If you want to see more of the island but you don't want to rent a car or manage the inconveniences of public transportation, perhaps an organized tour is for you.
Castillo Sightseeing Tours & Travel Services, 2413 Calle Laurel, Punta La Marias, Santurce (tel. 787/791-6195), maintains offices at some of the capital's best-known hotels, including the Caribe Hilton and San Juan Marriott Resort. Using six of their own air-conditioned buses, with access to others if demand warrants it, the company's tours include pickups and drop-offs at hotels as an added convenience. Other reputable operators include Sunshine Tours (tel. 787/647-4545), Rico Suntours (tel. 800/844-2080), and AAA Island Tours (tel. 787/793-3678).
All their offerings are pretty similar. One of the most popular half-day tours departs most days of the week between 8:30 and 9am, lasts 4 to 5 hours, and costs about $50 per person, $68 if you take one of the more extensive hiking tours. Leaving from San Juan, it tours along the northeastern part of the island to El Yunque. Another favorite is a city tour of San Juan that departs daily around 1pm. The 4-hour trip costs around $50 per person and includes a stop at the Bacardi Rum Factory. Other trips include the Arecibo Observatory and the Camuy Caves, as well as snorkeling and offshore beach excursions on plush catamarans.
Few cities of the Caribbean lend themselves so gracefully to walking tours. You can embark on these on your own, stopping and shopping en route.
Captain's Duck Tours (tel. 787/725-0077) offers amphibious excursions in and around Old San Juan in a nifty "boat-bus" -- a rubber-ducky yellow vehicle that takes passengers from the streets of Old San Juan to the bay that surrounds it. The 90-minute tours are half land and half water and cost $24 for adults, $17 for children ages 2 to 13. The Duckmobile departs at 11am and 1pm from outside the Covadonga Bus Station in Old San Juan near the cruise ship docks, Thursday through Monday. If you have a short amount of time here, it's a fun way to get a quick overview of the city.
