Is San Juan safe?

[lauera9482]

I was planning on taking a cruise with the port city being San Juan. I was going to arrive a day early and stay a night in San Juan. Is the city safe and is it hard to get flights to San Juan from the United States?

Thanks

[Trip]

Flights to San Juan from major cities is not an issue...check secondary aiports as well. One thing that does make taking avantage of the southern itinerary, is the cost of getting to San Juan, I fly from Boston, and have seen prices fluctuate from like, $269.. to close to $600.00. We have one carrier that flies nonstop, others change in Atlanta, or Miami.

I have never stayed over, or been there later at night, but posters who have, felt safe. If your ship docks in the old city, there is shopping right there, craft fairs, and The Sheraton is right acoss the street. The other dock, will need you to take a cab to get to this pretty area.

You could also explore taking a 10/11 day cruise from Miami, which will take you to the southern ports as well..happy hunting:)

[heartatsea]

getting a flight to San Juan should be no problem

as to the city, it is pretty safe... especially if you are staying over in Old San Juan

[pop66ma]

If you are looking to stay in San Juan look for the hotels in Condado,Isle Verdi,Carolina areas.This is where most all of the passengers going on cruises stay.And yes the area is safe.

[Donna]

I don't think I'd wonder around after dark in any major city where you don't know where things are, use taxi's or do an excursion and you should be fine. Just use regular common sense when in any city, just like at home.

[bigdaddyhd]

This was told to me by a good freind who happens to be porto rican mr j melendez when you get off the ship dont go left down the street or you will be walking in a real bad area :o There is crime like anyother big city however most of the residents are wonderfull and nice. There are places here in this city that are worse than there.A beautifull island that i plan on visiting in the future.

[heartatsea]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhd

This was told to me by a good freind who happens to be porto rican mr j melendez when you get off the ship dont go left down the street or you will be walking in a real bad area :o ...

hmmm
don't recall that area you are talking about
actually, where the ports are the whole perimeter is really safe. Even at night.
the only "bad" area i can think of is like 20-25 mins walking up Old San Juan, it is VERY monitored.

[Darcy]

I've cruised out of San Juan twice and love it! Actually, the airfare to San Juan for my cruise last fall was less expensive than it was to fly to Florida.

We stayed in Old San Juan and walked all around the port area at night (we were in a group). Like any other city I would be aware of your surroundings and not go off on your own or get too impaired. There is a lot of night life in Old San Juan on Friday and Saturday nights so there are a lot of people out and about. We stayed at Da House which was about three blocks from the pier.

[bigdaddyhd]

When i got to the airport they were working on the plane with crowbars,i said this aint good delayed,relanding then on way back from san juan a cancelled flight needless to say didnt get to see san juan at all.I would love to visit a few freinds stay at isle verde and go check out the whole island a real beautifull place from pictures i have seen.Especialy that little coquito frog a legend of porto rico,heck im checking right now at 6:44 in the morning they got the fountain of youth in ponce ,rain forest,phosphorus bay plus much more every city has bad areas even here?? :o

[asmith91303]

San Juan is awesome. We stayed a couple of nights before a cruise twice. THe shopping is great and getting downtown to where the ships dock is easy and reasonable. In terms of it being safe I would say it is like anyother city you would visit on vacation. Use common sense and you will be fine. We stayed at the Wyndham condado both times. I would highly recommend this hotel. A great pool with a swim-up bar, beach access, casino and great restaurants on site. You should look in to it. Leaving out of San Juan is cool because the ships have great stops and it feels like your vacation has started the minute you step off the plane instead of waiting till you get on the boat.

[RTALLEN]

Hope you enjoy your visit to San Juan, just don't go out alone. Stay with a group if possible, and use common sense. Also, FYI. Don't be surprised to find long lines at the San Juan airport when get you back from your cruise. We did the Southern Caribbean on Carnival Destiny in Feb./2007. We had a great time on our cruise, but when we got back (on Sunday), there were two other ships besides ours that had come in, so there were a lot of people flying out of San Juan (consequently, long lines). Be sure to have someone willing to hold your place in line in case you have to go to the bathroom

[CM Rob]

I’ve been to San Juan several times; on my last trip through I stayed a few nights before the cruise at Hyatt. The only bad thing was the taxi cab fare from Hyatt to the port was over $50. I did go to old San Juan one night and stayed out till the wee hours of the morning drinking, never had any problems the people where fun and friendly. My advice stay in a hotel close to the ports and old San Juan, the Wyndham Hotel is right next the new terminal and walking distance to everything you would want to go to. They even have a casino.

[Sheffie]

I don't know how far away the Hyatt was from the port, but it must have been quite far away. The cost from the airport to the pier is less than that.

Here is a map of San Juan, and there is a link to the hotels and taxi prices in it.

We have enjoyed San Juan many times. We have flown in the day before and spent the night 2 times. We went up to OSJ after dark and felt safe. We stayed on the main areas and enjoyed ourselves.

I would cruise out of there ANY time. Those Southern cruises are magnificent!