Self Guided Walking Tour of Old San Juan

[tkere]

If you are still sharing I would love too!  Thanks so much for helping out me and all these others!

 

tkere@aol.com

[AlohaLivin]

1 hour ago, tkere said:

If you are still sharing I would love too!  Thanks so much for helping out me and all these others!

 

tkere@aol.com

That's kind of you 🙂 And you are welcomed. It is headed your way. Make sure to read the informational post about the tour that I put somewhere above in this thread! 🤔

[tkere]

38 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

That's kind of you 🙂 And you are welcomed. It is headed your way. Make sure to read the informational post about the tour that I put somewhere above in this thread! 🤔

Received!  Thank you!

[LA Law]

Is it possible to get a copy of your map sent to aybmjb@gmail.com?

Many thanks for all your hard work!

[Tedder]

Wow, This is wonderful. I just stumbled onto this while looking for options on our Oct 29th stop. Could you please share to: treedjr01@live.com

Thanks so much!    

[1994te]

I would love a copy as well.  todd.crowder@frontierspinning.com

[suebbbhoney]

I would also love a copy of the map. If would like an easy way to share it, put a copy in Google Drive and just share the link. (you can do the same with DropBox ). sbryan at mchsi dot com

[pmathews15]

We will be there in a couple of weeks.  Could you send me a copy?  Thank you for sharing.  pmathews2522 at gmail dot com

[DarcyWilloughby]

I'll be in San Juan in February and would also appreciate your guide. Thanks for all you've done. My address is: ozzieink@verizon.net

[AlohaLivin]

@suebbbhoney  Hi! yes, I realize that is possible. I had explained early in the thread that I was glad to offer this to people, but not put it out for anyone and everyone to use for several reasons (one is that I only wish so many sharing, putting the link out on CC could mean 100's; but there are a couple of other reasons too). While it is time consuming to do this one at a time, absolutely, it is the only way that will work given the constraints. But I am happy to share it with you, the thing is that I tried to do that and google kicked the email back as one not associated with a google account 😕 Sorry! If you have another that is and don't want to put it here in the thread, I will try to email you so you can give me the other.

 

@DarcyWilloughby @pmathews15 @1994te @Tedder @LALaw (wow that last one threw me back about 20 years! 😉

I'm headed now to get these sent. Somewhere near the front of this thread is an informational post about the tour. Honestly, I had no idea it would end up with this response when I posted it, so I should repost that again I think.

 

[suebbbhoney]

@AlohaLivin I completely understand (and sorry I missed where you explained all that).

 

Can you try sbryan at hallsville dot org? That's my work gmail, so it should go through. We're in San Juan on Christmas Eve and I think the walking tour may be one of the few things we'll be able to do, besides a beach. I have no idea if restaurants, etc.. will be open during our evening stop. 

[AlohaLivin]

15 minutes ago, suebbbhoney said:

@AlohaLivin I completely understand (and sorry I missed where you explained all that).

 

Can you try sbryan at hallsville dot org? That's my work gmail, so it should go through. We're in San Juan on Christmas Eve and I think the walking tour may be one of the few things we'll be able to do, besides a beach. I have no idea if restaurants, etc.. will be open during our evening stop. 

 

I can do that :-) You are able to download the map to use offline I believe - therefore which account isn't as important for use (by my understanding of the GOOGLE empire LOL). 

 

I decided to do this since we had already volunteered during our last visit (I'm from Georgia and that heat was almost more than I could stand as we were mostly in the sun). But I didn't want to take an excursion since the last visit our ship was held up because the traffic is so bad in San Juan that the ship was held up for a few hours waiting on excursions to return that were way overdue   Nope, not up for being a pier runner!

[AlohaLivin]

 

For those who have received the THREE AMIGOS IN SAN JUAN WALKING TOUR from @AlohaLivin:

(I am glad to share it, but I please leave only email addresses associated with Google Accounts as Google will not allow me to share it otherwise - that will save me some time. Thanks!)

 

1.    The main tour is in 4 parts (that is because each segment had a limit to the number of stops and some “stops” include not only important locations on the tour but also various starting and stopping points for a given area such as the shopping area or stops that are large geographically).

 

2.    I put photos and a description of each stop on the map (just click on it to open) so you will have the historical background and location information readily available to you (and can completely annoy your teenagers by reading it to them ). 

 

3.    To create the tour I thoroughly researched Old San Juan looking for what I thought were the most worthwhile historical stops, the most interesting cultural stops, and some of the best food, drink, and shopping options available (at least by the preponderance of the “review” evidence!).  Please note that the food stops exclude any dinner or expensive dining options.  I also tried for variety and authenticity, particularly for the food and drink stops – there is a place to get every possible kind of cocoa-related food and beverage, but also one of the most famous and highly rated bars in the world (people say it's very hard to find, but I located the best directions that I could for us).  

 

4.    The "long" route is only around 3 miles in total with many built in breaks.  But be aware that there are some cobblestone streets in the old part of the city and the south to north walk is often uphill in Old San Juan.

 

5.    There is also an optional shorter route built in to the tour  - if you open the layers menu, that option is at the bottom and can be turned on simply by clicking the box next to the 3 segments that make up that route.  Please turn it “off” (the shorter route layers) as soon as you complete the route so as not to potentially confuse other users who might be sharing the map on that day (it may be relatively unlikely that there will be two groups at once, but there definitely could be).

 

Other Notes:

 

• Points on the route may seem to have an illogical track, but I set it up to minimize back tracking and to avoid areas that may have barriers not visible on a 2D map. There were 1-2 areas where the layout of the area was unclear (even though I actually traced the entire route on Google Earth looking for places where there were blocks/issues not showing on the 2D map and looked at a number of images and videos for the same purpose). So while I believe that the route that I selected is clear and passable, it is impossible to know 100% if there could be some minor or even major barrier that could not be seen on images/google earth or if or when changes might be made along the route.

 

• Related to the above note that changes are possible, I have been told that the Paseo de las Sombrillas has been closed at some periods of time since the political demonstrations of 2019 and that the parasols themselves may have been changed.  This stop is the street of hanging parasols that were put up by the citizens of San Juan to demonstrate the strength and resilience of the PR people after the devastation from Hurricane Maria and I hope that each of you will be able to see it on your visit.

 

• We will be there late in November 2019 and I will verify the route in person and notate or fix any issues that we find at that time.

 

• Please play around with the tour/map before you go so operating it is easy when you get there.

 

• One reason that I choose Google Maps for my Three Amigo’s Walking Tour is that Google claims the maps will operate at 100% offline.  But please download it and make sure that it works correctly on your device offline (you don’t want to find out the day you arrive in port).  Google gives the directions below for using any map offline:

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Maps app.
2. Make sure you're connected to the Internet and signed into Google.
3. Find the map you have saved (in your google drive or google maps app or site).
4. At the bottom, tap the name or address of the place --- tap More ...
5. Select Download offline map, then Download.

 

I do hope that the tour will help to make your visit more special as it was created with love for my family to have the best visit possible - the best food, best shopping, and a good sampling of San Juan's most important history and culture.  WEPA!

 

Lynn

[Andrea1017]

1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

 

I can do that 🙂 You are able to download the map to use offline I believe - therefore which account isn't as important for use (by my understanding of the GOOGLE empire LOL). 

 

I decided to do this since we had already volunteered during our last visit (I'm from Georgia and that heat was almost more than I could stand as we were mostly in the sun). But I didn't want to take an excursion since the last visit our ship was held up because the traffic is so bad in San Juan that the ship was held up for a few hours waiting on excursions to return that were way overdue   Nope, not up for being a pier runner!

This is amazing! We are going to be in San Juan on our honeymoon trip and I would really appreciate it if you could send me a copy when you can a chance! slaw.mayyou at gmail dot com 

[LA Law]

Unfortunately, I haven't received. Do you need another email from me other than aybmjb atgmail dot com? I so appreciate!

[AlohaLivin]

19 minutes ago, LA Law said:

Unfortunately, I haven't received. Do you need another email from me other than aybmjb atgmail dot com? I so appreciate!

It did not give me an error when I submitted it. I’m can go over and do it again, but did you check your junk mail by chance?

 

*** update - I checked, you were already listed by google as being given permission to share it. I resent the email, but getting the email isn’t really necessary as the file will show up in the “shared” section of your google drive/maps section immediately (the email is only the notice from google that this occurred). 

 

@suebbbhoney  I just caught where you said it would be Christmas Eve! What line/ship will you be on? We usually sail RCL and NCL. 

 

You are likely correct, there won’t be many options (although I am sure a few enterprising guides will stab at it!).  But there is very little of the cultural and historical options on the map that “close” so that’s a positive. And I am guessing you could get lucky with a few of the food/drink venues and possibly shopping too as long as it’s not too late in the evening.  I hope that it will be a wonderful day for you and yours 😊

Edited October 12, 2019 by AlohaLivin

[Mickey_Maniac]

Has anyone had any luck figuring out how to save this as an offline map on an Android device? I've been playing with it for an hour and cannot seem to find a way. It works as long as I'm on line, but as soon as I go into offline mode, the tour isn't available in my Google Maps app.

 

Thanks

[AlohaLivin]

21 minutes ago, Mickey_Maniac said:

Has anyone had any luck figuring out how to save this as an offline map on an Android device? I've been playing with it for an hour and cannot seem to find a way. It works as long as I'm on line, but as soon as I go into offline mode, the tour isn't available in my Google Maps app.

 

Thanks

 

Good morning 😊 I use Apple, but tried to do a bit of research about this for you to see if this is a typical issue for Android uses and this info looks promising -

 

http://erinlyyc.com/2017/05/17/how-to-save-google-maps-directions-for-offline-use-when-travelling/

 

Scroll down and you quickly get to “How to store maps with no data – Use offline areas” and 1 paragraph down is detailed Android info. Good luck!

 

Lynn

 

P.S. Worse case scenario most cell phone plans offer free or low cost rates for San Juan (check online for the details of your plan if you don’t know those limits of your plan). My sister’s plan apparently allows her to travel anywhere in the Caribbean and also Canada free of charge (Verizon or T Mobile); our plan w/ AT&T allows us to sign up for an option that allows us to use the phone in those areas for a flat rate of $10 daily (you just have let them know you wish to have that option, there isn’t a charge to do that) BUT the US territories like San Juan are also free. 👍🏼 Now I can’t address the service in Old San Juan. But that maybe solves one issue 😊

Edited October 12, 2019 by AlohaLivin

[Mickey_Maniac]

Thanks Lynn. I already tried that, but unfortunately, it only saves the generic Old San Juan map, not the tour data. I can't figure out how to save the tour data in an offline mode. I'm not going to worry about it though, my carrier covers San Juan so I should be good to go. I was just curious in case we did a bad coverage area.

[AlohaLivin]

3 minutes ago, Mickey_Maniac said:

Thanks Lynn. I already tried that, but unfortunately, it only saves the generic Old San Juan map, not the tour data. I can't figure out how to save the tour data in an offline mode. I'm not going to worry about it though, my carrier covers San Juan so I should be good to go. I was just curious in case we did a bad coverage area.

 

Ah... so it doesn’t save the images and background info on each stop/feature? Or it doesn’t save any of the path/directional info? Either way that is definitely not what we expect if Google says you can use offline (the very reason that I used google for this vs. other options. As you say, you and most of us will have free coverage there, but it seems Google does not provide full offline use with at least some (if not all) users. I hope it will make your day bette nevertheless 💃🏼

[Mickey_Maniac]

Who am I to question Google?? 😉 There may very well be a way to do it, but I havent figured out a way to save the path, images, or stop data in an offline mode. It could also be something to do with Android.

[AlohaLivin]

1 hour ago, Mickey_Maniac said:

Who am I to question Google?? 😉 There may very well be a way to do it, but I havent figured out a way to save the path, images, or stop data in an offline mode. It could also be something to do with Android.

I was only asking what it was doing in your case (was one or both not saved), not why google did it that way. But that’s fine, never mind, I was really just trying to figure out a fix for cases like yours. When I have time (ha) I will explore whether google is storing the path created as walking vs driving (if there is an option for each, etc) since it seems google is likely to save a driving route for offline mode (only). 

Edited October 12, 2019 by AlohaLivin

[Txshadow]

I would love a copy please. We scheduled (rescheduled) a cruise stopping in SJ as our original sailing and route was cancelled due to Dorian. Feel rushed in planning now since our travel party just now able to come up with a date that worked for all of us. 4 weeks and we are off! txshadowbob at gmail DOT com

[AlohaLivin]

2 hours ago, Txshadow said:

I would love a copy please. We scheduled (rescheduled) a cruise stopping in SJ as our original sailing and route was cancelled due to Dorian. Feel rushed in planning now since our travel party just now able to come up with a date that worked for all of us. 4 weeks and we are off! txshadowbob at gmail DOT com

 

Oh yeah, that's a rotten situation. Many of us work hard to get things nailed down early so we aren't scrambling at the end and then a sudden change leaves you doing that anyway!  Make sure to read the most recent information post not too far back in this thread (and it seems some aren't able to have full functionality with google maps offline so please check it and if necessary have at least 1 cellular connection when in port. I hope this will help 🙂  Lynn

[Dopey's Girl]

This is EXACTLY the research I was in the middle of trying to complete.  We will be there in January. You sure could save me a lot of time. Would love the share.  

pamperedsales at gmail dot com

 

Thanks so much