Car rental in SJ

[daze6399]

Thinking about renting a car in San Juan between arrival and departure on a sailing.

 

We'll be arriving at SJU on Friday afternoon and sailing out Saturday morning, we have another part of our party arriving Saturday to sail with us, I'm wondering if it would make sense to rent a car overnight vs paying for Taxis/Shuttles etc for everyone.

 

I've got a couple of specific questions, and I welcome any general input.

 

First I'd probably need to rent a minivan to accommodate everyone and their luggage, but we are staying in a hotel in OSJ that night, so I'm wondering about parking and general drive-ability in that area. I.E. is it worth the hassle of trying to drive in an old part of town, in an area I'm not familiar with in a relatively large vehicle? I suspect it would be a little more expensive to get taxis to the hotel and to the Cruise terminal, but I don't mind paying for convenience, and not having to go through the "you can't turn down the one way street going that direction" issues common to many downtown areas.

 

I'm not sure how much driving we'll be doing that night, I suspect after traveling all day we'll mostly just want to go to the hotel, eat dinner, and maybe wander a bit so the rental would just be to the hotel and to the cruise terminal.

 

thoughts?

[Stinger-pr]

Absolutely NOT worth the hassle. While driving in OSJ is not that bad since all street traffic directions are very clearly marked, parking is a mess. Curbside parking is very limited in OSJ and the only "cheap" parking I'd recommend with a big van would be "La Princesa", which is a single level open-air lot. Car rentals at SJU can be quite expensive for one night and more than likely, you will have to return the car to SJU and taxi back to the terminal anyway. Taxis are fixed rates and one from the airport should set you back about $22 (plus $1 extra per each suitcase that travel in the back of the van), but that fare covers up to 5 persons per trip. Being a Saturday departure, I assume you leave from the PanAm pier, which negates the possibility of walking to the ship. Taxi from OSJ to the PanAm pier should be $13 plus the luggage fee for up to 5 of you ($2 extra each, up to 7).

[daze6399]

Thanks!!! That is exactly what I needed to know. I suspected as much.