Puerto Rico Getting There

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) on the outskirts of San Juan is Puerto Rico’s main hub. If you’re headed to the west coast you can fly into Aguadilla’s Rafael Hernandez Airport (BQN), while those going south can book into Ponce Mercedita Airport (PSE). The satellite islands of Vieques and Culebra have small airports reached from San Juan; flights to these islands originating at the tiny municipal airport – located near the San Juan convention center – are cheaper than flights from elsewhere on the island.

American Airlines is the major carrier to San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (itself a major hub for onward flights throughout the Caribbean). The airport is also served by Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Spirit, US Airways, and United from their hubs. Continental, JetBlue and Spirit fly to Aguadilla from Newark, New York-JFK, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale; JetBlue has service into Ponce from New York-JFK and Orlando.

2-1/2 hours nonstop from Miami and 4 hours from the New York area; flights from most west coast cities involve at least one connection and more than 9 hours of travel time.

San Juan is the Caribbean’s largest cruise ship port, hosting 1.4 million passengers annually. Fourteen cruise lines currently visit San Juan. Notably, six of them use the city as a home port for departures to both the western and eastern Caribbean islands, with almost daily embarkations: Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, SeaDream and Silverseas. Most San Juan hotels are accustomed to one- and two-night stays by cruise passengers. In 2007 Port of the Americas in Ponce and Port of Mayagüez had their first cruise ship calls.