You can reach most of San Juan by train, bus and the Cataño ferry, and the island ferries leave from Ceiba, which is outside the city. Before you book, check the water situation with the utility, the AAA. We read the AAA's and the transit agency's pages on 12 October 2026.
Water: what the official notices say, and when
Note: As of 12 October 2026, the newest drought notices we found on the AAA's press page are dated 2 to 17 August 2026. The page showed none after 17 August. One item at the top of the list carries a date of 2 November 2026, which cannot be right, and it is about pumping work in Guayama (AAA press page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: 2 August: low water at the Carraízo reservoir. Intake at the Sergio Cuevas plant fell from about 80 to about 60 million gallons a day, and divers worked to add intake points. The Cupey Water System stopped for about 44,355 customers in sectors including Cupey, Monacillo and Sabana Llana Sur. The Cidra reservoir moved to operational adjustments (AAA release, 2 Aug 2026)
Note: 8 August: under a plan of scheduled interruptions linked to Carraízo, 70% of Zone 1 customers had service. The AAA used 123 water trucks in Zone 2. Sectors still waiting were in San Juan, Canóvanas and Carolina (AAA release, 8 Aug 2026). 14 August: Cupey's tanks were at 22.92% of capacity (AAA statement). 17 August: low rain and flows at Canóvanas and Loíza Valley, plus an oily substance at one intake (AAA statement)
The AAA's reservoir page loads its levels by script, and we could see only its alert chart. So we cannot say how the reservoirs stand today. An AAA statement on Vieques says the island's water comes from the Río Blanco plant in Naguabo through a pipe under the sea. It describes a long recovery after the plant lost power and demand rose over the 4 July weekend.
If your hotel or rental is in the San Juan, Carolina, Trujillo Alto or Canóvanas area, ask about a water tank and about interruptions before you book. This is our advice, and it is not an AAA rule.
Entry
Note: US citizens and permanent residents do not need a passport to travel to Puerto Rico. Visitors from other countries follow the same visa and passport rules as for the mainland US (Discover Puerto Rico FAQ, undated, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: TSA says REAL ID enforcement began on 7 May 2025, and that travelers without an acceptable ID must pay a $45 fee (TSA REAL ID page, read 12 Oct 2026)
Discover Puerto Rico's page still says the REAL ID rule "will be in effect" from May 2025. We use TSA's date.
If you live in the US but are not a US citizen
Puerto Rico is part of the United States, so there is no separate entry rule for it. CBP says "U.S. territories are considered a part of the United States". For a non-citizen who lives on the mainland, a trip to Puerto Rico is a domestic trip, so what matters is that your US status and papers are valid. This is our reading of the CBP page, and CBP does not describe this trip for non-citizens.
Note: CBP says travelers leaving US territories for the mainland are subject to customs and agricultural rules. On air travel, it says US citizens returning directly from a territory are not considered to have left the US. It gives no rule for non-citizens flying between the mainland and Puerto Rico (CBP WHTI FAQ, last modified 15 May 2025, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: USCIS: "If you are a permanent resident age 18 or older, you are required to have a valid Green Card in your possession at all times" (USCIS, last reviewed 11 Oct 2024, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: USCIS says people required to register must carry evidence of registration at all times, which generally includes Form I-94 (USCIS alien registration page, last reviewed 4 Sep 2026, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: TSA's ID list includes a permanent resident card, a foreign government-issued passport, a border crossing card and the employment authorization card (I-766). A visa on its own is not on the list. Adults 18 and over must show valid ID at the checkpoint. The page has no date, and says the list can change without notice (TSA ID page, read 12 Oct 2026)
| Passport | Entry follows | What to carry |
|---|---|---|
| India | Your US status, as on the mainland | Valid passport and your US status papers: green card, or I-94 and visa. An ID on TSA's list |
| Philippines | Same | Same |
| China | Same | Same |
We found no official page that treats Indian, Filipino and Chinese passport holders differently for Puerto Rico. The CBP page we read concerns people entering the US from abroad, and we cannot say what CBP or an airline asks of a non-citizen on a domestic flight between the mainland and Puerto Rico. That is not confirmed. If your status is pending or you have a visa that is close to expiry, ask an immigration lawyer or CBP before you fly. If you arrive in San Juan from another country, the usual US entry rules apply, as on the mainland (Discover Puerto Rico FAQ, undated).
San Juan without a car
Getting there: Tren Urbano: 16 stations in San Juan, Guaynabo and Bayamón, open every day from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The ticket machines take cash only, with a quick-sale card at $3.00 (Puerto Rico transit agency ATI page, undated, read 12 Oct 2026)
Getting there: Buses: 32 fixed routes. $0.75 on most routes and $2.00 on routes 20 and 30. Unlimited cards: $5 for a day, $15 for 7 days, $50 for 30 days. Pay with exact change or a card. Train to bus transfers are free within two hours on a card at the regular fare (same page)
Getting there: Cataño ferry: 12 minutes between San Juan and Cataño. Monday to Friday, San Juan to Cataño 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Cataño to San Juan 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. from San Juan and 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. from Cataño. $2.00 for ages 3 to 59 (same page)
ATI also posted a map in October 2024 of three bus routes from Luis Muñoz Marín airport. Routes 5 and 53 end at Covadonga, at the edge of Old San Juan, for $0.75, and route 40 links to the train at Piñero.
| Detail | One source says | Another says | What we use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cataño ferry fare | Operator FAQ: rises from $0.50 to $2.00 on 1 Jan 2026 | ATI page, undated: $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Vieques ferry time | ATI page: 35 to 45 minutes | Operator: 1 hour | 35 to 45 minutes, plan an hour |
| Culebra ferry time | ATI page: about 55 minutes | Operator: 1 h 30 | Plan 1 h 30 |
| Vieques adult fare | ATI page: $2.00 | Press reports: $11.25 for non-residents under a new scheme | $2.00 for now |
The Vieques and Culebra ferry
Price: Ceiba to Vieques and Ceiba to Culebra: adult 13 to 59 $2.00. Children 4 to 12 $1.00. Adults 60 to 74 $1.00 (the page's age range is misprinted, and we read it this way). Babies 0 to 3 and people 75 and over free, at the ticket window with photo ID. Items cost extra: surfboard $6, bicycle $2, beach cooler $2, beach chair $1 (ATI page, undated, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: A new fare scheme under Regulation 9682 of 6 August 2025 is postponed until 31 December 2026 by executive order OE-2026-025 of the governor. The order gives no fare amounts (Government of Puerto Rico, docs.pr.gov, read 12 Oct 2026)
Booking: Boarding closes 10 minutes before departure and you should be at the terminal an hour early. Visitors can buy in advance on the operator's website and app, up to 5 tickets a transaction, and on the day at the window if there is room. All sales are final, and a transfer needs at least an hour's notice (Puerto Rico Ferry FAQ, modified 25 Aug 2026)
The ferry operator is HMS Ferries, and the operator says all fares are set by ATI. The Culebra route adds a non-resident tax from the Municipality of Culebra. We did not find its amount. We did not check the Ceiba terminal's current work or how to reach Ceiba from San Juan without a car.
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 12 October 2026: the AAA's press page and its releases of 2, 8, 14 and 17 August 2026, its reservoir level page (the chart did not load), ATI's transit page, the Puerto Rico Ferry site's FAQ, executive order OE-2026-025, Discover Puerto Rico's FAQ and TSA's REAL ID page.
Also checked on 12 October 2026 for the section on non-citizen US residents: CBP's WHTI FAQ (last modified 15 May 2025), USCIS's green card page (last reviewed 11 October 2024) and alien registration page (last reviewed 4 September 2026), and TSA's ID page (undated). Not confirmed: what CBP or airlines ask of non-citizens on a domestic flight between the mainland and Puerto Rico.
Not checked: the live reservoir levels, any AAA notice posted after we read the page, the ferry timetable for a date, the new ferry fares in force after the order ends, a bus from San Juan to Ceiba, and ATI's page date. We did not ride any of these services.
