Diving in Puerto Rico

[ginovega]

I agree you 100% and that is niche in the PR scuba diving business that can be exploited. I am about 6 years from retiring from the military and I am planning on exploring that avenue...



I do know that Island Scuba in Guanica and Paradise Snorkeling and Dive center at LA Parguera do assist divers w logging locally... they don't usually handle the transportation



Remember PR might seem foreign for many US mainlanders but is not. You are not leaving US territory, you don't need a passport, US currency is the method of payment, you have the Walmart, Kmart, McDonalds, Wendy's, Subways , Chili's, Wallgreens, CVS, auto zone, pepboys and many US chains, no customs, major cell phone companies like Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T work great there. You can call like being in the States. Has the major hub in the Carribean the international airport, biggest hyperbactic chamber in the Caribbean... all us Major car rental companies are there. Is the easiest destination to reach from the USA.
In addition, on your comments about Spanish, you will be surprise how many people speak English. One example is Rincon, Culebra and Vieques where you will find many US mainlanders (not ex-parts are they have not lefyvghe USA) liva and have businesses there....

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Thanks for this -

When traveling to a foreign country, particularly for the somewhat less adventurous soul, it's often very helpful to have a near 'one stop turn key operation' where you show up at the airport, they come get you, handle at least the basics, and get you back to the airport. You book your flight with the airline and your diving/resort/maybe-even-vehicle-rental-if-lucky-&-needed with them, and you're good to go.

I think of Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire, but this type of setup is available to a lesser extent elsewhere. I booked a 10 2-tank trip (20 dives) with Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo, and they handled my hotel arrangement, with their dive shop at the end of the parking lot, and we rented an SUV at the airport when booking our plane ticket. Pretty simple.

It seems to me a dive operator could pull in some business by catering to dive tourists with a turn key style setup.

My 2 dives were with Sea Ventures way back in April '06. After a 1 week cruise we spent three days at the Hyatt Dorado to the north, and our guide came & picked us up and drove us and from Fajardo. It was a long drive, but a nice, scenic way to see the island while chatting about scuba & what-not with our dive guide. All in all, not a bad day!

Richard.

My impression with PR dive operators is the same. They are basically "dive shops." They expect you to do the leg work (how to get to them, where to stay, how to eat etc). Even the dives can be cancelled if you have gone through all the trouble YOURSELF and then they do not have enough people to fill the boat that day! Since it is not Bonaire where every one is diving all the time, there could be a lot of days where boats do not go out and if you end up there on those dates then you pay more for the boats to run. While the diving there sounds fascinating, the actual level of service does not seem to be at par with Honduras and Bonaire etc.

 

[ginovega]

So we do agree that in terms of turn-key solutions for diving travel Puerto Rico is way behind other islands in the Caribbean. I do understand that many prefer to pay one price for an all inclusive experience. However that is far different from giving an opinion on the quality of the diving sites if you don't have enough experience there.ie I can't and won't provide feedback on Dominican Republic because I have only dive there once. On the contrary, for those that are more adventurous and are willing to do all their arrangements Puerto Rico is a great option , specially when there are people like me who are willing to assist them and provide pointers on where to stay and the ops to use....

 

[drrich2]

I agree you 100% and that is niche in the PR scuba diving business that can be exploited. I am about 6 years from retiring from the military and I am planning on exploring that avenue...

I hope that works out well. I've been on 2 cruises on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas sailing out of Puerto Rico. The itineraries were to the southern Caribbean, and they are nice. I don't know whether this angle would be helpful, but I wonder whether people could be persuaded to add some time on their vacation and spend a few days diving before heading out on their cruise?

The range of things to do on the island could be a draw for some. I see a number of diver/non-diver combo. couples/groups posting looking for destinations.

People don't need a passport to fly round trip to & from Puerto Rico from the U.S., do they?

I just went to Orbitz, picked a Saturday to Saturday 7 day round trip out of Nashville to the airport at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and airfare started at $400 something apiece. I didn't go down through there looking for choice flights, but that's a savings of hundreds per person vs. round trip airfare to Bonaire.

Richard.

 

[ginovega]

No passports required for US citizens, Puerto Rico is a US territory...Like that idea of dive/land activities combo....
Also getting to PR from the US is very easy and affordable. The International airport (SJU) is the busiest of the Caribbean and many of those traveling to the rest of the Caribbean do their connections there...One quick tip to find cheap fares to PR, Leave a Tue or Thu and return a Thu or Tue...I save over $70.00 per ticket from Atlanta - San Juan - Direct flight w Delta...

 

[swim deep]

Diving is a weather dependent activity no matter where you are.
Puerto Rico is a great destination, and with no passport, and low airfares it's very affordable.
Desecheo, La Parguera, or Mona Island are great dives. They are not near San Juan and there are few dive operators for these sites. I would love to give my business to a safe, reliable, friendly, dive boat that would take me to these west end dives. Last time we went, Desecheo was fantastic. I would not recommend the dive operator we went out with, but they were the only way to get there.
Ginovega, I hope you can bring high quality dive boats and services to the beautiful west, southwest, and remote dive sites.

 

[ginovega]

I am working to develop my business plan so all feedback is appreciated!!!!!

 

[diveratlaw]

I am headed to Puerto Rico in mid-October with a non-diving friend. I have 100+ dives under my belt, mainly in Cozumel, Costa Rica, Roatan, Bonaire, Caymans, Flower Gardens (yea, Texas!), and the like.
Am PADI certified. I need to know some recommendations for dive shops and, more importantly, who NOT to dive with. While I would like to only focus on diving, one has to be considerate of the non-diver (rats!), so if I could be underwater while they are taking some kind of land tour, that's ideal.

 

[Jlpskydive]

I'm heading there Sept 26 to Oct 3rd and really need some help with who to and more importantly who NOT to dive with and sites that we should hit. Staying in Carolina/Isla Verde, but really not afraid of a rental car trip if that's what it takes.

 

[ibj40]

I am headed to Puerto Rico in mid-October with a non-diving friend. I have 100+ dives under my belt, mainly in Cozumel, Costa Rica, Roatan, Bonaire, Caymans, Flower Gardens (yea, Texas!), and the like.
Am PADI certified. I need to know some recommendations for dive shops and, more importantly, who NOT to dive with. While I would like to only focus on diving, one has to be considerate of the non-diver (rats!), so if I could be underwater while they are taking some kind of land tour, that's ideal.

Puerto Rico is a big island. Can you be more specific about where you will be staying?