Best Tourist Attractions in San Juan 2023

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Greetings Internet Stranger, and welcome to a the best tourist attractions in San Juan day. Now, we’re going to start this itinerary with a trip to the famous Bacardi distillery.

A more pretentious blogger would begin this tourist attractions in San Juan day by peering snootily over an imaginary pair of bifocals and telling you that most Puerto Ricans do not choose Bacardi Rum. Generally speaking, Don Q is the most popular local rum brand. Also, Bacardi is originally from Cuba, not Puerto Rico.

All of these things are true, Internet Stranger. And yet the Bacardi tour still manages to be one of the most popular attractions in San Juan!

So that’s where I’m taking you on this tourist attractions in San Juan day (among other fun places in San Juan. Leave the pretentiousness for others! As for myself, I choose good times and rum. (Bacardi, I bequeath to you that slogan free of charge.)

tourist attractions in San Juan day

Where to Stay?

There are so many wonderful places you can choose to stay for your tourist attractions in San Juan day. But my two favorite neighborhoods are the Old Town and the Ocean Park beachy area, so that’s what I’m going to share with you. (And yes, I visit Puerto Rico often enough that I’ve stayed in all these hotels myself.)

Let’s say you prefer to take things slowly and you want to spend most of your day near the beach. Then the Ocean Park neighborhood is for you! One of the best places to stay there is the beautiful Andalucia House. The owner is very attentive, and the rooms are comfortable and convenient.

Or you could try the Dream Inn PR, which has an equally friendly staff, an equally convenient location, and provides breakfast at the Kasalta Bakery every morning. You can just relax in a hammock and take life easy here.

I also have a couple of choices for you if you prefer the hustle and bustle of Old San Juan. Maybe you’ll want to stay at the Decanter Hotel which has a terrific location in the heart of Old Town at a very affordable price.

What if money is not an object, and you prefer a more glam hotel? Then stay at El Convento, which is perhaps the most famous, and famously haunted, luxury hotel in the city. You can cozy up to the pet cat, enjoy the complimentary wine and cheese evenings, and snuggle up in that fabulous bed.

If The Decanter sounds right up your alley, you can book it if you click here. And if you just don’t trust anything I have to say and want to explore great deals on other hotels in San Juan, you can do that.

Check rates and availability if you click here.

This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay for your tourist attractions in San Juan day. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

tourist attractions in San Juan day

Morning: Bacardi Tour

You read that headline correctly. I am definitely recommending that you start your tourist attractions in San Juan day right with a rum tour. In my particular case, I had no choice in the matter.

I was taking this tour as a shore excursion on my Royal Caribbean cruise. But the tour of the Bacardi distillery is provided by Bacardi, not by Royal Caribbean, which mostly provides the transportation to the distillery.

However, you can easily take a taxi or Uber to and from the Bacardi Distillery and the main part of San Juan. (For what I hope are obvious reasons, I don’t recommend driving to and from the Bacardi Distillery yourself.)

You don’t want to show up at Bacardi and find that the tours are all sold out, so just book a tour in advance yourself online here and then book a taxi or an Uber there and back.

Check rates and availability right here!

Once you arrive at the Bacardi Distillery, your guide will greet you and take you on a lovely stroll around the premises. He will find that perfect balance between being enthusiastic about the rum without being creepily enthusiastic. Because of my guide’s rum wisdom, I am able to share with you…

Three fun facts: bacardi tour

1) What is its mascot?

The mascot of the Bacardi distillery is the mighty bat. Bacardi rum was founded in Cuba by Don Facundo Bacardi Masso. He and his wife soon discovered that their tiny distillery had a family of bats living inside. Instead of evicting the bats and tying them to railroad tracks while twirling their mustaches and saying MWAHAHAHA, the Bacardis let the bats stay.

Soon the bats were pulling their fair share, eating the bugs that were attracted to the sugarcane used to make rum. In gratitude, the Bacardi family made bats their symbol. And that is why Bacardi is every vampire’s favorite rum brand.

2) Where is bacardi from?

I mentioned earlier that Bacardi is originally from Cuba, yet they don’t manufacture it in Cuba anymore!

As you can probably guess, the Bacardi family ran into some problems during the Cuban Revolution. The Bacardi Rum company had become quite successful, so they were less than thrilled with Castro’s government confiscating their assets.

However, Bacardi had begun expanding to other areas long before the Cuban Revolution. They first started operating in Puerto Rico in the 1930s. So they were fairly easily able to relocate.

Now the Bacardi distillery in Puerto Rico is known as the Cathedral of Rum. I’m pretty sure the Bacardi company started that nickname themselves, but now other people call it that too! It’s always so nice when fetch finally happens.

3) What about the drinking?

My favorite part of the tour was getting to see the different kinds of cocktails made with Bacardi rum. The three classics were the Cuba Libre, the Daiquiri, and the Mojito. A Cuba Libre is lime, rum, and Coke. You make it with 1 part rum for every two parts Coke. The Daiquiri is rum, lime juice, and sugar.

The guide at the Bacardi Distillery said the trick was to mix the sugar and lime juice first, then add the rum. I think adding the rum must be the real trick because no one wants to drink a virgin Daiquiri.

Finally the mojito is the most complicated because you need lime, mint, water, bat wings, etc. I think the mojitos here are also considerably stronger than the mojito I had in Morocco.

24 hour treat: daiquiri

The best part of the Bacardi Distillery tour is getting a giant free cocktail all to yourself. Spoiler alert! You also get to keep the cup. Unfortunately, the mojito is not always included with the price of the tour, but you can get a daiquiri or a Cuba Libre.

I chose the Daiquiri because I feel like even I could handle mixing a rum and Coke together on my own. It was super refreshing, especially since the bartender used fresh lime in it.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of this Bacardi tour that I can share for now! You’ll have to book the tour if you want to find out more!

Check rates and availability right here!

24 Hour Treat: Lunch at El Jibarito

After you get back to Old San Juan, preferably by taxi or Uber, you’ll want to soak up all that rum with some lunch. My favorite casual restaurant in San Juan is El Jibarito.

It’s famous for comida criolla, aka home-style cooking. Get some chicken with mofongo, a local beer, and prepare for a belly full of love.

 The presentation at El Jibarito isn’t exactly gorgeous. After all, my tres leches cake was served in a little tin foil cup. But who cares about presentation when the food is this cozy in your tummy?

tourist attractions in San Juan day

Afternoon: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico is arguably the best museum in San Juan. They have art from the very beginning of Puerto Rico’s history through the present day.

Don’t have time to take a Puerto Rican history course? (And really, you should.) Just come to this museum because it’s just as informative and fascinating. This is definitely a can’t-miss stop on your tourist attractions in San Juan day

I don’t have time to show you everything in the museum, but I will try to get your attention with…

Approximately Top 5: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

1) Jose Campeche

Mr. Campeche is one of the earliest artists in the museum because he dates back to the 18th century. In fact, he is apparently considered one of the finest Latin American artists of this century.

Reading facts like this always makes me feel so inadequate because I don’t think I’m considered the finest anything of this century, unless it’s the finest eater of cheese plates.

Even though Campeche knew artists from the Spanish court, he wasn’t formally trained himself. But you can see that his work still looks European, and more specifically rococo. You can always tell when something is rococo if there’s a lot of gold and pink and it looks like a Very Fancy Lady would want it in her parlor.

2) No Crying in the Barbershop

And here we have my favorite work of contemporary art in the museum, “No Crying in the Barbershop” by Pepon Osorio.

This is an installation that actually looks like a real barbershop, only you can’t go inside or do anything in it or really get your hair cut, so if it were an actual barbershop, it would be a very bad one. But as a work of art, it is most intriguing.

I think the title “No Crying in the Barbershop” is a commentary on the oppressiveness of masculine stereotypes, but then I think every work of contemporary art is a commentary on the oppressiveness of masculine stereotypes.

Also, I like how this installation makes you think of the ordinary beauty you can find in your average barbershop. Love really is all around us!

3) Denise Quinones’s Crown

Not every object in the museum was intended to be a work of art. They have some artifacts with historical value as well. This crown and sash above belonged to the Puerto Rican beauty queen Denise Quinones who was eventually declared Miss Universe.

I was so excited to see this crown because I actually met Denise a couple of times when she dated a friend of mine!

He was a totally ordinary looking guy, and when people asked him how he landed an actual literal Miss Universe, he just said he wasn’t too intimidated to approach her. That’s good life advice, Internet Stranger!

4) Veijigante Masks

Veijigante masks are a Puerto Rican religious tradition, and you can find them for sale in art galleries all over San Juan. They are meant to be worn at festival times, like at St. James Day or during Carnival.

They’re supposed to look scary, but I think they’re so fabulous and interesting to look art, it’s hard to imagine being frightened by them. I mean, unless someone wearing one of these masks jumped you in a dark alley. That probably would be pretty scary.

5) Sculpture Garden

Unless it’s totally pouring rain, don’t miss the chance to wander around the beautiful sculpture garden. You can admire the contemporary art placed around the garden…

Or you can just enjoy the beautiful plants and not think about the art at all.

Or you can just go on a hunt for the museum’s pet cat! That’s a perfect hiding spot, Little Kitty! I bet no one can see you there!

tourist attractions in San Juan day

Evening: Dinner at Jose Enrique

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time in San Juan, it’s that Condado is one of the best neighborhoods to go for dinner on your tourist attractions in San Juan day.

And no restaurant is more chic or popular than Jose Enrique in the Condado neighborhood. They wouldn’t take a reservation for one, but I just strolled in kind of early and was able to get a seat at the bar.

The best thing about Jose Enrique is their creative use of local ingredients, so start with something using Puerto Rican produce like this rich pumpkin and peanut salad.

For the main course, get one of their signature dishes, which is fried fish. Mine was served with avocado, root vegetables, and lime. I have had avocado and lime together before, but I would never have thought to add root vegetables. This is what I mean my a creative use of produce.

Of course, not every dish needs to be zazzled up and reconstructed. Sometimes you just want a simple, flawless piece of chocolate cake, so that’s how we’re going to end our meal and our wonderful day in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Tourist Attractions in San Juan

Tools For Travel

• A portable cell charger so that your phone won’t die a miserable death during your day in San Juan
• I always get good advice from my favorite travel guide to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico
• The most reliable travel umbrella that is small enough to fit in my purse, but strong enough to stand up to powerful winds during our day in San Juan
• These great TSA approved clear toiletries bags, so I can always keep spare toothpaste and travel sized toiletries in any carry-on.
• My book Get Lost, that I wrote myself with all my best travel tips. This book will show you how travel can take your life from blah to AMAZING!

That’s a Perfect tourist attractions in San Juan day

If you thought this article was funny, check out my hilarious travel guide Get Lost.

What would you do in San Juan? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in San Juan right now? And what is a vampire’s favorite brand of whiskey? Please email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY enjoy one tourist attractions in San Juan day.

If you want another tourist attractions in San Juan day, add 24 hours in San Juan. You can also add a day of the must see in Old San Juan. And then there are the top things to do in San Juan Puerto Rico.