San Juan: Getting there & around

San Juan is a major hub for American Airlines, so there's easy access to its US domestic network. A number of other North American carriers fly between Puerto Rico and a score of mainland cities; Miami has the most frequent flights. Air Canada has direct service from Toronto and Montreal. British Airways has services from London, Iberia from Madrid and Condor from Frankfurt.

San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is on the eastern fringe of the city, 13km (8mi) from Old San Juan. There are car rental agencies at the airport and plenty of taxis and buses for the short jaunt into San Juan. There's a baggage check in Terminal C, which is handy if you're island hopping and want to travel light. There are excellent air connections to many Caribbean islands, including BWIA flights to Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad, and Air France connections to Guadeloupe and Martinique. American Airlines and American Eagle have short-hop flights to the popular day-trip destination of St Thomas and St Croix in the US Virgin Islands, and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. There are also flights to South and Central American destinations. There's a USD$14.10 airport departure tax when leaving San Juan, usually included in your airline ticket price.

Your two feet are the best means of exploring Old San Juan and the immediate vicinity. There's a free tourist trolley within the old city - look for the 'parada' sign indicating where the bus stops. Horrendous traffic and difficult parking make having a rental car in the city centre more trouble than it's worth. Metered taxis are plentiful and tourist taxis (white with a sentry box logo on the door) offer fixed-rate travel within tourist areas from the airport to Old San Juan. To get out of the centre of town you have a few options: public bus service is cheap but less than reliable, leaving taxis and car rentals your best bet for getting around greater San Juan. International car rental agencies are well represented on the island, and there are plenty of local operators. Your home driver's license is valid. Note that local driving habits are erratic (to be kind) though relatively aggression-free (to be fair). Also watch out for the speed limit signs, which are in miles per hour, even though distances are in kilometers. Drive on the right-hand side of the road.