Puerto Rico in November Questions

[Texasdiver2]

Am planning a weeklong stay in Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving. Will stay at Palmas Del Mar in Humacao. Have researched the board for these answers but don't see much current info.

Primary purpose of trip is not diving but party of six recreational divers would like to spend two or three days diving primarily off the east coast of PR. I understand the west coast and SW coast are better but it seems that we are too far away to make those dives convenient.

Any input on SeaVentures at Palmas Del Mar? I understand the dive sites here are just acceptable but would be convenient to our condo. We plan on doing a two tank dive on one day here.

Any input on Culebra Divers in Culebra? My understanding is they are the only current dive op in Culebra. We plan on taking the ferry to Culebra and doing a two tank dive there. Any suggestions for other activities on Cuebra?

Should we plan to do both of our diving days on Culebra and forget the diving off Palmas del Mar?

Any other spots on the East Coast I should consider?

Any spots on the southern coast that I could reach from Humacao and return to Humacao all in one day?

NON DIVING Activities

Am also interested in exploring the Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve outside of Fajardo. Would probably combine this with a kayak trip to the bioluminescent bay at the same place. Any input re: this is appreciated.

Am also interested in exploring the ruta panoramica that runs thru the middle of PR thru the mountains. An input is appreciated.

thanks

kevin

 

[DiveNerd]

Well, sounds like you already have a good agenda. My BF and I just went there a few months ago and loved it. We stayed on the west coast and the south because our purpose was definitely diving.
Don't be scared of the drive beacuse the Island is just not that big. If you stay on the highways you can make good time most places. PLEASE get neverlost, it is a must in PR. And even then, consult a map ta make sure you're not driving on a 5ft wide road that should accomodate two way traffic.
There is another thread on here with suggestions for diving from Fajardo and Humacao.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187101&highlight=vieques+diving&page=2
it may help you with finding dive ops there.

But if you can get away one night to the west and book a trip to Desecheo you will not be sorry. We met a group of divers that were staying in San Juan and did the early morning drive over to La Parguera to dive the Wall. But If I had the opportunity, I would have done Desecheo everyday! I have some pics in my Gallery to help persuade you of its beauty. The vis was 80+ that day and the color of the water was unbelievable.

As far as other activities on the Island: You're agenda is different than ours was. But here are some other choices. We drove out to Old San Juan and El Yunque. The Rainforest is really beautiful and the trail was a lot of fun. The waterfalls are great photo ops! Old San Juan was beautiful and next trip we decided to stay there and drive everywhere else. Being a huge Nerd I had to go to Arecibo to see the Observatory. It was also fun and now when I watch the movie Contact I can tell my friends I was there! We also went to Caves at Camuy. That was really amazing. We tried twice to get in before we finally made it in. When they say to be there early, they mean it. It fills up as soon as they open. But it was well worth the drives out there.

 

[DarrylStans]

The drive to the west will take you less time than going to the Ferry and going across. I take people diving that are staying in the East almost daily. We can take you in the NW corner in Aquadilla and in Parguera I'd recommend Parguera Divers for the wall, If you want to go to Desecheo Island I'd send you to Taino Divers in Rincon. All these are a not so bad day trips and you will see more coral and fish. Many of the large San Juan shops drive over to the beaches in the West to do their certification dives.

If you want to dive here don't let a little driving scare you. It is not that large an island.

 

[navigatrix]

Texasdiver2, it sounds like you're going to have a great time. My wife and I went diving for the first time in PR, and loved it.

By far, the highlight of our trip was diving Isla Desecheo from Rincon. I highly recommend Taino divers, they were very professional and took excellent care of us (good food too!). If at all possible, I would recommend you include that in your trip, the visibility was fantastic, there were so many fish and healthy plants, and the whole thing was amazing. We also dove the Parguera Wall with Paradise Scuba (we wanted to go with Parguera Divers, but their ship was out for inspection at the time). That was great, really deep, and interesting, but not as phenomenal as Desecheo. We also dove in Vieques - it was nice but I wouldn't recommend a trip to that island just for diving (the water was not that clear and there aren't many dive operators to choose from). That said, if you happen to be on Vieques, I do suggest diving, it is still really enjoyable. And the bioluminescent bay there is out of this world, another highlight of the trip.

We drove through the Ruta Panoramica. It is a bit curvy, but with a confidant driver and a good map it is lots of fun. You see a totally different part of the island that way. We did maybe 2/3 of the drive in one afternoon after diving that morning (La Parguera to Ponce to Consejo to Aibonito to Cayey) - it was a long day, and we didn't stop all that much, but really lovely and certainly do-able. Just make sure you have some place to stay planned beforehand, we had to double back to Aibonito to find a place (but the island is so small, really that was just a 20 min drive).

I agree with the previous two posts - the island is much smaller than it seems, don't let the distance prevent you from doing what you want. We dove Vieques one morning, took the ferry back to Fajardo that afternoon, drove across the entire island to Rincon, and dove Desecheo the next morning, all very easily.

As another side note, all the guidebooks we found were a little inaccurate. I would not rely on a single book to tell you everything. One book would omit something that another included. I recommend looking at at least two.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Strima77]

Has anyone heard about an oil spill on the southeast coast near Parguera? I've seen some conflicting reports. Also, speaking of the wall off Parguera, how is the marine life and corals?
thanks.

 

[Tollie]

The parguera wall is a wonderful dive spot. The wall is very healthy.

Your best operator for a trip is Parguera Divers. I use them if I have a student and sometimes just go out with them for fun.

 

[Strima77]

Has anybody heard about an oil slick on the southeast side of the island, and whether it's affecting diving at Pareguero or other areas down there?

 

[Strima77]

sorry for posting this again, for some reason it seemed as if my previous one didn't go through, then I saw it.
thanks for the reply.

 

[Quetzal]

We are going to be there Thanksgiving also. I was there in June with the wife and kid and so didn't do but one day of shore diving in Rincon viz was bad. But I agree El yunque was great. Aibonita flower show was also.
Anyone can suggest a cheap clean room for rent in or near Maricao, or San German or for that matter Rincon? Its just me and my brother this trip and we would rather spend money on diving than hotel. Last time stayed at Confresi.

 

[Tollie]

For a budget alternative in Rincon try the Rincon Inn.

For something closer to the water try Casa Verde.

Yes... in the summer the viz off the shore can be in the 20 foot range (perhaps a bit less) especially if it has rained the night before.