Car rental and trip to El Junque?

[Bananas27]

Our ship will be in port from 10:00 AM until 9:00 PM. Has anyone rented a car and driven to the rain forest on their own? The ship's hiking excursion is $58. Since there are 4 of us the cost of renting a car and paying admission to the park is $48 total. Is there a place to rent a car at the pier or do you have to go to the airport? I guess the ride to the airport and back again would add another $40 to my cost-saving idea!

 

I thought it would be fun to stop at a local eatery and a beach somewhere on the way back also.

 

We went to Old San Juan last time and walked and walked. It was great, but we'd like to see something new.

 

I'd appreciate any advice. It would be DH and myself and 2 teenagers. It's my son's birthday also.

[RayInPR]

Hertz has a rental counter in the Sheraton in Old San Juan, just across the street from piers 3 & 4. You can try giving them a call ahead of time to make a reservation.

 

Alternately, Charlie Car Rental will pick you up at the pier and take you to their office.

 

The drive to El Yunque is an easy one. You can find DIY info like driving directions, trail descriptions and a trail map in our El Yunque primer in our vacation guide.

 

There is not charge to get into El Yunque National Forest. There is an optional visitor center that costs $3/person. My suggestion ... skip it. Just follow the guides we've written for you.

 

The teenagers would enjoy Angelito Trail, Juan Diego Falls, Mt. Britton Trail or (if you're feeling ambitious) a hike to the peak along El Yunque Trail (and a stop at La Roca before you head back down). You can talk to the rangers in Palo Colorado info center about which trails are good that day.

 

After the rain forest, you can stop by Luquillo Beach (Balneario Monserrate) for swimming, sun and to grab a bite to each (either inside the beach or in one of the "kiosks" just outside the beach on Route 3 (try La Parrilla, the Ceviche Hut, or El Jefe Burger Shack).

 

Since you'll have some time before your ship leaves, drive back to San Juan along Road 187 through Pinones. It's an awesome sight and there are some really good restaurants, too.

 

Hope this helps!

[belak]

This is great info... Husband and I will be in port for the day next month. It'll be the first time in PR. We are much more independent active nature types... so this day trip idea sounds perfect. I've just printed maps and booked a car with Charlie's. Great prices and very friendly over the phone. Thanks!

[Bananas27]

Thank you so much for the wonderful information! I'm so excited about the day (April 15th).

[azkcruizers]

Beware of renting a car at the Sheraton........it must be back by 4 pm or you have to return it to the airport location and take shuttle back for $20pp

 

Karen

[Frogprince]

Thank you so much for the wonderful information! I'm so excited about the day (April 15th).

Hi there!!

We too are renting from Charlie's and taking the drive to El Yunque!!! We are renting a mid-size car for about $34 for the day. We decided that because of the amount of time in PR that a having a car and just driving to the rainforest will enable us to do as much hiking as we want!! Plus we are planning on stopping off at a beach on the way back. It appears to be an easy one hour drive to El Yunque. The car has to be back by 5pm but we should have plenty of time to do what we want.

[Miss Vickie]

We went into San Juan a couple of days early this past January for our 1/10/09 cruise, and rented a car from Charlie's on the 9th for a trip to El Yunque. We used the outlet across the street from The Marriott on the Condado. We spent the entire day at the rainforest. We walked through the visitor's center area (did not watch the film), took the hike up to Mt. Briton Overlook, the hike to La Mina Falls, and stopped at a beautiful, man-made pool area, I don't remember the name. It really was a full day, and we didn't have time to go to the beach, too. But that's because we wanted to do both hikes. We got back to San Juan around 6:30 pm, I think, to meet friends going on Serenade on the 10th for dinner. Charlie's on the Condado let us drop the car in their lot, because we came back after they were closed, and walk the keys back to them the next day. Maybe they'd let you drop the keys in the mailbox or something?

[DWH]

Hi all will be doing this also in 2 weeks, but was wondering where Charlie picks you up. I assume the have a designated location? How do they know what pier you will be located?

 

Also how long is the shuttle ride from the pier to Charlie's?

[toonjie]

Let me second Ray's advice that there is no admission fee for El Yunque, definitely skip the visitor's center, that is the only place there is a charge to enter. If you click on my AOS review link and scroll to the end, I think I put a picture of the entrance to the visitors' center, to show you where not to turn. Just continue up the mountain and don't turn in.

[toonjie]

Here it is, don't turn in here, the rest of the rainforest is free! (99.9999%)

[lovejone]

Hi all will be doing this also in 2 weeks, but was wondering where Charlie picks you up. I assume the have a designated location? How do they know what pier you will be located?

 

Also how long is the shuttle ride from the pier to Charlie's?

 

Hi DWH :)

 

this is the message I got from Charlie's car rental:

When off ship please call 787.721.6525 for shuttle service. The Condado office offers shuttle service everyday from 8am-4pm and the office closes at 5pm.

 

Hope that helps a little...

[DWH]

Hi DWH :)

 

this is the message I got from Charlie's car rental:

When off ship please call 787.721.6525 for shuttle service. The Condado office offers shuttle service everyday from 8am-4pm and the office closes at 5pm.

 

Hope that helps a little...

 

 

Yes thanks, it sounds like you don't even need a confirmation. When I talked to someone I told him 8:00 we would like the shuttle and then he said he would mark us down for 10:00. He said it will take us that long to grab our stuff off the ship. I said no we will be getting off at 8:00 then he said just call when you are ready to be picked up. So we'll see how it goes. If it sounds like it isnt going to work well go with Hertz

[toonjie]

Yes thanks, it sounds like you don't even need a confirmation. When I talked to someone I told him 8:00 we would like the shuttle and then he said he would mark us down for 10:00. He said it will take us that long to grab our stuff off the ship. I said no we will be getting off at 8:00 then he said just call when you are ready to be picked up. So we'll see how it goes. If it sounds like it isnt going to work well go with Hertz

 

I usually call right when I am getting off the ship, while still on the promenade deck, it usually takes them about 15 to 20 minutes from the time you call so that way by the time we find the bags and go through customs, they are usually pulling up within minutes.

[lovejone]

Hertz has a rental counter in the Sheraton in Old San Juan, just across the street from piers 3 & 4. You can try giving them a call ahead of time to make a reservation.

 

Alternately, Charlie Car Rental will pick you up at the pier and take you to their office.

 

The drive to El Yunque is an easy one. You can find DIY info like driving directions, trail descriptions and a trail map in our El Yunque primer in our vacation guide.

 

There is not charge to get into El Yunque National Forest. There is an optional visitor center that costs $3/person. My suggestion ... skip it. Just follow the guides we've written for you.

 

The teenagers would enjoy Angelito Trail, Juan Diego Falls, Mt. Britton Trail or (if you're feeling ambitious) a hike to the peak along El Yunque Trail (and a stop at La Roca before you head back down). You can talk to the rangers in Palo Colorado info center about which trails are good that day.

 

After the rain forest, you can stop by Luquillo Beach (Balneario Monserrate) for swimming, sun and to grab a bite to each (either inside the beach or in one of the "kiosks" just outside the beach on Route 3 (try La Parrilla, the Ceviche Hut, or El Jefe Burger Shack).

 

Since you'll have some time before your ship leaves, drive back to San Juan along Road 187 through Pinones. It's an awesome sight and there are some really good restaurants, too.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Goodmorning Ray,

 

I was just wondering since we are 2 single gals travelling to the rain forest (end of May), if we can be safe alone on those trails? Would it be better to follow along with other people? How about the Angelito trail, can you describe that hole with the rope swing?:)

 

About the beach, same thing. I've found the Playa Colora & Playa Escondida both seem to be off the beaten path. Should we stick to the more public beaches? I know you mention Luquillo Beach... Which beach would be on the way back to the pier as we do not want to get farther away from the rain forest since time is thight (8am - 6pm) and we have to bring the car back to Charlie's around 3h30 since their shuttle stops running at 4pm back to the pier.

 

thanks for your help :)

[RayInPR]

Do a Google search for "angelito trail swimming" and you should be able to find some good info, and maybe even some photos and videos.

 

Regarding beaches ... If you go to Playa Escondida and/or Playa Colora you'll be getting farther away from the ship. Stick to Balneario Monserrate in Luquillo ... it's only about 5 minutes east of El Yunque on Route 3 ... a little farther but not enough to matter.

[flapr]

We had no trouble returning our Hertz rental from their Sheraton location after 4:00PM.

 

The clerk instructed us to drop it off at the same lot we picked it up -- right across from the cruise pier in OSJ.

 

You may want to give them a call to verify that hasn't changed.

[DWH]

I usually call right when I am getting off the ship, while still on the promenade deck, it usually takes them about 15 to 20 minutes from the time you call so that way by the time we find the bags and go through customs, they are usually pulling up within minutes.

Ah so it does take 15 minutes or so to get off the ship.

 

Thanks!

[topspot]

Just came back from a stop in San Juan. We used the info. from this thread to plan our trip. You can rent a car from the Sheraton Old San Juan, and return it even after 4PM. The info is on the Hertz website for this location. You just pay 21.40 extra to use the valet parking and they return the car the next day. You can't beat that for convience if your ship docks in Old San Juan. Our car had GPS and the rental agent put in the coordinates for us. We even did an unscheduled stop at the beach in Luquillo.

 

Thanks to Rainforest girl and Ray in PR. Your postings made me want to venture out of the port area and experience some of what PR has to offer.

[rainforestgirl]

Thanks to Rainforest girl and Ray in PR. Your postings made me want to venture out of the port area and experience some of what PR has to offer.

I am glad you had a good time!

[servalgirl]

I rented a car with a girlfriend of mine (we were both early 20's) and liteally drove all over the island with no problems. The rainforest is an easy day trip and you can stop at road side stands to eat, spend as much time at the waterfall as you want, visit the beach etc. Much better than doing a tour. Dont miss out on the road side food!