We visited end of March on a Sunday 2024. We arrived in town via cruise ship very early in the morning (7AM). The forts were not open yet so we decided to hike the outside of the fort by the water. We left the port around 8AM. We hike from the cruise port down Paseo dela Princesa and just followed the trail up the west side of the peninsula. The weather was torrential downpours. We didn't have ponchos or umbrellas. We were dressed in quick dry hiking clothes and closed toe hiking sandals like Keens which are meant for water recreation. It was probably the best thing we did the entire cruise. We were told by folks later that the rain was unusual. Usually they are much quicker rainstorms. It rained like that for almost 3 hrs straight.

Due to the rain we only saw 2 people the entire time on the hike. They were joggers. It was a beautiful trail. Overcast rainy skies with no lighting. The ocean waves were pretty large as well. We did see one person who looked like they were on a kayak. The paved trail was covered in almost an inch of running water. It was a nice warm rain too. We took a bunch of pictures on the hike and also got to see amazing waterfalls as the fort emptied it's water out onto the paths. I would take this over blazing hot sun with no shade during this hike. I would love to do it again with the sun out or at sunset but this was a once in a lifetime experience. We walked all the around around the outside of the fort and came up the switch back walkway behind del morro. Popped us out right in front of the fort. We arrived maybe 10 mins before 9AM and saw the park staff pull up in their golf cart. This gave us time to use the outdoor bathrooms. The bathrooms were currently being renovated so there were no bathrooms inside.

Because of the rain there were also no people at the fort either. It may also have to do with the fact that it was Easter Sunday. But we were the first ones in. We had our National Park pass which got us in for free and also picked up junior ranger books at the desk. We walked straight in and forward into the park store to get our NPS passport cancellation stamps. There are different stamps for here versus Castillo San Cristobal. All our passport books were tucked in a dry bag backpack that we were also carrying. Some of the cool 50th anniversary merch was sold out but they were available online at the NPS store website.

Our two younger kids took a seat on a bench outside to complete their junior ranger while we took a quick look around the courtyard. Just left of the store is a room you can go into to watch a video on the park. We took our time to sit here and dry off (they have fans blowing). They video is certainly much lengthier than most. Not quite 30 mins but had to be pretty close.

We then walked around the fort. Went up and down and great views everywhere. We went into many of the little turrets on the end. Fantastic views. There were multiple so on a busy day I'm sure you can find one that's not super busy to see. They are about 1-person wide especially if you're wearing a backpack. Most people had the courtesy to wait and let one person in at a time but I did have one person come right up to me and squeeze past me as I was trying to leave. There are also a set of stairs that go from the floor you enter on to one of the lower floors and it's ALOT of stairs. They are also a odd non-standard height. So be carful. They are one way. So one side is for going up and the other for going down. We spent almost 90 mins inside the fort. Then decided to walk over to Castillo San Cristobal. It's a fairly easy walk. Gott o walk by the cemetery which was cool. There were also a ton of people outside flying kites. Not sure if it was something special or if this is what people just did here on weekends. The giant field in front was free and only entering into the fort itself had a cost associated with it. If we were in San Juan again and had our NPS pass I would certainly visit again.