Touring with walking limitations

[Gma&Gpa]

We will be in San Juan in Sept on the Freedom. We have a group of 7 - and would like to see San Juan as some type of tour. My DH however, is limited with his walking. We will have a wheel chair with us on the cruise, and could certainly take it with us for the tour. Knees are very bad - so can't do the climbing and extended walking. He is certainly willing to wait while we do some of the walking but I want him to be able to see as much as possible -

 

So far, I've not found anything on the ship tours that looks like it will work - so I'm wondering about local tour companies. Any thoughts? We are in port from 9AM to 5PM

[caribsun]

Local tour guides are waiting as you exit the ship, they can handle your needs. There is also a free trolly that takes you around the city.:)

[sail7seas]

It is good advice for you to think about exiting the cruise terminal, going down the dock and just outside the gates you will see many taxi drivers/tour guides offering to take you anywhere you want. Make an arrangement with one of them. I would not plan for any of you to push the wheelchair up the hills of Old San Juan. Those hills are quite steep and it might not be the safest thing for either your DH or the person pushing.

 

[Gma&Gpa]

Where do you catch the trolley? Is it fairly close to the port?

[Dirkgun]

You can catch the trolley right across the street from the pier or to the left (east) of the pier there is a couple of the last stops on the route (hint... sometimes these are easier to catch the trolley on because it is less full there. Of you try to catch at stop #1 it is very full and lots of times no seats. Or you can walk up to the first fort usually lots of people get off there. Go to Puerto Rico Daytrips dot com it is a tourism website and there is a map of the city and the route of the free trolley. At least there was the last time I checked the site.

[dcikon2]

As a previous poster mentioned contact GotoPuertoRico.com for assistance. OSJ is fun to walk around and sight see; however, pushing a wheelchair on the cobblestone narrow streets would be difficult. The trolley would be a great option as long as he could get on and off of it.

[travelinjones]

When we visited San Juan last November via a cruise ship, four of us took a private food tour with Paulina of Spoon Food Tours. She met us at the pier with a van and driver. We toured 3 different neighborhoods in San Juan and ate a ton of terrific local food. We also learned a great deal about San Juan and its history.

 

This was the second time that we toured with Paulina and we highly recommend it. Your can see pictures and details in this blog post I wrote about the experience http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2013/12/20/eating-and-drinking-our-way-through-san-juan-puerto-rico-with-spoon-food-tours-part-1/

[Nic6318]

As a previous poster mentioned contact GotoPuertoRico.com for assistance. OSJ is fun to walk around and sight see; however, pushing a wheelchair on the cobblestone narrow streets would be difficult. The trolley would be a great option as long as he could get on and off of it.

 

 

just wondering about using the trolley. Has anyone noticed ...will they let you on the trolley with a wheelchair if you can carry it on?

 

thanks

 

Ian

[dcikon2]

I have had a knee replacement and need bones fused in my left ankle. I also have bone spurs. I was in pain after walking around OSJ recently. I will take blame for not taking my medication before heading out.

[marys350]

We will be in San Juan in Sept on the Freedom. We have a group of 7 - and would like to see San Juan as some type of tour. My DH however, is limited with his walking. We will have a wheel chair with us on the cruise, and could certainly take it with us for the tour. Knees are very bad - so can't do the climbing and extended walking. He is certainly willing to wait while we do some of the walking but I want him to be able to see as much as possible -

 

So far, I've not found anything on the ship tours that looks like it will work - so I'm wondering about local tour companies. Any thoughts? We are in port from 9AM to 5PM

 

I highly recommend "Charlie's Custom Tours Puerto Rico", which is operated by Carlos Medina and his son.They use very comfortable vans that can accommodate up to 8 people. Our party of 5 enjoyed our tour of Old and New San Juan and were able to see a lot in air conditioned comfort without having to do extensive walking. Carlos was great to correspond to through e-mail and answered all of our questions promptly when we booked our tour. I'm sure that he could customize a tour to meet the needs of your party. There are many excellent reviews for Charlie's Custom Tours Puerto Rico on Trip Advisor. You can also check out his website for further information:

 

http://www.customtourspr.com

 

Mary

[cbMcruiser]

just wondering about using the trolley. Has anyone noticed ...will they let you on the trolley with a wheelchair if you can carry it on?

 

thanks

 

Ian

 

We were there in February with a teen in a wheelchair. The trolley's were VERY crowded. We had pushed him up to San Cristobal (UP HILL!!!!). There are limited cut away curbs, so you must push a lot farther than most have to walk. You have to go in a kind of zig-zag pattern on streets to get there. There are sufficient sidewalks, but the cobblestone streets are punishing on the passenger, the navigator and the chair itself. Note: do some tightening of screws before you leave on the trip. Our chair got slightly damaged on St Ktts and luckily a restaurant let us borrow a screwdriver and pliers and it got repaired.

 

We had several people to help with the pushing, but let me tell you that my turn (I am 63 and in decent shape) just about wore me out.

 

My wife and I opted to continue our OSJ exploration after the fort. The others decided to go back to the Valor. Ultimately, they grabbed a taxi and paid. They had seen three trolley's go by that had no room.

[Nic6318]

We were there in February with a teen in a wheelchair. The trolley's were VERY crowded. We had pushed him up to San Cristobal (UP HILL!!!!). There are limited cut away curbs, so you must push a lot farther than most have to walk. You have to go in a kind of zig-zag pattern on streets to get there. There are sufficient sidewalks, but the cobblestone streets are punishing on the passenger, the navigator and the chair itself. Note: do some tightening of screws before you leave on the trip. Our chair got slightly damaged on St Ktts and luckily a restaurant let us borrow a screwdriver and pliers and it got repaired.

 

We had several people to help with the pushing, but let me tell you that my turn (I am 63 and in decent shape) just about wore me out.

 

My wife and I opted to continue our OSJ exploration after the fort. The others decided to go back to the Valor. Ultimately, they grabbed a taxi and paid. They had seen three trolley's go by that had no room.

 

 

Thanks for the info.

I know those cobblestone streets are murder on wheelchairs. We have a beat-up chair specifically for these challenges. We had one front wheel hub break getting twisted on cobblestones. I changed the wheels for some with metal center ( think they are for garden carts )...it wont break again. Also have an extra set of back wheels that are air filled...helps smooth out the ride. It makes the chair a little heavier, but it works.

[OCruisers]

It is good advice for you to think about exiting the cruise terminal, going down the dock and just outside the gates you will see many taxi drivers/tour guides offering to take you anywhere you want. Make an arrangement with one of them. I would not plan for any of you to push the wheelchair up the hills of Old San Juan. Those hills are quite steep and it might not be the safest thing for either your DH or the person pushing.

 

Totally agree with Sail on this. There will be taxi type vans that can accommodate your group of 7 + a wheelchair.

You absolutely do not want to be trying to push a wheelchair around in Old San Juan.

LuLu