HELP!! undecisive on Puerto Rico Pre cruise. Hmm

[ymillo]

Hi everyone!

My name is Yenny and me and my other half will be sailing on the Carnival Victory in august! wohooo so excited:D anyways, we have both decided we will have one day precruise in PR and I would really love to make the best out of the day we have.

We will be departing Miami on saturday at 7am and Ive calculated that by the time we arrive, get through customs, and pick up the rental car it would be approximately 11:30am. We visited PR on our glory cruise in april so we got a chance to walk OSJ and see both forts this time I would love to see either "el yunque nation rainforest", the caves at Rio camuy cave park, and also the Bioluminescent bay at night although now im uncertain on bf driving during night time back to our hotel:o. So i figured I wont be able to do all three in one day LOL so which would you do between the CAVES and EL YUNQUE? any other suggestions would be great! thanks so much and sorry for writing so much LOL:)

[Dirkgun]

I would tell you to rent a car (and get or take a GPS unit... they are great for directions, then you don't have to worry about getting lost. LOL) and drive to and through El Yunque... then in the evening do the bio luminescent bay tour since it is also at the eastern end of the island so you will already be there as that is where El Yunque is. We are going back for 2nd trip on the victory this December (the week before Christmas and are going to do the biobay tour through kyaking puerto rico dot com. I hope you have a great time.

[ymillo]

I would tell you to rent a car (and get or take a GPS unit... they are great for directions, then you don't have to worry about getting lost. LOL) and drive to and through El Yunque... then in the evening do the bio luminescent bay tour since it is also at the eastern end of the island so you will already be there as that is where El Yunque is. We are going back for 2nd trip on the victory this December (the week before Christmas and are going to do the biobay tour through kyaking puerto rico dot com. I hope you have a great time.

Hi Dirkgun,

This is what I was leaning towards doing but my one problem is I dont know how Dangerous the streets can be at night for driving back:confused:So i was starting to doubt the Biobay in a way. Im very confused LOL but Im pretty sure El yunque would be the best option. Thank you so much for your advise:)hope you have a great time also!

[cruiseonthebrain]

Hi everyone!

My name is Yenny and me and my other half will be sailing on the Carnival Victory in august! wohooo so excited:D anyways, we have both decided we will have one day precruise in PR and I would really love to make the best out of the day we have.

We will be departing Miami on saturday at 7am and Ive calculated that by the time we arrive, get through customs, and pick up the rental car it would be approximately 11:30am. We visited PR on our glory cruise in april so we got a chance to walk OSJ and see both forts this time I would love to see either "el yunque nation rainforest", the caves at Rio camuy cave park, and also the Bioluminescent bay at night although now im uncertain on bf driving during night time back to our hotel:o. So i figured I wont be able to do all three in one day LOL so which would you do between the CAVES and EL YUNQUE? any other suggestions would be great! thanks so much and sorry for writing so much LOL:)

 

I was stationed and lived in PR for 3 years and still have many beloved friend there. Have too much to add on a board. If you want to email me at stace120@hotmail.com I would love to share my experiences. No scam I have offered my email up on other boards too. I just think it would be too much back and forth for a board. There are some things you definately don't want to miss. If you could add one more day it would even be better.

[cccer]

We did two days pre cruise in PR last year and did Bio Bay on one day and rain forest the next. I would do rain forest, it was a really fun time. Bio Bay was a disaster. We used Pure Adventure and it was awful. Really long drive and they were very organized. We saw other much smaller groups that looked organized so I would recommend one of them.

We have been there twice on cruises before this trip and was not really impressed, but after spending a couple of days there, we are looking at a week trip there. Really run time all around.

[Scottee25]

Camuy is west of San Juan. If you only have a day to do all of this, you will not be able to do both El Yunque and Camuy in the same day. Both are worth seeing though El Yunque will be easier to get to. Follow the advice about a GPS unit but remember that even in PR, they are not failproof. If you plan on doing El Yunque and then the biobay that evening, check a moon calendar for that day before making your reservations for the Biobay tour (Google moon calendar) as you will want to make sure the moon is not emmitting a lot of light (cresent or smaller) as it will detract from the Biobay experience. As far as the streets being safe, the North(Central/San Juan) and Northeastern area of the island are geared towards tourists and will be safe for the most part. Use common sense while traveling and you will not have any issues. I have never, at any point, felt unsafe while in Puerto Rico. If you leave items in your car while it is parked, do not leave them in plain sight.

 

If you do the Biobay, you can do either kayak (wear a bathing suit as you will get wet) or there is a group who uses a small boat with an electric motor (gas motors are not allowed in the Reserve). I am not sure of the group that has the boat but Trip Advisor would be a good place to check for that. See the Fajardo forums for more information. If you decide to go the kayak route, I can concur with the other poster who recommended Kayaking Puerto Rico. We used them for the Biobay and were quite happy with the experience.

 

One last thing, when flying from Miami to San Juan, you will NOT go through customs. Puerto Rico is a US territory and therefore you will never have to pass through immigration or customs when traveling to it from another US Destination (this includes the US Virgin Islands).

[Loving My Life]

We used Kayaking Puerto Rico for our biobay excursion the last time we were in San Juan. It was the most amazing experience. This would be my top choice. Since that's all we had time to do last time, we are staying one day pre-cruise and one day post-cruise in January to cover OSJ, forts, and El Yunque.

[ymillo]

I was stationed and lived in PR for 3 years and still have many beloved friend there. Have too much to add on a board. If you want to email me at stace120@hotmail.com I would love to share my experiences. No scam I have offered my email up on other boards too. I just think it would be too much back and forth for a board. There are some things you definately don't want to miss. If you could add one more day it would even be better.

Thank you I will email you:)

[Sh1035]

Having spent a week thEre recently I would vote the rain forest and then a great diner at the kiosk and we loved tapas 13. Then head back to your hotel and venture. Not sure why a gps is needed for this trip since one road and you make a right.....sure we missed it once....

 

But the kiosk give you a real flavor you might never see. If you have extra time the beach is gorgeous as well next to it.

 

But they do drive crazy there be warned! No worse then any major city but we found it amusing.

[ymillo]

We did two days pre cruise in PR last year and did Bio Bay on one day and rain forest the next. I would do rain forest, it was a really fun time. Bio Bay was a disaster. We used Pure Adventure and it was awful. Really long drive and they were very organized. We saw other much smaller groups that looked organized so I would recommend one of them.

We have been there twice on cruises before this trip and was not really impressed, but after spending a couple of days there, we are looking at a week trip there. Really run time all around.

Thank you. We are also considering doing a one week land vacation sometime next year. Its a beautiful island. Im really looking forward to the Bio bay. thanks:)

[ymillo]

Camuy is west of San Juan. If you only have a day to do all of this, you will not be able to do both El Yunque and Camuy in the same day. Both are worth seeing though El Yunque will be easier to get to. Follow the advice about a GPS unit but remember that even in PR, they are not failproof. If you plan on doing El Yunque and then the biobay that evening, check a moon calendar for that day before making your reservations for the Biobay tour (Google moon calendar) as you will want to make sure the moon is not emmitting a lot of light (cresent or smaller) as it will detract from the Biobay experience. As far as the streets being safe, the North(Central/San Juan) and Northeastern area of the island are geared towards tourists and will be safe for the most part. Use common sense while traveling and you will not have any issues. I have never, at any point, felt unsafe while in Puerto Rico. If you leave items in your car while it is parked, do not leave them in plain sight.

 

If you do the Biobay, you can do either kayak (wear a bathing suit as you will get wet) or there is a group who uses a small boat with an electric motor (gas motors are not allowed in the Reserve). I am not sure of the group that has the boat but Trip Advisor would be a good place to check for that. See the Fajardo forums for more information. If you decide to go the kayak route, I can concur with the other poster who recommended Kayaking Puerto Rico. We used them for the Biobay and were quite happy with the experience.

 

One last thing, when flying from Miami to San Juan, you will NOT go through customs. Puerto Rico is a US territory and therefore you will never have to pass through immigration or customs when traveling to it from another US Destination (this includes the US Virgin Islands).

Scotee,

thank you so much for your reply. It truly is helpful. I agree its impossible to do everythin in one day so we will stick to the NE side and do el yunque and hopefully I can reserve the Biobay excursion. Thank you for the customs clarification I had not noticed PR is indeed a us teritory lol :o

[ymillo]

Having spent a week thEre recently I would vote the rain forest and then a great diner at the kiosk and we loved tapas 13. Then head back to your hotel and venture. Not sure why a gps is needed for this trip since one road and you make a right.....sure we missed it once....

 

But the kiosk give you a real flavor you might never see. If you have extra time the beach is gorgeous as well next to it.

 

But they do drive crazy there be warned! No worse then any major city but we found it amusing.

Hello Sh1035,

hmm what exactly is the kiosk? I have heard of it lol:o Definately already convinced the choice will be El yunque though.

[ymillo]

We used Kayaking Puerto Rico for our biobay excursion the last time we were in San Juan. It was the most amazing experience. This would be my top choice. Since that's all we had time to do last time, we are staying one day pre-cruise and one day post-cruise in January to cover OSJ, forts, and El Yunque.

Thats great thanks!:) I wish we could stay one day post cruise:( but work would be calling! I hope you enjoy your future cruise

[Scottee25]

Hello Sh1035,

hmm what exactly is the kiosk? I have heard of it lol:o Definately already convinced the choice will be El yunque though.

 

The Kiosks are near El Yunque in the city of Luquillo. It is right off of route 3 (which is the road you will take out of San Juan to get to El Yunque and Fajardo. Think of it as a strip mall with lots of little bars/restaurants with lots of local fare and cheap beer. It will be a very informal setting. It is easy to get to and is easy to get back onto route 3 to head back into San Juan. However, depending on how much time you spend in El Yunque, you may or may not have enough time to hit the beach near the kiosks. If you like hiking, you will spend a lot of time in El Yunque as trails to the higher points in the park can take a few hours roundtrip. However, El Yungue, Kiosks, and Biobay is definately doable.

[klguess]

We are just back from the Liberty....great cruise! Spent the day in PR with an incredibly awesome private tour guide. He did the driving, the picture taking, made sure it all fit with our schedule.... We did the rainforest and it was fun! If you want more info, email me, as CC doesnt like people advertising on the site. Not sure if I can mention his name or not. But I will say I found him on tripadvisor.:

[govgurl]

I did the bioluminescent bay with my Mom when we were last in San Juan, and it was AWESOME. We did it as a cruise excursion, but it was through Kayak Puerto Rico, and I'm sure you can book with them on your own. They may even have a shuttle to pick you up and bring you out to the kayak place. If they don't, the drive was not bad and it was mostly on highways as I remember, which were all pretty well lit.

 

One thing about the bio-bay kayak that's near San Juan (not the bio-bay on Vieques, which is also cool, but probably not realistic for you time wise), to get to the bay you have to first paddle through a mangrove tunnel at dusk, and then when you go back you're paddling in the dark. They put lights on the front and back of the kayaks so that you can follow the one in front of you, but on a few of the kayaks in our train the lights were out, making navigation tricky. It's impossible to get lost, but you might bump into a tree or two as you go. I'm a fairly experienced kayaker, and even i found it to be a little challenging to navigate, but there were lots of newbies in our group and they did fine too. It was an adventure, I guess is what I'm trying to say. But once you get out to the bay itself, with the stars and the bioluminescence, it's well worth it.

[cocontom]

Hi Dirkgun,

This is what I was leaning towards doing but my one problem is I dont know how Dangerous the streets can be at night for driving back:confused:So i was starting to doubt the Biobay in a way. Im very confused LOL but Im pretty sure El yunque would be the best option. Thank you so much for your advise:)hope you have a great time also!

 

The roads getting back will be fine, but driving in San Juan towards OSJ is out of control. Once you're outside of that, it's normal roads/traffic/rules. I would just make sure to take the car back and get a shuttle or cab in and not deal with the city traffic.

 

They do have flights to Vieques for the biobay now, but as I understand it, you can't swim in it anymore.

[Scottee25]

...although now im uncertain on bf driving during night time back to our hotel...

 

I forgot to ask. Where is your hotel. As another poster pointed out, driving in OSJ can be brutal. I agree that if your hotel is in OSJ, drop your rental off at night after your day trip and take a cab into the city (You will more than likely need to take the car rental shuttle back to the airport and catch a cab there). Parking can be pretty expensive in OSJ. Rates within San Juan are fixed (details on prices can be found at http://www.cabspr.com/) so you will know beforehand how much a cab will cost you. Cabbies in San Juan will try every opportunity to take advantage of you. If there is a special event going on in OSJ(and you need to get to OSJ), then you can throw that fare table out the window. They will charge what they think they can get away with (usually $20-30). I guess all of this will really depend on where your hotel is precruise?

 

Who are you renting your car through? And what size car have you reserved? Last time we were in Puerto Rico we went through Enterprise. It took us quite a while to get our car as there were a lot of other people there picking up cars as well. Also, I had reserved a full sized sedan and was given a Sonata. Sorry, but a full sized sudan does not have a 4 cylinder engine in it. Just an FYI, more than likely whatever you get will be similar. Also, people in Puerto Rico do not drive crazy. They drive slow... and sometimes will change lanes for no apparent reason. Outside of San Juan, it is prety easy to get around. Inside of San Juan can be a zoo. If you have ever done any big city driving, then driving in Puerto Rico will be a breeze.

 

We did it as a cruise excursion, but it was through Kayak Puerto Rico, and I'm sure you can book with them on your own. They may even have a shuttle to pick you up and bring you out to the kayak place. If they don't, the drive was not bad and it was mostly on highways as I remember, which were all pretty well lit.

 

You can book this on your own as we did it last year. They actually have a few different times the tours head out. We chose the later one where it is already dark when you head out. And yes, it gets very dark in that mangrove channel. I actually had my wife put her paddle to the side and I did all the paddlling. Was much easier to steer and manuver that way. We were still hit several times by others and pushed into the banks and trees but that is to be expected with how dark it was.

 

They do have flights to Vieques for the biobay now, but as I understand it, you can't swim in it anymore.

 

When did they stop allowing swimming? I know they have been talking about it for quite some time. When we were there in March '11, they were still allowing swimming. Our group actually decided to not swim in the bay as doing so can have negative effects on the environment of the bay. For instance, bug repellent contains chemicals that actually kill the bio organism. Most people apply some type of bug spray before they head out on such a trip. If they get into the water, they are actually destroying the organisms they came to see. There are a lot of things people do in the water in the Caribbean that are bad for the ecosysytems. Such as, using the wrong type of sunblock while snorkeling promotes the destruction of coral since some of them have chemicals that will absorb the suns rays rather than zinc oxide based suncreens that merely reflect it.

 

Now the flights you are referring to, do they leave out of San Juan or Cieba? I know there was a tour operator that left out of Fajardo by boat to Mosquito Bay in Vieques. However, you pretty much needed an entire evening for that trip.

[ymillo]

I forgot to ask. Where is your hotel. As another poster pointed out, driving in OSJ can be brutal. I agree that if your hotel is in OSJ, drop your rental off at night after your day trip and take a cab into the city (You will more than likely need to take the car rental shuttle back to the airport and catch a cab there). Parking can be pretty expensive in OSJ. Rates within San Juan are fixed (details on prices can be found at http://www.cabspr.com/) so you will know beforehand how much a cab will cost you. Cabbies in San Juan will try every opportunity to take advantage of you. If there is a special event going on in OSJ(and you need to get to OSJ), then you can throw that fare table out the window. They will charge what they think they can get away with (usually $20-30). I guess all of this will really depend on where your hotel is precruise?

 

Who are you renting your car through? And what size car have you reserved? Last time we were in Puerto Rico we went through Enterprise. It took us quite a while to get our car as there were a lot of other people there picking up cars as well. Also, I had reserved a full sized sedan and was given a Sonata. Sorry, but a full sized sudan does not have a 4 cylinder engine in it. Just an FYI, more than likely whatever you get will be similar. Also, people in Puerto Rico do not drive crazy. They drive slow... and sometimes will change lanes for no apparent reason. Outside of San Juan, it is prety easy to get around. Inside of San Juan can be a zoo. If you have ever done any big city driving, then driving in Puerto Rico will be a breeze.

 

 

 

You can book this on your own as we did it last year. They actually have a few different times the tours head out. We chose the later one where it is already dark when you head out. And yes, it gets very dark in that mangrove channel. I actually had my wife put her paddle to the side and I did all the paddlling. Was much easier to steer and manuver that way. We were still hit several times by others and pushed into the banks and trees but that is to be expected with how dark it was.

 

 

 

When did they stop allowing swimming? I know they have been talking about it for quite some time. When we were there in March '11, they were still allowing swimming. Our group actually decided to not swim in the bay as doing so can have negative effects on the environment of the bay. For instance, bug repellent contains chemicals that actually kill the bio organism. Most people apply some type of bug spray before they head out on such a trip. If they get into the water, they are actually destroying the organisms they came to see. There are a lot of things people do in the water in the Caribbean that are bad for the ecosysytems. Such as, using the wrong type of sunblock while snorkeling promotes the destruction of coral since some of them have chemicals that will absorb the suns rays rather than zinc oxide based suncreens that merely reflect it.

 

Now the flights you are referring to, do they leave out of San Juan or Cieba? I know there was a tour operator that left out of Fajardo by boat to Mosquito Bay in Vieques. However, you pretty much needed an entire evening for that trip.

We are staying at the double tree by hilton. Would it be a hassle?

[ymillo]

I forgot to ask. Where is your hotel. As another poster pointed out, driving in OSJ can be brutal. I agree that if your hotel is in OSJ, drop your rental off at night after your day trip and take a cab into the city (You will more than likely need to take the car rental shuttle back to the airport and catch a cab there). Parking can be pretty expensive in OSJ. Rates within San Juan are fixed (details on prices can be found at http://www.cabspr.com/) so you will know beforehand how much a cab will cost you. Cabbies in San Juan will try every opportunity to take advantage of you. If there is a special event going on in OSJ(and you need to get to OSJ), then you can throw that fare table out the window. They will charge what they think they can get away with (usually $20-30). I guess all of this will really depend on where your hotel is precruise?

 

Who are you renting your car through? And what size car have you reserved? Last time we were in Puerto Rico we went through Enterprise. It took us quite a while to get our car as there were a lot of other people there picking up cars as well. Also, I had reserved a full sized sedan and was given a Sonata. Sorry, but a full sized sudan does not have a 4 cylinder engine in it. Just an FYI, more than likely whatever you get will be similar. Also, people in Puerto Rico do not drive crazy. They drive slow... and sometimes will change lanes for no apparent reason. Outside of San Juan, it is prety easy to get around. Inside of San Juan can be a zoo. If you have ever done any big city driving, then driving in Puerto Rico will be a breeze.

 

 

 

You can book this on your own as we did it last year. They actually have a few different times the tours head out. We chose the later one where it is already dark when you head out. And yes, it gets very dark in that mangrove channel. I actually had my wife put her paddle to the side and I did all the paddlling. Was much easier to steer and manuver that way. We were still hit several times by others and pushed into the banks and trees but that is to be expected with how dark it was.

 

 

 

When did they stop allowing swimming? I know they have been talking about it for quite some time. When we were there in March '11, they were still allowing swimming. Our group actually decided to not swim in the bay as doing so can have negative effects on the environment of the bay. For instance, bug repellent contains chemicals that actually kill the bio organism. Most people apply some type of bug spray before they head out on such a trip. If they get into the water, they are actually destroying the organisms they came to see. There are a lot of things people do in the water in the Caribbean that are bad for the ecosysytems. Such as, using the wrong type of sunblock while snorkeling promotes the destruction of coral since some of them have chemicals that will absorb the suns rays rather than zinc oxide based suncreens that merely reflect it.

 

Now the flights you are referring to, do they leave out of San Juan or Cieba? I know there was a tour operator that left out of Fajardo by boat to Mosquito Bay in Vieques. However, you pretty much needed an entire evening for that trip.

We are renting the car from thrifty its on the airport also and a corolla or similar is the choice of car.

[Tapi]

We are renting the car from thrifty its on the airport also and a corolla or similar is the choice of car.

 

Thrifty is an "off airport" location with a shuttle, so do allow a bit extra time to get and return your car.

 

We rented a car from a local company called Charlie Car Rental. They are also "off airport", but the advantage of renting through them is that they have a cruise port office, so you can pick your car up at the airport location and drop off at the cruise port location. A free shuttle will take you to the ship.

[Scottee25]

We are staying at the double tree by hilton. Would it be a hassle?

 

Based on where the location is, you should not have any problem getting to your hotel as it is not in Old San Juan. However, you still may want to drop off the rental that night before returning to the airport. for a couple of reasons.

1) You will need to pay for parking at the hotel if you store it there overnight. ($15 self park/$20 Valet).

2) You are somewhat near the cruise terminals. Having to drop off the car in the morning means having to drive in the opposite direction of the port to get back to the airport to drop off the car. Then you have to take a cab back. Where as, if you had already dropped the car off the night before, you could get up at your liesure and take a cab right to the port when you are ready. I am not sure where Carnival leaves out of San Juan. There are actually 2 seperate cruise terminals in San Juan. One of them is south, across the bay from the Isla Grande airport. This is where Royal Caribbean sails out of (all of our San Juan based cruises have been with Royal) as well as other lines but I never paid much attention to who else sails out of here. The other terminal is in Old San Juan. For Royal cruises where San Juan is a port of call, this is where Royal ships dock. Both of them are in the same general area though the Old San Juan terminal can be harder to get to especially if there is a special event in OSJ that day.

 

Unless you had something planned the day of the cruise where you needed a car, I would drop it off the night before if at all possible. I don't know if that Thrifty location is a 24/7 operation but you can call them to find out. Since Puerto Rico is a US territory, most carriers treat it as part of the US (ATT and Sprint both do) so it would be no different than you calling someone in another US State. However, check with your carrier first if you have any concerns. Also, the location of Thrifty (and most of the other car rentals) at SJU is actually on a side street that runs parrallel to the express south of the airport. If when dropping the car off, if you can't find how to get to this road, simply drive back to the airport, find a Thrifty shuttle, and follow it back to their location.

 

Also, you can also check out the forums over at Trip Advisor. You will find people there that will generally know much more than anyone else he knows about their island. Have fun and good luck!

[Tapi]

Ive calculated that by the time we arrive, get through customs, and pick up the rental car it would be approximately 11:30am...

 

...so which would you do between the CAVES and EL YUNQUE?

 

Good news is that there's no customs, since PR is a commonwealth of the USA so your flight is considered domestic. that will give you a bit extra time sightseeing! :)

 

If you'll start driving around 1130 am, you'll be hard pressed to do the caves. You won't be there until around 130 pm and by then, they may not even be selling tickets if they reach capacity early (and there's a good chance they will since it's a saturday and classes are out). The times I've done the caves, we've arrived first thing in the morning and it still takes at least half a day. The good news is that it's an easy drive from San Juan.

 

With the limited amount of time you'll have, go to the rainforest. Another easy thing for you to do is to take a Bacardi Rum Distillery tour. Just take the Aqua Xpresso from the cruise terminal area to the town of Catano and then take a quick cab over to Bacardi. Once there, the tour is FREE (and you get free drinks). You can easily do this on embarkation day with PLENTY of time to spare