San Juan Vacation and Trip Information

San Juan is the capital and largest municipality on Puerto Rico. It is the oldest city in the United States and features distinctly century-old architecture, such as Spanish military forts built from the 1540s to the 1800s. San Juan also boasts magnificent beaches, hotels, plazas, historic sites and museums.

San Juan is a Latin American city with a Spanish-based culture mixed with African and Taíno traditions. The citizens of San Juan (called Sanjuaneros) are very festive, as are islanders from all parts. San Juan abounds with bars and discotheques, from quaint establishments in Old San Juan to those in the southern part of the city, which are open until early morning.

Tourists are most fond of Old San Juan, with its historic colonial buildings and narrow streets covered with blue cobblestones. Here you can view the city's ancient defensive wall and forts, most notably El Morro and the Castle of San Cristóbal. The district is characterized by numerous public plazas and churches, including the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, location of the tomb of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. Old San Juan also has an abundance of shops, museums, restaurants and open-air cafés.

East of Old San Juan is the upscale tourist-oriented neighborhood of Condado. Beaches such as Ocean Park, popular with swimmers, surfers and kitesurfers, are found all along Condado's Atlantic coastline, which is also the locus of numerous hotels.