Diving Puerto Rico with West Divers in La Parguera
My daughter and I have just returned from the scuba trip of a lifetime. We spent one week diving the walls of southern and western Puerto Rico with West Divers in La Parguera, Puerto Rico.
I want to state up front that I was specifically looking for a diving experience off the beaten track. I wasnt interested in a destination where we were going to be part of the multitudes in the water, diving on reefs no longer pristine and staying in hotels near shopping malls and heavily Americanized beachfronts.
We were looking for a wild, intimate, experience and a good diving operation. I based most of my decision to dive with West Divers in La Parguera on the report by jlevine on www.scubaboard.com (Trip Report: West Divers, La Parguera, Puerto Rico).
We arranged the trip by contacting Roxanna at West Divers by email and telephone. Roxanna offered us a package that included two dives each day and lodging at the Parguera Guest House. I made the arrangements two months in advance. This piece of information is important because La Parguera is a small seaside hamlet that caters to the weekend crowds from San Juan and so the hotels are booked months in advance. So if you are interested in staying in La Parguera while diving with West Divers, do not wait until the last minute to contact Roxanna. There are two hotels most often used by West Divers: La Parguera Guest House (excellent) or the Villa Parguera (excellent; if you want a pool book with Roxanna 6 months in advance).
You may question whether two dives a day are enough but the winds cut across Puerto Rico from the east to the west and by noon the seas have picked up into a serious chop. Listen carefully to Victor and Bruno when they recommend taking Bonine the night before and then again in the morning because seasickness can be an issue. My daughter and I were not afflicted because we followed their advice but we saw other clients who were not so lucky. One individual mentioned to me at the dock that he, never gets seasick. Later I saw him puking over the side of the boat.
The diving starts by meeting Victor (Instructor extraordinaire), Bruno (divemaster extraordinaire), and Jose (boat Captain) at the doc by 7:00 a.m. The trip to the wall is about 30 minutes and usually you are back at the dock before the wave action has become too uncomfortable. In the afternoons we napped and read books and in the evenings we strolled around the small square by the ocean and mingled with the Puerto Ricans. The seafood we ate nightly was excellent and the typical restaurant bill was between $40-60 dollars. For lunches we usually went to the Tikki Bar where you could get the special for about $6.00 dollars a plate that included rice and beans and some type of meat (chicken, fish, or gumbo).
Now to the diving: The walls and reefs were pristine, wild, and beautiful. My favorite dives of the week were the Windows (wall) and Mermaid Point (reef). Imagine floating over a vertical edge that drops 1000 feet. We turned east descending to around 80 feet in a world of corals and schools of fish and found our way to a narrow canyon where we could look through a window in the rock all the way back to the surface of the ocean.
Mermaid Point was a labyrinth of corridors and crags and gardens of corals, schools of fish, a nurse shark and barracudas, and a sea turtle, all in one dive. The nurse shark swam within a few feet of my daughter-close enough for her to see into its silver eye. The visibility had to be greater than 100 feet.
But this is not where it ends. On the days that the winds picked up more than usual, Victor surprised us by taking us to other dive locations on the island. We did drift dives at Cabo Rojo near Mayagüez and beach dives at Crash Boat near Rincon.
At Crash Boat we saw large numbers of moray eels, played with sea horses, and swam with a sea turtle. By the end of the week my daughter and I felt like we had become part of the West Divers family. West Divers went out of their way to provide these additional experiences. I want to thank Roxanna, Victor, Bruno, Andrea, and Carlos for the diving experience of a lifetime. We definitely will be back.
One last word on the diving: It pays to be Nitrox certified because I guarantee you will want to extend your bottom time. If you are not certified in Nitrox you can make it part of your dive package. This is what I did and I was really happy for it because the diving is unbelievable.
Other Trip Details not related to West Divers that may be of use:
We flew Delta from Phoenix to Atlanta to San Juan. Our flight arrived late in the evening. We stayed at the Villa del Sol on the Isla Verde five minutes from the airport. The Villa del Sol was recommended in Fodors. Dont stay here. It was hugely over priced ($156 dollars), the receptionist was rude and the place was a dive. Pay up and stay at the Hampton Inn or one of the other hotels instead. Isla Verde is expensive and you might as well be in a nice room, or better yet, schedule your flight so you dont have to stay in San Juan at all. There are large numbers of restaurants near the hotels on Isla Verde. Cabs to and from the airport were $13.00 dollars not counting tips. The following day we flew Cape Air into Ponce ($92.00 each) and rented a car (Hertz) and drove to La Parguera. Do not use Google Maps: From the airport take 52 west (0.75 cent toll) to Route 2 west to 116. Follow 116 until you see the turn off for La Parguera (airport to La Parguera is 45 minutes). West Divers are on the left as you enter the smaller section of town. We put our regulators, masks, snorkel, booties, in our carry-on and BCs, fins, etc. in one checked bag (45 pounds). West Divers suggested mailing gear in the future and this may be a good option for those of you that dont want to hassle with luggage.
If you want five star hotels, big city accommodations and a booming nightlife then I suggest staying in San Juan and day tripping to La Parguera by car. You can be anywhere on the island in about 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on where it is you go.
My daughter and I have just returned from the scuba trip of a lifetime. We spent one week diving the walls of southern and western Puerto Rico with West Divers in La Parguera, Puerto Rico.
I want to state up front that I was specifically looking for a diving experience off the beaten track. I wasnt interested in a destination where we were going to be part of the multitudes in the water, diving on reefs no longer pristine and staying in hotels near shopping malls and heavily Americanized beachfronts.
We were looking for a wild, intimate, experience and a good diving operation. I based most of my decision to dive with West Divers in La Parguera on the report by jlevine on www.scubaboard.com (Trip Report: West Divers, La Parguera, Puerto Rico).
We arranged the trip by contacting Roxanna at West Divers by email and telephone. Roxanna offered us a package that included two dives each day and lodging at the Parguera Guest House. I made the arrangements two months in advance. This piece of information is important because La Parguera is a small seaside hamlet that caters to the weekend crowds from San Juan and so the hotels are booked months in advance. So if you are interested in staying in La Parguera while diving with West Divers, do not wait until the last minute to contact Roxanna. There are two hotels most often used by West Divers: La Parguera Guest House (excellent) or the Villa Parguera (excellent; if you want a pool book with Roxanna 6 months in advance).
You may question whether two dives a day are enough but the winds cut across Puerto Rico from the east to the west and by noon the seas have picked up into a serious chop. Listen carefully to Victor and Bruno when they recommend taking Bonine the night before and then again in the morning because seasickness can be an issue. My daughter and I were not afflicted because we followed their advice but we saw other clients who were not so lucky. One individual mentioned to me at the dock that he, never gets seasick. Later I saw him puking over the side of the boat.
The diving starts by meeting Victor (Instructor extraordinaire), Bruno (divemaster extraordinaire), and Jose (boat Captain) at the doc by 7:00 a.m. The trip to the wall is about 30 minutes and usually you are back at the dock before the wave action has become too uncomfortable. In the afternoons we napped and read books and in the evenings we strolled around the small square by the ocean and mingled with the Puerto Ricans. The seafood we ate nightly was excellent and the typical restaurant bill was between $40-60 dollars. For lunches we usually went to the Tikki Bar where you could get the special for about $6.00 dollars a plate that included rice and beans and some type of meat (chicken, fish, or gumbo).
Now to the diving: The walls and reefs were pristine, wild, and beautiful. My favorite dives of the week were the Windows (wall) and Mermaid Point (reef). Imagine floating over a vertical edge that drops 1000 feet. We turned east descending to around 80 feet in a world of corals and schools of fish and found our way to a narrow canyon where we could look through a window in the rock all the way back to the surface of the ocean.
Mermaid Point was a labyrinth of corridors and crags and gardens of corals, schools of fish, a nurse shark and barracudas, and a sea turtle, all in one dive. The nurse shark swam within a few feet of my daughter-close enough for her to see into its silver eye. The visibility had to be greater than 100 feet.
But this is not where it ends. On the days that the winds picked up more than usual, Victor surprised us by taking us to other dive locations on the island. We did drift dives at Cabo Rojo near Mayagüez and beach dives at Crash Boat near Rincon.
At Crash Boat we saw large numbers of moray eels, played with sea horses, and swam with a sea turtle. By the end of the week my daughter and I felt like we had become part of the West Divers family. West Divers went out of their way to provide these additional experiences. I want to thank Roxanna, Victor, Bruno, Andrea, and Carlos for the diving experience of a lifetime. We definitely will be back.
One last word on the diving: It pays to be Nitrox certified because I guarantee you will want to extend your bottom time. If you are not certified in Nitrox you can make it part of your dive package. This is what I did and I was really happy for it because the diving is unbelievable.
Other Trip Details not related to West Divers that may be of use:
We flew Delta from Phoenix to Atlanta to San Juan. Our flight arrived late in the evening. We stayed at the Villa del Sol on the Isla Verde five minutes from the airport. The Villa del Sol was recommended in Fodors. Dont stay here. It was hugely over priced ($156 dollars), the receptionist was rude and the place was a dive. Pay up and stay at the Hampton Inn or one of the other hotels instead. Isla Verde is expensive and you might as well be in a nice room, or better yet, schedule your flight so you dont have to stay in San Juan at all. There are large numbers of restaurants near the hotels on Isla Verde. Cabs to and from the airport were $13.00 dollars not counting tips. The following day we flew Cape Air into Ponce ($92.00 each) and rented a car (Hertz) and drove to La Parguera. Do not use Google Maps: From the airport take 52 west (0.75 cent toll) to Route 2 west to 116. Follow 116 until you see the turn off for La Parguera (airport to La Parguera is 45 minutes). West Divers are on the left as you enter the smaller section of town. We put our regulators, masks, snorkel, booties, in our carry-on and BCs, fins, etc. in one checked bag (45 pounds). West Divers suggested mailing gear in the future and this may be a good option for those of you that dont want to hassle with luggage.
If you want five star hotels, big city accommodations and a booming nightlife then I suggest staying in San Juan and day tripping to La Parguera by car. You can be anywhere on the island in about 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on where it is you go.
