Your BEST Idea of a day in San Juan!!!

[senunit]

Hi CC Members! Its been a while now, nearly a year since my last cruise. But now, my girlfriend and I are going back on board the Freedom of The Seas on the 11th. We are very excited, and although we have St. Thomas and St. Maarten all planned out, we are not sure how to spend the time in San Juan. We boarded here last year, but thats all we did. This year, it is actually part of our itinerary and we are looking forward to a fun day there. We are looking for all suggestions, as we are not familiar with the areas at all. In other words, the best way to phrase my inquiry would be to say, "What would you do on an ideal day in San Juan, Puerto Rico?" We are looking for maybe some places to eat, the best beaches, a great tour, places not to miss, sites to see." Anything would be great. We are both in our 20's, so we're hoping to do something that would be interesting and memorable to us. Thank you all in advance for all your help. All the best, Simon!:)

[satxdiver]

A tour of old San Juan (OSJ) would be at the top of my list. It is historic dating back to the 1500's. There are two old Spanish forts in OSJ that are well worth the time and are maintained by the National Park Service. OSJ has a lot of small restaurants and bars along with shopping. The best part is that it mostly is a self guided walking tour meaning cheap. Get a map from the visitor's bureau located near the cruise ship and follow it. They have a free trolley that runs around the marrow streets of OSJ.

 

Another suggestion is to take a tour of EL Yunque (rain forest) which is located about 30 miles from SJ. It is very informative.

 

As for beaches, there are two in SJ. One is in the Condado area where a lot of tourist hotels/casinos are located. The second is near the airport where there are some tourist hotels and a lot of condos.

[candhmama]

I have to agree on Old San Juan. DH and I spent a day in San Juan before we went on a cruise a couple of years ago and we fell in love with OSJ. I found a walking tour on the internet and printed it out and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We only made it to one of the forts, El Morro, and it was great. If you like Pina Coladas, Barrachinas is the birthplace of them and they were the best pina coladas we ever had (there food is so-so) We got one to go on the day of our cruise and drank it on the way back to our hotel to check out. :) I don't know what time you are getting there, but we had a great breakfast at this little place called La Bombonera and we would definately go back there. It seemed to be a favorite of the locals and they have pastries that you can get all day, as well as lunch and probably dinner. Rachel Ray went here on her $40 a day show, which we didn't see until we got back. We never made it to the beaches or the rainforest so I can't say too much about that. I have heard that the Bacardi Rum Factory has a nice tour with free samples.

[robtulipe]

There is a free tourist board trolley bus to both forts (San Cristobal and El Morro) and back that you catch at the stop on J.A. Corretjer St. beside the bus station which is across the road (La Marina St.) from cruise ship pier 4 in OSJ. There is a bar/beverage store with outside tables that faces the trolley stop so you can have a cold beer or other drink while waiting for the trolley. There is also a second trolley bus that stops there that only goes as far as Plaza de Armas and the City Hall (2/3 way to El Morro).

What we have done many times in the past is to take the trolley bus to El Morro and walk back (downhill) to the cruise pier and harbor front thru the old town or along the harbor walkway (Paseo de El Morro) to the La Princesa fountain and along Paseo de La Princesa to the pier area.

[akcruz]

If you are interested in a tour of Old San Juan do the Segway tour. You have a choice of 45 minutes which goes by way too fast or 2 hours. On the 2 hour tour you also get to see (and tour) El Morro. We did the 45 minute tour in November (2 hour was booked :() and had a blast. You get to see the city and try out a Segway. Go to the San Juan board and you will see many threads on the tour with more info. Would highly recommend.

[MuncieCruisers]

We caught a city bus that dropped us off at a hotel/beach area where there was a beach and an area to snorkel. We found it easy to get around. They are supposed to have a tourist bus now also.

 

http://www.visit-the-coqui.com/2008/07/san-juan-new-bus-routes-for-tourists/

 

We ended the day walking avround Old San Juan. MY MIL did the horseback riding. She loved it.

[sealeggs]

Munciecruiser, I have to ask where in Muncie do you live. We, my wife and kids used to live in Muncie. Born and raised there. We moved to Phoenix 21 years ago but go back once a year to see family and friends. We lived out by Westview Elem. after we were married. As a kid growing up I lived across the street from Central High School. So yes I am a Bearcat classof 77. I hope that is ok lol.

 

Sealeggs

[MuncieCruisers]

Munciecruiser, I have to ask where in Muncie do you live. We, my wife and kids used to live in Muncie. Born and raised there. We moved to Phoenix 21 years ago but go back once a year to see family and friends. We lived out by Westview Elem. after we were married. As a kid growing up I lived across the street from Central High School. So yes I am a Bearcat classof 77. I hope that is ok lol.

 

Sealeggs

 

We live north or Riggin road off of wheeling. It is a newer sub. My wife is from Muncie. She was MC class of 92, one sister was 86 and the other was 81 I think. I grew up mainly between Montana and North Dakota.

 

Tony

[cruisingbooboo]

Do you know the name of the beach you went to?

About how much was the taxi ride? Can you rent snorkel equipment?

Thanks[

quote=MuncieCruisers;17575704]We caught a city bus that dropped us off at a hotel/beach area where there was a beach and an area to snorkel. We found it easy to get around. They are supposed to have a tourist bus now also.

 

http://www.visit-the-coqui.com/2008/07/san-juan-new-bus-routes-for-tourists/

 

We ended the day walking avround Old San Juan. MY MIL did the horseback riding. She loved it.

[cruisingbooboo]

We did the EXACT same thing, perfect day!!!! and we were there only about 4 hours, easy walking city!!!

OOOHHHH those pina coladas YUM!!!!

 

I have to agree on Old San Juan. DH and I spent a day in San Juan before we went on a cruise a couple of years ago and we fell in love with OSJ. I found a walking tour on the internet and printed it out and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We only made it to one of the forts, El Morro, and it was great. If you like Pina Coladas, Barrachinas is the birthplace of them and they were the best pina coladas we ever had (there food is so-so) We got one to go on the day of our cruise and drank it on the way back to our hotel to check out. :) I don't know what time you are getting there, but we had a great breakfast at this little place called La Bombonera and we would definately go back there. It seemed to be a favorite of the locals and they have pastries that you can get all day, as well as lunch and probably dinner. Rachel Ray went here on her $40 a day show, which we didn't see until we got back. We never made it to the beaches or the rainforest so I can't say too much about that. I have heard that the Bacardi Rum Factory has a nice tour with free samples.

[Hal from Ohio]

Segway was the highlight of our trip to San Juan last March. We took the 45 minute and are booked this coming March for the 2 hour. Jose and Natalie are wonderful!

[Shoequeen]

Hi CC Members! Its been a while now, nearly a year since my last cruise. But now, my girlfriend and I are going back on board the Freedom of The Seas on the 11th. We are very excited, and although we have St. Thomas and St. Maarten all planned out, we are not sure how to spend the time in San Juan. We boarded here last year, but thats all we did. This year, it is actually part of our itinerary and we are looking forward to a fun day there. We are looking for all suggestions, as we are not familiar with the areas at all. In other words, the best way to phrase my inquiry would be to say, "What would you do on an ideal day in San Juan, Puerto Rico?" We are looking for maybe some places to eat, the best beaches, a great tour, places not to miss, sites to see." Anything would be great. We are both in our 20's, so we're hoping to do something that would be interesting and memorable to us. Thank you all in advance for all your help. All the best, Simon!:)

I don't have any answers for you regarding San Juan, but I noticed that you are on the Freedom on 1/11. So are we. We have a thread going on the Roll Call Boards. Why don't you join us? Maybe somebody there would have some ideas, although I just looked at the itinerary yesterday and I don't think we even get in until 3p.m. That's kind of late to start out for the beaches, isn't it? I don't think they are real close.

Anyway - come on over to our thread. If not, have a great cruise:cool:

[senunit]

Thank you ALL VERY much!!! We were initially concerned thinking we might not be able to think of a good idea or find what to do. But all of this has been great help and we've decided to go with the walking your of OSJ (or at least as much of it as we can cover) and a visit to El Morro. Thank you again!!!

[senunit]

I don't have any answers for you regarding San Juan, but I noticed that you are on the Freedom on 1/11. So are we. We have a thread going on the Roll Call Boards. Why don't you join us? Maybe somebody there would have some ideas, although I just looked at the itinerary yesterday and I don't think we even get in until 3p.m. That's kind of late to start out for the beaches, isn't it? I don't think they are real close.

Anyway - come on over to our thread. If not, have a great cruise:cool:

 

Hi and thanks for the suggestion. Im not really familiar with navigating this forum, so if you can link me thatd be great. We all leave soon, so maybe I can catch some good last minute information.

 

As for our arrival time in PR, initially I also didnt notice that we arrive until 3. But it turns out that there are still many things to do. I also posted the same question in the San Juan Forum (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=17598377&posted=1#post17598377) so you can find more suggestions from the CC's there.

 

Thank you again and hope you have a great time!!!:)