Rental Car to El Yunque?

[Pookeybear1966]

Has anyone rented a car and driven to El Yunque rainforest? We are arriving 2 days prior to our cruise in June and are thinking of renting a car for a day to drive to the rainforest. We are staying at the OSJ Sheraton Hotel & Casino at the port.

 

I've mentioned this to a few people and they say it's dangerous to drive in Puerto Rico and that people cut you off and could damage your car. So, I need to know are they right? I don't want to get in an accident however i want to see the rainforest. Is it a straight shot to get there from our hotel and how does everyone feel about driving a rental from hotel to rainforest and back?

[ozarkmama]

My DD and I spent a week in PR in January. We rented a car from Charlie and she drove us all over the island. We didn't have any problems. The drive from San Juan to the rain forest is about an hour. The roads once you get in the rain forest are fairly narrow and curvy so just be aware of blind corners. My best advice to just to be extra aware of the cars around you. We did notice that it doesnt matter which lane people are in, if they want to turn, they will. We saw cars in the far right lane turn left and cars in the far left lane that turned right. We were told that they will pass you on the right on the shoulder but didn't see that happen.

[Pookeybear1966]

Now that scares me!! Thanks

[trekrider520]

While living here, Adjusting to the driving has been interesting. The best thing to do is to drive defensively at all times and expect the unexpected. I'm from the NYC area and was quite shocked! The big things are:

-stop signs here are more like yield signs - very rarely do people stop. I don't know why they even bother making yield signs.

-turn signals are hardly ever used.

-If you're first in line at a red light, don't be so quick to go. There may be one, two or six cars going through the opposite red light. People run red lights here all the time.

-Don't go into 'cruise control' mode on the highways - always be alert. Pretty soon you'll figure out who is going to cut you off.

-Watch for motorcycles/scooters. They will inevitably drive in-between the lanes when traffic is stopped.

 

Although things are crazy, I must say that I have never seen anything malicious or aggressive like you see for example on the I-95 corridors in major metropolitan areas.

 

Have fun - El Yunque is one of my favorite spots to visit. If you're up for a hike, start at the Palo Colorado visitor center and hike up to El Yunque Peak - the views are awesome!!!

[NayaSantaFe]

We just returned from OSJ a few days ago. We rented a car the day before our cruise to explore El Yunque and didn't have any problems at all. We stayed at the Gran Melia in Fajardo which is about a 20 min from El Yunque, so that made our drive to El Yunque alot easier.

 

But, I really didn't consider the traffic or driving in San Juan to be that bad. I have drove in other big cities in the US and Mexico and I actually found it very similar to Juarez, Mexico. So, it wasn't an issue at all. Like the other posters have said you just have to drive defensively and always watch out for the other drivers. But, you will be fine and will actually enjoy your stay a lot more if you rent a car!

Edited May 6, 2015 by NayaSantaFe

[Pookeybear1966]

Thank you all!

Having lived in NJ and drove there and driven in Miami and south Florida I think I'll be ok. I'm a very defensive driver so I think we will be fine for just one day :)

I'll just be sure to take out insurance just in case

Edited May 7, 2015 by Pookeybear1966

[NayaSantaFe]

Thank you all!

Having lived in NJ and drove there and driven in Miami and south Florida I think I'll be ok. I'm a very defensive driver so I think we will be fine for just one day :)

I'll just be sure to take out insurance just in case

 

You will be perfectly fine! ;)