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Home > San Juan > Old San Juan Half-Day Sightseeing Tour
Old San Juan Half-Day Sightseeing Tour
USD $75.00

Old San Juan Half-Day Sightseeing Tour

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Discover the rich heritage of Puerto Rico and wander the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan — one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial cities in the world — on this half-day tour. Admire the architectural jewels on the small island of Old San Juan city, and then absorb fascinating history at the Museo de las Américas. Explore 500-year-old San Cristobal Fort and take in breathtaking views of San Juan Bay and El Morro Fort. Round-trip transport from select hotels is included.

After hotel pickup, you’ll cross a bridge and enter the second oldest city in the New World — Old San Juan, located on a small island. In this beautiful city dating back to 1513, admire well-preserved examples of Spanish colonial architecture. Pass by the white-marbled Capitol Building facing the Atlantic and Casa de España, dedicated to the preservation of Spanish culture, built with colored tiles and elegant towers typical of Spanish Moorish architecture.

As you make your way through the hilly and narrow streets, you’ll come across parts of the massive City Wall, or La Muralla, nearly 20 feet (6 meters) thick and up to 60 feet (18 meters) tall in certain places.

Next, travel with your guide to Cuartel de Ballajá, old Spanish military barracks from the 19th century, a three-level structure arranged around a large courtyard. Learn more about the impressive architecture and head up to Museo de las Américas, which occupies the second floor.

Inside, discover an excellent collection of art and anthropological exhibits relating to Puerto Rico and the Americas in general. Not all of the exhibits appear in English, but luckily, you will be provided with the information necessary to make this an engaging experience.

Browse through the museum’s collections on American indigenous tribes, including the Taíno, and work your way through the African Heritage wing and enlightening displays on colonization, slave trade and rebellion in Puerto Rico. In the Popular Arts section, you’ll find traditional folk art and wood carvings from all over the Americas.

Then, make a 30-minute stop at San Cristobal Fort, built in 1785 and the largest Spanish military structure in the New World. Learn more about its ingenious layout, its storied history in protecting the city from attack, and capture alluring views of San Juan Bay and 400-year-old El Morro Fort. Your tour ends with 30 to 45 minutes of shopping to then be dropped-off at your hotel.

USD $75.00
Traveler Reviews
Review by:   Michelle N,    October 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
It was a very nice tour, the driver who was also our tour guide was very informative. During part of out tour, we walked the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan and was able to frequent the businesses lined along the streets. The whole tour was very enjoyable.
 

Review by:   Sharon F,    October 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Terrific day!
 

Review by:   Max H,    September 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Great day in Old San Juan. The guide answered all our questions in the rain. He made sure that we were not standing in the rain while explaining the area that we were at. I would go again.
 

Review by:   cally h,    September 2017 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
Not really worth the money, you can easily do this tour on your own.
 

Review by:   Cheney C,    August 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
This tour is a must! Our tour guide, Jorge, was PHENOMENAL! We visited a lot of great places, and Jorge gave us the detailed history on the places we visited (and helped me with my Spanish too...lol). I highly recommend this tour if you want to learn about Old San Juan.
 

Review by:   Peter R,    August 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Simply Amazing
 

Review by:   Brendelee M,    August 2017 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
Favorite part by far was the fort! Tour Guide Jaime was knowledgeable of the Puerto Rico history he's a native. The museum was unique. If you love art and native american history, then this is for you. Our museum tour was a guided tour by an employee who explained a lot on the history of the Indians and Spanish artists. My 14 son was bored and my 18 year daughter enjoyed. Either way, I always make it a point to have a history day when we travel. The driver doesn't stop at any other places for pictures or further explanations of what you see. This was disappointing! Basically it was a drive by in the mini bus and a mention of the name of the building. : This tour needs to add a little more history with stops and excerpts about what we were looking at. Also, the tour mentions shopping for 30-45 minutes. That didn't happen! This was another reason we picked this trip, so we could do some souvenir shopping. But instead we had to pay a cab 15 one way to come back the next day. The driver offered to drop you off, but you had to pay to get back to your hotel, which defeated the idea of booking transportation with this tour. With these slight improvements, this tour would be great.
 

Review by:   Chris W,    August 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
This is a nice tour to begin our trip to Puerto Rico, a first time here. This gave us a view of Old San Juan and the forts that we used to protect Puerto Rico from those wanting to take it from the Spanish. The fort El Morro is amazing in that the building of it took 200 years and was all done by hand. Such an amazing feat at the time period in which it was built. When touring the museum of the history of the Americas, we got so much more out of the tour with a tour guide. It did make a difference in learing about this history.
 

Review by:   Becky M,    May 2017 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
We expect the tour guide will spend more time walking around the Old San Juan city and tell us history/stories about the area. Instead we went to the History museum and spent over an hour shopping in the area on our own.
 

Review by:   marichuy,    April 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Super fun day, in San Juan Puerto Rico, the best of all was the Rum tour
 

Review by:   Andrea P,    April 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Loved every moment of the tour
 

Review by:   Graceness,    April 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
luved this. Go to see all the historical sights.
 

Review by:   Jorge G,    February 2017 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
It was a very insp-iring trip. I learned more than I thought I was going to learn. I would highly recommend this trip Our guide Javier was excellent and very knowledgeable. Again, highly recommended.
 

Review by:   Donna B,    January 2017 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Waited 30 minutes for tour driver to show up. Once we were picked up the tour was great. Vehicle was great, tour guide was interesting and informative. Would have rather spent more time at the fort and less time at the museum. All things considered, great way to see the highlights of San Juan.
 

Review by:   Lucy C,    December 2016 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
I can recommend this tour for everyone! We had our Hotel Hilton Caribe confirm our tour. Our Hotel personnel confirmed and everything was on time and per their description of what would happen with this tour. Our driver was very fluent and knew his history. He was also very friendly and answered all questions without delay. We had numerous elderly personnel in which he asserted extra effort to ensure their safety, comfort and satisfaction. The tour encompasses many historical places in Old San Juan. I recommend this tour.
 

Review by:   Charles G,    December 2016 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Old San Juan had many interesting sites and the tour was extremely educational.
 

Review by:   Richard A,    September 2016 Review: 2 star rating: It was OK, but could have been better
We were quite disappointed with this tour. The price was high and our tour was cut short due to a power outage at the museum we were scheduled to visit. Tour guide was very professional and knowledgeable but the tour was unimpressive. Would not recommend.
 

Review by:   Iris L R,    July 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The tour was a lot of fun with very friendly staff.
 

Review by:   Dennis D,    July 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Our tour guide, Hector, was great. Knowledgeable and very funny. A lot of walking and climbing combined with a lot of fantastic history. The National Art Museum and El Moro fort were the highlights of the tour.
 

Review by:   Jane,    July 2016 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Very nice
 

Review by:   Kevin C,    July 2016 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
This tour was amazing!
 

Review by:   Melissa C,    June 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Wow the tour guide was very knowledged in the fort! That is why there are 5 stars. The museum had a lot to offer, too bad they didnt give a full tour. And for the Old San Juan shopping trip, it is drop off and pick up, not a tour. All in all this is a 3 star trip. And the pick up from hotel, late.
 

Review by:   Julie K,    June 2016 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
Not quite what i expected. We enticingly drove right past one fort to see a museum instead it was a good museum and then went quite a distance to a second fort. Both of them were fine and the guide was nice but we ended up with an hour and a half of shopping-why? Everyone was already in San Juan and could easily shop on their own time. It was a waste of time with a guide to see things. That's a poor design for the tour.
 

Review by:   JT,    June 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Excellent tour. The fort and the museum that followed were great sights to see. The history is very interesting from both. Our tour guide and the museum guide were both very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. I would caution though that people should be aware that there is a good amount of walking through the fort, though it was great. Just wear your walking shoes!
 

Review by:   Mark R,    June 2016 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Our guide was excellent. We went to all the best places. The Museum of the Americas was well worth the time. We went back the next day.
 

Review by:   JOHNT,    June 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Excellent tour. The fort and the museum that followed were great sights to see. The history is very interesting from both. Our tour guide and the museum guide were both very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. I would caution though that people should be aware that there is a good amount of walking through the fort, though it was great. Just wear your walking shoes!
 

Review by:   Mary R,    May 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
What a great tour this was. I enjoyed the tour so much especially with our tour guide who had share with us the history of the Plaza de Armas de San Cristobal and El Morro! So exciting. I would recommend this tour to anyone interested in history and the history of Old San Juan. I did more research and I returned home. Surprising enough, the Smithsonian channel did story on the history of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands one week after my return home. It like being in Puerto Rico all over again.
 

Review by:   unbrokn009,    May 2016 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
I was disappointed. We mainly rode in a bus for most of our tour. Didn and #39;t have time to walk/sight see. We ended up taking a taxi to old san juan the next day and visiting the El morro fort and browse through the city. 15$ taxi and 5$ to visits both forts. Don and #39;t do a tour it was a waste of money.
 

Review by:   Carmen J,    April 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Lovely trip. Full of local historical information. Beautiful scenery. Great guide. My granddaughter and I enjoyed it very much. A perfect half day trip for teens and people of all ages.
 

Review by:   Gary M,    April 2016 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Very nice-- but could use more guiding and history touring of the town also-- it was great with Jorge in the fort-- he was very knowledgeable and smart!! Many thanks for a nice time!
 

Review by:   MARVIN B,    March 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
I have taken numerous day trips with Viator, but this was by far the best! Our guide, Robert, was excellent--the best and most knowledgeable guide I've ever experienced. His English was perfect, he was friendly and extremely courteous to everyone on the trip. He was especially helpful to everyone by answering our questions and recommending other tours and local restaurants. May I request Robert for all of my tours in the future? Thanks, Marvin B
 

Review by:   Richard C,    March 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Our trip was wonderful, Roberto was amazing. He was so informative and knowlegable. Puerto Rico is full of so much history. Make time and take this tour. Thank you Roberto !! Hope to be back soon _br/_ Maria and Rich from NY
 

Review by:   Eileen M,    March 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Well worth the time and energy for the day. Excellent knowledge learned.
 

Review by:   harold w,    February 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
excellent itinerary and super guide Jorge. He was extremely knowledgeable and fun for thr group._br/_ Outstanding guide. Hal Wicker
 

Review by:   Narayana R P,    February 2016 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
disappointed not seeing the old Sa Juan
 

Review by:   Edward O,    February 2016 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
My husband and I both enjoyed the tour. It was very interesting and our guide, Robert, did a wonderful job of bringing some of the historical events to life.
 

Review by:   Michael M,    December 2015 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Very educational, learned a lot.
 

Review by:   mauricio g,    November 2015 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
This tour was amazing!
 

Review by:   Betsy H,    November 2015 Review: 3 star rating: Worth doing
For the cost - I would say just barely worth doing. Javier, the tour guide, was great and knowledgeable but we spent the first hour picking everyone up from their hotels. Then, we were so rushed throughout first stop - El Museo - I barely had time to visit all the galleries and have time to shop and get something to eat before we had to leave. We went to San Cristobal Fort which had great picture taking opportunities. We also visited a beautiful cemetery near El Morro, although it was closed and we could only see from the gates and quickly went to a nearby beach in 'La Perla' for more picture taking opportunities. We had 1/2 hour to shop at the end of the tour which also felt rushed as most stores were closed or were closing by 6:30 or 7pm.
 

Review by:   Gregory S,    November 2015 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Excellent tour. Guide Xavier well informed and educated on San Juan. Greg and Florence Silver
 

Review by:   Steve W B,    October 2015 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Great tour guide very informative.
 

Review by:   Marline M,    October 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Very informative our guide Robert was very knowledgeable. I love it. It's worth the money
 

Review by:   Jorge H,    October 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Nice tour and quite pleasant trip with the tour guide. Highly recommended
 

Review by:   Marilyn D K,    August 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Our tour guide was so informative and funny. He also gave very clear instructions about where and when to meet when he dropped us off.
 

Review by:   Srinivasan S,    August 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
My family had a wonderful time on the tour. Our tour guide robert was very informative and friendly.
 

Review by:   Beverly S,    August 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
The tour was just as described. The guide was knowledgeable and very friendly. When he saw me on a different tour the next day just passing by he remembered me and said, Hola! Now, that is friendly service!
 

Review by:   carrie,    July 2015 Review: 1 star rating: I do not recommend this
Not really worth the money.Tour guide/driver not very knowledgeable and he ranted about his dislikes. There are better tours available.
 

Review by:   Selby S,    July 2015 Review: 5 star rating: Highly Recommended
Wonderful and informative tour. Very friendly tour guide John knows his business and answered our many questions. El Morro and the Museum of the Americans were simply breath taking. We enjoyed our walk through Old San Juan and stops for shopping. Just enough time to see what we wanted.
 

Review by:   carlosfrancoz,    July 2015 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
A must-do attraction in Puerto Rico, the driver was an amazing and funny guy! Pls note that you won't visit El Morro Castle
 

Review by:   Cathy M,    July 2015 Review: 4 star rating: Recommended
Tour guide was outstanding. He just needs to speak a little slower so English speaking only tourist can understand what he is saying.
 

All Traveler Reviews...

USD $75.00
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