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Hop Aboard the Free Trolley in Old San Juan
Old San Juan now has a free trolley service to help you get around the city. The trolley runs Monday through Friday from 7:00am until 7:00pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00am until 7:00pm. Just stand at any of the marked trolley stop signs and wait for the next trolley to come along. You can get off at any marked trolley stop.
These trolleys are strictly free transportation. They are not "tour" or "sight-seeing" trolleys. There is no tour guide to explain what you’re seeing. But having said that, the trolleys are a nice way to see an overview of the city. They are not the fastest way to get around in the city - the best way to get around and see more is on foot. But they are convenient when you are hot and tired, or physically unable to walk the steep streets.
There are three routes, all of which start at trolley stop 1 , which is on the corner across the street from Cruise Ship Pier 4. This corner has a little restaurant, a convenience store, liquor store, a cigar shop, an internet cafe, and scooter shop. The route names are posted on the front of the trolley above the windshield.
City Hall Route
The trolley used for this route is enclosed and air-conditioned. It travels around the main shopping area of Old San Juan, including Calles Tanaca, San Francisco, Fortaleza, Recinto Sur, and then swings around by the Casita before heading back to trolley stop 1. It hits these stops in this order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 , 10, 11, 15, 16, 3, 12, 13, 14.
City Hall / El Morro Route
The trolley used for this route is also enclosed and air-conditioned. It travels around the main shopping area of Old San Juan, including Calles Tanca, San Francisco, Fortaleza, and then heads up past Fort San Cristobal, along the ocean on Calle Norzagaray, then on to El Morro. After turning around at El Morro, it retraces it’s path back to Calle San Francisco, back down Forteleza to Recinto Sur, and then swings around by the Casita before heading back to trolley stop 1. It’s a combination of the City Hall route and the El Morro route, and stops at all the same trolley stops, including numbers 6 and 7.
El Morro Route
The trolley used for this route is an open-air tram-like vehicle with two cars. It bypasses the main shopping area, and makes a bee-line for the forts, passing the Capital Building along the way. This one stops at trolley stop 1, 2, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and then goes right up to the entrance of El Morro. After turning around at El Morro, it stops at 25, 23, 21, 19, 12, 13, 14, and then returns to stop 1.
Here’s a list of the trolley stops and what’s near each one …
- 1 - Calle Corretjer - Pier 4, Internet Cafe
- 2 - Corner of Calle Corretjer and Recinto Sur - Duck Tour, Covadonga parking, bus station
- 3 - Calle Recinto Sur - across from parking decks, restaurants
- 4 - Corner of Calles Tetun and Tanca
- 5/6 - Corner of Calles Tanaca and Forteleza - a small park with benches, shopping
- 7 - Calle San Francisco - shopping
- 8 - Calle San Francisco - City Hall, Plaza de Armas
- 9 - Calle San Jose - Howard Johnson Hotel
- 10 - Calle Forteleza - Marshalls, shopping
- 11 - Calle Forteleza - La Casa de Casitas, shopping, restaurants
- 12 - Calle Tizol - beginning of the Paseo de la Princesa
- 13 - Plaza Darsena, Casita, San Juan Bay,
- 14 - Piers 1 and 2, Don Q, Ferry terminal
- 15 - Calle Forteleza - Hotel Milano, beginning of SoFo restaurants, Museum of the Family, Pharmacy Museum
- 16 - Calle Forteleza - Teatro Tapia, Plaza Colon, end of SoFo restaurants
- 17- Calle San Francisco - Plaza Colon, Cafe Berlin
- 18/19 Calle Norzagaray - Fort San Cristobal
- 20/21 - Calle Norzagary - Cafe Amapola, entrance to La Perla
- 22/23 - Calle Norzagaray - Museum of San Juan
- 24/25 - Calle Norzagaray - Cuartel de Ballaja, National Gallery
- 26 - the lawn at El Morro - stay on the trolley - it takes you right to the entrance to El Morro, where it turns around
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We often receive questions from our readers wondering if the trolleys are handicap accessible. I contacted the company that runs the trolleys in Old San Juan,and they said that _some_ of the trolleys are handicap accessible and can accommodate a person in a wheelchair. They also said that you can bring aboard a folded wheelchair as long as there is room.
Will be in San Juan on July 4. Do the trolleys run on holidays?
The trolleys are supposed to run everyday, including holidays. July 4 is not _that_ big of a holiday here, so I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be running.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I think your post is wonderful, I printed the whole thing! Only one thing, approx. how much time does it take to do one complete circut of the 3 routes?? Thanks, Donna
Thanks for the kind words!
You could figure that each loop takes about 30-45 minutes. Of course, that will depend on traffic, the number of people getting on and off, and how long it takes for people to get on and off, etc.
I’m not sure that it makes much sense to take all 3 trolley routes … these are not sight-seeing trolleys … they are for transportation. Also, each of the 3 loops has considerable overlap with the others, so you’d essentially find yourself riding around in circles!
Hope this helps.