Port and Tour Review - San Juan, May 2018 - Tours With Ellis

Date: May 2018

Ship: Carnival Magic

Tour Operator: Tours with Ellis

Tour: #2 - Rainforest ($50pp/$150 min total)

Weather: Hot and Humid

Time In Port: 8-4

We were at dock 4, I think, in town the same time as the Harmony of the Seas and Carnival Ecstacy, which made things a little crowded. The MSC Seaside was also due in, but sadly did not make it as they had a crew member go overboard the prior night, which as word spread put a bit of a damper on the mood of the crews and passengers. Note that there is minimal shopping in the port terminal itself.

Tour:

We had prearranged a tour with Tours with Ellis (it's only him, so you get Ellis). He met us at the CVS a few blocks from the ship, as with all the traffic, parking was restricted and a mess. It was about an 8 minute walk to the meet point once I figured out where it was (basically exit ship, turn left).

Ellis met us and we loaded into his Ford Explorer for a nice airconditioned ride to the El Yunque rainforest. Along the way we discussed the hurricane and its effects, some history, etc (my wife, as she usually does in cars, fell asleep). Taking a back way to the rainforest we made it there before most of the ships tours. We visited Cocoa falls (may be spelled wrong), took a short hike, checked out some other scenic spots before driving down to the beach area for stops to look at the view. Grabbed lunch (Pinchos!) at a local place for a very reasonable price along the way back, delicious, before he dropped us in front of El Morro and bid us farewell. Oh, forgot to mention, we also stopped at a natural cave to check it out ($5 admission to help rebuild local playground from Maria) and got to watch local kids performing (not part of the tour, just luck)

Ellis is exceptional personable, loves his adopted home, and provides a great experience, highly recommended.

As far as the rainforest overall, while it has recovered amazingly well in sections from the hurricane, there are still many areas not accessible (such as the tower) and evidence of the damage is still very visibile. There are permanent scars on the hillside the rangers call the Tears of Maria (photo below). Construction and road repair can cause delays, at this time I would not recommend renting a car and going there solo.

After he dropped us off, we explored El Morro on our own. Key note, while the fort is technically accessible to mobility challenged individuals, there is a STEEP hill to the entry, and some areas of the fort are not accessible or are accessed by steep and bumpy ramps. I was told the other fort may be more hospitable, but did not visit to verify. Also note that there are VERY few safety railing. Keep smaller children under close attention, there are spots where a child could easily put themselves at risk for a serious fall.

The fort itself is quite impressive, if the displays a bit basic. It will take about 1.5 to 2 hours to fully explore. It is a national park, so you can get a park passport stamp. And yes, as a person actually asked in line, they do take American money.

It's about a 15 minute walk from the fort back to the ship, with plenty of shopping and dining along the way, which we skipped as by that point the heat and humidity had worn us out. If you chose to stay close to port, a walk to El Morro and back with shopping would be a decent day.

Photos:

Waterfall in Rain Forest:

Cave:

Off the Beaten Path Beach:

Fort 1 - see those gaps in the top? Very easy for a kid to climb into one of those from the upper level inside

Fort Interior:

Full vacation photoset:

Any questions, please let me know...

Thank you for your excursion report. :)

Excellent. Thank you for coming down. We appreciate it.

First of all, let me thank you for coming to PR and I do hope that you enjoyed yourself enough so that you come back again. Now, I'm a bit confused. Are you sure he said "El Morro"? I ask because you pictures are actually of San Cristobal fort. I took the liberty of clicking on the link you provided (great pics BTW!!) and confirmed. You can actually see El Morro's lighthouse in the distance in this picture: https://loonbeam.smugmug.com/Travel/2018/Carnival-Magic-and-Short-Disney-May-2018/i-mcb32Ts/A

No biggie, really. just clarifying for the benefit of others.

I think you are correct. I never actually took a photo of the sign, the brochure I have says both, but checking on a map it has to be San Cristobal.

I think Ellis was talking about El Morro and I assumed he dropped us there.

We visited the dungeon where the prisoner drew the ships. If that's San Cristobal, I sit corrected (everything else holds true, but I do feel like a bit of an idiot.)

First of all, let me thank you for coming to PR and I do hope that you enjoyed yourself enough so that you come back again. Now, I'm a bit confused. Are you sure he said "El Morro"? I ask because you pictures are actually of San Cristobal fort. I took the liberty of clicking on the link you provided (great pics BTW!!) and confirmed. You can actually see El Morro's lighthouse in the distance in this picture: https://loonbeam.smugmug.com/Travel/2018/Carnival-Magic-and-Short-Disney-May-2018/i-mcb32Ts/A

No biggie, really. just clarifying for the benefit of others.

 

Full vacation photoset:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any questions, please let me know...

Thank you for posting your review and the photos. We have a tour scheduled with Ellis on September 1 and are very much looking forward to it. I have a couple of questions re: your full vacation photo set. Where were the zipline photos and the Amber Museum photos taken? Thanks!

The Amber Museum is in Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic and the Zip Line was on Grand Turk near the lighthouse. It's not a very good zipline BTW.

Thank you for posting your review and the photos. We have a tour scheduled with Ellis on September 1 and are very much looking forward to it. I have a couple of questions re: your full vacation photo set. Where were the zipline photos and the Amber Museum photos taken? Thanks!

Hello is there a website for the tours with Ellis?

Nope. He advertises via word of mouth only...

Good way to reach him is Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EllisPRTours) - which is how I contacted him after someone on here pointed me his way.

Hello is there a website for the tours with Ellis?

The Amber Museum is in Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic and the Zip Line was on Grand Turk near the lighthouse. It's not a very good zipline BTW.

Thanks for the info. We are doing the zipline on St Martin and I was wondering if it was that one.

Nope - haven't been to St. Maarten yet, somehow we never pick an itinerary that goes there.

Thanks for the info. We are doing the zipline on St Martin and I was wondering if it was that one.