Beaches near San Juan cruise terminal ?

[EOSapril11]

We will be in San Juan in July for the 2nd time. We already did the forts and Old San Juan.  Looking for a nice beach area.  Any suggestions?  Are they as easy as a cab ride away?  or do we need to book an excursion?

[crewsweeper]

It takes a taxi ride but best bet is in Condado.  .  Nothing really close to the cruise piers.   And a good option in Condado is Playita de Condado on the western end of Ashford Avenue near the bridge.  It's a small public and can get crowded on weekends. But if you only want to spend a couple of hours, it's perfect.  

[njhorseman]

Personally I'd go a bit further than Condado and taxi  to Isla Verde instead. It's a large expanse of beach so crowds aren't much of an issue.

[EOSapril11]

14 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Personally I'd go a bit further than Condado and taxi  to Isla Verde instead. It's a large expanse of beach so crowds aren't much of an issue.

Thank you!  This looks like what we're looking for.  How easy is it to get to?  How about cabs back to the port?  Are they readily available? 

 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, EOSapril11 said:

Thank you!  This looks like what we're looking for.  How easy is it to get to?  How about cabs back to the port?  Are they readily available? 

 

Just ask the taxi driver to take you to the entrance to Isla Verde Beach on Tartak St. If you don't immediately see any taxis there are hotels in the area so getting a taxi back should be no problem as there are usually taxis waiting for passengers at the hotels.

[EOSapril11]

8 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Just ask the taxi driver to take you to the entrance to Isla Verde Beach on Tartak St. If you don't immediately see any taxis there are hotels in the area so getting a taxi back should be no problem as there are usually taxis waiting for passengers at the hotels.

Great info....one more questions...do you know about how long of a ride it is?

Thanks again!!

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, EOSapril11 said:

Great info....one more questions...do you know about how long of a ride it is?

Thanks again!!

About 15-20 minutes from the Old San Juan cruise piers.

[Nashna]

Are there beach chair rentals available here?  

[sft429]

12 hours ago, Nashna said:

Are there beach chair rentals available here?  

 

Isla Verde - yes.

[bonsai3s]

We'll be doing B2B2B and will be at the Pan American Pier.  Can we use Uber from there to go to Condado Beach and Isla Verde Beach?  From the Pan American Pier, where would be a good place to be dropped off to enter Condado Beach?  From the Pan American Pier, where would be a good place to be dropped off to enter Isla Verde Beach?

Thank you.    (Note: We are always confused and provide the wrong location when asked by Uber or taxi's: "Where do you want to go?")

[sft429]

46 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

We'll be doing B2B2B and will be at the Pan American Pier.  Can we use Uber from there to go to Condado Beach and Isla Verde Beach?  From the Pan American Pier, where would be a good place to be dropped off to enter Condado Beach?  From the Pan American Pier, where would be a good place to be dropped off to enter Isla Verde Beach?

Thank you.    (Note: We are always confused and provide the wrong location when asked by Uber or taxi's: "Where do you want to go?")

 

Tell the driver to take you to Lifeguards of the Reef Cafe on Calle Jose M Tartak for Isla Verde Beach.

[bonsai3s]

16 hours ago, sft429 said:

 

Tell the driver to take you to Lifeguards of the Reef Cafe on Calle Jose M Tartak for Isla Verde Beach.

 

Thank you sft429!

[LounVal]

We were there last Feb and heard about a beach with great food shacks. One was said to have an amazing Red Snapper. We took a cab from old SJ but traffic got extremely heavy on the way so we aborted afraid we would not get to the airport in time for our flight. 

We're planning another cruise from SJ and again want to hit this beach but can not remember the name. Would you happen to know if it was Condado or Verde???

[jonsmom]

Is it Isla Verde?

 

[crewsweeper]

4 hours ago, LounVal said:

We were there last Feb and heard about a beach with great food shacks. One was said to have an amazing Red Snapper. We took a cab from old SJ but traffic got extremely heavy on the way so we aborted afraid we would not get to the airport in time for our flight. 

We're planning another cruise from SJ and again want to hit this beach but can not remember the name. Would you happen to know if it was Condado or Verde???

 Looking up Lifeguards of the Reef Café, I think this is the place you were headed.  Isla Verde.  Alambique beach.

They come by and you can order and they'll deliver to you where ever you are sitting on the beach. 

[jonsmom]

7 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

 Looking up Lifeguards of the Reef Café, I think this is the place you were headed.  Isla Verde.  Alambique beach.

They come by and you can order and they'll deliver to you where ever you are sitting on the beach. 

How far is this beach (Alambique) from the cruise terminal?  Taxi cost if you know?

[crewsweeper]

16 hours ago, jonsmom said:

How far is this beach (Alambique) from the cruise terminal?  Taxi cost if you know?

It's around 7-8 miles.  similar to airport. I think a taxi will run you around $19-20 each way.  Taxis are zoned in OSJ.  Piers are in Zone 4 IslaVerde in Zone 2.

[jonsmom]

Thank you for your reply.  Would you say these beaches are safe? 

[crewsweeper]

1 hour ago, jonsmom said:

Thank you for your reply.  Would you say these beaches are safe? 

I haven't been to SJ in a while but I don't ever remember hearing of any beach issues.  Lots of tourists and locals mingling daily.

 

I think the issues we're seeing on the news are reflective of the disagreements with the Governor and are focused on the city not the beaches.

[jonsmom]

I didn't mean regarding the protests as we are travelling April so I would assume those issues would be resolved by then.

 

In general is it a good area to spend the day or do you recommend a beach club?  

 

Thanks again

[LounVal]

Thank you for all the replies. Rethinking it, we hit many beaches during our cruise so we may just spend our time right in Old San Juan. We love walking around there and plenty of good food. We also feel safe walking around there.

Thanks again!