Election Day in San Juan

[Bobbigrl27]

We wil be in San Juan on November 4th and have found out that it is their election day. Does anyone know if the shops and businesses will be closed, or is it just another day, like in the U.S? :confused:

[rainforestgirl]

Well, I assume most stores in the Tourist district will be open, though some will be closed. The Forts will be open, but some museums may be closed, probably the Tourist info booth also. The Trolley will be running..

There will be lots of traffic (parades!) and flags and groups of people around (Politics is a National Sport here! and election day is a BIG party here).

The main problem will be- no alcohol is sold on Election day, until after 10pm I think.

[jodiedew]

Do you think the visitor's center at El Yunque will be open? Or can we just go to the rainforest without the visitor's center? (Will traffic be worse than normal that day?)

[Coqui2007]

I would think the visitor center would be open - but even if it is not, you can tour the rainforest without visiting the center.

 

There are several trails http://www.visit-the-coqui.com/places-to-see/el-yunque/walking-trails-in-el-yunque-rainforest/ that you can hike, depending how long you want to walk for.

 

I would plan to get there as early as possible as cloud cover at the top of El Yunque increases as the morning passes.

 

The drive is about 45mins from San Juan. If you have the time consider checking out Luquillo beach in the afternoon and tasting some of the food options from the roadside Kiosks near the beach

 

enjoy

 

Coqui @ www.visit-the-coqui.com my personl travel guide / blog on PR

[ancldaca]

Blue laws kick in at midnight and are lifted sometime in the evening by the governor. I've seen it as early as 8pm and as late as 11pm; there's no set schedule per se. Once the polls close, the political caravans start all over the place and last well into the evening.

[orquidia]

Everything is closed (some tourist shops in the historic district of San Juan remain open though) and there is Ley Seca (law that prohibits the sell of alcohol), Hotel bars are excluded from this law.

Expect a carnival environment all around, Puerto Rico has one of the highest voter turnouts in the world (around 80%) and Politics is like someone said here, a national sport that is taken very seriously with a lot of passion (better not talk about Politics with a local since eveyone is very passionate with their ideas)