Certification Dives

[KungFuGod]

My daughter needs to do her open water cert. dives. 2 in Puerto Rico then 2 in St. Thomas as we will be sailing out of Puerto Rico on a cruise ship.
Suggestions would be appreciated.

We arrive in Puerto Rico the day before we leave, and the ships sails at 11pm.

Thanx

 

[Torontonian]

In St. Thomas, can go to the Coki Beach to dive with the Coki Beach Dive Club. I used them for boat dives, and my BIL and friends did Discovery scuba with them. They are good. She can probably do shore dives with them.

In PR, you probably fly into San Juan. There is no good diving around San Juan. You can go east to Farjado (1 hr), or west to Rincon (2.5hr). For your purpose maybe easier/quicker at Farjado. You might want to rent a car and drive to stay at Farjado the day you arrive, so she can do two morning dives. That'll still leave you time to tour the El Yunque rain forest, before getting to San Juan to board the ship.

 

[Tollie]

HI,

Just a quick caution. I hope you dont put pressure on your daughter to finish the cert dives on your trip schedule... rather than her learning schedule. I have found that coming from afar by air is quite stressful, dehydration and the chance of congestion may make for very difficult circumstances for a diver to finish... Diving is fun and in tropical waters comfortable. The goal should be for her to become a safe, lifelong diver.

Enjoy your holiday.

 

[Pelagicus]

I agree with Torontonian's recommendations and Tollie's advice. Given that you're only in PR for 1 day and most likely in the San Juan area, I would also recommend Farjado. However, if the stress of traveling is a factor and you don't want to do the extra drive to Farjado, San Juan is adequate for certification purposes. Of course, I agree that it won't exactly be a thrilling experience. Check out this website, which has maps, for more info on dive operators and dive sites.

The complete Puerto Rico scuba diving guide covering dive sites and dive centres

 

[wreckchick]

We would be happy to do your daughter's dives in St. Thomas if you haven't made other plans already depending on your ship's schedule.

Rachel