Diving in Puerto Rico Next Week @ Casa del Mar

[Parikh1234]

Hey Guys, I am heading to Puerto Rico next week for a wedding. My brother, his fiance, and my gf are all getting their OW dives done at that time. I am a rescue diver and have a bunch of dive experience. Due to the logistics, I had to find a dive shop close to San Juan. I found this place called Casa del Mar ( [1] http://www.scubapuertorico.net ). Has anyone dove with them before? Any specific dive sites you can recommend once they get their 4 OW dives in?

Also I emailed the shop and confirmed our dives with them this week. Is there anyone there I should ask for or anything else I should know about diving with them?


Thanks so much!

 

[ginovega]

Hey Guys, I am heading to Puerto Rico next week for a wedding. My brother, his fiance, and my gf are all getting their OW dives done at that time. I am a rescue diver and have a bunch of dive experience. Due to the logistics, I had to find a dive shop close to San Juan. I found this place called Casa del Mar ( [1] http://www.scubapuertorico.net ). Has anyone dove with them before? Any specific dive sites you can recommend once they get their 4 OW dives in?

Also I emailed the shop and confirmed our dives with them this week. Is there anyone there I should ask for or anything else I should know about diving with them?


Thanks so much!

I have not dive with them but I heard from other operators that thye are a good operations and have a great boat. A friend of mine Jose Morales that owns Blue Water Scuba out of Ponce have dove w them in Culebra. I am from the South West side of Puerto Rico and I have not dive the East at all.The best diving in the South west... Guanica, Parguera, Ponce, Mayaguez, Aguadilla, Rincon, Desecheo etc. In Guanica, Island Scuba w Pedro Padilla, Mayaguez Papo Braulio The Dive Shop PR, Aguadilla, Jose Rafols of Aquatica Dive and Surf, Parguera, Kiko Paradise Dive and Snorkling center, RIncon and Desecheo Taino Divers...

In the San Juan area check out Scuba Dogs, Akuasport, Carib aquatic Advenutures, Encanto Divers.. I am sure they know theat area better...You can find any of them by google them. Check my other post on PR or send me a PM and I will do the best to help you out.

Enjoy your trip

Gino

 

[Parikh1234]

I wish I could dive in the west but I just dont have the time to do so. Def on my next trip!

 

[motorref]

Just got back from San Juan lasr week, and I did a couple of dives with Tony Vega of Caribe Aquatic; these were shore dives from the Escambron Park near the old/defunct Normandie Hotel (I stayed at the Caribe Hilton, a 5 minute walk).
The park had is some marine life near the jetty, etc., but the better dive was a 10 minute surface swim past the Hilton pier, where there were some small "caverns" (not sure what to call them) and swim throughs - nothing that really required a dive light as we were only in 25 - 30 FSW and had plenty of ambient light.
Tony was a lot of fun to dive with and knows the area well- he carried some bread and the fish all seemed to recognize him and knew he had it - he gave me some to feed them and I was shocked by how aggressive they are, and how hard they bite!
We did see a mid-size green turtle, the "baby" of three in the bay there, and a barracuda or two, but the "caverns" were the most fun for me. If/when I go back, I plan on going out of Fajardo (Caribe Aquatic has a boat there) as the diving is supposed to be much better there.
The only down side to diving with Tony was that they meet you there - they do not have a shop/booth in the park. Scuba Dogs does, and there is a shop at the Hilton as well.
Dives were a little pricey at $65 each but I enjoyed it, so it was worth it. Scuba Dogs charges $75 per dive, and an extra $25 if you are the only diver - it was just Tony and I for both dives at their regular rate.

Enjoy!
KevinL

---------- Post added May 28th, 2013 at 12:37 PM ----------

Forgot to add that the shop you posted is in Fajardo, (I think) about 90 minutes from San Juan; I've been there multiple times and traffic is/can be horrendous!

KL

 

[Oldbear]

I dove with Scuba Dogs a couple of years ago before leaving on a cruise...San Juan does not have anything in the WOW department to offer. For the OWs SJ is fine, but try your hardest to get to Fajardo to do a morning boat dive. Night & Day. I stayed at the Hilton and 'cause I left so early in the morning traffic was a non-issue; did my two-tank boat dive and was back in SJ by mid-afternoon before traffic was heavy again.

 

[jlevine]

So, Parikh1234, how did it go with Case del Mar?

 

[Parikh1234]

Casa del Mar was absolutely amazing. I cant tell you how awesome that shop is. The DM / DI were friendly and really took the time with my GF (even though she was kicking and screaming no ) The boats were in top notch condition and they provided soda / water / fruits / chips / dip. Freshwater shower / hose on board.

The quality of dives was actually pretty good. Everyone kept telling me Fajardo was not good for diving etc. We didnt go deeper than 60 feet but still lots of turtles and rays.

They even refunded my brother 3 / 4 of his certification fee because he got seasick and couldnt finish his dives.

Overall great dive shop, would / will totally go back. If you have some specific questions please ask!