Puerto Rico

[Luis H]

Luis & gypsyjim; Thanks much for the information. From the looks of it Rincon should provide plenty of dive site options for a week stay with 2 morning dives/day. Just need to find a decent hotel on the beach within walking distance of restaurants & such. I've found plenty of listings online, but as you know it's tricky to narrow it down.

Thanks again.

Henrik

If you are going to spend a week on the west side of PR diving, I would recommend staying at Parguera doing most of the dives there and taking a trip or two to Rincon to dive with Taino.

Parguera is facing south, the Caribbean Seas which more reliably calm where Rincon is facing the Mona Passage which can be more unpredictable daily conditions.

Also there are a lot more great dives within a short boat trip in Parguera. Rincon on the other hand is world known for great surfing and great beaches.

Desecheo Island (out of Rincon) is definitely a must do dive, but due to the weather some dives to the island can get canceled almost at the last minute. You can normally get a days warning were you could make alternate plans. But be aware that not always.

The diving out of Parguera is great and a lot less expensive than Rincon. But besides the diving Parguera is a quiet nice little town, it also has no beaches and basically no night life during the week. Most people speak some English, but depending on the time of the year, you will not see many other tourists. Restaurants are somewhat limited, but the food is good and everything is within walking distance.

Rincon does have a large English speaking/ surfer community with some night life and other amenities like a variety of restaurants, etc. But you do need to have a car and drive around.

Actually having a car is always a good thing, but be aware of the traffic and aggressive drivers in PR.

Either place is great and I would definitely do some diving with Tainos, but if you are going to spend that many days, I would not miss out on Parguera either. If you go to Parguera (even for a day trip) there are two great dive operations. My personal preference is West Divers (they are a full dive shop, etc.), but either one is great.

 

[Luis H]

Luis. Thanks for the tip. I'll check around tomorrow with Sea Ventures at both sights. We'll be at Villas at Palmas in Hamacao and they also list a Palmas divers, although I've been able to find no info on them under that name. Who knows we might even drive over to the west again during the week, as every one says, it's not a huge island, just a lot of traffic at times. Thanks again.

If you are staying at Palmas in Humacao, I believe that is where the other Sea Ventures outfit is located. That is south of Fajardo and they say that some of the diving is better. I haven’t actually being diving out of Humacao in close to 30 years so I don’t know. Driving to the west end is not out of the question, but the traffic is so unpredictable it can be hard to plan a good estimated time of arrival to catch a dive boat.

 

[HenrikBP]

Luis and gypsyjim; thanks again for the info. I'll take a closer look at Parguera.

Henrik

 

[Luis H]

Thanks, Luis. I've dived in Culebra and San Juan, but I'd really love to hit Desecheo. It sounds terrific.

The time deal is this: I'll need to return the rental car at the international airport, take a taxi to my hotel in San Juan (don't know which one yet), and get checked in, changed, and grab a bite to eat in time to get to my meeting by 7pm. So the 4pm deadline is somewhat arbitrary, but the 7pm one isn't.

I'm volunteering for this trip specifically to get some diving in, so it's a priority for me Unfortunately, I'll have only the one morning for diving (arriving Sunday evening, leaving Tues. morning).

IMO, you ought to talk to Carson (and/ or other locals) and see what he thinks about your timing. IIRC Carso has lived there for about ten years and may have a better idea of traffic at that time of the day. Other unpredictable things are how long it will take you to return the rental car and how long to get a taxi. All of it should be quick, but in PR anything can happen. It is just part of the adventure.

If you have been there you know the difference between US time and Caribbean time.
It is just part of the charm of the islands…you should never be in a rush.

 

[SteveDiver]

We will be in San Juan May 6-10; Carnival Destiny May 11th-18; Back in San Juan May 18-21. Anyone else going on thie cruise that can offer scuba advise in PR or at one of our ports?? We plan on rock-climbing while in Puerto Rico also..any must sees??

1 San Juan, Puerto Rico 10:00pm View Shore Excursions

2 St. Thomas, USVI 7:00am 5:00pm View Shore Excursions

3 Dominica 10:00am 6:00pm View Shore Excursions

4 Barbados 8:00am 5:00pm View Shore Excursions

5 St. Lucia, WI 8:00am 5:00pm View Shore Excursions

6 Antigua 8:00am 6:00pm View Shore Excursions

7 St Kitts, WI 7:00am 4:00pm View Shore Excursions

8 San Juan, Puerto Rico 7:00am View Shore Excursions

 

[SkiDiver]

thanks, Luis. that's very helpful. I've made my plans. I'll arrive in San Juan at 7pm on a Sunday night, and drive straight to Rincon. Dive early Monday morning, and then drive straight to the hotel Monday. This will save some time, so I think it's do-able.

Any recommendations for good hotels in Rincon? I've looked at Villa Cofresi and the Lazy Parrot online, but would welcome feedback/suggestions. Just looking for something clean and not too expensive for one person.

 

[gypsyjim]

We stayed at the Lazy Parrot last year, and it was clean and reasonable. Picked up a pretty good package on the internet for them. Nice poolside grill with small but good menu. Kind of a charming place, very quiet on the upper floor where we stayed, but there was a bit of construction, as it appears they will be expanding next door soon. I'd go back. Hope this helps. Think you'll like Carson and the guys at Taino, laid back but professional.

 

[Fishy Ariel]

Your option would be with West Divers, they are located in La Parguera as well. The dock is more comfortable, it has showers and buckets to rinse the equipment. In addition if you request a bucket for the boat for your camera they have one. They also drop a line for descend with a bucket with weights at the end, so if you need more pounds or less you can adjust yourself there. And instead of driving the same day they can accomodate you in a Guest house very inexpensive. They meet at 7:15am and you are back by 12:00-12:30pm (you do not loose the whole day) Victor their Divemaster is very helpful. Scuba Diving in La Parguera, Puerto Rico 787-899-3223

 

[DivingPanda]

My first post! Thanks to everyone here, especially Luis H, for the great info!

Mrs. DivingPanda and I are planning a long weekend in Puerto Rico in June. We've never been to PR before, but have gotten excited about diving Parguera and Desecheo based on the comments here. We'll be able to dive 3 days, so I'm thinking 1-2 days with West Divers and 1-2 days with Taino Divers, depending on conditions at Desecheo. It looks like Mayaguez is about equidistant (25-35 min on Google Maps) between Rincon and Parguera and we're planning on renting a car. I'm wondering if anyone's stayed there before and if this sounds like a good plan? In the past, we've always dived with one shop for 2-8 days on our trips, but I know that others have no trouble hitting multiple shops during a given trip.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gypsyjim]

Sounds like a plan. Usually dive with one op too on my trips, but did east coast one day, south west second day and then my last day on Culebra snorkeling, in Feb. Worked out well that way. Have fun! we like PR.