Miscellaneous Tips for Travelers

- Try to avoid leaving San Juan between 3 and 7 p.m.  Afternoon traffic jams are pretty ugly.  If your flight gets in at mid-afternoon, consider grabbing dinner in San Juan before heading out of the city.

-At toll plazas, the lane marked "C" is the one to use if you don't have exact change.

-Car rental agencies normally charge a $500 deposit on your credit card for insurance.  The only way to avoid this is to get a letter from your insurance company stating that they cover loss, theft and damage to rental vehicles in Puerto Rico.  Having this letter among your travel papers should ease your trip through the rent-a-car line.

-Using a cell phone while driving (unless equipped with hands-free equipment) is now illegal in Puerto Rico.  So is driving without a shirt on.

-If you're meeting someone at Luis Munoz Marin Airport (SJU), it is often easier to meet upstairs on the departures level, as there is less cruise-ship congestion.

-You can often arrange a one-way drop-off with rent-a-car agencies, allowing you to leave your vehicle in Fajardo when you go over to Vieques or Culebra.

-Grocery stores and other retailers close at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays.

-Many tourist destinations are closed on Mondays, so call ahead.

These next few were suggested by Kerry, a recent visitor to Cubuy [elyunquehotels additions in parentheses]:

Many Puerto Rican drivers avoid any road bumps at all cost (including manhole covers) and puddles. So be very aware while driving that a car from the other side of the road may swerve into your lane at any time. They also slow to a crawl on highways before areas of rough pavement.  [Swerving around puddles in the road is a very good idea.  They're terrific hiding places for moon-worthy potholes.  God only knows how many layers of asphalt have been laid around a manhole cover.  Visitors should consider oncoming traffic in their calculations.  Residents generally don't bother.]

The $3 fee to get into the El Yunque visitors’ center on rt. 191 doesn’t get you access to any of the trails on 191. Those are free. But you can get a map at the visitors’ center, and I guess there is a book store and gift shop, as well as a little video presentation. We thought we were paying for access to the trails but then just ended up driving right back out.

We saw VERY few birds on our trip through the forest. Perhaps early morning or late evening walks is best for seeing birds? [Most of the birds' prey are most active around dawn and dusk.  It's also often more fruitful for birders to stay still and let the birds come to them.  Sit still for five minutes and you're going to see hawks and hummingbirds, bananaquits and todys (todies?)]

Yellow along the edge of a curb means no parking. We were told BY A COP that it was okay to park there, but then we got a ticket!