Diving in Sosua, Dominican Republic

[amoses]

I am going to be in the DR March 6-18 for a mission trip. I am hoping to sneak in a couple of afternoons or mornings of diving. We will be in Sosua, just East of Puerta Plata, probably will not have time to go into Sosua if I don't have too. Any recommendations on who to dive with and specific sites that I should ask to dive? I contacted Northern Coast Diving and I think there are a couple of others, but I would like to hear from some divers who have some experience with the various dive ops there. I will likely have to rent equipment since my luggage limits will be used up for mission trip stuff. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[DRsharky]

There is a dive shop called Merlin divers, I was diving with them for couple years when I lived in Cabarete (east of Sosua). Very friendly service, lots of fun. Here is their website Sosua Scuba diving - The Merlin Dive Center dominican republic offers a complete range of services.

 

[djcamera]

I dove with Northern Coast on two separate trips. British-run. Fair prices and clean shop. People running the shop and divemasters aren't the friendliest in the world, but they are highly safety conscious, and no-nonsense. (I prefer that style to the "Good Time Fun" DMs) I never used their gear, since I always bring my own. Vis off Sosua is not terrific, but hey, you're diving, right? If you stay in town to dive, you have to hump your gear about half a click to the beach where you catch the boat. That's kind of a pain. They offer a nice trip to a place called Rio San Juan/Gri-gri Lagoon where there are some swim-throughs. Current can be very strong in DR. Sosua is a fun town.

 

[Colin Williamson]

I am sure that Northern Coast have all your equipment loaded on the boat ready for you and it’s only masks and fins that people prefer to carry themselves. They have their own boat in Rio San Juan and all the boats have canopies so you can get out of the sun plus drinking water.