Getting your car to San Juan
Picking your car up in San Juan
Driving and parking in San Juan
Where to take your car in San Juan
Getting your car to San Juan
Since San Juan is obviously located on the island of Puerto Rico, the only way that you can get your car there will be to ship it. This process is much easier than you might think. You just need to contact a car shipping company and book your car transport in advanced. In order to get your preferred shipping dates, you should book your shipment at least a month in advanced.
When you do book your shipment, your car will be able to be picked up at your door in the United States. However, when it arrives in Puerto Rico, you will need to pick your car up at the port in San Juan.
Picking your car up in San Juan
As we mentioned above, you will need to pick up your car at the port in San Juan. From the day that your car arrives in the port you will have five days to pick it up before you start getting charged fees for storage. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as going to the port and showing your license.
When you get to the port in San Juan you will need your license, social security card, your shipment’s booking number, your excise tax document and proof of payment of the excise tax.
You might ask what is excise tax? Well, excise tax is a special type of tax that Puerto Rico enacts on any imports into the country. That includes personal cars. You can read more about it here.
In order to pay the excise tax and prove that you paid it, you will need to visit the port office when your car gets dropped off at the port. They will give you the excise tax document there. After that, you can pay the excise tax by paying online here or by visiting the Hacienda Centro de Servicios.
Where to take your car in San Juan
There are a few great spots in San Juan that you will not want to miss while you have your car there:
- The streets of old San Juan
- Restaurants
- Paseo de la Princesa
- San Juan Cathedral
Driving and parking in San Juan
Driving and parking in San Juan are both pretty difficult in comparison to most places. Driving can be tough because many native Puerto Rican drivers choose not to obey many traffic laws. You will see people turn left from the furthest right lane and other people deliberately stopping in the middle of the street and walking out of their car to a store on the side of the road.
Parking is difficult for the same reason as any other crowded city, there just are not enough spaces available. There are also the typical restrictions that you will see in any other major city. The restrictions include handicapped parking, timed spots and more. You can find out more about parking in San Juan here.
