Traffic near San Juan,
 

We will be leaving El Yunque about 4:30pm on a Friday and driving to Arecibo. How bad will the traffic be going past San Juan? What wuld be the best route to take?
Thanks for any help...........Mary

Traffic will be heavy at that time. You will have to take Highway 3 to get to San Juan and that can be a slow ride. Then you will have to find your way to the toll road, Highway 22, that goes to Arecibo and beyond. Once on the toll road traffic will move once out of the San Juan area but you can expect short delays at the toll plazas.

Thanks Rob. But, I have to ask what does traffic will be slow on #3. Stop and go. 20, 35, 45, miles per hour. How long do you think it would take? Thanks for your response. Mary

Traffic on rt. 3 will be slow as you approach the airport and until you get out of San Juan.I never made the trip so I can't estimate how long it will take from the Rain Forest to Arceibo. I did a trip from the airport to Dorado using the toll road and it took me about one hour. It was late afternoon at the height of traffic, The toll road is called the Autopista.

It took us more than 2 hours to drive from old San Juan to Fajardo. The reversing traffic seems to be a little bit better. Keep in mind that Rt. 3 is not an expressway. There are a lot of traffic lights along the way. It could be really slow (stop and go) around the airport area. I probably will budget 1 1/2 from El Yunque to Highway 22, then another hour to Arebico.

Thank you, xgao
What time of day and day of the week were you driving to Fajardo. We will be driving that way on Wed. am. Thanks

I think it was a Friday afternoon. On a weekday morning we drove from San Juan to El Yunque and the drive was quite smooth.

Just to add one point. Rt 3. becomes 26 once you enter San Juan. It is a little bit tricky to connect to Highway 22 from 26. Actually it cost us extra 45 mins to find Highway 26 from 22 (We still don't know the best way to make the connection). It could easily cost you extra 1/2 hours once a mistake is made. Traffic is jam packed in San Juan during that time of the day.

There is a direct connection from 26 to 22. I am reasonably certain you get off of 26 at the exit after De Diego. 22 is called the De Diego Expressway.