Visiting the San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico

One of the most iconic sites of San Juan, Puerto Rico is the San Juan National Historic Site. As a National Park site, it was a must-visit for us. But, even if you’re not a National Park geek, it’s worth a visit.

Located in Old San Juan, the San Juan National Historic Site preserves three historic forts that all played a part in Puerto Rico’s history. Visiting the forts provides the opportunity to step back in time and learn more about the history of Puerto Rico.

We have been to Puerto Rico and the San Juan National Historic Site twice. The first time was in February 2016 for a cruise. We just had one day in San Juan following the cruise to explore the city.

Most recently, we were in San Juan for four days, attending TBEX (a conference for travel bloggers) in July 2024. Much of our time was devoted to the conference, but we did have time to return to the fort and dine at a few more restaurants.

And, we’re still looking forward to a third visit in February 2025 for another cruise! 

In this article, we’ll share everything you need to know to plan your visit to the San Juan National Historic Site. We also have recommendations on where to stay and eat, along with other tips for enjoying your time in San Juan.

Note: If you are looking for information on San Juan Islands National Historical Park, check out our article on visiting the island parks in Washington (state). 

(Disclaimer: When we link to places where you can buy our stuff or places we stayed, we are using special codes that earn us commissions on the sales at no additional cost to you. Please see our Review Policy  for more information.)

A Brief History of Puerto Rico

Europeans first discovered the island of Puerto Rico in 1493. Its location as the easternmost of the Greater Antilles islands in the Caribbean meant it was the first major island with much-needed supplies for sailors arriving from Europe. Here, they could get fresh water, food and shelter. 

The Spanish quickly settled on the island, in the early 1500s, establishing the city of San Juan. They quickly realized the larger nearby territories of Mexico and the Americas held many riches that Spain desired. 

Establishing military settlements in Puerto Rico provided Spain the opportunity to quickly expand its world power, establishing Spanish colonies in the New World.

Of course, Spain wasn’t the only country to realize the strategic location of Puerto Rico. As such, they built city walls and fortifications to protect the people from potential invaders.

These structures are what make up the San Juan National Historic Site. 

In 1898, Spain ceded Puerto Rico (along with Guam and the Philippines) to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War.

San Juan National Historic Site Basic Info

The San Juan National Historic Site includes three historic forts, most of the city walls of Old San Juan and the San Juan Gate. The forts are open to visitors daily (aside from a few holidays).

San Juan National Historic Site charges a per-person fee ($10). If you have any of the park passes (America the Beautiful, Military, Senior, etc.), it will cover the entrance fee for up to four people.

The two main forts are Castillo San Cristóbal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro (known as El Morro). Both are located in Old San Juan and are easily accessible.

Fortin San Juan de la Cruz (known as El Cañuelo) is located across the bay of San Juan, about a 30-minute drive from Old San Juan. 

I have to admit that even though we’ve been to more than 325 park sites, we still made a rookie mistake on our second visit to San Juan National Historic Site. On our first visit, we only had time to visit Castillo San Cristóbal, but we knew there were other units to the park. On our second visit, we did not properly research the park and just went off memory. Of course, all we remembered was the one fort, so that’s all we did.

Please, learn from our mistakes! Even if you’ve been somewhere before, it’s always best to do your research to see what has changed and refresh your memory! Since we are already planning another visit to San Juan, we are hoping that we can make it to El Morro and El Cañuelo in February 2025. 

Walking Through Castillo San Cristóbal

Castillo San Cristóbal is located along the coast of a small peninsula, along the North Atlantic Ocean. It sits right by Plaza Colon, which is a great place to start exploring Old San Juan.

To enter the fort, you’ll walk up a large ramp and through the gates. From there, you’ll enter a small ranger station where you’ll pay the fee before entering the fort to explore on your own.

The fort consists of a large triangle-shaped interior, surrounded by thick walls. Inside the walls, there are several rooms holding exhibits on the history of the fort.

Another ramp takes you up to an open upper level (known as a rampart) where you’ll have fantastic views over San Juan and the water. Here, you can explore sentry boxes (outlook stations) and peer out over the city.

The lower level is mostly dedicated to exhibits, which explain the history of the fort, its significance throughout the years and daily life at the fort. On the upper level, you can take in the views of Old Town, the modern city, the coastline and the water stretching to the horizon.

Give yourself at least an hour to tour the fort. 

Walking Through Old San Juan

From here, you can follow the historic city walls (which are also part of San Juan National Historic Site) to El Morro, which is at the tip of the peninsula. This would take you along the edge of Old San Juan.

If you prefer, you can walk down to Plaza Colón and through the heart of Old Town, known locally as Viejo San Juan. The best way to explain Old San Juan is a bit of the Old World in the New World. There are narrow one-way cobblestone streets, shops, restaurants and just a lot of charm.

So, take your time and wander wherever you want! There are also a few parks and plazas where you can sit and people watch.

Getting to San Juan National Historic Site

Old San Juan is fairly compact and walkable. Yes, the sidewalks are narrow and the streets can get busy, but if you’re up for it, you can walk throughout Old Town fairly easily. Depending on where you are staying, you might be able to walk to the forts of San Juan National Historic Site.

We actually walked to Castillo San Cristóbal from our hotel in the Condado area of San Juan, which is about 2 miles. It’s a mostly flat walk right along the coast, though. And, we stopped along the way for lunch, giving us a chance to rest a little.

If you aren’t up for the walk, you can easily get a taxi or an Uber for a relatively low price in San Juan. In fact, we walked to the fort but got an Uber back to the hotel when we were done exploring. We used Uber extensively throughout our time in San Juan and never had to wait more than about 5-10 minutes for one to arrive.

It’s also worth noting that San Juan’s cruise ship dock is on the south side of Old San Juan. If you are visiting via cruise ship, you can easily explore the city and San Juan National Historic Site on your own. 

Likewise, if you are cruising out of San Juan, you can explore either before or after your cruise – just be sure to build that into your itinerary when scheduling your flights.

Where to Stay in San Juan

There are tons of hotels in San Juan. You will find all of the major chains, along with plenty of local budget hotels and luxury boutique hotels. There are also vacation rentals if you need something other than a standard hotel room.

Check prices for nearby hotels here.

On both of our visits, we stayed at the Condado Plaza Hotel. Currently, this is an independent hotel that has joined the Hilton Honors program. We got all the perks of being Hilton Honors Diamond (which we get through the Aspire American Express), including a room upgrade, free breakfast and a bevy of Hilton Honors points. 

As of July 2024, the room was starting to show its age (some minor wear and tear) but it’s a great location and it was comfortable. 

The best part for us is that this hotel is considered a resort, and the aforementioned credit card provides a $200 resort credit twice a year. That definitely helps offset the cost for one night!

Across the street from the Condado Plaza is a Hilton Garden Inn. In fact, the two hotels are connected because they used to be one big hotel with two towers. The now-Hilton Garden Inn is where we stayed on our first visit to San Juan. From what we saw in the lobby and restaurants, it is a little bit nicer, mainly because it is more recently renovated.

We definitely enjoyed the Condado area. It’s right by the beach and not far from Old San Juan.

Read TripAdvisor Reviews | Book the Hotel

Where to Eat and Drink in San Juan

Between our two trips to San Juan, we’ve found a few great restaurants we can recommend. Of course, there are MANY other amazing restaurants.

Cafe Manolin Old San Juan – A staple of the town for 70 years, this diner serves authentic Puerto Rican food. During our first visit to San Juan, we had lunch here, which consisted of onion steak and grouper fillets. Both were very hearty, tasty and affordable (about $30 for the two of us). The restaurant really impressed us and we would recommend it to anyone looking for a good lunch in Old San Juan.

El Hamburguer – Another great lunch spot that was packed with locals. In fact, that’s what prompted us to head inside for a bite. It’s a very basic menu with a few different burgers (Roquefort for Grant and a wine burger for me), plus a couple of other options. But it was tasty and one of the cheapest meals we had the entire time we were in Puerto Rico. 

Marmalade – Since we were in San Juan for our 14th wedding anniversary, we decided to splurge on a celebratory meal and Marmalade in Old San Juan did not disappoint. You’ll enjoy a five-course tasting menu but you choose four of your courses. The set second course is their White Bean soup, the only menu item that hasn’t changed (and doesn’t need to) over the years. Service was impeccable, the food was divine and the wine pairing was perfect. Easily one of the best meals we’ve ever had.

DISTRITO T-Mobile – If you are looking for some dinner and nightlife, the T-Mobile District is where to go. It’s basically a large collection of restaurants, bars and even a few attractions not too far from Old San Juan and the Condado area. We grabbed tacos at Lupe Reyes one night and also enjoyed a welcome party with the conference here. Even though we were there with a group, it was obvious this is the go-to nightlife spot for locals and visitors.

Casa Bacardi – What better way to celebrate being in Puerto Rico than a tour of the world’s largest rum distillery? We visited for our conference’s closing party but would include it on a San Juan itinerary for anyone who enjoys rum. You can book a tour, a tasting or simply grab a drink and a bite to eat. 

Final Thoughts on San Juan National Historic Site

When you’ve visited as many forts as we have, they sometimes start running together. We have seen the evolution of fortifications from the Revolutionary War to World War II coastal artillery gun emplacements.

Castillo San Cristóbal at San Juan National Historic Site is still a coastal fort and has a lot of similarities to other forts. At the same time, it has a distinct, Spanish feel to it.

Mostly, though, we enjoyed the entirety of San Juan, especially Old San Juan. And the fort is central to the story of Old San Juan. That’s the best part… by visiting the fort, you learn about the city.

Just be sure to give yourself enough time to tour the entire site – and the rest of the city!

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