San Juan restaurants/nightlife

[charlestonchic]

I'll be cruising on the Triumph in July. Our first stop is San Juan, and I've already heard you pretty much miss out on day adventures. I'm bummed b/c I wanted to visit the rainforest.

Does anyone know where the safest area of town is w/ bars and restaurants? How far is it from the port? About how much would cab fare be? I've heard of so many people saying they just stay on the boat, which is so lame - when you're paying for destinations and there are 3 other days to stay on the boat - there've gotta be some interesting night spots in San Juan, anyone know anything? I'm a 28 yr old female and my traveling girlfriend is 25.

[charlestonchic]

I'll be cruising on the Triumph in July. Our first stop is San Juan, and I've already heard you pretty much miss out on day adventures. I'm bummed b/c I wanted to visit the rainforest.

Does anyone know where the safest area of town is w/ bars and restaurants? How far is it from the port? About how much would cab fare be? I've heard of so many people saying they just stay on the boat, which is so lame - when you're paying for destinations and there are 3 other days to stay on the boat - there've gotta be some interesting night spots in San Juan, anyone know anything? I'm a 28 yr old female and my traveling girlfriend is 25.

[Traceyl]

I'm sorry but San Juan really is a dismal place. we did the night stop aboard the Victory week of April 20 and after wandering around Old San Juan from 5-7:30 it got dark and nasty. The shops closed up tight as clams with chains and padlocks and great iron doors. Feral cats, frightening men wandering up the side streets. It's just NOT a nice place. We high-tailed it back to the ship and had a wonderful dinner at 8:30. Our 12 year old was truly frightened even though she had 4 adults with her!

On the other hand - St. Maarten was lovely and St.Thomas as spectacular. Just depends what you are looking for I think.

Have a wonderful cruise.

[Karen Knowlton]

On the other hand, before the "witching hour", I found San Juan to be fun and felt relatively safe walking around the old district (granted, on fairly main streets). Went with my mother-in-law, and we both enjoyed it. If you get there early in the afternoon, give it a try for a couple hours. If after 5, then go with a shore excursion through the cruise line.

[charlestonchic]

I have looked into some places and have found
some very nice places within walking distance
of the port to go out and enjoy our evening.
The El Convento Hotel is a 5-star Luxury hotel, within 5 minutes of the pier, and it looks like a decent area to me. I found a fine-dining restaurant in Old San Juan that serves tapas and has excellent jazz - called Carli Cafe Concierto - I'm really looking forward to checking this place out...it was recommended highly in the Frommer's travel guide.

I think it would be such a waste of time to stay on the boat! I want to enjoy the city - and I'm looking forward to it.