What our family did in San Juan

[KAP]

Getting to San Juan from the Northwest is a bit of a hassle. I was looking for the cheapest airfare and US Airways was $200 to $300 cheaper. The only problem was because of the economic downturn, US Air kept changing flights on us and eventually we ended up flying to Chicago on United then to Philadelphia and San Juan on US Air. We flew back to Charlotte then Chicago then home. We flew to San Juan a day early and stayed at the Courtyard Marriot Miramar. The hotel room was nice and met all our needs. I got 2 rooms for $80 each on Priceline. The hotel location was great as there were some restaurants and fast food places nearby and the bus line to Old San Juan ran right in front of the hotel. The bus was 75 cents each way which was much cheaper than a taxi. We did have to wait about 20 minutes for the bus going into town.

We left our luggage at the hotel on the day of departure and toured Old San Juan in the morning. The bus to Old San Juan ends right at the first stop of the Old San Juan trolley (free). That is a good place to get on the trolley as the trolley quickly fills. We rode the trolley to Fort San Cristobal then toured that fort. We didn’t tour Fort Morro as it was a long walk and all the trolleys were full. We then took a leisurely walk back down through Old San Juan window shopping at the many stores. We spent some time in one of the plaza’s listening to a folk music group and eating a local ice treat we bought from a street vendor. We eventually ended up at the waterfront and looked some local ships. It was a short walk back to the bus terminal where we easily caught the same bus back to the hotel. The whole excursion took 3 or 4 hours. We picked up our luggage and took a taxi to the pier at about 2 p.m. The hotel was close to the pier so the ride was about 5 minutes. There was very little traffic into the pier at that time. There was a short line at the pier but it only took about 20 minutes to give our luggage to the porters, go through security, process our setsail passes and get on the ship.

 

I will try to answer any questions but alas, real life calls.

[Memphis_Wife]

We are staying at the same hotel pre and post cruise in June. Is the surrounding area safe? Did you walk in the area at all? We plan on renting a car on Saturday to drive around. Thanks for the tip on the bus, that sounds like a good idea - but does it run late at night? We want to go and enjoy a late dinner?

[KAP]

The area seemed safe. We walked about 3 blocks to a local resturant and walked back to the hotel at midnight. I don't believe the buses run late into the evening. Just my opinion but I would never try to drive in Old San Juan. The streets are really narrow and there seems to be alot of unwritten driving rules.

[orquidia]

the bus runs until 9:45 pm from the district