Question Caribbean Dive Recommendations - Long Weekend Options

[sparragus]

Puerto Rico would be a great fit for what you’re looking for. Frequent flights from Florida. Always warm. We have dives of many types. Shore. Boat. Drift. Walls. Marine national reserve/park. You name it. Not much wrecks or caves. But the dives are world class. And there’s diving anywhere around the island.

I wrote four dive reports in this post. Four videos there, too. Trip Report - Puerto Rico Dive Report - Early September 2023

Next Monday I’m going to dive Desecheo Island. https://maps.app.goo.gl/8FPUAZzxW5m4xo7G6?g_st=ic

If you ever come, hit me up and let’s go diving together.

 

[davecampbell]

Hah, I've heard some things about Tobermory, the stories I've heard make it sound like the only bad thing is the viz! Would love to get up there and check it out. I've replied to a couple of posts with this statement already, but the primary motivation for me to do drysuit even though it's all warm water around me is to open up all those cold water diving sites.

tobermory has great visibility for the most part. pics are in Toby this year.

 

[living4experiences]

That's one of the reasons why I'm focusing on caribbean. I dive SE Florida pretty much every week, sometimes multiple times a week if I can move the work meetings around appropriately. Caribbean is pretty much the backyard, where a flight is often direct and no longer than a drive to WPB or Key Largo. The way I figure it - a trip out on a Wed/Thurs, dive Friday/Sat Morning, and then fly on Sunday should allow for plenty of room for no-fly time and allow 6 dives or so. If I like a place I can always make another trip, if I never go I never get the experience. This post is an effort to try to maximize that first experience.

However, you paint a pretty bleak and depressing picture, would love to know what you are comparing it to - not sure if you've seen them at their peak and comparing it to then, or to diving in the coral triangle, or what.

Up until last month when I went to Raja Ampat for the first time, my dive experience has been all over the Caribbean, Mexico, and Hawaii. My comparisons are based on seeing these reefs in steady decline over the past 5-6 years. If you've seen the Key Largo reefs, then you'll get a good idea of what the Caribbean looks like right now. During the COVID shutdowns, the areas were overfished and stripped of marine life. In St. Croix, they were eating and serving to the public the tropical fish that carry the ciguatera toxin. This was a warning I got from a local dive operator; don't eat any fish stew. The locals in Roatan eat barracuda, which also carries ciguatera toxin.

However, if you've never been to any of these places, you have no basis of comparison, so your experience will be with fresh eyes and you can make your own judgments. But it can be a disappointing and expensive test to undertake by going to places that are known to have bleached reefs and a lack of marine life.

 

[BoozeHound36]

Puerto Rico would be a great fit for what you’re looking for. Frequent flights from Florida. Always warm. We have dives of many types. Shore. Boat. Drift. Walls. Marine national reserve/park. You name it. Not much wrecks or caves. But the dives are world class. And there’s diving anywhere around the island.

I wrote four dive reports in this post. Four videos there, too. Trip Report - Puerto Rico Dive Report - Early September 2023

Next Monday I’m going to dive Desecheo Island. https://maps.app.goo.gl/8FPUAZzxW5m4xo7G6?g_st=ic

If you ever come, hit me up and let’s go diving together.

Puerto Rico is always a good time, though I haven't dived there yet. It's a high probability that I'll make a trip this year, in which case I'll definitely reach out.

 

[C-Doggie]

Puerto Rico would be a great fit for what you’re looking for. Frequent flights from Florida. Always warm. We have dives of many types. Shore. Boat. Drift. Walls. Marine national reserve/park. You name it. Not much wrecks or caves. But the dives are world class. And there’s diving anywhere around the island.

I wrote four dive reports in this post. Four videos there, too. Trip Report - Puerto Rico Dive Report - Early September 2023

Next Monday I’m going to dive Desecheo Island. https://maps.app.goo.gl/8FPUAZzxW5m4xo7G6?g_st=ic

If you ever come, hit me up and let’s go diving together.

Hi, I was supposed to dive desecheo , but it sounds like there’s a big swells coming in north side of the island. Are there any shore dives down near Cabo Rojo, or La Pagada, that you know of

 

[C-Doggie]

Hi, I was supposed to dive desecheo , but it sounds like there’s a big swells coming in north side of the island. Are there any shore dives down near Cabo Rojo, or La Pagada, that you know of

 

[sparragus]

Hi, I was supposed to dive desecheo , but it sounds like there’s a big swells coming in north side of the island. Are there any shore dives down near Cabo Rojo, or La Pagada, that you know of

The only shore dive I know of is Crash Boat. That’s in Aguadilla. I highly recommend it. I went there last Sunday.


Which dive operator were you trying to use to go to Desecheo?

 

[sparragus]

Also, I have recommendation for boat dives in La Parguera and Guanica, if you want. Let me know.

 

[C-Doggie]

The only shore dive I know of is Crash Boat. That’s in Aguadilla. I highly recommend it. I went there last Sunday.


Which dive operator were you trying to use to go to Desecheo?

Thank you! Thats a great idea! I love crashnoat to swim at.
So when you come down the hill and see the pier in front of you, is that where the diving is? Or do you walk down the beach a bit to the left or right? I haven’t been there in a few years, but I think there’s something in the water to the left.

 

[C-Doggie]

Thank you! Thats a great idea! I love crashnoat to swim at.
So when you come down the hill and see the pier in front of you, is that where the diving is? Or do you walk down the beach a bit to the left or right? I haven’t been there in a few years, but I think there’s something in the water to the left.

We were going with Tiano but I guess they pulled their boat due to the swells