Segway tour review... March 3rd

[monicajay]

This tour was amazing!

 

I booked with Jose months ago after seeing the Segways drive by while on a land based vacation in PR. At the time they were located at the Fort and we were going to have to walk all the way up the hill or take a cab to get to the tour.

 

They are now located in Pier 2 which is the water taxi pier and right next to where the ships dock in OSJ. When we arrived Jose was off doing a tour. His assistant had us complete the waivers and then started the "lessons" using the segway that was there. One at a time we practiced going forward then back. Then we tried stopping and turning in a circle. It seemed hard for the first 2 minutes, then it got really easy. It took about 20 minutes for my family of 4 to feel comfortable and that included going up and down hills.

 

Jose arrived with the other Segways and off we went. We choose the 45 minute tour which was actually an hour as we had already done the training. They charged $35.00 per person plus tax and they did accept credit cards. This is much cheaper than I have seen elsewhere.

 

Jose was careful and was also very knowlegeable about his city. We had a great tour and my teens thought it was the highlight of our cruise. We did not wear helmets and did not feel we needed them. A member of our roll call went after us and he was 70. He seemed to catch on as quick as we did and he told me he had a ball.

 

I would recommend this tour to anyone and if I go back I will do the 2 hour one as I really did not want to get off after only one hour.

 

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer.

 

I remember a time before cell phones......... This is the time before Segways...... They will catch on ..... Once you try it you will see!

 

[copper6606]

What a great review Monica! - We sure wished we had tried these. I have not looked forward to the cruises with San Juan as a port- now I can't wait until the next one. Does anyone know of any of the other ports that rents the Segways?

[Dawn935]

Thanks for the review Monica. My teenage son has been looking at this tour so I guess we'll get in contact to reserve. Since my daughter is not interested in this tour, is there any shopping or sightseeing nearby?

[monicajay]

There is lots of shopping within walking distance of the pier and where this tour leaves from. I'm not sure I would let my daughter walk around OSJ alone but she is only 15. We all walked around after the Segway tour and visited many shops. The streets were crowded with many ships in port but inside the stores it was fine. We didn't see many real bargains but had fun looking.

 

Have you showed your daughter pictures of these things? My 15 year old daughter thought it was the coolest thing we have ever done on a cruise and we have done lots of cool stuff.

[Dawn935]

Yes, she has seen pictures. I will be sticking with her for the shopping since she's only 12. It's not a big deal to let my husband go because I have horrible balance & would probably spend most of my time on the ground.

We're used to splitting up for excursions since she & her brother have different interests. After DH & DS are done with the segway tour, we plan to explore OSJ and the forts together.

[AVShockey]

Thanks for the review, we have already booked for our June cruise and I was a little worried as some had said Jose was not always around or had lost their reservations. My 12 year old son is really looking forward to this tour. We will be in port to late to go to the forts, but Jose said we could still do the 2 hour tour and just ride past the forts.

[redwings1958]

What a great review Monica! - We sure wished we had tried these. I have not looked forward to the cruises with San Juan as a port- now I can't wait until the next one. Does anyone know of any of the other ports that rents the Segways?

 

ST. Maarten has a segwat tour, as does Cozumel

[heatherandfred]

Awesome review and nice pics! We'll be looking forward to meeting Jose in April. We booked the 2 hour tour.

 

Was it a far walk from the pier to Jose's office? Are the Segways difficult to master? Did anybody fall off going up or down a hill?

[monicajay]

Was it a far walk from the pier to Jose's office? Are the Segways difficult to master? Did anybody fall off going up or down a hill?

 

It took us less than 3 minutes to walk to Jose's office on pier 2 and our ship was not the closest. The Segways were easier to master than I expected. Nobody fell or had any incidents at all. My son would have liked to go faster........ but he is 17..... he also wanted to try jumping off a curb. Thankfully, Jose wouldn't allow this.

 

We practiced hills on the handicap ramp next to his office. We all felt very comfortable before the tour started.

 

Jose took our camera from us and that is why we have some family shots.

[ontheopenseas]

Thanks for the great informative review Monica. With the shorter tour, did you see much of the outside of El Morro or was it a quick ride by? We will probably only have time to visit the inside of one fort during our April visit and I'm hoping we will get enough of a taste for El Morro from the tour that we won't feel like we are missing too much if we only visit San Cristobal on foot. I would appreciate any input you have on this. Also, do you know if the Segways were the most recent models or not? Thanks again!

[monicajay]

We only got to see the outside of the fort. I had been there in August on a land based trip and had visited inside so I didn't feel I was missing anything. My teenagers didn't give a hoot. They were so happy to be riding the Segways that they had no interest in going inside the fort even though they were not with us when we visited.

 

Jose had 2 new Segways, they steer by leaning with the handlebar and 2 that were the older model and have a twisting knob on the left handlebar. I got one of the older ones and it was fine. My husband who had a new one offered to trade halfway through the tour but I had just gotten really comfortable so I didn't want to.

[ontheopenseas]

Thanks for your reply! The Segways my DH and I did in San Francisco were the leaning type, hope I can adapt to the knob type if need be. I have a feeling one fort will probably enough for my teens! Hopefully we'll see enought of the grounds at El Morro to feel "we've been there."

[pmoniz]

Monica - Do you know how many they have to rent? We have quite a large group and it looks like fun, but I'm not sure he'll have enough to go around?

[monicajay]

I believe the maximum group size is 6 . Jose, the guide gets one and I believe they have 7 all together. Just e-mail him as he responds quickly. If you are a big group maybe you can split up and do the tour in shifts. As I have said this tour is a blast!

[gatorbaby1]

My dd,dh, and I did the same tour on march 11.It was wonderful, I was a little apprehensive about being able to use the segway, but everything was fantastic.My dd now has to have one for her b-day. As to group size, I think if need be the guide will walk. Happy segwaying.

[arlodog]

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents--the Segways were awsome! Jose did a fantastic job making sure that we were comfortable and then after a little bit of training we were off--we never had a problem and were able to see a lot of the sights. OSJ at night is beautiful. Our tour didn't start until after 6:30pm and so we were out after sunset. They gave an interesting bit of history and answered any questions that we had. I can't say enough good things about this tour--definitely the highlight of our trip.

[budspot]

We did the 2 hour tour with Jose 3/8/08. It was a great way to see Old San Juan.

Segways are a great mode of transportation for tours. We did one in Barcelona also-loved it!

[Ants Girl]

Does he have a website or email address? How do you go about contacting Jose for a tour.

 

Thanks

[rainforestgirl]

We just did this tour today- really fun!

 

Either call or email:

787-598-9455 or info@segwaytourspr.com

[rainforestgirl]

I finally got my write-up out of this tour. With pictures of us (uugh!) and videos too!

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/2008/03/28/old-san-juan-segway-tour/

 

I thought it would be geeky (maybe it was!), but it turned out to be fun!

[ontheopenseas]

coquishideaway, we all loved your review! It was so informative and interesting! Thanks for sharing, we're even more excited for our Segway tour now!!!!

[monicajay]

coquishideaway,

 

I don't think it is geekish at all:rolleyes:, in fact, after riding one of these things I really believe they haven't hit it big yet but will in the future. Your video clips are great and really show how cool it is.

 

Going back at Christmas time and planning on doing the 2 hour instead of the 45 minute. We will not be on a cruise so will try to pick a time when there are less ships in port. It will make it easier to ZOOM around:D.

[Socref124]

This tour was amazing!

 

 

I booked with Jose months ago after seeing the Segways drive by while on a land based vacation in PR. At the time they were located at the Fort and we were going to have to walk all the way up the hill or take a cab to get to the tour.

 

They are now located in Pier 2 which is the water taxi pier and right next to where the ships dock in OSJ. When we arrived Jose was off doing a tour. His assistant had us complete the waivers and then started the "lessons" using the segway that was there. One at a time we practiced going forward then back. Then we tried stopping and turning in a circle. It seemed hard for the first 2 minutes, then it got really easy. It took about 20 minutes for my family of 4 to feel comfortable and that included going up and down hills.

 

Jose arrived with the other Segways and off we went. We choose the 45 minute tour which was actually an hour as we had already done the training. They charged $35.00 per person plus tax and they did accept credit cards. This is much cheaper than I have seen elsewhere.

 

Jose was careful and was also very knowlegeable about his city. We had a great tour and my teens thought it was the highlight of our cruise. We did not wear helmets and did not feel we needed them. A member of our roll call went after us and he was 70. He seemed to catch on as quick as we did and he told me he had a ball.

 

I would recommend this tour to anyone and if I go back I will do the 2 hour one as I really did not want to get off after only one hour.

 

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer.

 

I remember a time before cell phones......... This is the time before Segways...... They will catch on ..... Once you try it you will see!

 

 

Monica,

I couldn't agree with you more. We just got back from our Freedom cruise and we had a blast doing the Segway tour in Old San Juan. Jose was fantastic and the 2 hour tour was fabulous. I would highly recommens this tour to anyone.:)