San Juan: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico, 11 m (36 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre. It is a port city: Port of San Juan. Our booking partner lists 818 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in San Juan runs from about 11 h 4 min a day in late December to 13 h 17 min in late June (computed for 18.47° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
San Juan is served by 6 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, whose 10,002-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG, 1 km), José Aponte de la Torre Airport (NRR, 55 km), Mercedita International Airport (PSE, 70 km), Antonio Rivera Rodriguez Airport (VQS, 74 km), Benjamin Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX, 86 km).
Flights to San Juan: every airport, routes and times
Buses to San Juan · Driving and car hire · Ferries
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 818 places to stay in San Juan. Of the 552 with a star rating, the largest group is 2-star (215), and 3 are five-star. Across 175 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.2 out of 10. Guests have left 89,214 reviews in total.
Hotels in San Juan: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 14 hostels in San Juan, out of 818 places to stay of every kind — 1.7% of everywhere it lists in the city, around the middle of the range for the cities we hold figures for. Across 9 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 7.5 out of 10, 0.7 below the 8.2 its hotels average. Guests have left 3,957 reviews across them.
Hostels in San Juan: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| San Juan National Historic Site | 357,100 | 2020 |
The busiest is San Juan National Historic Site at 357,100 visitors in 2020. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site.
Tours, tickets and day trips from San Juan
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Santo Domingo, 399 km (Dominican Republic) — flights · ferries
- Santo Domingo Este, 395 km (Dominican Republic) — flights
- San Pedro de Macorís, 338 km (Dominican Republic)
- La Romana, 302 km (Dominican Republic)
- Bayamón, 9 km
- Carolina, 18 km — tours
- Ponce, 75 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Salvaleón de Higüey, 275 km (Dominican Republic) — flights
- Punta Cana, 243 km (Dominican Republic)
- Charlotte Amalie, 125 km (U.S. Virgin Islands) — ferries
Twin towns and sister cities: Madrid, Maracaibo, Cádiz, Mexico City, Cartagena, Honolulu County, Honolulu.
Common questions
Which airport serves San Juan?
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, plus 5 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is San Juan?
About 418,140 people live in San Juan, across 120 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is San Juan in?
America/Puerto_Rico, currently UTC-4.
What currency is used in San Juan?
The Dollar (USD). Traffic drives on the right.
Are there hostels in San Juan?
14 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in San Juan.
How many hotels are there in San Juan?
Our booking partner lists 818 places to stay in San Juan, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near San Juan?
Santo Domingo (399 km), Santo Domingo Este (395 km), San Pedro de Macorís (338 km), La Romana (302 km), Bayamón (9 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.