Air Travel

Nonstop flights to San Juan from New York are 3¾ hours; from Miami, 2½ hours; from Atlanta, 3½ hours; from Boston, 4 hours; from Chicago, 4¾ hours; from Los Angeles, 8 hours; from the United Kingdom, 5 hours; from Germany, 9¾ hours.

There are dozens of daily flights to Puerto Rico from the United States, and connections are particularly good from the East Coast, although there are a few nonstop flights from the Midwest as well. San Juan's international airport is a major regional hub, so many travelers headed elsewhere in the Caribbean make connections here. Because of the number of flights, fares to San Juan are among the most reasonably priced to the region.

Airlines and Airports

Airline and Airport Links.com. Airline and Airport Links.com has links to many of the world's airlines and airports. www.airlineandairportlinks.com.

Airline Security Issues

Transportation Security Administration (www.tsa.gov.)

Airports

The island's main airport is Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín (SJU), 20 minutes east of Old San Juan in the neighborhood of Isla Verde. San Juan's secondary airport is the small Fernando L. Rivas Dominici Airport (SIG), also called Isla Grande, near the city's Miramar section. From either airport you can catch flights to Culebra, Vieques, and other destinations on Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean. (Note that although the Dominici airport was still operating at this writing, its future was uncertain.)

Other Puerto Rican airports include Aeropuerto Internacional Rafael Hernández (BQN) in the northwestern town of Aguadilla, Aeropuerto Eugenio María de Hostos (MAZ) in the west-coast community of Mayagüez, Mercedita (PSE) in the south-coast town of Ponce, Aeropuerto Diego Jiménez Torres (FAJ) in the east-coast city of Fajardo, Antonio Rivera Rodríguez (VQS) on Vieques, and Aeropuerto Benjamin Rivera Noriega (CPX) on Culebra.

Airport Information

Aeropuerto Antonio Rivera Rodríguez (Vieques. 787/741-8358.)

Aeropuerto Benjamin Rivera Noriega (Culebra. 787/742-0022.)

Aeropuerto Eugenio María de Hostos (Mayagüez. 787/833-0148.)

Aeropuerto Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci (Isla Grande, San Juan. 787/729-8711.)

Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín (Isla Verde, San Juan. 787/791-3840.)

Aeropuerto Mercedita (Ponce. 787/842-6292.)

Aeropuerto Rafael Hernández (Aguadilla. 787/890-6075.)

Aeropuerto José Aponte de la Torre. Ceiba. 787/534-4100.

Ground Transportation

Before arriving, check with your hotel about transfers: Some hotels and resorts provide transport from the airport—free or for a fee—to their guests; some larger resorts run regular shuttles. Otherwise, your best bets are taxis turísticos (tourist taxis). Uniformed officials at the airport can help you make arrangements. They will give you a slip with your exact fare to hand to the driver. Rates are based on your destination. A taxi turístico to Isla Verde costs $10. It's $15 to Condado and $19 to Old San Juan. There's a 50¢ charge for each bag handled by the driver.

Flights

San Juan's busy Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín is the Caribbean hub of American Airlines, which flies nonstop from Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Miami, Newark, New York-JFK, and Philadelphia. Continental Airlines flies nonstop from Houston and Newark. Delta flies nonstop from Atlanta, Orlando, New York-LGA, and New York-JFK. JetBlue flies nonstop from Boston, Orlando, and New York-JFK. Spirit Air flies nonstop from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. United flies nonstop from Chicago, New York-JFK, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.-Dulles. US Airways flies nonstop from Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.-Dulles.

It used to be that travelers arriving at San Juan's international airport had to transfer to nearby Aeropuerto Fernando L. Rivas Dominici (close to Old San Juan and Condado) to take a flight to Vieques or Culebra. This is no longer the case, as all the carriers servicing the islands also have flights from the international airport. Air Flamenco, Isla Nena Air Service, and Vieques Air Link offer daily flights from both airports in San Juan to Vieques and Culebra. Cape Air flies between the international airport and Vieques.

Puerto Rico is also a good spot from which to hop to other Caribbean islands. American Eagle serves many islands in the Caribbean from San Juan; Cape Air connects San Juan to St. Thomas and St. Croix. Seaborne Airlines has seaplanes departing from San Juan Piers 6 and 7 to St. Thomas and St. Croix.

San Juan is no longer the only gateway into Puerto Rico. If you're headed to the western part of the island, you can fly directly into Aguadilla. Continental flies here from Newark, and JetBlue flies here from New York-JFK. If the southern coast is your goal, JetBlue and Continental fly to Ponce from Newark.

Airline Contacts

American Airlines (800/433-7300. www.aa.com.)

Delta Airlines (800/221-1212 for U.S. reservations; 800/241-4141 for international reservations. www.delta.com.)

JetBlue (800/538-2583. www.jetblue.com.)

Spirit Airlines (800/772-7117. www.spirit.com.)

United Airlines (800/864-8331. www.united.com.)

US Airways (800/428-4322 for U.S. and Canada reservations; 800/622-1015 for international reservations. www.usairways.com.)

AirTran (800/247-8726. www.airtran.com.)

Regional Airlines

Air Flamenco (787/724-1818 or 877/535-2636. www.airflamenco.net.)

Cape Air (866/227-3247. www.capeair.com.)

Seaborne Airlines (340/773-6442 or 866/359-8784. www.seaborneairlines.com.)

Vieques Air Link (787/741-8331 or 888/901-9247. www.viequesairlink.com.)