Diving in Puerto Rico

[stevsgarage]

I am planning a trip to Puerto Rico and will be staying at the Wyndham Hotel in Old San Juan can anyone recomend a dive operator in the area.:bonk:

[scuba-punk]

stay away from the north side of the island. south-west and east are my favorites. culebra is nice too. search for puerto rico and you'll find some good threads. pm me if you still have questions...

[Norda]

There is one dive shop local to San Juan. It's in the back of the Normandy hotel in Condado which is just 10 minutes from Old SJ. They dive right behind the hotel, shore dive. On a scale of 1 - 10 the dive ranks about a 3. However, the operator is great (Tony and Karen Vega). If you don't have much time and need to get wet here is the contact information.

Caribe Aquatic Sports
Radisson Normandy Hotel
Muņoz Rivera Avenue at Rosales Street
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
787.724.1882 787.723.6770
caribaqu@coqui.net

Obviously, if you do have more time PR has great dive sites on the West Coast. But I have been told it is a two + hour drive from SJ.

Hope this helps.

[MadReefer]

My Family, (wife and 12yo daughter) willbe in PR Dec 19th through the Dec 29th. We will be Diving the South West Coast (La Parguera and Cabo Roja) Best Kept secret in the Caribe. Parguera divers(Angel and Roberta + DM Robin) are awsome! Totally unbeliveable dsive sites. We(wife, I and Girlfriend) dove with them for five days this summer. Have to take our daughter down to experiance the diving here.

As far as the North end of the Island...long boat trips to where you will be diving. Go Este to Fajardo and go to islets and cays of the spanish Virgin Islands Vieques and Culebra. We dove with Culebra Divers...crusty owner from Vermont and Smart A** Dm from New York. They will drop you down current of dive site so you burn your air. They really suck, but the coral and fishes are great. Carlos Rosario reserve is really a treat. losts of Rays, Conch, Lobster, and some good sized hogs..


Drive down the west coast and stop at a LDS in Mayaguez or Cabo Rojas. There is some good Shore diving between Cabo and Mayaguez, or so I am told.

When is you trip?

Mad:mean:

[Dectek]

[QUOTE]MadReefer once bubbled...
[B] We(wife, I and Girlfriend) dove with them for five days this summer. Have to take our daughter down to experiance the diving here.

You get to take your wife and your girlfriend on vacation?



Ok...I thought it was cute, but if you feel it crosses the line then I guess the Mods can delete it.

[stevsgarage]

Thanks Norda this looks like just what I need for my short stay in San Juan:) :)

[diveski01]

Parguera Divers Parguera Divers (http://www.pargueradivers.com/) is an EXCELLENT dive op!:) :)

They have a lovely new boat and the staff is friendly, courteous, and very knowledgeable. They are very safety oriented and will conduct guided dives on a lovely wall and reef not too far from the hotel/dive op. Rooms are reasonably priced, are clean and unusually spacious.

[puertoricandive]

hi the whole has alot to offer. the diving is great in the south west and the east. the north shore offers shore diving. If you come down for the 31 of this month i can take you diving on the east side and to st. thomas on the 31 the boat leaves at 645am and we are back on the island of puerto rico at 700pm two wreck dives. the boat holds 28 divers with equipment. for more info i have a site www.coquidivepuertorico.com looking forward to taking you diving. ps i will going on the dives as well

[puertoricandive]

HY
The island of puerto rico has it all for all. You have north shore for shore diving. the east shore has for the beginner and advance. the south side is alittle deeper but if you got your skills down, its all good. the west is rincon here is real good. now if you dont want to drive, then i can take you to the east shore for boat diving. sorry for the wait.. too much emails getting in at this time www.coquidivepuertorico.com

[ScubaDadMiami]

I have driven around the island, stopping to dive along the way. I have not dived everywhere. But, I have been diving off of the east side of the island, in Culebra, and off of the south side, in Parguera.

From what I know, the north side of the island tends to have marginal visibility compared to other areas of the island. It is not a terribly long drive to the east side of the island, to go in Culebra. If you can find an operator willing to make the trip from there, you can go to the Vieques Islands, which is supposed to be an awesome area to dive. Note, however, that it is not a trip that the operators run everyday. Make sure you plan in advance if this is where you are going.

La Parguera has some of the best diving you will ever see. It is on the south side of the island. I would not miss it.

On the northwest corner of the island, you can also take a trip out to the Desecheo Island area. I have not been there. But, I hear that this is also beautiful.

[-hh]

There is one dive shop local to San Juan. It's in the back of the Normandy hotel in Condado which is just 10 minutes from Old SJ. They dive right behind the hotel, shore dive.

I've done this dive too...same operator.


On a scale of 1 - 10 the dive ranks about a 3.

I'd rank it below a 3, and that was despite seeing a seahorse and a scorpionfish.


However, the operator is great

We had a reservation for three divers, but they were over a half hour late in showing up at the appointed time, and never offered an explanation or an apology. I'd not use them again.



Obviously, if you do have more time PR has great dive sites on the West Coast. But I have been told it is a two + hour drive from SJ.

Dive reports from the West & South are better than the North, but are mixed. The only PR dive that I'd really consider would be out to Mona Island. IIRC, I believe one of the Nekton boats does it seasonally as a liveaboard trip.


-hh

[rpodos]

I did the Condado dive, too, years ago... uggghhh.

There is some OK diving in the NW near Rincon, and an *excellent* wall in the SW at Parguera.