Dive shops in west Puerto Rico

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Culebra has great snorkeling but supposably not as good diving as PR. But it does have some rally nice beaches
 
Hello...

I dove Culebra a year ago... it's good. I think it's not worth the money they ask for it.

To me the best diving spots are in La Parguera for less money, 20+ dive sites excellent diving all year long. Drive 15 minutes to the west get to "The Dive Shop" in Mayaguez and ask Captain Papo to take you to Las Gatas.... one of my favorites dives... you'll get to dive with many nurse sharks in 35ft depth, the reef there is very nice too. Then you drive 15mins more to the north and you can get to Taino Divers in Rincon and go to Desecheo.

After that you may have seen some of the best reef diving spots in the world.

This is my MUST DO Dives if you are coming here to dive

At La Parguera
1) Black Wall
2) Hole in the Wall
3) The Chimney
4) The Forrest

At Mayaguez
1) Las Gatas
2) Lonely Rock

At Rincon
1) Desecheo
2) Steps Beach - Best Snorkeling in the island other than Culebra
 
Hello...

I dove Culebra a year ago... it's good. I think it's not worth the money they ask for it.

To me the best diving spots are in La Parguera for less money, 20+ dive sites excellent diving all year long. Drive 15 minutes to the west get to "The Dive Shop" in Mayaguez and ask Captain Papo to take you to Las Gatas.... one of my favorites dives... you'll get to dive with many nurse sharks in 35ft depth, the reef there is very nice too. Then you drive 15mins more to the north and you can get to Taino Divers in Rincon and go to Desecheo.

After that you may have seen some of the best reef diving spots in the world.

This is my MUST DO Dives if you are coming here to dive

At La Parguera
1) Black Wall
2) Hole in the Wall
3) The Chimney
4) The Forrest

At Mayaguez
1) Las Gatas
2) Lonely Rock

At Rincon
1) Desecheo
2) Steps Beach - Best Snorkeling in the island other than Culebra


Thanks for the advice. Would you still recommend these dives for a beginner?
 
My first dive after open water was at 118 feet in Black Wall at La Parguera. It all depends on how comfortable are you in the water and the divemaster. I suggest you call the diveshops and talk to them before booking. Some beginners are afraid to go below 60feet... to me it was the same, although the risk of narcosis increases when you go deep.

These are tourist oriented dives, from my experience the divemasters will be well aware of their divers specially if they don't have much experience. The only thing that may be a little difficult for the beginner is the currents, in Desecheo sometimes currents get strong which are not very nice to handle if you are beginning to dive. I would recommend trying La Parguera first, the water sometimes is bit rough on the surface but are very easy dives once you go below.

My recomendation is come and try them... you may even contact me and we may go for a couple shore dives if you like :).
 
These are tourist oriented dives, from my experience the divemasters will be well aware of their divers specially if they don't have much experience. The only thing that may be a little difficult for the beginner is the currents, in Desecheo sometimes currents get strong which are not very nice to handle if you are beginning to dive. I would recommend trying La Parguera first, the water sometimes is bit rough on the surface but are very easy dives once you go below.

My recomendation is come and try them... you may even contact me and we may go for a couple shore dives if you like :).

Actually, Desecheo is protected when you dive on the Leeward side. The Parguera Wall is in open ocean. The seas are a lot rougher and if you tend to get seasick check the conditions. The Parguera Wall isn't really a beginner dive neither is Desecheo. Many people think, it's my first dive let me do something really cool. I know I thought the same. I was comfortable and everything but not everyone is.

If this is going to be your first dives I would not recommend either place. Don't get me wrong they are great places but not really for beginners.

That is just my opinion.
 
You are right, I forgot the part of getting there...

Yes, the sea at the wall can be nasty on the surface... once you get down is Paradise!.

Beginner/Advanced are relative terms, I've seen experienced divers make mistakes underwater and I've seen newbies get underwater and handle anything like a pro... even when out of air!

It all comes to how confident you feel on the water.

My $0.02
 
Actually, Desecheo is protected when you dive on the Leeward side. The Parguera Wall is in open ocean. The seas are a lot rougher and if you tend to get seasick check the conditions.

Agreed. We were fortunate to have a nice smooth ride out to Desecheo when we were there in June, but I understand it may not always be like that. IF the conditions are calm, though, as it was for us, I thought it might be great beginner diving where we were (Cueves and Inside Pinnacle), since there's a bottom under you at 50 ft and great vis - in fact, we had a beginner on our boat who did fantastic (she was very comfortable in the water to begin with).

OTOH, I would not recommend a wall dive to any beginner - having to monitor depth and air closely is a recipe for task (over)loading. While being comfortable in the water helps, experience counts a lot toward knowing how to deal with stress, narcosis, and emergencies. As you said, the seas at Parguera Wall can also be rough - we had a different beginner on our boat (not on the wall proper, but on the nearby reef) who got as seasick as I've ever seen anyone - poor guy was basically passed out on the deck after the first dive revisiting his lunch and we had to cancel the 2nd.

Of course, my PR experience is very limited having only dove each area once, so I'll defer to those with more!
 
I pretty much agree with everything. Whenever I go out to Desecheo there is always some beginners.

Do you really think that Cuevas (Spanish for caves), with an overhead environment is good for beginners?

They aren't real caves, but I guess as long as you only go through the big swim throughs. I guess your fine.
 

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