Take a Bicycle Tour in Old San Juan
There are many options for touring around the Old San Juan and San Juan metro areas, but have you ever considered biking around and getting some exercise while sight-seeing on your vacation? You can do just that while getting a nice tour of Old San Juan or the surrounding area. Rent The Bicycle offers reasonably priced, eco-friendly bike tours of Old San Juan, and Condado areas .
Pre-Ride Jitters
I will tell you, I didn’t think I would like doing this tour. Biking in Old San Juan and Condado sounded difficult, hot and kind of dangerous. And it has been a while since I’ve been on a bike. But I was so wrong. I really enjoyed it!
Since you are riding, you get a breeze the whole time and you get to where you are going much faster than walking, so you can do & see so much more. You also get to enjoy the scenery, smell the food cooking at the restaurants and even interact with people along the way. You can actually experience the route, instead of just getting to a destination.
Rent The Bicycle offers many options, from guided tours to hourly bike rentals. Though you can just rent the bikes and go along a "suggested" route, for tourists or cruise ship visitors, I highly recommend going on a tour with a guide. They really take the stress out of the equation — you don’t have to worry about directions, finding the sidewalk ramps on the corners, stopping the traffic to cross, etc.
If you go with a guide from Rent The Bicycle, they know the safest route to take. On our tour, when we had to ride in the streets, the guide signaled or stopped traffic, so we could just enjoy the ride. Riding in traffic was one of my concerns, but on our tour from Old San Juan to Ocean Park, we were mostly on sidewalks or bike paths. And when we did have to use the street, they were mainly suburban streets, where traffic was used to sharing the road with the bikes. It really turned out to be a safe and enjoyable tour.
Rent The Bicycle offers a few guided tours from the Old San Juan area and a San Juan City and Beaches tour. Since we have been to Old San Juan and the forts many times, we decided to do the City and Beaches tour.
Our Tour
We met them at their shop in Old San Juan . After adjusting the bikes seats for our height, fitting us for the mandatory bike helmets, and signing the obligatory waivers, we set off.
On our tour, we enjoyed some beautiful ocean views, a ride through Escambron Beach, by the Normandie and Hilton Hotels and around the Condado lagoon. We stopped at the Fort San Geronimo ruins. We stopped at the Plaza Mercado in Santurce, where we had a banana batida (shake) and I took the opportunity to buy some fresh fruit!
Once we rested a bit, we took off toward Ocean Park, into the Parque del Indio and up to the Ultimo Trolley Beach. Then we turned around and came back, but going a different route so we could see other things like the Condado hotels, Parque Ventana al Mar, and the Condado bridge beach. We rode across the Condado bridge where the kids were jumping into the lagoon. All in all we covered about 10 miles and saw many neat things.
That was our tour — but every tour is different. It all depends on the people on the tour — how fast they can ride, how comfortable they are on a bike, etc. This tour sometimes winds through Parque Luis Munoz Rivera, sometimes on the beaches in Ocean Park (by Pamela’s, etc.). It is variable but always interesting!
Other Options for Guided Tours
Rent The Bicycle offers a few different bikes tours. They have a tour of Old San Juan, where you can see things like the Capitol building, both forts, many beautiful statues (like La Rogativa and Raices), Paseo de Princesa, the Old City Gate, the Cathedral, they give you a little time to shop or sight see on Cristo Street, and much more. They take you on routes with as few hills as possible and little traffic.
All the tours are usually able to be semi-customized, so if you want to do something (like go swimming or grab something to eat/drink or shop along the way), let them know. They will try to fit it in during your tour.
The Bicycles
You can’t miss these bikes — they are all school bus yellow! They are well-maintained, unisex, cruiser-type models that have a single speed and both hand and pedal brakes. They have a back rack for carrying any stuff you have with you or pick up on your trip (no front basket (as seen in these photos) anymore). The bike seats are wide and well-padded, which I found to be very comfortable.
Bike Rentals Without a Tour Guide
For people who want to just go out and explore on their own, they also rent bikes by the hour or the day. The folks at Rent The Bicycle will give you a map and a suggested route for biking, so you are not riding willy-nilly or in lots of traffic.
Other Things Worth Mentioning
- Helmets are included in the rental/tour price and it is mandatory that you to wear them.
- There are height, weight, and age restrictions.
- The tours include a bottle of water. I would suggest you bring (or buy along the way) another one. You will biking/exercising in a tropical climate and staying hydrated is really important!
- Make sure to use sunscreen on your face/arms/legs for the tour. You will be riding for a while and will not realize you are getting sunburned (until it is too late). Some is available at the shop if you don’t have any.
- Wear CLOSED TOED SHOES- no flip flops!
- They say these tours are appropriate for anyone in decent shape that knows how to ride a bike.
- They need 4 people minimum for a tour. They have a lot of bikes, so they can handle large groups.
Normally, when we review an activity that is not free to the public, we pay the admission price out of our own pockets. However, we just want you to know that the folks at Rent The Bike were kind enough to offer us this tour for free. While we don’t feel that this free ride influenced our review one way or the other, we felt that we should tell you, just as a matter of fact.
The Details
Check the web page for current Prices for Guided Tours
- They have a few tours to choose from! Old San Juan tour, and a San Juan City and Beach tour. Bilingual guides. There may be other tours may be available- just ask!
Check their web page for Prices for Bike Rentals, picked up at their store in Old San Juan. You can rent it a bicycle for just an hour, 3 hours, all day, or for a week!
They are open Tuesday – Sunday 10am -4:00pm.
Their phone number is (787) 661-2728 or (787) 602-9696.
You can visit their web site , Facebook page , or send email to rentthebicyclepr@gmail.com for more info.
At the corner Del Muelle/ St. Fernandez Juncos Corner, #205 Capitolio Plaza Condos in Old San Juan. Just look for the yellow bikes lined up on the sidewalk.
Click on a placename below to view the location on Google Maps ...
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