Can I visit both forts?

[cibumcupio]

I've searched through this forum and it has been very helpful so far. I still have a few questions though:

 

1) We will be docking from 3-10pm on the Reflection, and the forts close at 6pm and sunset is around 6pm too. Do we have time to visit both forts or should we pick only one?

 

2) If we do have to pick, which you would you prefer? El Morro or San Cristobal?

 

3) When you buy the tickets, do you decide then if you will be visiting one or both? As in, if we buy for one, and later find out that we do have extra time and want to go to the other one, can we just pay another $2?

 

4) Since there isn't much time, would it be faster to walk or take the trolley? We're both fit and would like the exercise, but timing might dictate which one we do.

 

Thanks all!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I've searched through this forum and it has been very helpful so far. I still have a few questions though:

 

1) We will be docking from 3-10pm on the Reflection, and the forts close at 6pm and sunset is around 6pm too. Do we have time to visit both forts or should we pick only one?

 

I can certainly do both in that time frame. I think El Morro is mostly about the views and seeing the old fort. There is not that much signage.

 

2) If we do have to pick, which you would you prefer? El Morro or San Cristobal? I would pick El Morro

 

3) When you buy the tickets, do you decide then if you will be visiting one or both? As in, if we buy for one, and later find out that we do have extra time and want to go to the other one, can we just pay another $2?

 

You must buy one ticket or the other. Get the ticket for both and spend most of your time at El Morro and hit the highlights at San Cristobel. It is worth the extra $2 to do that.

 

4) Since there isn't much time, would it be faster to walk or take the trolley? We're both fit and would like the exercise, but timing might dictate which one we do.

 

Thanks all!

 

For the last question I would say do neither. Take a taxi to El Morro. The trolley is slow [but free]. Walking is all uphill. I know you are able to do that but, you would be wasting time. We take a taxi to the forts and walk downhill back to the port.

 

Stop at the Barrichina [sp] restaurant and have a pina colada at the restaurant that invented them. They are good and the restsurant is about 1/2 way back to the dock.:D

 

Have a good time.

[jollycruise]

If I had to only choose one it would be El Morro for sure! :D

[tinybabynurse]

These are (US) National Parks, so if you have a National Parks Pass make sure to take it with you.

 

The hours vary with the season. Suggest you visit NPS.gov to make certain what the winter hours are...

[sail7seas]

You can do both. :)

[CaribbeanBound]

1) We will be docking from 3-10pm on the Reflection, and the forts close at 6pm and sunset is around 6pm too. Do we have time to visit both forts or should we pick only one?

 

You'll have time for both forts with lots of time leftover.

 

2) If we do have to pick, which you would you prefer? El Morro or San Cristobal?

El Moro

 

3) When you buy the tickets, do you decide then if you will be visiting one or both? As in, if we buy for one, and later find out that we do have extra time and want to go to the other one, can we just pay another $2?

Just go for it.

 

4) Since there isn't much time, would it be faster to walk or take the trolley? We're both fit and would like the exercise, but timing might dictate which one we do.

 

There is lots of time and it's a short walk up the hill to San Cristobal Fortress which you should do first because as DragonoftheSeas said there is more signage their and by the time you get to El Moro (another short walk) you'll know what you're looking at.

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Upon arrival we immediately headed for San Cristobal Fortress on foot. Then on to El Moro Castle via the city wall walkway by the sea. Both were really cool to visit. Very impressive, massive, structures. Cost is $3.00 per person for each site, or $5.00 per person for both sites. Don't make the mistake of hiring a taxi. It is pretty easy to walk around town as places are closer than they appear on maps. Highly recommend visits to both. (Check out the restrooms in El Moro. You won't find a restroom anywhere with better views). On the way back to the ship, just off The Street of San Francisco, we stopped at a street cafe for papaya and guava frappes, chips, and guacamole. It was a nice break. On another trip we lunched at Parrot Club (my wife’s new favorite eatery in San Juan), and then shopped for liquor at Bacardi Liquors, located in the cruise terminal, before reboarding the ship. Bacardi Liquors offered some of the best prices on liquor that we saw at any port.

 

Here's a great excursion if you are flying out of San Juan and have some time to kill before your flight. When exiting the terminal building for transportation you will see two orange booths. The one on the left is for "Taxis". The one on the right is for "Sightseeing Tours". For $25 per person, we gave our bags to the sightseeing tour guide. He loaded the bags into the back of his air conditioned van, and we jumped in, took a seat and waited for the large van to fill. Once full (about 16 or 18 passengers), our driver Hector left the port and headed for Old San Juan. He gave us information about the city, stopped for pictures, allowed us 15 minutes to tour the Capital, 40 minutes to explore Fort San Cristobal, a quick stop at Casa Don Q's (2 blocks from the OSJ docks and across the street from Tijuana's Bar and Grill) for a quick pitch on Don Q rum and free rum drinks. (My wife enjoyed a Pina Colada). Hector then dropped us off downtown to shop for 45 minutes. We grabbed a quick trinket and walked a block to the Parrot Club for lunch. Very interesting place. My wife just loves the decor. Our waiter was friendly, very courteous, and efficient. While not inexpensive, the food is outstanding and well worth the visit if you enjoy nice flavors. At 12:40pm we boarded the van and he dropped a few folks (who had evening flights) off at Lupis to enjoy lunch while the rest of us went to the airport. He then went back and picked up the Lupis group to continued their tour. Recommended! This was a great way to spend some free time in San Juan and get to the airport.

 

 

More "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

First-hand information on excursions in over 20 Caribbean ports.

[cibumcupio]

Really? Cool. So about 2.5 hours is enough to travel to and visit both forts? We were thinking of just walking to El Morro so we won't feel too rushed.

[Lard Greystoke]

Really? Cool. So about 2.5 hours is enough to travel to and visit both forts? We were thinking of just walking to El Morro so we won't feel too rushed.

 

You can walk to San Cristobal in 15 minutes. Only a portion of San Cristobal is accessible, so you can hit the highlights in an hour or so. The walk to El Morro along the Atlantic is highly scenic and would take 20 minutes or so. El Morro has several vertical levels but is fairly compact horizontally.

 

Admission to both forts is so cheap that it's easy to "get your money's worth" without taking the trouble to explore every last nook and cranny. The area between and around the forts, along with the old city walls on the north and west sides of the city, is also attractive. (The city walls are also part of the fortifications, and you can see much of them without visiting either fort).

 

I think both forts are doable in a reasonable time frame, but if you wanted to do just one there is plenty else to look at.