I tend to piecemeal my flights together to get the best bang for my buck. Living on the island of St. Croix is amazing in many ways but one way that it really sucks is reasonably priced direct flights. This is how I ended up with a 5 hour layover in San Juan.
If you are traveling from places like New York City, Miami or Atlanta to destinations like St. Croix, St. Thomas or St. Lucia, you may also find yourself with a 5 hour layover in San Juan.
Right now, given the pandemic situation, financially, many of us aren’t able to travel. Even if we are, we may not feel safe. However, it is still a great time to find a deal for 2021 and to plan for the future. Right now there are some great prices on round trip fares to San Juan from several cities including as low as $250 from LAX.
Right now, you can also find cheap flights to nearby islands like St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Traveling to Neighboring Islands?
How You Can Enjoy Your Layover AWAY from the Airport.
If traveling between islands, I often find myself booking my inter-island flights to San Juan through small carriers such as Silver Airways or Cape Air. These companies are fantastic for low price inter-island fares between the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Sometimes I may stay overnight, get a great Airbnb and enjoy the island or some times, I only have a 5 hour layover in San Juan.
Pre-COVID, I decided to book a last minute flight from St. Croix to go see my parents who had sold their home to become RV nomads (yes, nomadic living runs in the family!). After 3 days of searches, I finally found the best fares. I ended up with two one way flights on two different airlines.
So, long story short, I had a 5 hour layover in San Juan, no checked bag and a desire to get out and see something new!
I did my research to figure out exactly how long it would take to get to various destinations and to safely make it back in time for my flight. Luckily I have TSA pre-check which allowed me to avoid lines when coming back in.
The top 3 options that I found that would safely let me get out to enjoy San Juan and make my flight were:
1. Go to Isla Verde, hit up a restaurant, beach or hotel, this will take approximately 5 minutes by taxi and on your way back you can call an Uber. A taxi to Isla Verde will run you about $12 USD (yes, Puerto Rico is a US Territory and does use the USD!).
2. Go to Condado if you would like to visit some upscale shops, restaurants, take a stroll, etc. If you want to visit the beach here you will need to go to a hotel that will allow you to access theirs. Condado is about halfway between Isla Verde and Old San Juan and will take about 10-15 minutes in decent traffic via taxi.
3. Go to Old San Juan for some street food if you want to experience the culture of Puerto Rico. This is a riskier jaunt as it will take 20 minutes or so in good traffic BUT if you know where you are going you should have plenty of time. If taking this option, you may want to look into storing your luggage since you’ll be doing a lot of walking. It’s important not to draw attention to yourself and make yourself a target for the petty crime that happens tourist destinations.
How to Enjoy a Working Layover at the Pool
I selected option 1 since I had some work to do. I arrived a little early for lunch so I pulled up a comfy chair/table in the comfortable, yet luxurious lobby of the San Juan Hotel. Also, the conveniently located lobby coffee shop made it easy to grab a latte. I plugged in and went to work using the Hilton Honors free wireless.
After getting some work done, I made my way to Cana. I sat at a lovely table with a view of the pool and the beach, at the edge of the restaurant where I could catch a breeze. For those who don’t like the tropical temps you can also sit inside with AC.
I ordered myself a tropical N/A drink (I was working after all!). For lunch, I had planned to order empanadas (local specialty fried pastry pockets filled with meat) which are what drew me to Cana when looking online at menus.
What to Eat in San Juan
I was disappointed to see that the menu didn’t match the online menu but decided instead to order up some fish tacos with local mahi. As much as I wanted those empanadas, the fish tacos were the best I have had anywhere so I guess it was meant to be.
I sat and took my time while I enjoyed my meal. The staff was attentive but let me do my thing. After a couple hours of lounging I packed up, ordered an Uber and was back at the airport within 10 minutes .
While this was a fantastic little layover, I did regret not making the trip to Old San Juan. If you have a 5 hour layover in San Juan, especially without a checked bag, I would recommend getting your culture in!
I was traveling alone would not have had another one until the following day so I played it safe. I can’t wait to get back to San Juan and the rest of Puerto Rico to do some exploring!
