By Cynde Lee on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 2:26 pm: |
We (my husband) is wanting to take AA this time instead of AJ, he didn't like the red eye...anyway, i have found a flight from LAX to San Juan, spend the night in San Juan, and the next day, fly to Bon that night...is there anything to do in san juan for a day that would be worth the lay over??? keep in mind, i like the LAX to MB, to Bon, on AJ, but i am trying to explore other options as hubby really really really didn't like the red eye...thanks for any input!
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By Snorkelguy {Scott} on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 3:26 pm: |
Since we’ve been stranded in SJU 3 times in the last 2.5 years by AA and stuck in the same Casino/Hotel I might be a little bias. The short answer is no. The long answer is there are lots of nice things to see in Puerto Rico, but they are not in San Juan (my humble opinion). A drive to the rainforest would be good if you have time, but you may not have enough. As a matter of fact Emi and I are so sick of being stuck in San Juan on AA we’re taking AJ this time with the idea that if we get stuck again at least it will be in a different town!!!
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By Dave Goodwin on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 3:40 pm: |
I can't imagine anyone opting for the AA route over AJ, assuming they live in or near an AirJam departure city.
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By Cynde Lee on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 3:47 pm: |
snork, thanks...dave, like I said, I like the AJ route as it is the shortest, and easiest, however, like i said, my husband is willing to do almost anything than have to do the red eye all night again. it took him 3 days just to recover from that one. going another route may be my only option in getting back to bonaire (unless of course, I leave hubby at home, which i would never do...he is my dive buddy)
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By Dave Goodwin on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 3:52 pm: |
Cynde,
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By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 4:50 pm: |
Cynde, if you stay in Old San Juan, you can walk to EL Morro and wander around.
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By Cynde Lee on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 5:17 pm: |
thanks linnea, i will check it out. is the hotel near the airport, or at least within a reasonalbe distance?
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By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 5:35 pm: |
I think it is something like 5-7 miles and it is not in the flight path of the airport either.
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By Anthony Cooper on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 7:19 pm: |
Cynde - Thanks to Daylight Savings Time (or Eastern Std Time...glass half empty/full?) our return from Bonaire to Phila. last Friday left Flamingo Apt to 7:00 am, got us to Luis Munoz Apt ot 9:00am. By 10:00am we had cleared customs, rented a car from Charlie's at $41 for the day and drove out the coast road past some wonderful surf thru Louiza. By 11:00 am we were winding our way up El Yanque thru the rain forest, around the mountains, past the Mina Falls, etc., etc. There are dozens of local restaurants and snack bars to lunch/dine at, real interesting wildlife (if you have your walking shoes on) and lots more if you have the time.
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By Cynde Lee on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 7:33 pm: |
Tony, thanks. Question, you still have to go through customs to leave the airport and get back in? if we decide to go this route, i may email you with some more specific questions about the places you have been that you liked. Michael will be happy to hear some positive feedback!
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By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 10:03 pm: |
You shouldn't have to clear Customs coming down from the states. You will go thru Customs in PR on the way back, but from what I have read in other posts, it is not a big deal, much quicker than Miami or any other stateside airports.
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By Anthony Cooper on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 6:42 am: |
Cynde - I thought I posted a response to your question last night...must have sent it off into cyberspace. As Linnea said, going down, you can leave the airport without clearing customs since you are still "in the States". You even get your car before you exit the "clean zone". To get back in it is necessary to clear security but, again, no big deal. Both my wife and I do a fair amount of air traveling - business and leisure - and San Juan has been real good recently. We'd be happy to offer any help we can, so feel free to drop a line.
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By Cynde Lee on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 12:41 pm: |
linnea and tony, thanks for the info. i am going to do a little research and most likely will shoot an email tony when i firm things up. linnea, when are you and your sister going to be in sj on your way down? i think we are looking at heading down on june 3 or 4.
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By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 11:27 am: |
We are leaving May 28 for SJU and then to BON on May 31. Back to SJU on June 14 and back to SNA on June 16. Two whole weeks on Bonaire. I go to Bonaire on odd numbered years and go different places on even numbered years.
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By Martin de Weger on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 11:30 am: |
We'll be there May 28 untill June 16.... I guess we'll meet finally...
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By Cynde Lee on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 2:28 pm: |
ok, linnea and martin, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks on bonaire, not fair! argh...linnea, if we do stop over in sj on our way to bon, we will miss each other. i need to do a LOT of research to plan our day in sj if we do go that way. i would of course rather spend those extra 2 days on bon...have to do a little more thinking about how i can convince michael that the red eye is better!
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By Susan Taft on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 2:02 pm: |
Cynde Lee -- we do the AA thing thru SJ for both Grenada and Bonaire as we are not close to an AJ city. Many years ago the layover times were short and I was glad as even an hour in the SJ airport was more than I wanted. But now with longer layovers we have actually enjoyed our days in SJ. On the way to Bonaire we usually get a cab to take us to Isla Verde where you can find many beach restaurants and chair rentals so we usually eat and nap on the beach. On the way home we are usually pretty bummed at having to leave Bonaire so use the time to walk around Old San Juan and have a meal. however, if you are there early on a Sunday I would not suggest Old San Juan as it is pretty and findign a place to eat can be a problem. One time we took a tour of the fort which was quite enjoyable. I am always envious of the folks who can do Air Jamaica and have better arrivals/departures in Bonaire but have learned to enjoy and make the most of my San Juan layovers. How long is the LAX flight to SJ??? We will be flying into LAX at Christmas time and can only imagine the crowds!
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By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 5:35 pm: |
Ah, but I will be on Bonaire while you and a bunch of BT's are there. I also plan on going to Martini's wedding. I think I will get some kind of humgeous gift for to fill up their luggage with. (That's a bit of Pennsylvania deutsch). No really, what would you two like that is small and easily transportable? No, I won't buy you round trip airplane tickets to/from Bonaire. When the time gets closer, I will check with Jake and Linda for pot-luck items.
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By Martin de Weger on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 5:59 pm: |
Linnea, We like to be suprised, so we'll leave it up to your fantasy.
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By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 8:49 pm: |
Cynde, if you fly AA out of Bonaire, we will be on the same flight to San Juan. We will just beat you to Bonaire by a week. I only have two weeks vacation and a couple of floating days off a year. I have been booking a couple of extra days vacation since last March so I can spend some time checking out PR. It takes so long getting there from the left coast that as a rule I prefer to lose 2 days out of 14, instead of 2 out of 7. This is the first time I have scheduled any deliberate stops on the way to or from Bonaire. I have had a few unscheduled overnights due to airline foulups, fortunately it's always been on the airline 's tab.
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