The Cataño Ferry () is a single-route

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service between Cataño and

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The ferry is an icon in Puerto Rican culture.

History

The Cataño Ferry started operating in 1853, when the Cataño Steam Company used a small boat to transport cargo and passengers to

. During its history, the ferry was managed by Férrea del Oeste and Compañía Popular de Transporte. According to passengers, the old boat was "a wooden boat; they called it ''the turtle'' because it was a small boat". In 1960, the

Puerto Rico Ports Authority The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA) (; AP) is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico charged with developing, operating, and overseeing all seaports and airports in Puerto Rico. The Authority is ascribed to the Department of Transpor ...

acquired the franchise, building a new terminal and buying five new ships. The ferry covers a single route from

's dock to Cataño's ferry terminal. Since most people who used the service start their trips in San Juan, it became known as "La Lancha de Cataño", because it is believed that people use the service mostly to travel from San Juan to Cataño. Despite notable decreases in its use, the service is widely known on the island and popular with Puerto Ricans and tourists. Since the services are carried out from Old San Juan to Cataño and vice versa, their relative closeness to San Juan

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s makes the service approachable to tourists. It is also popular with Puerto Rican and American soldiers who are based at nearby Fort Buchanan. During the 1960s, service on La lancha cost only five cents one way. The ticket prices began to rise; however, by the 1980s, they cost ¢25, and they later rose to ¢50 as of July 2024. On January 1, 2000, the Puerto Rican Government passed ownership of all legal passenger ship services to the Puerto Rican Maritime Transport Authority. While this was made mostly to enhance service between Culebra,

Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...

and

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques lies about east of the mainland of Puerto Rico, measuri ...

, the deal also included the "Lancha de Cataño" service. In 2004, slightly more than 1.1 million passengers were transported by the ferry service.

Operations

Although the service is heavily used by

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

, its primary purpose is to serve as a

transportation hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports, and ferry slips. ...

for those who live nearby Cataño but work in San Juan to complement the '' AcuaExpreso''. The ferry crosses the

San Juan Bay San Juan Bay () is a Bay#Types, semi-enclosed bay, estuary, and harbor connected to the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Surrounded by the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality o ...

, with its services running from mornings to evenings seven days a week as the weather and maritime conditions permit. At its route's southwestern end is the AcuaExpreso Cataño Terminal in Cataño, while at its northwestern end is the AcuaExpreso San Juan Terminal, located at Pier 2 of the San Juan Port in

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

. The ferry is operated by ships with two levels for passengers. Round-trip services leave both Catano and San Juan's terminals every 15 minutes. The "Lancha de Catano" may take passengers on a trip around the El Morro Castle before arriving at its actual destination.

References

External links

Puerto Rican Government's page on Lancha de Cataño's economical impact, in Spanish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catano Ferry Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works Ferries of Puerto Rico

History

Operations

See also

References

External links