Headed to Puerto Rico - Need suggestions

[Jcarver]

We are heading to PR later in the year and are looking for recommendations to make sure we have the best trip possible.

We plan to stay in Rincon and realize this location will require some traveling to get the best PR experience possible. But all info indicates this is an amazing place on the island. We plan to dive Aquadilla, Desecheo, Guanica and La Parguera. Further, we are planning to do a BioBay trip, rainforest tour, visit the observatory and San Sebastian waterfall.

Our group is made up of 4 adults and 4 kids (12 & 14) all OW divers but this will be a family vacations so we are going to do more than just dive.

Any suggestions on dive operators, dive sites or other attractions we should see would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

J

 

[irmo]

Puerto Rico is great. This is the tourism magazine called "Que Pasa" that comes out quarterly with lots of information on things to see and do. ¡Qué Pasa!

Sounds like you are mainly on the west side of the island. All of the things you mentioned are great. The bio-bay in La Parguera is a little disappointing. It has been dying out over the last 20 to 30 years due to traffic. Better examples are near Fajardo (northeast corner of the island) and on the island of Vieques off the east coast of PR, reachable by ferry from Fajardo.

I don't know how much time you have but a side trip to Vieques or Culebra will provide some good diving opportunities. The rain forest visit (I assume you are planning to go to el Yunque) will take you most of the way to Fajardo. There are also zip line canopy tours available that are pretty cool. We didn't have time to go ourselves, but some of our family did and they raved about it. Look in Que Pasa for ads and contact information.

Diving in La Parguera is good, we went with West Divers and had a blast. They were very nice and accomodating. I'll go with them again.

Keep in mid that while the driving distances are not huge, the driving time is general longer that what we are accustomed to in NC and VA. New expressways are opening, and are well worth the tolls that are becoming popular. The older highways and secondary roads require some patience. When you see something marked as a major road or secondary highway, think “back road” (paved, but narrow). You’ll see what I mean if you opt for the zip-line tour.

 

[Jcarver]

Irmo, Thanks for the info. We are planning to do an all day rain forest tour that includes the zip line. Further, i wanted to dive Culebra but we only have limited days and some of the locations that are as far south as Fajardo or Culebra really are a challenge to get to. I am a little concerned about some of the day trips if travel is worse than i had originally anticipated. We are spending 10 days in Rincon; 1 day in San Juan then we fly home the next afternoon. Your information about the biobay is great because we were planning to visit that one. Thanks again for everything.

 

[irmo]

Enjoy the trip and post your diving experience. I've been going to PR for a long time, but only just started diving in the last 12 months. I plan to do more next time I go, so would love to hear about what you did.

 

[webediving]

I can recommend some dive operators based on personal experience. In the south, check out Island Scuba Scuba Diving School & Dive Trips in Puerto Rico - Island Scuba, Pedro will be your dive master and West Divers (BamBam-Divemaster) Scuba Diving in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. They both do wall diving. West Divers has a smaller boat that you may be able to get a deal on since there are so many. Since you are staing in Rincon, you can dive Desecheo with Taino Divers, www.tainodivers.com, and for some shore diving 30 minutes from Rincon, check with Tony and Brenda at Puerto Rico Technical Diving Center Welcome to Puerto Rico Technical Diving Center.