Walking to El Morro and San Cristobal

[michelleorick]

Hubby and I plan to walk to both of these sites from the pier and do our own tour. I know we can take the trolley to city hall and that is a few block from El Morro. We then want to walk to San Cristobal- which route would you take? Is there a safe walking path along the wall or elsewhere between the two. Also, walking back to the ship from San Cristobal. Is this walkable in your opinion if we go leisurely? We are healthy in our early 30's- the city map we have looks like it is reasonable. Should we take a cab from Cristobal instead? Our map does not show a walking path/road from Cristobal. Any info from those who have done this is appreciated- we are leaving soon! Happy cruising- MO

[dfb]

You should be able to walk any of these easily at your ages if you are at all fit. I should point out that the one thing your map does not show is elevation! San Cristobal is higher than El Morro and both are much higher than the docks! So, it might not be a bad idea to save your energy by riding up to the top and then wandering back down and around to the piers. Here is a link to a journal that my husband did of our recent trip. http://journals.aol.com/dfriia/RSSCDiamondSanJuanRT22005/entries/628

We took a cab from our hotel in Condado to near San Cristobal and walked over to El Morro and down to the piers and had lunch all in a few hours and we are much older than you, so you should not have a problem. There are narrow raised sidewalks on all the streets shown on your map and wide raised sidewalks between San Cristobal and El Morro. We did not have any problems with walking all over Old San Juan. Hope you enjoy your visit.

[snorkelman]

My wife and I did that a couple of years ago (we were in our upper 20's then) and no problem. It is a nice walk, but yeah, it is up hill from the dock to el morro. also we walked it around 5pm in june and no probalem and no safety issues. most shops are closing anyway, and if you walk from the docks to el morro, expect it to be closed around 4 or 5 (check the time you are in port).

[elaineb]

Not sure what time you are arriving in PR - most ships come in around 3pm. I would really recommend taking a taxi up to the fort, then the free green trolley to come back down. It is very steep, and every time we've been to PR (3) the heat and humidity are incredible! We did a Southern Carib. last summer, and PR was far hotter than even the furthest south island (Barbados).

[michelleorick]

Thanks to all for the info. We are in port at 10am. Looks like we may take a cab to El Morro then walk to San Cristobal and back to the ship afterwards or catch the trolley if we find a stop along the way. Any other sites to see alolng the way? I have a walking tour but there are over 15 sites on it! Thanks- MO

[wwinfl91]

There is a free bus that picks people up near the docks and takes you through the town to visit the forts. We did that the last time we were in San Juan and it was a lot easier than walking and cost less than a taxi.

 

When you get done with the two forts go back towards El Morro and then find your way to the outer walls of the city and original city gate. Go through that and you can walk around the outside walls getting some great pictures and end up back at the docks where your ship will be docked.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[CaribbeanBound]

Walking is very doable. Everything is closer than it looks like on a map.

 

If you are intrested, here are the details of our San Juan excursions (as part of our detailed report from our Eastern Caribbean cruise).

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/easterncaribbean.html

[sleepybert]

Do the forts close at 5:00pm? We're scheduled to arrive at 2:00pm. Is that enough time to walk around both forts?

[GoBigRed]

Do the forts close at 5:00pm? We're scheduled to arrive at 2:00pm. Is that enough time to walk around both forts?

 

I believe they close at 6:00pm. You would probably be pushing it, but you might be able to do both. We thought El Morro was much better. By the time we got over to San Christobal, we were a little dissappointed. However, you get a great view of the cruise ship docks from San Christobal. I would concentrate on El Morro if you don't think you can make both,

[sleepybert]

Well, El Morro sounds like the one to do anyways. Thanks

[mamax4]

We only have time to go to ONE of the forts, is El Morro really the one visit? And you're right, when you look on the map both these forts look like their really far apart!

[wwinfl91]

El Morro is definitely the one you want to visit if you only have time for one. The forts do close at 5 PM and quit letting people in slightly before that. If your ship docks on time, at 2 PM and you get off as soon as possible probably 2:30-3 PM immeditately find the tourist bus that runs up to the fort or if you are in good shape, the walk will be all uphill on some not too well maintained but safe sidewalks, start walking. Have your map, you can them from the links I posted earlier and you should make it before they quit admitting people. We got there the first time we visited San Juan around 4:30 and they had already quit admitting new people so don't waste any time getting up to the fort. You can see most of it, skip the museums and just climb the walls and check out the guard towers and get great pictures.

 

If your ship is late getting in port or you get there late, you can still pictures of the exterior and of the harbor and some areas of the town. El Morro sits on the highest point or close to it. But I think you will have time to get there if you can get off the ship quickly and either catch the bus or walk quickly.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[wwinfl91]

Sorry about that. I throught this was the thread I had posted the map and pictures of the fort. Ok here we go with some sites that show the fort and include a walking map of the city.

 

http://www.iit.edu/~PR/sanjuan.html

 

http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/sanjuan.shtml

 

http://www.nps.gov/saju/pphtml/maps.html

 

http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parks/saju/ppMaps/ACFC0DE%2Epdf

 

http://www.gotopuertorico.com/go_cultureHistory.php?language=english&page=55

 

That is probably enough to get started.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[mamax4]

WWINFL91 ~ Thanks so much! You really went above and beyond to answer my question!!! All the sites are just what I was looking for. When I get to the top of the Fort, I'll wave to you. (LOL)

[wwinfl91]

Glad I was able to help. If your ship is getting in during the early afternoon you should have time to make it up to it and take a self guided tour through it.

 

The first time we were in San Juan we took a ships tour that was supposed to include the fort but they took us to an art museum first which out of the old city and by the time we got back to the fort (because of really heavy traffic) it was 4:30 PM and the guide warned us that if we got off the bus we probably wouldn't be admitted to the fort. We got out anyway and were told we were too late to be admitted. We did some pictures of the walls and we also got some good pictures of a Carnival ship entering the port. We walked back down through the town that time.

 

The second time we visited we made sure we went to fort as soon as the ship docked and we could get off. We took the tourist bus and were able to get to see about all that it offers. But by the time we did that and walked down to the other fort, San Christobal even though it was only 4 PM they had closed. We never did find out why since the sign said they were open until 5 PM. We walked back through the old city and found the old city gate (I think it is number 7 on the one map). If you go through it and you can walk along the outside of the old city walls and end up back by the dock where your ship will be.

 

Anyway have a great time and wave at me and maybe I will see you from here in Florida.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[mamax4]

WW...thanks again for all your information, it really helps with our planning.

 

Kelly

 

P.S. Can hardly wait!

[artsy]

Thanks, Wwinfl91 for all the information. I have a few questions. How and where do I find the tourist bus to go to El Morro. Does the bus run often? Does the bus also return to the dock? We don't dock until 2:00 p.m. Thank you again.

 

Mary Ellen

[kids21]

Hi, were going in June, this is our first cruise. How is the quickest way to get off the cruise. How early should we line up, or what ever were supose to do? I think we just going to walk around, May be El Morro. Thanks for the maps. We dock at 3pm. What is the quickest walking root and how long does that take? May be we should ride up and walk back? Did you say it cost $3 to get in? And also said that the tourest bus is the cheapest?

Thanks again for the info,:)

Sheila