San Juan Excursions with Kids

[seacrcsvz]

Ok, I've been looking through all the shore excursions, thinking about getting things booked, but I'm torn on what to do in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There isn't much to do there, and I dont think my three boys (2, 4, and 7) will be thrilled about a museum or marketplace tour (they will last about an hour, and then just drive us crazy). Anyone have suggestions for San Juan? Is there anything to do at the port itself - a beach, playarea, anything? Maybe we should just have a day on the ship, or maybe the kids will be happy in CampCarnival and we can go on one of the tours ourselves. Also, we are only in port from 7 till 3:30 and I see some of the tours run late- again suggestions are welcome?

I also wondered the same thing about Grand Turk, what is available at the port? Do you really have to pay to use a resort for the day, or can we go to a beach of our choosing?

[clansac]

We were on a cruise that left from San Juan, so I'm not familiar with the ship excursions. I can tell you that my son would love El Morro and he's 6! There was plenty of room to run around without irritating other people and it was a great place to play pretend!

[sandytoes03]

When we went to El Morro there were tons of people flying kites, so maybe they would enjoy that.

[olemissreb]

My kids are older (9 & 13), but we are planning on touring both forts (Morro and Cristobal (my youngest son's name in Spanish is Cristobal, so he wants to say he went there because it's named after him!!:)).

 

There is also the El Yunque Rain Forest. The kids might have a good time trying to find the Puerto Rican nation symbol - the tiny coqui tree frog. Might be a lot of walking. This tour may be one of those that you said "run late".

 

There is also a place - can't remember the name - that has a giant satellite dish built into a mountain or in the top of an extinct volcano or something. They have been using this dish to see if they can pick up conversations on Mars. No I'm not kidding!! My DH has been there and we have a picture of it. This may be too far away to do in the short time you are in port though.

 

DH and I have been to El Morro and PP is right about the big park like area for the kids to play in. A good idea might be to tour the fort and then have a picnic lunch on the lawn and let the kids run off some energy. Maybe check with your waiter or guest services to see if the kitchen can make up a picnic lunch for you that way you don't have to worry about finding a place in Old San Juan - when we were last there, the wait staff weren't bad, but when it came time to pay, they were hard to find which could be an issue if you are in hurry to get back to the ship.

[cb at sea]

It can be REALLY HOT and HUMID there--be prepared for that! It can make kids (and me!) cranky as hell!

You know, you don't HAVE to do excursions at every port! Sometimes, staying on the ship and utilizing what you've paid for makes alot of sense! The ship will be virtually empty, meaning you can have your choice of seats at the pool, and some room to actually splash about!

[helenb]

We went to the forts in San Juan and our kids had a ball touring them! They also enjoyed the Pigeon Square and feeding all of the pigeons.

 

In Grand Turk, there is a gorgeous beach right next to where the ship docks. You don't have to do anything else.