San Juan Questions

[Tess2mommies]

I posted this on the San Juan boards, but I figure I have a better chance of getting a response here.

 

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for all your help. I'm staying 5 days post cruise and I have all these ideas and have no idea how far these places are and if its worth going.

 

I was thinking of doing these things: Anyone know distance, cost...

 

Caribbean Cinema

Plaza de Americas

Old San Juan

El Morro

Fort San Cristobal

Seven Seas Beach

Isle Verde beach

Rio Camuy Cave Beach

San Juan Cathedral

El Yunque - Any tour guides?

Bacardi Rum Factory

Maunaba Lighthouse

 

 

Thanx again

[crisp1]

Malaisha, Can't help you with most of the list. One question, though, where are you staying? Old San Juan is a must! You can walk to the fort, plenty of shops, artists, music in the square. Have a great cruise. I'm sure you'll enjoy san Juan also. I'm excited too! This will be our third time back to San Juan (all cruises). The first time was in winter and got to port 4pm, did a ships tour (the fort-to look at, shop and 1hr walk, and a quick ride to 'new San Juan'. Second time, stayed at the Intercontinental- very nice-pre-cruise, late arrival, a little time by the pool and off to the ship. But post cruise, we had a late flight and were able to enjoy Old San Juan.

[Tess2mommies]

Malaisha, Can't help you with most of the list. One question, though, where are you staying? Old San Juan is a must! You can walk to the fort, plenty of shops, artists, music in the square. Have a great cruise. I'm sure you'll enjoy san Juan also. I'm excited too! This will be our third time back to San Juan (all cruises). The first time was in winter and got to port 4pm, did a ships tour (the fort-to look at, shop and 1hr walk, and a quick ride to 'new San Juan'. Second time, stayed at the Intercontinental- very nice-pre-cruise, late arrival, a little time by the pool and off to the ship. But post cruise, we had a late flight and were able to enjoy Old San Juan.

 

 

We figure we'll only be sleeping in the hotel, so we're saving money and staying at the howard johnson.

[crisp1]

Malaisha, Can you cancel your reservation? If so, you may want to check out priceline or hotwire. They release alot of hotels last minute. Check out the Hotel board here at CC, or better yet got to http://www.betterbidding.com, Thereuare and the rest are BIG helpers.

[Tess2mommies]

Malaisha, Can you cancel your reservation? If so, you may want to check out priceline or hotwire. They release alot of hotels last minute. Check out the Hotel board here at CC, or better yet got to http://www.betterbidding.com, Thereuare and the rest are BIG helpers.

Ut oh, is something wrong wrong with our hotel?

[crisp1]

Ut oh, is something wrong wrong with our hotel?

 

Because all hotels seem to be overpriced in San Juan, sometimes, with a little luck, and a bit of research, you can get yourself a 3 or 4 star hotel ( with pools/ beach etc) for the same ( or just a bit more) than the 'standards' . Good luck!

[Genessa]

El Yunque (the rainforest) "looks" like it is closer than it is on the map. You would need to allow at least a couple of hours each way for transportation.

 

I'm not sure if guides are available, but think I remember reading another post that mentioned them.

 

We were there many years ago, but my s-i-l was there recently(this past year) and wished she had taken my advice not to go.

Unless you are super into nature and want to spend many hours hiking through the rain forest, the typical visit involves driving in the main entrance, walking a short distance on a paved road, seeing a mediocre waterfall (and taking your photo in front of it). When we were there, there was limited access to a fire tower (that's what it looked like, not sure if that's what it was called) about a 3/4 of a mile off the paved road. We didn't go, but our friends (PR natives) told us they had been and it had a wonderful view. Since we didn't know if we would be allowed access, we didn't hike in.

 

If you go without a guide, make sure you have current maps. You must leave the main highway and drive on secondary roads. BTw, the secondary roads in PR are a trip. Narrow two way roads, very twisty, very narrow. I did a lot of praying, seriously. The crosses on the sides of the road marking deaths were nerve racking.

 

 

Manaubo Lighthouse is in a beautiful location on the Caribbean. We did visit and managed to wrangle a visit thanks to our friends. At the time, the light house was NOT open to the public. Not sure if it is now or not. Before you spend the 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from San Juan just for that, check out access.

There was a beautiful public beach not too far from the Light and the general area is just gorgeous. If you are "down" that way, you might want to visit Ponce, a beautiful, little, sparkling city (but if memory serves, another 45 minutes west on one of those secondary roads). To get from the San Juan to Manaubo a good deal of the travel is on the main highway.

 

don't waste time going to El Famoso Banos de Coamo. A mineral "bath" - stinks of sulphur, looked disgusting, but felt wonderful.

[mringenoldus]

I love the architecture and the energy of Old San Juan. We also visited the smaller fort while we were there.

 

One of these days I'll take the ferry over to the Bacardi Factory - but don't pay the cruise ship for this free tour. The ferry costs about $2 out of OSJ.

 

Isla Verde beach was nice (we stayed at the Intercontinental) but about the same as the beach in the Condado area. My understanding is that if you want a truly beautiful beach, you have to travel all the way to Fajardo.

[Tess2mommies]

I love the architecture and the energy of Old San Juan. We also visited the smaller fort while we were there.

 

One of these days I'll take the ferry over to the Bacardi Factory - but don't pay the cruise ship for this free tour. The ferry costs about $2 out of OSJ.

 

Isla Verde beach was nice (we stayed at the Intercontinental) but about the same as the beach in the Condado area. My understanding is that if you want a truly beautiful beach, you have to travel all the way to Fajardo.

 

 

Wow all the way to Fajardo? Do local buses run that way, or is a rental car or guide needed?

[Tess2mommies]

El Yunque (the rainforest) "looks" like it is closer than it is on the map. You would need to allow at least a couple of hours each way for transportation.

 

I'm not sure if guides are available, but think I remember reading another post that mentioned them.

 

We were there many years ago, but my s-i-l was there recently(this past year) and wished she had taken my advice not to go.

Unless you are super into nature and want to spend many hours hiking through the rain forest, the typical visit involves driving in the main entrance, walking a short distance on a paved road, seeing a mediocre waterfall (and taking your photo in front of it). When we were there, there was limited access to a fire tower (that's what it looked like, not sure if that's what it was called) about a 3/4 of a mile off the paved road. We didn't go, but our friends (PR natives) told us they had been and it had a wonderful view. Since we didn't know if we would be allowed access, we didn't hike in.

 

If you go without a guide, make sure you have current maps. You must leave the main highway and drive on secondary roads. BTw, the secondary roads in PR are a trip. Narrow two way roads, very twisty, very narrow. I did a lot of praying, seriously. The crosses on the sides of the road marking deaths were nerve racking.

 

 

Manaubo Lighthouse is in a beautiful location on the Caribbean. We did visit and managed to wrangle a visit thanks to our friends. At the time, the light house was NOT open to the public. Not sure if it is now or not. Before you spend the 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from San Juan just for that, check out access.

There was a beautiful public beach not too far from the Light and the general area is just gorgeous. If you are "down" that way, you might want to visit Ponce, a beautiful, little, sparkling city (but if memory serves, another 45 minutes west on one of those secondary roads). To get from the San Juan to Manaubo a good deal of the travel is on the main highway.

 

don't waste time going to El Famoso Banos de Coamo. A mineral "bath" - stinks of sulphur, looked disgusting, but felt wonderful.

 

Thank you so much for that very informative post. I will keep all that in mind and make notes to put on the other computer to go with us on vacation.

[Guest Host Tink]

One of these days I'll take the ferry over to the Bacardi Factory - but don't pay the cruise ship for this free tour. The ferry costs about $2 out of OSJ.

 

 

We did this back in 2000 when we were ther on RCI, it's well worth it. We went by bus though, no ferry. We bought some Rum that you will never find here in the States and we still haven't opened it! LOL

[hstrybuf]

Old San Juan

El Morro

Fort San Cristobal

San Juan Cathedral

All of these are within the Old San Juan area itself. It is best seen on foot, so grab your walking shoes and go! There are taxis and buses if walking is not your cup of tea. You pay an entrance fee at El Morro and, at last check, this also covered your entrance to Fort San Cristobal. The Cathedral was wonderful! If you go down the left side, you will find the old tomb of Ponce de Leon. Not sure if he's still there or not. ;)

 

The Old City is actually only a few blocks wide in each direction, full of history, architecture and cobblestone streets. And, yes, even some shopping! The El Convento Hotel, across from the Cathedral, is also worth a stop. Get a good walking map from the pink tourist building by the pier and enjoy a trip back through time!

 

A word of caution. Do NOT enter the area next to the cemetery known as La Perla. The entrance to this area is on the north side of the Old City and goes downhill. No place for tourists as it has an extremely bad reputation.

[mringenoldus]

Since you are staying a number of days post cruise - I might go all the way to Fajardo by car. However, you will be visiting many beautiful beaches on your cruise. How about the bioluminescence tour? That would be a very unusual sight!

[Tess2mommies]

Since you are staying a number of days post cruise - I might go all the way to Fajardo by car. However, you will be visiting many beautiful beaches on your cruise. How about the bioluminescence tour? That would be a very unusual sight!

 

 

I wanted so badly to do the bioluminescence tour, however, the moon decided to not work to my advantage. Maybe another time.

 

:rolleyes: Maybe i'll plan a cruise around the moon, so I can do the bioluminescence tour. :D

 

 

hstrybuff - Okay, no La perla . Mental note made.

 

Crisp - Bidding would still b e very expensive. I attempted to make a bid and it will probably exceed what I am paying to bid on priceline. Maybe in Rome (can i bid for a hotel in rome?) :confused:

[Heidict]

My husband and I just spent 10 days in Puerto Rico prior to cruise on 12.5.04. If you want to see all of Puerto Rico then a rental car is just about the only way to go.

 

Plaza de Americas

Old San Juan

El Morro

Fort San Cristobal

San Juan Cathedral

 

are all within Old San Juan. You could easily take a couple of days to see everything there. Driving in and out can be a hassle on the weekend, but there is a good amount of parking, both paid and free. If you don't want to rent a car you can grab a taxi. Entrance into El Morro and San Cristibal is $3.00 per person for one fort or $5.00 for both forts. Tell them at the first fort that you want entrance for both forts and they will give you a reciept to get into the second fort.

 

There is tons of shopping in OSJ. Everything from the usual tourist stuff to specialty items and jewlery.

 

RIO CAMUY CAVE BEACH

 

I haven't heard of this beach. There is a town called Camuy(which is on the water) and then there are the camuy caves. Camuy is about 60 miles west of San Juan on highway 22. The speed limit varies from 55-65 and there are tolls. Ranging from $.30 to $1.00.

 

The camey caves are about 75 miles. You take 22 west and then the exit for the caves onto 129 south. There is a small entrance fee ( a few bucks per person, I think). Just make sure you don't go on a rainy day as they will be closed.

 

Isle Verde Beach is in Santruce, on the way to OSJ. This beach is called a Balineario which means it is a state (goverment) sponsered beach. There will be restrooms, changing rooms, outside showers, lockers, a lifegaurd and generally a restaurant or snack bar to get food and sodas. There are no lounge chairs or umbrellas for rent anywhere. They do have picnic tables and the beaches generally have plenty of shade availale to get out from under the sun. Entrance fee into any Balineario is $2.00 a car. It would be very easy to take a taxi from your hotel.

 

EL YUNQUE

 

Probably about 40 miles east of San Juan. You take route 3 (this is not a regular highway). It is generally 2 to 4 lanes and has a lot of stop lights on it. It is a well used road and pretty safe. From route 3 you take 191 south towards El Yungue. The road is confusing the first 1/2 mile and we originally missed the turn off and had to turn around. 191 is a rural road, 2 lanes (barely), but you are only on it for 10 miles or so. It is $3.00 per person to get into the center where they have a lot of historical information, gift shop a movie and information on the rain forest itself.

 

The road to the tower and the falls is paved. If you have a rental car you can drive right up to the tower. It was open less then 2 weeks ago when I was there and we were able to go to the top. Unfortunalty that is as far as you can drive at this point. They experienced a lot of rainfall prior to our going there and the road is shut down after the tower due to the road being washed out due to a mud slide. They were working on it when were there but I'm unsure of how long it will take them to fix it. We enjoyed El Yungue.

 

Out near Guanica, where the bioluminescence bay is, you can grab a ferry / boat ride to a place called Gilligans Island. It is $5 per person round trip. It is a small island with no inhabitants. I believe all they have there is benchs so you need to bring your own food and drinks. It has a small cove that is shallow and perfect for snorkeling or laying out on a raft. Very peaceful and private. Let me know if you want directions or information on how to buy tickets for the boat.

 

One word of caution. If you do rent a car be very cautious of the other drivers. They are worse then NYC and think nothing of cutting you off. We even saw someone driving on a sidewalk in OSJ, right in front of a cop and he did nothing. But I guess that would be cause the cop and a couple of other cars where in the lane next to us. Only problem was this lane was for the oncoming traffic.

 

Get a couple of maps, including the one the car rental place gives you. Not all the roads are on all of the maps. And a lot of the side or smaller roads aren't on any of them. I used 2 to 3 maps to navigate my way around, but we never got lost.

 

Stay away from the small moutain roads. They are very narrow and barely let one car through, let alone 2. They can be dangerous, and the locals, since the know the roads well, drive fast on them and think nothing of crossing into another lane or passing on a hill. We saw a half decomposed dead cow in the middle of one road we were on. Im not trying to scare you, just be careful driving. And get the insurance the rental agency offers you. I did and we didn't need it, but people are always bumping people down there. You can tell just by looking at most of the cars. They all have dented fenders, bumpers and quarter panels.

 

 

Whew:cool: , sorry for the long winded post. Hope it helps and if you have any questions, just let me know. Heidi:D

[Tess2mommies]

My husband and I just spent 10 days in Puerto Rico prior to cruise on 12.5.04. If you want to see all of Puerto Rico then a rental car is just about the only way to go.

 

Plaza de Americas

Old San Juan

El Morro

Fort San Cristobal

San Juan Cathedral

 

are all within Old San Juan. You could easily take a couple of days to see everything there. Driving in and out can be a hassle on the weekend, but there is a good amount of parking, both paid and free. If you don't want to rent a car you can grab a taxi. Entrance into El Morro and San Cristibal is $3.00 per person for one fort or $5.00 for both forts. Tell them at the first fort that you want entrance for both forts and they will give you a reciept to get into the second fort.

 

There is tons of shopping in OSJ. Everything from the usual tourist stuff to specialty items and jewlery.

 

RIO CAMUY CAVE BEACH

 

I haven't heard of this beach. There is a town called Camuy(which is on the water) and then there are the camuy caves. Camuy is about 60 miles west of San Juan on highway 22. The speed limit varies from 55-65 and there are tolls. Ranging from $.30 to $1.00.

 

The camey caves are about 75 miles. You take 22 west and then the exit for the caves onto 129 south. There is a small entrance fee ( a few bucks per person, I think). Just make sure you don't go on a rainy day as they will be closed.

 

Isle Verde Beach is in Santruce, on the way to OSJ. This beach is called a Balineario which means it is a state (goverment) sponsered beach. There will be restrooms, changing rooms, outside showers, lockers, a lifegaurd and generally a restaurant or snack bar to get food and sodas. There are no lounge chairs or umbrellas for rent anywhere. They do have picnic tables and the beaches generally have plenty of shade availale to get out from under the sun. Entrance fee into any Balineario is $2.00 a car. It would be very easy to take a taxi from your hotel.

 

EL YUNQUE

 

Probably about 40 miles east of San Juan. You take route 3 (this is not a regular highway). It is generally 2 to 4 lanes and has a lot of stop lights on it. It is a well used road and pretty safe. From route 3 you take 191 south towards El Yungue. The road is confusing the first 1/2 mile and we originally missed the turn off and had to turn around. 191 is a rural road, 2 lanes (barely), but you are only on it for 10 miles or so. It is $3.00 per person to get into the center where they have a lot of historical information, gift shop a movie and information on the rain forest itself.

 

The road to the tower and the falls is paved. If you have a rental car you can drive right up to the tower. It was open less then 2 weeks ago when I was there and we were able to go to the top. Unfortunalty that is as far as you can drive at this point. They experienced a lot of rainfall prior to our going there and the road is shut down after the tower due to the road being washed out due to a mud slide. They were working on it when were there but I'm unsure of how long it will take them to fix it. We enjoyed El Yungue.

 

Out near Guanica, where the bioluminescence bay is, you can grab a ferry / boat ride to a place called Gilligans Island. It is $5 per person round trip. It is a small island with no inhabitants. I believe all they have there is benchs so you need to bring your own food and drinks. It has a small cove that is shallow and perfect for snorkeling or laying out on a raft. Very peaceful and private. Let me know if you want directions or information on how to buy tickets for the boat.

 

One word of caution. If you do rent a car be very cautious of the other drivers. They are worse then NYC and think nothing of cutting you off. We even saw someone driving on a sidewalk in OSJ, right in front of a cop and he did nothing. But I guess that would be cause the cop and a couple of other cars where in the lane next to us. Only problem was this lane was for the oncoming traffic.

 

Get a couple of maps, including the one the car rental place gives you. Not all the roads are on all of the maps. And a lot of the side or smaller roads aren't on any of them. I used 2 to 3 maps to navigate my way around, but we never got lost.

 

Stay away from the small moutain roads. They are very narrow and barely let one car through, let alone 2. They can be dangerous, and the locals, since the know the roads well, drive fast on them and think nothing of crossing into another lane or passing on a hill. We saw a half decomposed dead cow in the middle of one road we were on. Im not trying to scare you, just be careful driving. And get the insurance the rental agency offers you. I did and we didn't need it, but people are always bumping people down there. You can tell just by looking at most of the cars. They all have dented fenders, bumpers and quarter panels.

 

 

Whew:cool: , sorry for the long winded post. Hope it helps and if you have any questions, just let me know. Heidi:D

 

Thank you for the long post. I'll print this stuff.