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Founded in 1521 by Ponce De Leon, San Juan Puerto Rico has two cruise terminals.
We're focusing on the terminal in Old San Juan.
In addition to being the Capital of Puerto Rico and the oldest city in the US Territory,
San Juan is known for its cobblestone streets, 16th century walls and fortresses, colorful
architecture, expansive views of the Caribbean Sea, and Bacardi Rum, all of which can be
reached from the Old San Juan cruise terminal for little or no cost.
If you want to explore San Juan’s old city landmarks by foot, head to the left as you
leave the cruise terminal.
In that direction, you can walk along the waterfront, to the picturesque Paseo De La
Princesa, the iconic Roots Fountain, and the walkway around the old city walls.
From there, it is a short walk to the San Felipe Del Morro Fortress, a US National Park
you can tour the inside of for a fee.
The Spanish began building the fort in 1539 and it endured attacks from the British, Dutch
and American naval forces.
More information -- including admission pricing -- can be found on the national park service
website.
If you have kids -- or you are just young a heart -- bring a kite when you visit El Morro.
The open area at the fort and its proximity to the sea make for excellent kite flying.
From the fort, you can walk back toward the cruise terminal and pass through the old Spanish
military barracks building nearby and then stop at the cathedral that contains the tomb
of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon.
Further along, you can see the Governor’s mansion, check out Pigeon Park, and explore
Old San Juan’s shopping district.
We’ve created a step-by-step walking tour for these sights and you can download it for
free on our website TheJellyBeans.net.
The area to the right of the cruise terminal is home to the Capitol of Puerto Rico and
a public beach.
Both are about a 15-minute walk from the cruise terminal.
If you’d like to gauge proximity, the Capitol building itself is typically visible from
the upper levels of a cruise ship.
The Capitol building houses the Puerto Rico Legislature.
Tour information is available on the National Parks Service website.
Across the street from the Capitol -- and down a set of stairs -- is Playa Peña beach.
This small, rocky beach is open to the public.
It was not manned by lifeguards on our visit.
Also of note -- on the opposite side of the the Capitol -- is a Holocaust Memorial and
the Walkway of the Presidents.
If you're using a GPS to navigate to this area, we recommend sticking to the major roads.
On our last cruise, tourists following their GPS were led through the open, but gated,
area of the nearby Department of the Treasury and they were promptly turned away by guards.
The route we took to the Capitol building and nearby beach is available to download
for free on our website TheJellyBeans.net.
For those who don't wish to explore by foot, Old San Juan offers free trolleys that follow
three different routes and each has stops near the cruise terminal.
The trolleys are very popular and can run infrequently, so if the stop by the cruise
terminal is crowded, you can sometimes have better luck getting a seat if you walk to
the earlier stops on the route, like the one by La Casita.
The fort, Capitol and beach mentioned earlier in this video are on the Green Trolley Route.
Maps of the trolley routes are available online by searching for “old san juan trolley map”
If you’re interested in Bacardi Rum, you can catch the Cataño ferry from Pier 2 in
Old San Juan, then take a taxi to the nearby factory and do the tour on your own.
The pier is located directly across the street from the CVS pharmacy.
On our last trip, the fare for the ferry was 50 cents each way with discounts provided
for seniors.
The ferry ride takes about ten minutes.
You can find more details, including tour pricing, on the Casa Bacardi website.
Also, take note that the Ferry Terminal in Old San Juan had public restrooms available.
Finally, if you forgot some items back home, there is a CVS located across from Pier 2
and a Walgreens located across from Pier 3, in front of the Sheraton.
For shopping enthusiasts, the jewelry, made-to-order panama hats, souvenirs, and factory outlet
stores are located along three main streets in old San Juan: Calle de Cristo which runs
north and south, and Calle Fortaleza and Calle San Francisco which run east and west.
To get to the shopping district, travel to the left as you exit the cruise terminal.
Once you’ve arrived at the park with the La Casita building, turn to the right and
head uphill.