We are cruising to San Juan in November, and it looks like all of the excursions call for a hour or hour and 1/2 drive before you ever see anything. Could someone please advise on what's a must see or must do on this island? We were thinking about just walking around the port and heading back to the ship if there wasn't anything better to do. Please help.
The port is near some great places to visit. Old San Juan is not far, the fort is close by, Contada section is right there. There are plenty of cabs, they use no brakes, only horns. Most everyone can speak some english, so depending on what you enjoy doing, you can find plenty around the port.
There is a great walking tour of Old San Juan that includes the forts. The self-guided walking tour map is available at all the tourist stations (there is one at the port).
Nancy
I have not been there but my upcoming cruise will be going there.
I have been told by someone that was born and raised there that the rain forest is well worth it. That is one of the things I was thinking of doing even before he told me about it.
We walked around town on our own afterwards we took the water taxi (right at the port) for $.50/pp to the other side of the bay, we then took a taxi $2.00/pp to the Bacardi Run factory, interesting tour and its free. You also get 2 free rum drinks. Afterward, took the taxi back to the water taxi and then back across the bay to our ship. Total tour for the 2 of us $10.00. Great afternoon. I believe the ships charge around $25.00-$30.00/pp for the tour of the Rum factory and take you by bus. We are all about having a great time and saving money also.
We stopped in San Juan last year during an E.Caribbean cruise. We decided not to book an excursion with the cruise line and were just going to wander around ourselves. when we left the cruise ship dock, there were several tour buses lined up outside. The tour guides were offering tours for $15.00 per person which was half what the cruiseline price was. we decided to take a chance and we were glad we did. The guide took us to beautiful stops and let us out to take pictures. We went to old San Juan and visited the fort and then he took us to New San juan. He was very knowledgable and pointed out several historic places. He dropped us off in the shopping district and told us that he would pick us up in 2 hours. I was concerned that he would not return, since we had already paid him. He did come back to get us and then stopped by a local store so we could buy sodas to take on the ship. It was a great tour and really saved us money.
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I have cruised to San Juan several times. The Bacardi tour is fun, walking around old SJ is good, but the Rain Forest is great. The last time in SJ was in 2005 and our ship (Serenade of the Seas) was at the new pier. Walking into town was not an option - way too far out.
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