting in the airport. Quite a few in our bus said they do it every year as it is saves them taxi fares and sitting around the airport all day.

[NemoCrownie]

Thanks again! Unfortunately we cannot do the rain forest after all because it is for flights after 4pm. Guess we will

Just play it by ear. Probably will not leave out of San Juan again. Next cruise is freedom from port canaveral

From past experience we knew the tours plan at least 2 to 3 hours at the airport. Our flight was at 3:05 and we were at the airport before 1:30 with plenty of time - we had checked in online so just had to check our luggage and get through TSA.

[pdc2013]

You can also take a taxi to the beach and spend all your morning into the afternoon before your flight. If that does not work and you definitely want to do the Bacardi tour, i did a private tour with Island Marketing and it worked out great.

[ONCRUISEMODE]

On our last PR cruise disembarkation, we shared a taxi to the airport

with a great couple we met on the ship. The four of us all had late flights.

We simply checked in our baggage at the airport, then took another taxi

into Old Town for the day. Had a great time touring, a nice lunch, some

Margaritas, and then back to the airport in time for our flight that we

were already checked in for.

 

BTW: Don't be surprised if this thread gets moved to the ports

section.

 

Dear Island Lady,

I think your idea is grand. However will the airline let you check in your baggage 10 hours before your flight? We have a 6:30 PM flight.

Thanks...

[Shekim]

Dear Island Lady,

I think your idea is grand. However will the airline let you check in your baggage 10 hours before your flight? We have a 6:30 PM flight.

Thanks...

Most won't allow you to check luggage until 4 hours before flight. I have sat with luggage in MIA, MSY, SJU...at least these days most airports have charging stations!