Fajardo or Parguera, Puerto Rico?

[drwendy]

We're planning to be in PR for a wedding in August and want to spend a few extra days diving. The wedding is in Dorado, where I understand there's no real diving at all. I've found two places that look pretty good....the Fajardo Inn offers a 4 day package, and Parguera Divers has a package at a similar (great!) price. I'm wondering if any experienced PR travellers have any advice on which to choose. Parguera is farther away but has the bioluminescent bay, but the hotel at Fajardo looks a little nicer. We want to get the best diving experience for our dollar and appreciate any help our fellow divers can offer. Thanks, Scubaboard!

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

I've been diving in both places. Parguera has much, much better diving.

You are right about the hotel situation however. I would suggest diving in Parguera but staying about 20 minutes away in the Copamarina Resort, http://www.copamarina.com/. It is still not as upscale as the very best place in Fajardo, but it is still very nice. Besides, you are there to dive, and this will give you unbelievable diving compared to okay but no big deal diving in Fajardo.

 

[drwendy]

Thanks for the info, Scubadad. It's so hard to tell anything from anybody's website. 'Course, I'm an Ohio quarry braille diver, so any dive where I don't need my semi-dry is a great dive to me. And if there's something besides bluegill and sunken police cars to swim with, so much the better!

Scubaboard is the greatest!

 

[farrun100]

We're planning to be in PR for a wedding in August and want to spend a few extra days diving. The wedding is in Dorado, where I understand there's no real diving at all. I've found two places that look pretty good....the Fajardo Inn offers a 4 day package, and Parguera Divers has a package at a similar (great!) price. I'm wondering if any experienced PR travellers have any advice on which to choose. Parguera is farther away but has the bioluminescent bay, but the hotel at Fajardo looks a little nicer. We want to get the best diving experience for our dollar and appreciate any help our fellow divers can offer. Thanks, Scubaboard!

I just returned from diving at La Parguera and used Parguera Divers. I would recommend them highly. Also I stayed at the Hotel locally. The accomidations were clean and convenient. We just rolled out of bed, has a quick breakfast while watching them prepare the boat then went aboard. I did not eat dinner at the hotel but others in our group did and thought the good outstanding.

Parguera Divers was a first class operation and made the dive experience a memorable one. This was our first open water dive since certification.

Bob

 

[ciret]

I'm at the Copamarina right now. Been in PR since last August for a work project. Got certified at the Copamarina in March. The dive operation is Seaventues Dive copamarina, see; www.divecopamarina.com. I have used Parguera Divers also, see; www.pargueradivers.com. Angel is very good also. I guess I'm partial to the Copamarina, since it's where I got my training. Shawna, Bill, Tony and Bambam do an outstanding job. The dive sites are awesome, walls, reefs, lots of healthy coral, fishes, sponges. . . Again I am biased since PR is the only place I have dove. However, talking to divers who have come here from all over the world tell me this place is pretty incredible compared to alot of other places. Viz is usually 70-80. Winter the weather is really better for diving. Right now there are frequent tropical lows moving through causing rougher thatn normal seas, still only 3-5 ft waves.
Hope that helps a bit. Have fun. Dive safe.

 

[Scubadude]

Thanks for the info, Scubadad. It's so hard to tell anything from anybody's website. 'Course, I'm an Ohio quarry braille diver, so any dive where I don't need my semi-dry is a great dive to me. And if there's something besides bluegill and sunken police cars to swim with, so much the better!

Scubaboard is the greatest!

I have to agree w/ Scubadad. La Pargurera, hands down ! You can also dive with Paradise Scuba. Cpt. Kiko has 3 boats, where Parguera Divers only has 1. I have dove With Paradise Scuba time and time again, no problems.

Parguera Divers was sold and Efrain is not the original owner anymore. Therefore I can't vouch for them since I am not familiar with how they run the operation these days. Hope this helps.

Congratulations on tieing the knot.

Good Viz,
George

 

[trplr]

i have only been to copamarina but the place is pretty nice, and the people are great. we had a much better time than the dives we did in fajardo just because of geography/ dive sites. good diving, and enjoy.


mike g