Luis Muñez Marín International Airport sits nine miles east of Old San Juan in the municipality of Carolina. This is the primary entry point for Puerto Rico and handles approximately nine million passengers annually. The facility opened in 1955 and was renamed in 1985 to honor Luis Muñoz Marín, who served as the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico from 1949 to 1965. The airport code is SJU. Five terminals exist, though most commercial traffic concentrates in Terminal A and Terminal B. American Airlines operates a hub here. JetBlue maintains significant operations from this airport. United, Delta, Southwest, and Spirit provide frequent service from the continental United States. International carriers include Avianca, Copa Airlines, and Iberia. No passport is required for US citizens arriving from domestic destinations because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated US territory where the Jones Act of 1917 granted US citizenship to residents.
Customs procedures depend entirely on your origin point. Flights from the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska arrive as domestic flights. You proceed directly to baggage claim without passing through customs or immigration. Your status is identical to landing in Florida or Texas. Flights from foreign countries require standard US customs and immigration procedures. You will complete a customs declaration form. Agriculture inspection is rigorous. Puerto Rico maintains strict protocols to prevent introduction of pests and diseases that could affect local agriculture. Officers frequently inspect luggage for fruits, vegetables, meats, and plant materials. Penalties for undeclared agricultural products include fines starting at one hundred dollars. If you are arriving from the US Virgin Islands, you pass through customs despite both being US territories because the Virgin Islands operate under different customs regulations.
Baggage claim areas in both terminals have screens displaying carousel assignments. Wait times average fifteen to thirty minutes for domestic flights. Carts are available for three dollars or free if you can locate one abandoned in the claim area. Porters work the baggage claim and typically expect three to five dollars per bag. The airport does not publish an official porter rate. Lost baggage is handled by individual airlines at their ticket counters, which are located upstairs from baggage claim. American Airlines has the largest counter presence due to hub operations.
Currency exchange is unnecessary if you arrive with US dollars. Puerto Rico uses the US dollar as legal tender. No local currency exists. ATMs throughout the airport dispense US dollars. Banco Popular de Puerto Rico operates several machines in the terminals. FirstBank has ATMs near baggage claim in Terminal B. Standard ATM fees apply, typically three to five dollars for out-of-network withdrawals. Credit cards are widely accepted throughout Puerto Rico. American Express, Visa, and Mastercard function identically to their use in the fifty states. Some smaller establishments in rural areas operate cash-only, but this does not affect airport services or urban transactions.
SIM cards and local phone service require understanding of a specific regulatory situation. Puerto Rico uses US phone networks. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon operate here with the same plans and coverage as the continental United States. If you have a US cell phone plan with these carriers, your phone will function without additional charges or international roaming fees. Claro is a local carrier that operates in the airport and throughout the island. They sell prepaid SIM cards at kiosks in both terminals. A tourist SIM with data typically costs twenty-five to forty dollars depending on data allowance. Open Mobile is another local carrier with generally lower prices than Claro. Their airport presence is smaller. If you arrive with an international plan from outside the United States, you will likely incur roaming charges because carriers treat Puerto Rico as part of the US telecommunications zone.
Ground transportation options from the airport include taxis, ride-sharing services, rental cars, and public buses. The taxi system operates under fixed rates to major destinations. A taxi to Old San Juan costs nineteen dollars for one passenger, with an additional three dollars for each additional passenger beyond the first. The rate to Condado or Isla Verde is twelve to fifteen dollars. To Río Piedras, expect ten to twelve dollars. These are 2024 rates established by the Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico. Taxis queue outside baggage claim at designated stands. Drivers should provide a rate card. Meters are not used for airport trips. The fixed-rate system replaced metered service in 2013. Uber and Lyft both operate from the airport. App-based pricing applies and typically runs slightly below taxi fixed rates. Pickup locations are on the departures level rather than arrivals level, a common airport practice to separate commercial vehicles. Walk upstairs to departures and request your ride from there.
Rental cars occupy a consolidated facility separate from the terminals. All major agencies operate here including Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Alamo, Thrifty, and Dollar. Free shuttles run continuously between baggage claim and the rental car center. Buses are marked with rental car company logos. The ride takes approximately five minutes. US driver's licenses are valid in Puerto Rico without additional documentation. International visitors need either an International Driving Permit paired with their home country license or a license from a country with a reciprocal agreement with the United States. Minimum age for rental is typically twenty-one, with drivers under twenty-five incurring daily surcharges of fifteen to thirty dollars depending on the company. Insurance presents a consideration. Your US auto insurance policy may cover rentals in Puerto Rico because it is a US territory, but you must verify this with your specific carrier. Credit card rental insurance from cards issued in the United States typically extends to Puerto Rico. Roads are marked in kilometers despite Puerto Rico using miles for distance. This creates confusion. Speed limits appear in miles per hour. Road signs to destinations show kilometers. Gas is sold by the liter.
Public transportation from the airport consists solely of the T5 bus route operated by the Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses. This bus connects the airport to Isla Verde, Condado, Ocean Park, and Santurce. The fare is seventy-five cents, payable in exact change when boarding. No bills larger than five dollars are accepted. The bus does not provide dedicated luggage space. If you have large bags, this option is impractical. Service runs approximately every thirty minutes from six in the morning until nine at night. No service operates after nine PM. The route does not reach Old San Juan directly. You would need to transfer to another bus route to reach the historic district. Few arriving tourists use this option due to luggage constraints and indirect routing.
The airport itself provides standard amenities. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout both terminals. Network name is SJU Airport Free WiFi. No password is required. Connection quality is adequate for messaging and email but inconsistent for video calls or large downloads. Charging stations exist near most gate areas. USB ports and standard outlets are available. Food options include franchises familiar from US airports—Burger King, Starbucks, Dunkin, Subway—alongside local options like Metropol Restaurant and Don Ruiz Coffee Shop. Prices are elevated compared to off-airport locations, typically twenty to thirty percent higher. A Medalla beer that costs two dollars at a supermarket will cost six dollars at an airport bar. Bookstores sell English and Spanish language materials. Hudson News operates several locations. Duty-free shopping is limited because arriving from the US mainland does not qualify for duty-free purchases, and departing to the US mainland similarly does not qualify.
Banking services are minimal. No full-service bank branches operate airside. Currency exchange booths are located in the international arrivals area but rates are unfavorable, typically ten to fifteen percent worse than bank rates. These booths primarily serve passengers connecting from international flights who need US dollars. An ATM provides better rates. Several machines are located near baggage claim and in the departure halls upstairs.
Traffic patterns affect departure time from the airport. Highway 26 connects the airport to Highway 66, which leads to San Juan. Morning rush hour from seven to nine AM creates congestion on the routes toward San Juan. Evening rush hour from four to six-thirty PM affects westbound traffic from the airport. A trip to Old San Juan that takes eighteen minutes at ten AM might take forty minutes at eight AM. The route to Condado is shorter and less affected by rush hour because it uses Baldorioty de Castro Avenue rather than the main highway. Google Maps and Waze both function accurately in Puerto Rico and reflect real-time traffic conditions. Cell phone coverage throughout the metro area is reliable for GPS navigation.
Hotel transfers are offered by many resorts but are not complimentary. Hotels in the San Juan metro area typically charge twenty to forty dollars per vehicle for airport pickup. The Caribe Hilton charges thirty-five dollars. El San Juan Hotel charges forty dollars. This is an optional service. Taking a taxi or ride-share is often cheaper unless you have a large group that can split the hotel transfer cost. Some hotels include transfers in package deals but not in standard room rates.