Explore the colorful buildings and charming streets of Old San Juan in a small group with the help of writer David Rodriguez, author of ‘The Rise and Fall of the Great Barbate.’ During the course of your day, the knowledgeable author helps you discover the area’s key historic sites and gain new insight into Puerto Rican culture. It’s a great opportunity to learn about the many stories of the people who helped to define this unique neighborhood. Your walking trip’s length is flexible based on your needs, and also includes bottled water.

Take a walking tour of Old San Juan with author David Rodríguez
Gain new insight into Puerto Rican culture from a knowledgeable author
Learn the stories of the people that helped to define this unique neighborhood
Discover key historic sites like Fort San Cristobal, Plaza de Armas, and the city gates

What's Included

Bottled water
Local guide

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Starbucks
363 C. Tetuán #1, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico
If you are coming by cruise and arriving at the Old San Juan Cruise Piers. Starbucks is located within walking distance of the piers.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Old San Juan

Admission Ticket Free

Juan Ponce de Leon Statue

Admission Ticket Free

Paseo de la Princesa

Admission Ticket Free

La Puerta de San Juan

Admission Ticket Free

Calle de la Fortaleza

Admission Ticket Free

La Fortaleza - Palacio de Santa Catalina (Pass By)

La Rogativa (Pass By)

Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud (Pass By)

Catedral Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista

Admission Ticket Free

Plaza de Armas

Admission Ticket Free

La Muralla

Admission Ticket Free

Old San Juan Casino (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Children must be accompanied by an adult
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Proper clothing required to enter to churches
Proper shoes required. No sandals.
Not recommended for people with recent surgery
Not recommended for people with hip, heel or foot pain
Not recommended for people with high blood pressure complications
Travelers Must Be fit for walking long distances (3 miles)
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Easy location to meet up with the tour plus convenient parking.

For fast timers to Puerto Rico, I highly recommend this tour, bring your children, for history lessons!

Reviews

5.0

1,299 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 1,299 reviews

Great Guided Walking Tour

Jeannine_A, May 2023

This was an excellent guided walking tour of Old San Juan. We enjoyed all of the information that David Rodriguez shared with us.

Ok, probably better tours out there!

Sarah_B, May 2023

Definitely had better tours before, was a bit disappointed not to informational. Guy tried though but felt like he was overwhelmed and forgot things a lot. Didn’t get to see things what I wanted to see but that would have been my fault for not looking where the spots were. No communication before hand as well. I asked since it was storming later in the day if the tour was still on and no reply. But thankfully someone did end up showing up

Response from Host, May 2023

We strive to create an environment where customers can enjoy their tour and time with friends in a lively setting without feeling overwhelmed by noise or other distractions. During a walking tour is important to pay attention and be engaged with the rest of your group. Distractions can lead to miss the narrative of your tour.

This tour gave us the confidence to explore even more!

KEITH_H, May 2023

Very responsive tour guide as we were stuck on the ship at the time our tour began due to another ship docking. We were able to still participate and enjoy the whole tour. Thank you! We would not have ventured out alone, this being our first trip to Old San Juan, and we felt like this tour gave us the ability to continue to explore with confidence deep into the city even after the tour was finished. The city is beautiful, picture worthy 360 degrees. You should definitely go!

Great overview to kick off our stay in the old city

Sacha_M, May 2023

Packed with information on GDP, history & what defines a US territory while walking to important sites in old San Juan. Going into the sites is to be done on your own time. Old San Juan is small enough to be walked many times in one day. Bring comfortable shoes to traverse the cobblestone streets and their inclines. A great overview to kick off a stay in the old city. We recommend it.

Thank you David!

Courtney_M, May 2023

David did a great job of sharing a lot of historical facts and pacing the walk really well. We learned so much about old San Juan.

Loved it!

Jennifer_G, May 2023

My husband and I loved this walking tour of Old San Juan! The meet up location was very convenient and easy to find from the cruise port, the tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, interesting, easy to hear and took us on a beautiful tour of the city. We would highly recommend this tour!

Excellent introduction to Old San Juan

shannon_h, May 2023

David is an exceptional tour guide! We covered a lot of ground and David's knowledge of history and the city was informative and interesting. We enjoyed the tour and would recommend it as an excellent introduction walking tour to Old San Juan.

Insightful tour with a great guide

Derek_H, May 2023

David was an excellent guide and provided great information regarding all the sites and colors on the tour. I am extremely happy to have been on this tour. The tour takes through several high points in Old San Juan and while we were walking, we noticed several other spots we wanted to visit that were not part of the tour. I recommend good walking shoes and bring some water bottles with you. It is hot and there are several areas where you go uphill so be prepared.

Old San Juan Walking Tour

Jordan_H, May 2023

Wow! David was absolutely incredible! I highly recommend doing this walking tour before venturing off by yourself for the day. You will absorb so much history about San Juan while learning your way around the city. He has great recommendations on where to go to learn more history and where to eat. Don’t skip on this one!

Good introduction to Old SJ

vmalkani, May 2023

We covered a lot of ground so it was a little like reading a guide book. No in depth explanations or stories. Commentary on everyday life would be appreciated.

A must do!

Leona_E, May 2023

Loved hearing the history of Puerto Rico and seeing the sights! David was a wonderful storyteller and a great guide.

Great overview of OSJ

Linh_N, May 2023

Dave was funny and very knowledgeable about the history of Puerto Rico and Old San Juan. He told us many stories from the sailors in 1500s to tourists nowadays. The tour covers almost all of OSJ; we did not go in the forts or the basilica but we did go in hotel el convento. There are breaks in between locations and Dave tried to find us a lot of shade to avoid the sun, which I really appreciated. We did not see iguana but we did see a lot of cats, they were very lovely and friendly. Overall, the tour was great and gave us a wide ovverview of information regarding OSJ. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 only because the size of the tour was a bit too large for me, so we did not have enough time for questions or discussions...

Excellent Introduction to Old San Juan

Lindsay_D, May 2023

First time to PR, this tour was full of interesting information and David is an excellent storyteller and guide. Great way to get the lay of the land in OSJ.

Helpful and interesting tour

Leisa_W, May 2023

The guide, local author David Rodriguez, provided a helpful and interesting guide of old Town. He provided a history as well as interesting insights on old Town and Puerto Rico.

The different sites and...

darsheen_s, May 2023

The different sites and history info was nice. The umbrellas were very pretty. Where comfortable shoes and pack light.

Great tour with David

Thomas_B, May 2023

David was a very knowledgeable guide and explained history in a fun and interesting way. Highly recommend

Enjoyed by a Tx-an

Criselda_G, May 2023

David was amazing!!! He added some humor with all the history and stories he told, We learned so much about San Juan that I can’t wait to share with my family.

Great walking tour!

Amy_S, May 2023

Had a great walk through the streets of Old San Juan! It is absolutely beautiful and our guide was very personable and informative. Would recommend to anyone!

We saw everything! David is the best tour guide.

Blair_M, May 2023

We got so much more from this tour than we ever expected. It was three hours and saw all of Old San Juan. Our tour guide, David, is incredibly knowledgeable. He invited questions from the group and knew answers to all of them. You can tell he loves his city, cleaning up trash as we walked. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Would absolutely recommend this to anyone coming to San Juan and want to learn the history.

Amazing tour!

Anthony_C, May 2023

Tour guide David was very informative and knowledgeable. Tour exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend to anyone. Thank you David for the amazing tour!

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