Exploring San Juan in the Kia Sportage

On our sister’s weekend in Puerto Rico, outside of finding a hotel, the question of transportation came up. Since we wanted to explore the area, we decided to rent. Upon arrival at San Juan International Airport, we were upgraded from a Hyundai Accent to a 2017 Kia Sportage.

Read more about the Kia Sportage and how we used it to explore San Juan during our stay weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This SUV didn’t come with navigation, but we were able to sync our phones easily via Bluetooth to get directions to our destinations. It had a comfortable interior and enough space for our luggage and purchases throughout the trip.

Most of our driving was via highway and in the three full days, we barely used 1/2 a tank of gas. The Kia Sportage has a fuel economy of 21 city/26 highway. I must mention that there isn’t a handle to pull when opening the gas door; just press the “unlock” button on the driver’s door handle.

The Kia Sportage is equipped with the Dynamax™ all-wheel drive system that senses and adjusts traction for changing road and weather conditions.

This was extremely helpful since Old San Juan has a lot of cobblestone and hilly roads. It was also hurricane season and while we didn’t experience a lot of rain, we could have good control of the SUV when driving under those conditions.

San Juan Day 1 – Visiting Old San Juan

Our hotel room had a refrigerator so we drove the Kia Sportage to a local Walgreens for snacks and drinks. Shortly after, we ate lunch at Lupi’s Mexican Grill & Sports Cantina sharing an appetizer sampler to hold us until dinner.

After lunch, we drove to Old San Juan to visit Castillo San Felipe del Morro, part of the San Juan National Historic Site. The entry fee was only $5 and good until the following Thursday. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the fort, enjoying the views, and learning about its use during the colonial era.

San Juan Day 2 – Bacardi Distillery and Nightlife at La Placita

My sister’s coworker encouraged us to eat Mofongo, so before heading to the Casa Bacardi Distillery, we had lunch at La Cueva del Mar in Old San Juan. The drive to the distillery was about 20 minutes and I loved that it was so interactive.

Having been on a distillery tour in Puerto Plata it was a HUGE difference. Our tickets included a tour guide, video viewing about Bacardi history, replicas of the original buildings, rum tasting, and more. I wasn’t able to drink, but my sister said it was good.

After a quick nap, we went to La Placita to check out the nightlife. Seeing that it was mostly live music and bar crawls, we didn’t stay long after dinner. We also got to check out Club Brava which was literally around the corner from our hotel.

San Juan Day 3 – Sunday Beach Day

We spend our last day in La Concha for a Sunday beach day. Leave it to mother nature to have it rain on our last day.

We didn’t get to go in the water but still enjoyed relaxing sand side. When heading back to the hotel, I was also able to catch a beautiful picture of the sunset on PR-26.

From the space to gas usage and convenience, our overall experience with the 2017 Kia Sportage was great. For a number of things we did, having a rental was a smart choice. Had my sister been more adventurous, we would’ve visited El Yunque for a nice hike. There’s always next time. The starting price for the 2017 Kia Sportage is $22,990. Visit your local Kia dealer or visit Kia.com for more information.

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