If you’re visiting Puerto Rico and you’re considering a car, this Things Tourists Should Know About Renting A Car In Puerto Rico post will answer all your questions.
For more help planning your trip, check out all of our posts about Puerto Rico.
When we were planning our trip to Puerto Rico, I decided to rent a car. Yes, we would have used Uber if we wanted, but I had plans to drive to the El Yunque National Forest and Montadero Chocolate, both over 30 minutes from where we were staying. And of course, we were planning to drive to Old San Juan and also to Casa Bacardi.
I had plans to do lots of driving.
And all those road trips felt like very long, and very expensive, ride shares. Plus, I wasn’t really sure how easy it would be to get an Uber home from those spots.
Those felt like very long, and very expensive, ride shares. Plus, I wasn’t really sure how easy it would be to get an Uber home from those spots.
So I figured the best way for us get around was by renting a car.
I went onto a discount site, found the best deal, and almost booked that car. But I hesitated because the car rental company wasn’t one I’ve ever heard of.
Yes, sure, there was a possibility that the companies in Puerto Rico were different than the ones in the United States. But, I figured I would take a look around the Internet, just to make sure.
Turns out, the cheapest rental cars aren’t always the way to go. I read horror stories about discount car rental companies canceling existing reservations, leaving visitors stranded. I heard about a bait and switch tactic, with companies being “out” of the car type that was rented and charging an insane fee to rebook.
Yes, of course, there were also great stories about car rentals that went smoothy. Mine did … because I made sure to follow the tips I found online. And, to make it easier for other tourists to have a great rental experience, I decided to put this list together.
If you are planning on renting a car, you don’t have to overpay for it. Check out our 10+ Tips To Save Money On Car Rentals for ways to save.
Things Tourists Should Know About Renting A Car In Puerto Rico
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Quick note: This post is for tourists who are visiting the area for vacation. It’s not meant for locals.
The main difference is locals know the area more and have different options, like choosing a car near their home rather than at the airport. When you’re visiting an area, you have a different set of circumstances.
Choose an airport location
San Juan-SJU (formally known as the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport) is the most popular airport in Puerto Rico, for tourists anyway. At the San Juan airport, there’s the Car Rental Center.
It was started a few years ago and not every car rental company is able to have a stand in there. Only vetted reputable rental car companies are allowed in the center. So, if you book there, you know you’re not getting scammed.
There are a couple pros about booking at the airport. The first is that you walk straight from baggage claim to the Car Rental Center. You don’t have to find a shuttle to take you off property. You just land, get your bag, then get your car. It’s really convenient. And when you’re dropping your car off, it’s the same convenience. Drop the car off, walk across to the airport. You don’t have to worry about getting a shuttle back from one of the company’s off-site drop-off locations and making sure you’re on time for your flight.
It’s just easier.
A big con is you will probably pay more to rent at the airport. Yes, you probably get a better deal at rental locations outside of the airport, but, for peace of mind, booking at the airport is worth the extra money in my opinion (and you know I’m frugal and hate overpaying for anything).
AutoExpreso is in cars
AutoExpreso is basically Puerto Rican E-ZPass. It’s a toll pass that sits in your car and is charged when you go through a toll.
When we picked up our car, I was told that the AutoExpreso was automatically in every rental car (she said it was a law in Puerto Rico and was not optional) and that we would receive a bill for the tolls about three weeks after our car was returned.
We didn’t actually end up on any toll roads while we were in Puerto Rico, so we didn’t have to deal with using the AutoExpreso. More than three weeks have passed and we didn’t receive any additional bills in the mail, so that’s good.
Think about car insurance
When you’re picking up the car, you get the option to add on rental car insurance. Really think about this one.
Yes, it’s an extra charge. You may be able to get around it if your car insurance extends to rentals or if your credit card offers insurance when you use it to book the rental car. If you don’t have those options, really think about getting the insurance.
See, when we were in the parking lot of El Yunque and got out of the car, we heard a crunch. A tourist was driving a rental car and drove right over a concrete median. Well, half over. He stopped and then had a decision to make: reverse back over it or keep on going. So he kept on going and a piece of the front end just fell off.
He was … surprisingly calm over it. “Well, I really messed that up,” he said.
Ge probably got the insurance.
Inspect your car
This isn’t unique to Puerto Rico, but when you get your rental car, be sure to inspect it.
There will be a paper inside with a diagram of a car. You’ll use it to mark any dents or damage to the car when you pick it up. You want to make sure to note this before you leave the parking lot because after that, you’re liable for any damage.
If there is any damage to note, besides putting it on the paper, you should also take photos of it with your cell phone so that the photo is timestamped with the date of the rental. That way, you have proof, just in case.
Watch the road
Driving in Puerto Rico is like driving in the United States in that you’re driving on the right side of the road and the speed limits are posted in miles per hour. However, the road signs are in Spanish. And some of them are labeled something completely different than what the GPS say it is. So you really need to pay attention to the distance. Except the GPS will give it to you in kilometers and your brain is thinking in miles. So it takes a little while to get acclimated.
So besides paying attention just to make sure you don’t miss an exit, you really need to pay attention to the road. I have never seen as many potholes as I did when I was driving in Puerto Rico. We saw them all over the main highways and the smaller roads near our hotel. I drove on those roads so much, I started to know exactly where to swerve to miss the potholes.
I did hit one on the highway one night that just felt like it was gonna knock a wheel off. It didn’t, thank goodness, but it was pretty rough on those roads in the dark. And if it rains, don’t even think about driving if you’re not prepared. We were there during a hurricane, plus during high tide that caused a lagoon to flood the streets outside out hotel. The rain just fills in those potholes, making them impossible to see and avoid.
Of course, not every road is like that. The bridge that crossed the Condado Lagoon was perfectly paved. But, for the most part, you do have to be a defensive driver.
Fill the car up before you return it
Just like with US car rentals, you need to bring the car back filled with gas. If not, the rental car company will charge you an exorbitant amount for a full tank.
What I did, before I left with the rental, was ask the associate where the closest gas station to the airport was. She asked where I was staying, and I told her, and she told me the one to stop at one the way from the hotel that would still result in a full tank by the time I got to the airport.
We filled the car up the night before.
But, here’s something I knew and something I didn’t know. I knew the price was in liters. I didn’t know you had to prepay for the gas inside the gas station before using the pump. Pete went inside, swiped our credit card, and then came outside and filled up the tank.
We drove around Puerto Rico for almost a week on less than half a tank of gas, so it wasn’t expensive to fill it up (which was good because I couldn’t use Upside or any of my other hacks to save on gas when we were there).
Renting A Car In Puerto Rico: Frequently Asked Questions
You must be 21 and have had a valid driver’s license for over a year in order to rent a car in Puerto Rico at most car rental companies. However, there may be a young driver surcharge. Drivers over 25 won’t incur that charge.
Yes, a US driver’s license is sufficient to rent a car in Puerto Rico since it’s a US territory.
Rental car prices will vary due to a number of factors, like car rental company, type of car, if you book unlimited miles, daily insurance fees, if you’re booking during a high demand season, and more. You may also get a lower rate if you book directly though the car rental websites rather than a third party site.
But, with all that being said, we paid about $70 per day for our car rental in the peak of summer. I did use the cash back site TopCashBack when I rented to get a little cash back, which was nice.
Everything that I’ve found online says that you need to use a credit card to rent a car so that the rental car company can place a hold against the card. We used a credit card.
I have seen that people have suggested you can use a debit card as long as you leave a significant deposit, but that wasn’t our personal experience.
You can add another driver to your car rental contract for an additional charge. When I picked our car up, the woman behind the counter told me that both a husband and wife could drive the car under the rental agreement but anyone else would be additional.
Have you rented a car in Puerto Rico? Tell us about your experience in the comments.