Old San Juan Walking Tour - or do it on our own?

[Wonders10]

Hi everyone,

 

My mom and I are thinking of the Old San Juan Walking Tour offered through Celebrity. Does anyone recommend this? Is it possible to essentially do most of it on our own, just by walking into town? We'd really rather not take a taxi or anything like that, but if it is safe and within walking distance, that's fine. Any help would be appreciated!

[db27]

old san juan is GREAT for walking on your own. Its super small and you can easily walk from one fort to the other and everything in between. I'd only pay if I was going to be getting a history lesson, otherwise do it on your own.

[broberts]

You can easily do it yourself. But be warned, the old city is built on the side of a hill so you will be walking up hill for about half of your tour. You can find walking tour guides here and here.

 

A little web research will turn up lots of information. A nice introduction can be found here.

 

I'm a big fan of the forts, especially San Cristobal which has absolutely marvelous vistas of the ocean and over the old city with the cruise ship docks at the base of the hill. El Morro is the fort you will see as you sail into the port. The forts are managed by the National Park Service and you can find information on them here.

 

Make sure that you are on an upper deck, forward, port side as you approach San Juan - with your camera. The sail in is one of the nicest I've experienced.

[Wonders10]

You can easily do it yourself. But be warned, the old city is built on the side of a hill so you will be walking up hill for about half of your tour. You can find walking tour guides here and here.

 

A little web research will turn up lots of information. A nice introduction can be found here.

 

I'm a big fan of the forts, especially San Cristobal which has absolutely marvelous vistas of the ocean and over the old city with the cruise ship docks at the base of the hill. El Morro is the fort you will see as you sail into the port. The forts are managed by the National Park Service and you can find information on them here.

 

Make sure that you are on an upper deck, forward, port side as you approach San Juan - with your camera. The sail in is one of the nicest I've experienced.

 

Great info! Thanks so much for not just telling me it's doable, but giving me resources to make it easy! Awesome!

[m steve]

you can take it to the forts (uphill) and then hop on/off at other spots and walk around OSJ and then back to the ship. Saves some time and walking effort.See San juan on Google for info.

[Putterdude]

If you have a reasonable degree of mobility then you will have no problem doing it on your own. I you do get tired there would be no problem getting a cab back.

[themerle]

You can easily do it yourself. But be warned, the old city is built on the side of a hill so you will be walking up hill for about half of your tour. You can find walking tour guides here and here.

 

A little web research will turn up lots of information. A nice introduction can be found here.

 

I'm a big fan of the forts, especially San Cristobal which has absolutely marvelous vistas of the ocean and over the old city with the cruise ship docks at the base of the hill. El Morro is the fort you will see as you sail into the port. The forts are managed by the National Park Service and you can find information on them here.

 

Make sure that you are on an upper deck, forward, port side as you approach San Juan - with your camera. The sail in is one of the nicest I've experienced.

 

 

All of your information is very helpful. Thanks so much!

[MrsPete]

If you have an America the Beautiful Pass, remember that it'll give you free admission to the San Juan forts. I bought one last summer when we did a driving trip of the western national parks, and I'm looking forward to getting just a little more use out of it on our July cruise. Here's a link: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html . The pass is $80 and is good for your whole family for a year.

 

Also, if you collect National Park Passports, don't forget to get your stamps at the forts.

[MrsPete]

If you have an America the Beautiful Pass, remember that it'll give you free admission to the San Juan forts. I bought one last summer when we did a driving trip of the western national parks, and I'm looking forward to getting just a little more use out of it on our July cruise. Here's a link: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html . The pass is $80 and is good for your whole family for a year.

 

Also, if you collect National Park Passports, don't forget to get your stamps at the forts.

Sorry, quoting myself, but I have something else to add to this . . . senior citizens can get a Golden Age Passport (name correct?) for $10 that gives them the same benefits, and it's good for LIFE. There's no better deal out there.

[Sea42]

My husband and I did a self guided tour starting at the tourist information center where they had a small map of OSJ. Before the trip I found a few walking tours online by searching for "Self Guided Walking Tours Old San Juan"

There were several to chose from and I went through them to find the one that worked best for us. I like information on the buildings we're seeing rather than just wandering so they worked well for us. If you prefer just strolling through town the map handout will be all you need to find your way around.

Have fun!

P.S. The trolley does take you from one fort to the other and is a great price (free!) but because of the horrible traffic situation in OSJ at times in was faster to walk!