We flew on Delta’s business class, and the top 2 pictures are the breakfast and dinner offered during the roundtrip flights.
Outside the San Juan airport (SJU) were vans with the car rental names printed on them. We found the van for the Dollar company waiting for customers. Upon getting in the van, the driver left (without waiting for other customers). This was a free shuttle to the car company that was about a 5-10 minute drive.
Car rental: Dollar – this came in handy driving to El Yunque. Driving around Puerto Rico was easy. (Except I would not recommend driving around in Old San Juan.) I downloaded the TomTom ($49.99) and Waze (Free) app to my iPhone prior to the trip and they both came in handy. One thing I wish I had remembered to bring was an iPhone car charger.
At the car rental, get the Easy Pass. We didn’t and got on the lane all the way to the right where all the cars were lined up. We figured this is where we would pay the toll. We handed the woman $20, she took it and gave us a receipt, without change. We protested asking for change, but it appeared she did not speak English and just told us to go. We left confused. Later on when we returned the car, the agent said that we “loaded” money to their account. Even with the receipt indicating that we added $20, we were still charged for other tolls that had waived us through. So to make things easier for next time, I will ask for a pass tag. One more thing- beware of potholes in Puerto Rico. They’re everywhere. Our rental car lost one hubcap and that had cost us $90.
The bottom right of the picture is the outside of Marmalade restaurant in Old San Juan. This is ranked #1 in TripAdvisor and where I had my birthday dinner. Our server Ray delivered a top-notch service. A must try is their signature dish, the white bean soup, but honestly, all their dishes were amazing.
Hotel: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel San Juan
- Room: 610 (this is located by the elevator, can get a bit noisy at times)
- The room had a queen-size bed and a double murphy size bed where the picture frame is hanging. This comes right down easily. However, I don’t think the sheets were changed. When I pulled down the murphy bed just to check it out, there were strands of hair under the pillows.
- With my previous post on eCheck-In, I went straight to the front desk. They had an envelope with the room keys and breakfast vouchers ready. They also gave us each a freshly baked chocolate cookie. Which by the way was really delicious. eCheck-In made the process really simple.
- As a HHonors Gold member, the hotel provided free wireless internet and complimentary breakfast.
- Taxi cost $15 one-way from the hotel to Old San Juan.
- Overall: the hotel itself was good (heck, it’s ranked #2 in TripAdvisor), but would I stay there again? More than likely not. The main reason for that would be location. I love Old San Juan and would have preferred to stay in Old San Juan. Everything is within walking distance, but that’s not the case with DoubleTree. Check out Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan. I have stayed there in past trips, and although costly, it was definitely worth it.
On Saturday, we decided to do the Bacardi tour. I’ve seen group tours being offered for about $50, which in my opinion is a rip-off.
You can take a ferry from Pier 2 in Old San Juan to Catano for $0.50 per person oneway. The ferry’s schedule was every 30 minutes.
Upon arriving in Catano, a man will be yelling “Bacardi” and directing those who will be going to the factory to the “yellow” building on the right. This is where taxis will be loading passengers to go to the factory. The cost: $3 per person oneway.
At the factory, the tour plus 2 drinks are free. They will go over the history of the family and the company and how rum is processed. There’s also a demonstration at the end on how to make a cuba libre and mojito.
Once finished, vans where you were dropped off earlier, will be waiting to take you back to the ferry. Again, the cost: $3 per person oneway.
The whole trip with the tour and drinks, including the roundtrip ferry ride, took us about 2 hours.
Total cost: $7 roundtrip.
Tours: Mon-Sat 8:30am – 5:30pm (last tour at 4:15pm), Sunday 10am-5pm (last tour at 3:45pm). www.casabacardi.org
Overall: for $7, definitely worth it to check it out once.
