Puerto Rico

[sagesign]

Excellent questions by Rich and very detailed, informative answers by Sage. I am planning a late spring 23, 7-9 day trip somewhere. Coz has been very good to us over the last few years but this kind of first hand info into P.R. makes me think. Sage, can you expound briefly on your flights to and from P.R.? I consistently see decent priced flights into San Juan from Ohare but the times in and out are less than desirable.

We flew out of Indy. Booked tickets late last summer when we saw some cheap prices and the flight changed about 6 times from that time. Our flight left Indy around 6am, layover in Miami, and into San Juan around 3pm. Flight out was at 2pm, layover in Philadelphia, into indy around 9. We're pretty used to layovers no matter where we go.
I don't think you'd regret this trip at all and if you can 9 days I'd do that.

 

[Grateful head]

We flew out of Indy. Booked tickets late last summer when we saw some cheap prices and the flight changed about 6 times from that time. Our flight left Indy around 6am, layover in Miami, and into San Juan around 3pm. Flight out was at 2pm, layover in Philadelphia, into indy around 9. We're pretty used to layovers no matter where we go.
I don't think you'd regret this trip at all and if you can 9 days I'd do that.

Thanks for the flight info and first hand info, just the kind of thing I’ve been looking for. May have more questions in a bit.

 

[FreqFlier]

Excellent questions by Rich and very detailed, informative answers by Sage. I am planning a late spring 23, 7-9 day trip somewhere. Coz has been very good to us over the last few years but this kind of first hand info into P.R. makes me think. Sage, can you expound briefly on your flights to and from P.R.? I consistently see decent priced flights into San Juan from Ohare but the times in and out are less than desirable.

GH - if flying out of O'Hare I feel like the best way to get the most of it is ORD-SJU direct on United arriving 4pm, then SJU-EWR-ORD leaving SJU 5:30pm. There is a 2 hour time difference (Atlantic time zone), that's why getting to PR never happens early in a day. Same as with most of Carribean islands

 

[Grateful head]

GH - if flying out of O'Hare I feel like the best way to get the most of it is ORD-SJU direct on United arriving 4pm, then SJU-EWR-ORD leaving SJU 5:30pm. There is a 2 hour time difference (Atlantic time zone), that's why getting to PR never happens early in a day. Same as with most of Carribean islands

Thanks for this FF. I read your post and then looked again at the flights and found a United flight that arrives at 3:17 p.m. in San Juan and then departs at in the early afternoon around 2:00 p.m. It’s the best flight itinerary I have seen in the last year of looking at flights to Puerto Rico. I think I must have a talk with my wife about this!

 

[FreqFlier]

So here's a quickie report. Pics will follow a bit later when we get back home.
Canceled Desecheo trip with Taino - apparently chances of getting there between November and May are like winning a major lottery. 7+' waves, 25+ mph winds most of the time - it's a channel...
Did two days with Paradise and one day with Island Scuba.
Paradise is a top notch operation, first day 5 divers + 2 DMs, second day 7 divers + 2 DM in the water, custom Newtons, all great, water and soft drinks included, snacks included, beer included on the way back. No fresh water showers...
Island Scuba is a tiny operation, six pack basically. We had 6 divers and DM in the water. Nothing else included, no fresh water.
Guys, diving here is ridiculously great! This Parguera wall is awesome - first day 80-90' viz, started raining later, viz got worse, like 60-65'. Reef, blacktip, nurse sharks, turtles, 4+lb lobsters, eels, etc. Great amounts of reef fishes, healthy corals. It's a some kind of tectonic shift, vertical drop from 60-80' to 120-150'. Reminds me of a Molokini back wall a bit. But it's miles and miles long - locals say they have about 40 mooring balls tied - all different.
Next time I would probably pick some B&B in La Parguera. Copamarina is a nice place, but too resort-y and located at least 15-25+ minutes away from everything. Literally in the middle of nowhere with a beach full of seagrass.
That's it for the time being, back home in a couple of days, will share more then.

 

[Grateful head]

So here's a quickie report. Pics will follow a bit later when we get back home.
Canceled Desecheo trip with Taino - apparently chances of getting there between November and May are like winning a major lottery. 7+' waves, 25+ mph winds most of the time - it's a channel...
Did two days with Paradise and one day with Island Scuba.
Paradise is a top notch operation, first day 5 divers + 2 DMs, second day 7 divers + 2 DM in the water, custom Newtons, all great, water and soft drinks included, snacks included, beer included on the way back. No fresh water showers...
Island Scuba is a tiny operation, six pack basically. We had 6 divers and DM in the water. Nothing else included, no fresh water.
Guys, diving here is ridiculously great! This Parguera wall is awesome - first day 80-90' viz, started raining later, viz got worse, like 60-65'. Reef, blacktip, nurse sharks, turtles, 4+lb lobsters, eels, etc. Great amounts of reef fishes, healthy corals. It's a some kind of tectonic shift, vertical drop from 60-80' to 120-150'. Reminds me of a Molokini back wall a bit. But it's miles and miles long - locals say they have about 40 mooring balls tied - all different.
Next time I would probably pick some B&B in La Parguera. Copamarina is a nice place, but too resort-y and located at least 15-25+ minutes away from everything. Literally in the middle of nowhere with a beach full of seagrass.
That's it for the time being, back home in a couple of days, will share more then.

Following… as I spoke to Paradise and Island scuba two days ago. Also spoke to Copamarina as well. Sounds like Paradise only does charters on weekends and like you said, Copa seems a bit away from town. Would like to hear more about lodging when you get a chance. Struggling between a Coz trip (sure thing) and a P.R. trip for end of April.

 

[ibj40]

Following… as I spoke to Paradise and Island scuba two days ago. Also spoke to Copamarina as well. Sounds like Paradise only does charters on weekends and like you said, Copa seems a bit away from town. Would like to hear more about lodging when you get a chance. Struggling between a Coz trip (sure thing) and a P.R. trip for end of April.

I'll begin with a disclaimer that we have been to Puerto Rico three times, always in June.

Our research has shown that June is the optimal month for weather conditions for diving.

With that said, our second trip to the island was to dive from Playa Santa with Island Scuba.

Having dived Cozumel since the mid 80's, and frequently through 2012, I would rate the La Parguera and Guanica wall dives as equal to, if not better than the last time we visited Cozumel.

I make this observation based on the health of the reefs and walls, especially the significant and massive displays of Black Corals.

For lodging in Playa Santa, we stayed in a small inn that was very basic, however walkable to the Island Scuba dive shop.

As to places to eat in Playa Santa, there is a limited selection, however we like to cook, and stocked up on groceries on the way from the San Juan Airport and Playa Santa.

 

[FreqFlier]

Paradise has a pretty decent booking system online - they are generally closed on Mondays and you can pick your days otherwise. You can always check over the phone if particular days suit your schedule. They speak pretty decent english.
Imho diving easily beats Cozumel. Infrastructure around it not so much. I would still consider La Parguera, Cabo Rojo or Boqueron to stay in.

 

[MiloR]

So here's a quickie report. Pics will follow a bit later when we get back home.
Canceled Desecheo trip with Taino - apparently chances of getting there between November and May are like winning a major lottery. 7+' waves, 25+ mph winds most of the time - it's a channel...
Did two days with Paradise and one day with Island Scuba.
Paradise is a top notch operation, first day 5 divers + 2 DMs, second day 7 divers + 2 DM in the water, custom Newtons, all great, water and soft drinks included, snacks included, beer included on the way back. No fresh water showers...
Island Scuba is a tiny operation, six pack basically. We had 6 divers and DM in the water. Nothing else included, no fresh water.
Guys, diving here is ridiculously great! This Parguera wall is awesome - first day 80-90' viz, started raining later, viz got worse, like 60-65'. Reef, blacktip, nurse sharks, turtles, 4+lb lobsters, eels, etc. Great amounts of reef fishes, healthy corals. It's a some kind of tectonic shift, vertical drop from 60-80' to 120-150'. Reminds me of a Molokini back wall a bit. But it's miles and miles long - locals say they have about 40 mooring balls tied - all different.
Next time I would probably pick some B&B in La Parguera. Copamarina is a nice place, but too resort-y and located at least 15-25+ minutes away from everything. Literally in the middle of nowhere with a beach full of seagrass.
That's it for the time being, back home in a couple of days, will share more then.

Glad you liked Paradise Scuba. Kiko runs a nice operation and they have been there for decades. Capt. Cachi is one of the most friendly people I have run into diving. I will be there is about 2 weeks for some diving.

 

[FreqFlier]

Few pics attached