El Yunque National Forest Travel Forum

does anyone know of public transportation to el yunque from san juan (like a bus)? i want to get there but i don't want to go on a guided tour. any thoughts?

I'm starting (probably not before time) to research our stops on our
October cruise.

We get to San Juan on Friday arriving at 1300 (1 p.m.) and leaving at 2100 (9 p.m.). There are two things that I want to see - El Yunque Rainforest, and El Moro fort in town.

The tours that are available that I might be interested in are
a) A 5 hour Rainforest Tour $31 @ starting at 1330.
b) Old and New San Juan City Tour for 3 hours $39 @ also starting at
1330.

Obviously I can't do both tours. The rainforest hours are 7:30 am to 6 pm. If I took the Old San Juan tour first which ends at 1630 (4:30 pm) would it be too late to get to the rainforest afterwards?

The websites and Frommer's "Caribbean 2005" say it is about 28 miles from Old San Juan (14 miles of that on an expressway) and takes about 45 minutes to drive. Someone else has told me that it will take an hour and a half on twisty ill marked roads to get there.

The Insight Guide to Caribbean Cruises says that this is normally a
half day organized tour including a photo stop at El Luquillo Beach,
but that "it is a relatively easy place to reach independently by taxi
or even by bus."

Is there a good way to negotiate a taxi for a tour to El Yunque?

If I take a taxi out there how will I get back or will I need to
pay for the taxi to wait? About how much will that cost?