Old San Juan History Tour: Explore Landmarks and Heritage

Uncover Puerto Rico’s rich heritage on a 2-hour walking tour of Old San Juan. Explore landmarks, learn about the city’s history, and discover its unique ties to the US.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • La Casa Estrecha - We will enjoy the history behind Casa Estrecha and how it came to fruition
  • Catedral Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista - We will enter inside the Cathedral and see the tomb and relics inside
  • Cuartel de Ballaja - We will walk inside el Cuartel de Ballajá and enjoy the architecture and history
  • **Iglesia de San…
What's Included
  • Local guide
What's Not Included
  • Private transportation
  • Food or drink
Additional Information

A convenient and straightforward way to learn about and explore Old San Juan is with a local, knowledgeable guide who will lead you on an easy 2-hour history stroll through the oldest section of the city. Following the tour, you will understand the history behind the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its unique ties to the US, as well as its rich Spanish,…

Location
206 C. Recinto Sur
Calle Recinto Sur
Plazoleta Rafael Carrión, guide will be wearing a bright green shirt
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(223 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Victorr160
Oct 19, 2024
Fantastic Tour - On Saturday October 12th my wife and I took the Old San Juan Historical Tour. Our tour guide Stephanie was absolutely great. She was very informative, pleasant and professional. Stephanie was extremely well prepared.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Craig_s
Oct 14, 2024
The history of the city,... - The history of the city, and the beautiful architecture. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and had a great personality.
Review provided by Viator
Janetk_g
Sep 10, 2024
Stephanie - excellent tour guide - Stephanie was terrific guide. Offered rich and nuanced historical context of many sights on walking tour. Knowledgable and friendly. Pure joy.
Review provided by Viator
Nicholasd_t
Sep 8, 2024
Puerto Rico Excellent Adventure - Pablo Pont Ruiz made our experience extraordinary by being patient and knowledgeable, answering all our questions and making the tour fun and memorable. I highly recommend them for a 5-star experience in Puerto Rico.
Review provided by Viator
Zachary_h
Aug 31, 2024
More Than a Tour: A Lesson in History and Joy - Alberto, our guide, was delightful! I come from a family of educators. I’m a college professor, and my mother taught kindergarten and second grade, and my aunt was a high school principal, cousin teaches biology in high school… so we really value tour guides who are informative as well as entertaining. You can tell that Alberto is an incredible school teacher! What fun the children must have in the classroom with him. His energy was excellent. He was even bouncy. Literally. He would bounce up on his toes when he spoke. There was such joy exuding from him. And the stories were fabulous. The tour route itself was great as well. He even did a masterful pivot when it started raining, and popped into a local place, I believe they were selling Paletas, and was able to talk to us about the interior architecture and design of one of the buildings. Bravo Alberto on the pivot! It provided us the opportunity to escape the rain while also delighting in the little details he offered us about the Interior of the building. I also enjoyed the fact that about halfway through the tour we stopped for about 15 minutes to explore on our own. My husband‘s company calls these “bio breaks” and during a tour they provide the opportunity to go to the bathroom or grab ice cream, and, in our this case, we did both! At the end of the tour, he provided us with customized recommendations based on what we were craving. Piña coladas or a nice lunch, etc. The tour was a delightful way to get to know the town with a true historian/educator. 5 stars all around! Pro tip: do bring a sun hat or have sunscreen. And some water to drink. Even though we had a nice refreshing rain, it is still a hot tour with very few shady spots on the route.
Review provided by Viator
Pauladc3003se
Aug 24, 2024
Nahoymi was great ! - Nahoymi was a great tour guide. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of old San Juan was excellent. I highly recommend this tour. 2 hours was perfect and you cover a lot of sites. 10 out of 10 !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lockie
Aug 22, 2024
Five starts for this entertaining and educational walking tour with Alberto - Alberto was delightful! I come from a family of educators. I’m a college professor, and my mother taught kindergarten and second grade, and my aunt was a high school principal, cousin teaches biology in high school… so we really value tour guides who are informative as well as entertaining. You can tell that Alberto is an incredible school teacher! What fun the children must have in the classroom with him. His energy was delightful. He was even bouncy. Literally. He would bounce up on his toes when he spoke. There was such joy exuding from him. And the stories were fabulous. The tour route itself was great as well. He even did a masterful pivot when it started raining, and popped into a local place, I believe they were selling Paletas, and was able to talk to us about the interior architecture and design of one of the buildings. Bravo Alberto on the pivot! It provided us the opportunity to escape the rain while also delighting in the little details he offered us about the Interior of the building. I also enjoyed the fact that about halfway through the tour we stopped for about 15 minutes to explore on our own. My husband‘s company calls these “bio breaks” and during a tour they provide the opportunity to go to the bathroom or grab ice cream, and, in our this case, we did both! At the end of the tour, he provided us with customized recommendations based on what we were craving. Piña coladas or a nice lunch, etc. The tour was a delightful way to get to know the town with a true historian/educator. 5 stars all around! Pro tip: do bring a sun hat or have sunscreen. And some water to drink. Even though we had a nice refreshing rain, it is still a hot tour with very few shady spots on the route.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katie_v
Aug 8, 2024
Enjoy getting to know old San Juan -! - Alberto is a gem. He made us laugh and brought big energy to our tour. He made great recommendations while teaching our group about the history of San Juan and showing us around the area. We had so much fun!
Review provided by Viator
O8062bljohnc
Aug 6, 2024
HIGH ENERGY AND FUN TOUR! - Alberto was our tour guide and he was great. His high energy and love for all things Puerto Rico made the tour I was on, amazing. The tour was close to two hours and at the end, I backtracked the tour and stopped in the Museo de las Américas. Then I stopped in Barrachina for a frozen non-alcohol Piña Colada. At the end, ask your guide for recommendations for food or museums or drinks. I packed water and Gatorade in case I needed it. And there are plenty of street vendors to grab something refreshing if needed. If you want to have a great time, you will have a great time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary_p
Jul 24, 2024
Didn't get what we paid for - We signed up to enter the 2 churches Catedral Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista and the Iglesia de San Jose. Also was supposed to enter Cuartel de Ballaja and look at the architetecture. Instead, we only WALKED by ALL sights that was totally different than what we paid for. Tour guide was nice but this is NOT what we paid for. If we wanted a waking tour with no entry, we would have paid for the $30 tour, not the $50 tour.
Review provided by Viator
From $50
up to 6 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).