Getting Around, San Juan Travel, Transport and Car Rental
(San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Travelling around San Juan has its problems, as the new Urban Train transport network doesn't connect the Old City or most of the attractions, or even travel to the airport as yet. Taxis are a reasonable and popular option, although agreeing a fare for your journey is essential.
For travel around
Puerto Rico, car hire is the most practical and possibly the only option, as outside the extensive metropolitan area of San Juan, there is no scheduled train or bus transport available. The island is small enough to be comfortably toured by hire car on a day trip basis.
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) / Arriving by Air
Address: Expreso Loiza PR-26, Carolina, Puerto Rico, PR
Tel: +1 787 791 4670
The main tourism gateway to Puerto Rico is the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, located 13 km / 8 miles to the south-east of downtown San Juan and serving more than four million passengers per annum. Almost all the major US carriers offer routes to San Juan from many mainland US cities and Caribbean destinations, with Virgin Atlantic and summer season charter flights operating additional routes from the UK,
Canada and
Germany. Passenger services here are modern and comprehensive, with the terminal complex arranged around the multi-storey car park. Car hire, taxis and local buses are all available for onward transportation.
Car Rental
The most convenient place to arrange car rental is at the airport, with booking online in advance a timesaving alternative. Puerto Rico's main highways are good, although the same can't be said for the secondary roads, especially during the wet season. Driving in the city isn't recommended, as parking can prove tricky and the streets are rather like a maze. If self-drive is a must, careful driving is necessary everywhere, as the locals tend to take a Latin approach to getting around by car. Those looking for somewhere to park in Old San Juan should try the Covadonga lot on the Calle Recinto Sur, or the adjacent Dona Fela parking lot.
Buses and Coaches
Operated by the Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses company, bus travel in San Juan is comprehensive, but not wildly tourist-friendly, and crammed with commuters in the rush hours. The buses themselves range between refurbished, in need of refurbishing and downright disastrous. Bus fares are paid in exact coinage, frequency is low and if you don't flag one down, it won't stop - even at a parada (bus stop).
Trains
The city's pride and joy is its rapid transport Urban Train (Tren Urbano), which is part-underground and opened as recently as 2005, travelling to nearby towns such as
Bayamon, Guaynabo and Sagrado Corazon. However, it totally ignores visitor destinations like the Old City, Isla Verde and Condado, as well as the city's airport, making it somewhat useless for visitors.
Taxis
Taxi transport can be picked up at the airport, in front of hotels and at the end of the Calle de la Fortaleza in Old San Juan. Prominent tourist destinations attract fixed fares, while for other journeys the theory of metered journeys is rarely practised. Agreeing the fare before you depart is the only way to avoid overpaying.
Boats and Ferries
Public ferries, several of which are high-speed, travel from the harbour to nearby islands and along the coast, often on an irregular basis. A water bus crosses the Bahia de San Juan from the Old City to Catano every 30 minutes or so. Ferries de Caribe run a passenger and vehicle ferry service from Santo Domingo (in the Dominican Republic) to Mayaguez. Ferries also run from nearby Fajardo to several islands.
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