San Juan Private Tours

[thepoint]

Hi, we will be staying in San Juan for 10 days in January. I am looking for recommendations for private tour companies to the rain forest and whatever else you can recommend. Thank you for your help (This time we are not cruising, so I can not check with a roll call.)

[kcdancerkc]

We found him on trip-advisor in 2012

 

Highly recommended

 

We had 10 hours there

 

We asked to go to rainforest

Lunch with local food

Dropped us off at a quiet beach , stayed nearby

Stopped for pictures at a couple other beaches

Drove us through old San Juan

Took us to a T-shirt shop

 

Said if we ever come back.....since we LOVE dancing.... That he would take us out salsa dancing with himself and wife.....they are dance lovers too!

Even said they would show us how to learn basic salsa!

 

You could not find a nicer guide, that loves to show off his island!

 

2 years later, we saw him on the Travel Channel!

 

If you come the right month, you can be taken to see the bioluminescence waters.....the water glows with organisms! We did that in jamaica

Only 3-4 places in the world this occurs!

 

Last tips

One side of the island is calm beaches,

The other side is like waves in Hawaii.....huge!

 

There are day trips you can see 2 beautiful tropical islands at the east end

Thats where he loves to take his family to relax!

 

Hope this helps!

[alfaeric]

10 days is a long time... seems like. But it will go fast.

 

For sure, drive more of the island than most will- the typical will stay in the north east corner covering San Juan and El Yunque rain forest.

 

The "Pork Highway" in Guavate is a great spot to visit if you are really hungry. Amazing food.

 

Ponce is a nice change from San Juan- much more quiet, and has a nice square. If you go, GET ICE CREAM from King Cream in the plaza. The line out the door is there for a reason. There's also a great art museum. (do note, I'm biased, with in-laws in Ponce)

 

For different kind of beaches, the Guanica area is good- there's a small resort called Copamarina there, too. If you are in the area at dark, there's also a bio-bay there. Very different from the beaches in other parts of the island. Near by is the Guanica dry forest- while it's hard to believe, the south part of the island is VERY dry- much like Aruba. Which is another thing that makes Puerto Rico so interesting.

 

In the mountains north of Ponce and then stretching to the west of there is a big coffee growing area. Not sure how we found it, but some of the small plantations offer tours. Or there's a plantation that's a tourist destination just north of Ponce (can't recall the name).

 

Ruta Panaramica is really spectacular- it's a very tight road that crosses the middle of the island. Although, this is a good time the point out that the small roads in the middle are both narrow and very curvy. Basically, it's 35mph roads, not due to the actual speed limit- so plan accordingly.

 

Aerecebo is an interesting visit- HUGE radio telescope. And nearby, the Camuey Caverns are cool to see, too.

 

Rincon in the west has the surfing beaches.

 

And it is generally worth it to stop at one of the sea side restaurants and get some very fresh seafood. For the non-fish eaters, they will not be that happy- I've never had a good non-seafood dish at one of those, and it took quite a few trips to get over my dislike of fish to try. Now I'll eat all the time.

 

There are small hotels dotted all over the island- some in the nice cool mountains, some near the coast. Look up Paradores in google, or the seepuertorico website.

 

Spend some time doing nothing. I've been exhausted after a two week stay for Christmas trying to do everything.

[ozarkmama]

We used Ellis last November and are planning to use him again in January

 

http://puertorico.en.craigslist.org/trv/4756096324.html

 

He picked us up at our hotel, took us to the rainforest, we swam with the fish in the rainforest and they ate out of our hands. We stopped at the kiosks and had local food and then he delivered us to the port. I can't say enough good about him. You won't be disapointed. He offers many, many different tours and will customize for you.

[Billy101]

We did a segway tour of the old city which included the fort. I think this was in 2008. It was in port of old san juan, close to the sheraton hotel. There is shopping and eating along the water. They were located in one of the shops looking over the main street.

 

Wish i could remember the name as it was really fun.

 

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Edited December 10, 2014 by Billy101

[thepoint]

Thank you everyone. I hope 10 days is not long, but wanted to go someplace warm that required little effort. Want to relax every other day and sight seeing the others. I have read the renting a car and driving on your own is an easy thing to do, but I like the idea of private tours for convience. However, TripAdvisor suggests taking the bus. We are staying at the Embassy Suites and they are suppose to have a beautiful pool area and 2 block walk to the each. Thank you for your help.

[teamdrool]

I have lived in PR for a bit on and off, my family is from there.

 

Check out williams transport.

 

I learned things from ricardo, the owner, that i did not even know, and i lived there.

 

he is a very proud Puerto rican, and will show you anything you want