Puerto rico shopping: Shopping in Puerto Rico’s Old San Juan

Shopping in Puerto Rico’s Old San Juan

Photo © Steven Gaertner/123rf.

In the current era of globalization, shopping is fast becoming similarly homogenized the world over, and Puerto Rico is no different. The island is rife with shopping malls and chain stores selling the same brands you could buy at Anywhere, USA.

But there is also a strong culture of design and artisanship in Puerto Rico, and many stores sell locally designed jewelry and clothing, contemporary artwork, and traditional crafts. Visitors love to shop in Viejo San Juan because it offers the widest variety of unique shopping options in one pedestrian-friendly place. This is the place to go for fine jewelry, imported clothing and furnishings, cigars, folk art, and tourist trinkets.

Arts and Crafts

For visitors seeking high-quality crafts by local artisans, Puerto Rican Arts and Crafts (204 Calle Fortaleza, 787/725-5596) is your one-stop shopping spot. This large two-level store has everything from original paintings and prints to ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, and more.

For a small selection of exquisitely made, authentic Caribbean crafts, stop by Tienda de Artesanías in the Museo de Las Americas (Ballajá Barracks, Calle Norzagaray beside Quincentennial Plaza, 787/722-6057). It has a nice but small mix of quality baskets, shawls, pottery, jewelry, Santos, art posters, and CDs.

Haitian Gallery (367 Calle Fortaleza, 787/721-4362) sells a large selection of Haitian folk art, including brightly colored primitive-style paintings and tons of woodwork, from sublime bowls to ornately sculpted furniture. There’s a small selection of Indonesian imports, too.

Spicy Caribbee (154 Calle del Cristo, 888/725-7529) sells Caribbean sauces, spice mixes, coffees, soaps, fragrances, candles, cookbooks, and more.

Mundo Taíno (256 Calle San Justo, 787/721-1722, daily 10am-6pm) is your source for traditional crafts by local artisans. Look for vejigante masks, wood carved san-tos, paintings, jewelry made from seeds and beads, reproductions of Taíno artifacts, coffee, honey, candy, and T-shirts.

La Calle (105 Calle Fortaleza, daily 10am-8pm) is a narrow passageway lined with mini shops selling local crafts, fine art, and cloth-ing. In the back is Café El Punto, serving local Puerto Rican cuisine.

The Poets Passage (203 Calle Cruz, 787/567-9275) is owned by local poet and artist Lady Lee Andrews, who sells her whimsical fine art prints and painted tiles, many featur-ing inspirational sayings. There’s small stage in the back for poetry events and a café sell-ing coffee and light fare such as pastries and sandwiches.

Cigars and Rum

Like Cuba, Puerto Rico has a long history of hand-rolled cigar-making, and you can often find a street vendor rolling and selling his own in Plaza de Hostos’s Mercado de Artesanías, a plaza near the cruise-ship piers at Calle Recinto Sur. There are also several good cigar shops selling anything you could want—except Cubans, of course. The biggest selection has to be at The Cigar House (257 Calle Fortaleza, 787/725-0652) with an inviting smoking lounge. Trinidad, Monte Cristo, Padron 1926 and 1964, Cohiba, Perdomo, Macanudo, Partagas, Romeo and Julieta, and Puerto Rican cigars aged in rum are among those sold. They also sell tons of tourist trinkets.

For a more intimate setting, visit El Galpón (154 Calle del Cristo, 787/725-3945 or 888/842-5766). This small selective shop sells a variety of quality cigars, Panama hats, masks, art prints, and superb vintage and contemporary Santos.

Billing itself as a “rum boutique,” Casa Melaza (74 Caleta de San Juan, 787/462-4782) is a small store, but it sells a big selection of Puerto Rican rums, including locally made craft varieties Rum Caray made in Juncos and Trigo from Bayamón, and limited reserve varieties from major distilleries Don Q and Bacardi. You’ll also find locally produced sangrias and coffees. Owner Antonio Lizardi is a fountain of information about local rums.

Fine Jewelry

Local jewelry designer Laura Lugo sells contemporary, architectural pieces at her boutique Luca (58 Calle Taft, 787/525-8291), along with a small selection of sophisticated women’s clothing and jewelry from designers in Australia, Japan, Italy, and Puerto Rico.

Origin (251 Calle de San Jose, 787/721-2081, daily 10am-6pm) features high-end handcrafted jewelry, both locally made and imported, as well as fine art and antiques.

Viejo San Juan is home to a dozen or so fine jewelry stores selling high-end watches and jewelry made from precious stones and met-als. Many of them can be found along Calle Fortaleza, including Blue Diamond (250 Calle Fortaleza, 787/977-5555), which carries designs by Kabana, Gucci, Le Vian, and Movado.

Antiques and Collectibles

Thrift-store shoppers and collectors of vinyl will love Frankie’s Vintage Store (363 Calle San Francisco, 787/722-6691). Come here to peruse the enormous used-record collection, from 1980s kitsch to fresh electronica. There’s even a turntable available, so you can listen to the stock before you buy. But this cluttered labyrinth of rooms is also packed with the widest assortment of junk and collectibles you could ever imagine. Decorative items, old photographs, dishes, toys, clothes—you name it.

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List of airports in Puerto Rico

List of airports in Puerto Rico

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Airports of Puerto Rico — in this section you can find the contact details of airports (address, phone number, website), as well as useful additional information. Select a specific airport or go straight to checkout.

Visas to Puerto Rico

Information checked and updated on January 30, 2017 Puerto Rico is a US dependency. Russian citizens need a visa to visit it. It is issued in the representations of the United States in Russia; A visa can only entitle you to visit Puerto Rico.
For transit through the country, it is also necessary to apply for a visa in advance, since there are no transit zones at airports.

Visas to Puerto Rico

Information verified and updated on January 30, 2017 Puerto Rico is a US dependency. Russian citizens need a visa to visit it. It is issued in the representations of the United States in Russia; A visa can only entitle you to visit Puerto Rico.
For transit through the country, it is also necessary to apply for a visa in advance, since there are no transit zones at airports.

F

Fajardo Diego Jimenez Torres

There are 3 airports in Puerto Rico.

Luiz Munoz Marin, Rafael Hernandez, Mercedita — international airports.

Puerto Rico Capital Airports: Luiz Munoz Marin, Isla Grande.

Luiz Munoz Marin is Puerto Rico’s largest airport with an average of 325 flights per day.

National airlines of Puerto Rico: Seaborne Airlines.

Puerto Rico does not have its own aircraft manufacturing facility.

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