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Trip Reports: Hotel in San Juan for lay over
Bonaire Talk: Trip Reports: Archives: Archives 2000 to 2005: Archives - 2004-08-02 to 2005-05-08: Hotel in San Juan for lay over
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wes Adams (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Tuesday, March 1, 2005 - 10:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I would first like to thank many of you that have assisted me in planning our dive trip to
Bonaire. I have read of what to do in San Juan
for the day, but does anyone have a hotel of choice that can be suggested in the $100.00
range or less?? Mucho Gracias

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cynde (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #13207) on Tuesday, March 1, 2005 - 11:40 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Wes, there are few hotels that are under a $100.00, in areas where you would want to stay. Isla Verde, or Old San Juan would be the safest areas...on this link, I could recommend (in that I saw them from the outside):

Casa De Playa Beach Hotel (it was recommended to us but was full)

Howard Johnson (it's next to the freeway, so may be noisy)

The Borinquen Hotel is on the beach next to the Wyhndam, however, I don't remember seeing it, not sure if that's a good thing or bad!

http://www.hotel-rates.com/puerto-rico/isla-verde-carolina/

I would highly recommend the Hampton in (it's over a hundred bucks a night though)...if you don't stay there, you MUST go there to the BBQ by the pool and get a HampTONE in burger. They have the best burgers in the world, seriously!

Good luck!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Birk (BonaireTalker - Post #58) on Wednesday, March 2, 2005 - 9:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We did a 3 day stay in Old San Juan coming back from Culebra last year. We stayed at the Hotel Milano, http://www.hotelmilanopr.com/ which was centrally located, close to shopping and nice small restaurants. Old San Juan is scenic and beautiful with a charm you won't find in the big resort areas. OSJ is about a 20 minute cab from the airport, but well worth it if you have to spend the night.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cynde (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #13210) on Wednesday, March 2, 2005 - 11:32 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Wes, how long will you be in San Juan? If it's just overnight, you may want to stick to Isla Verde, if it's a day and night, Bob's right, Old San Juan has charm. Isla Verde has a great beach though...one thing to remember, it's a 20 minute cab ride to the airport, with NO traffic...I spent 6 weeks in San Juan last year, and let me tell ya, morning, afternoon and evening traffic can be a bear...so allow time if you stay in Old San Juan...Isla Verde is a 10 minute ride from the airport at best:-)

Let us know what you decide!

If you do choose Old San Juan, go to "El Convente" which is an old convent, converted to a nice hotel. The restaurant on the premesis has fantastic tapas, and flying bats in the trees (really cool to watch them). Also, the church where Ponce De Leon is entombed is right across the street (as well as 3 other "Saints")...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #822) on Wednesday, March 2, 2005 - 11:35 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I second the Hotel Milano, it is clean, reasonably priced, and centrally located in OSJ. They have a restaurant on the top of the hotel that has good food and supplies the hotel's continental breakfast. For other places check out http://welcome.topuertorico.org/city/sanjuan.shtml Scroll down to the bottom and click on lodging for a list of the hotels in the San Juan metor area. If it says something like Isla Verde or Condado, it is not near the old town. You can take the $.25 bus to OSJ from within a block or two of any of the places outside of town. The bus stops have the route numbers posted. Just make sure that you are heading into the old town and remember the route number for your return trip. The buses unload by the cruise pier and there are free trolley stops right in front of the bus station that take you all over OSJ. There are two routes: Central - takes you around the central part of OSJ, Norte - takes you out to the El Morro Fort and the old cemetery. Stop for lunch at La Bombonera on Calle San Franciso between Calle Tanka and Calle San Jose. There is a trolley stop just up the street from La Bombonera. From the front it looks like a small pastry shop, but in the back it has a counter and booths. My recommendation is the La Bombonera Special sandwich and if you like fresh orange juice, they squeeze it just before they put it in front of you. Their pastries are to die for.

Old San Juan is safe to walk around in the evening. After midnight I am not too sure about, but I am not a night clubber anyway. There are numerous restaurants within a short distance of the Hotel Milano for dinner if you stay more than one or two nights. Check out the attractions and dining threads on the above site for more info. The desk clerks at Hotel M. are all darling people and can arrange day trips with tour groups.

p.s. I always arrange my flight schedule for several nights in OSJ in both directions. Just so I can wander around OSJ and look at things I hadn't seen yet or take a tour. Most of the OSJ museums are small and are free, or charge a dollar or two to get in. Most of the time I don't rent a car, unless I want to go where the buses don't. Don't bother with the radio telescope, the view of it from the ground is not as good as the pictures take from the air. The museum there is interesting only if you are into astronomy. El Yunke is an interesting tour though.

When are you going to Bonaire?

As you can guess, I like PR.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron LaCourse (BonaireTalker - Post #22) on Thursday, March 3, 2005 - 3:09 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bob, I see you went to Culebra, a place I've been interested in seeing. Is it worth the trip? How does it compare to Bonaire above and below water?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Birk (BonaireTalker - Post #60) on Thursday, March 3, 2005 - 9:34 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Ron. It would be like comparing apples to oranges. Culebra is really laid back, with world class sandy beaches, really a beautiful place. On the other hand, the diving was only fair at the best spots (in a boat), snorkeling fair also if you went to the right spots. Not the nice lush reef like Bonaire, diving is mostly following the bottom contours. The soft coral is in fair shape, but the hard is not too healthy. Food was good, but a distinct lack of Puerto Rican fare, mostly stuff you can get at home. No night life. About the only comparison I could make is some rugged terrain and watch out for the goats. The brush has spines that would make a cactus green with envy. This is a great place to go to kick back on a nice beach or take great pictures, but I would not consider it to be a primary diving and snorkeling spot.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Birk (BonaireTalker - Post #61) on Thursday, March 3, 2005 - 9:50 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Linnea, I agree, we love PR too. Our trip last month to Bonaire dictated overnighting in Mo Bay both inbound and outbound. Next trip we will route through San Juan and spend a few more days in OSJ on the way back.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron LaCourse (BonaireTalker - Post #24) on Friday, March 4, 2005 - 4:35 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thank you Bob, exactly what I wanted to hear and extremely glad we booked Bonaire instead. We live at the beach so sand doesn't do it for us, although clear waters are always a treat. 12 more hours.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Birk (BonaireTalker - Post #62) on Friday, March 4, 2005 - 9:26 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ron, if this is your first trip to Bonaire (or not), you're in for a treat. Diving at your own pace is a luxury you don't get on boats. One suggestion, if you are going to dive the beaches which are mostly broken coral, hard soled booties make entries a lot easier. The visibility a month ago was very good, water about 82 degrees, and critters everywhere you look. Enjoy.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #828) on Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 6:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

One note, the boats on Bonaire are not run on the herd mentality. You get in the water, do things at your own pace, and the only restrictions are for max time and depth. You can go with the dive guide if you want, but are not required too unless you pull some kind of stunt that flags you as a menace to the reef.

 


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