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Old San Juan Street
Castillo San Cristobal
Inside Cathedral of San Juan
I'm considering getting two separate one-way flights to Tortola, BVI I would get in to SJU from Chicago at 2:10 and will have another flight to get on at 3:pm. I'm a US citizen and will only have a carry on. Is 50 minutes enough time between the two flights? Will I need to go through customs at SJU?
Thank you in advance,
Helen
You will still be in the US in San Juan and will need to go thru customs to get out---to Tortola, in this case....In my opinion customs in San Juan is superior to any city in the US as far as quickness in getting thru....50 minutes should be plenty of time for sure...the airport is easy to get around.
dustmon
Two separate tickets could create problems for you. If your flight from Chicago is delayed the airline has no liability for your connection in San Juan. If the ticket you purchase separately for your onward travel from San Juan is non refundable with no changes permitted the airline may or may not be sympathetic and let you take a later flight, if they do, it could come with a hefty change fee. One ticket all the way through to your final destination with one airline would be less problematic for you.
50 min is VERY do-able....IF the initial flight has no delays!
You have to drive to El Morro. The first time I went there, I cried. It seemed so big, so old, and I could feel the history of the place, imagine what might have gone on there, going from room to room, level to level.
Since I was a child I had always wondered about these "blue brick streets" and while on my last visit to Old San Juan I asked my mom. Mom told me that the cobble stoned streets in Old San Juan are paved with these beautiful blue stones called adoquine. They are blue stone cast from furnace slag which were brought over on Spanish ships as ballasts. The characteristic blue color comes from age and moisture.
Becuase of their age, the Adoquines you will see around Old San Juan are cracked, faded and worn down due to high automobile traffic and foot traffic. What a shame, these streets are part of a long Puerto Rican Heritage and they should be preserved by the closure of streets to automobile traffic.
San Juan's City Hall or ALCALDIA
Construction started in 1602 and completed in 1789. Intended by its builders to be an exact replica of the one in Madrid, the building was heavily remodelled in the 1840's, creating its present day facade. Inside the building there is a tourist information Center and a small gallery for exhibitions.
One cultural note: don't overlook San Juan's new Museum of Puerto Rican Art in Santurce. It's a bit off the beaten path, but even cruise ship passengers should visit this beautiful new lavish ($42m) building, which contains a fine collection of Caribbean art, and showcases modern PR artists as well. There are several good restaurants on the premises and the grounds are lovely.
June 16, 2009 – Today we had so much fun at the El Yunque Rainforest which is just about a 45 minute drive from the city of San Juan.
There are three offers at the Marriott concierge for the El Yunque Forest: a half day visit for $53, add the luquillo Beach for $70.20, or Have a hike and swim at La Mina also for $70.20. Naturally, my family chose the one with beach (just about $5 less for the kids I think).
Since this is the rainforest, expect RAIN. And yes, we did have rain on and off but it was fun and we just bought our raincoats at the forest gift shop. The greenness of the area is just purely amazing --- lots of green and very different from the dryness we have where we live in Arizona. So, the twins had fun walking the single trail…It is just one trail and it is about 1 mile and very easy to follow although it may be slippery in some areas. But if our 5 year old twins can do it, you can too! Wheelchairs may not be wise though…
The forest has 28,000 acres of wilderness (11, 331 hectares) and is another one of the sites included by Theodore Roosevelt to list of worth-preserving state parks. It was in 1493 when Columbus first saw it, and now it remains much the same except for some additional trees from Asia. They have added lots of bamboo to avoid erosion. Our guide Jose also showed us a tree which was familiar to us in Asia – the Ilang-Ilang. You also see lots of Sierra palms.
You don’t see tigers, monkeys, apes…and no scary chupacubras as well. But they do have lizards and snails and lots of birds (hawks as well). The green parrot is on the endangered list and used to be a million on the Puerto Rican islands but now it has been decimated to just a few and our guide has never even seen it. You just see pictures of it.
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Address: 23 Caleta las Monjas St, San Juan, 00901, Caribbean
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