Puerto Rico

[Jake 10]

found this today on Amazon

 

[Jake 10]

 

[Jake 10]

Tortuga Beach in Culebrita Island, Puerto Rico

 

[Jake 10]

easy dive, and lots of hawksbill turtles

 

[ibj40]

easy dive, and lots of hawksbill turtles

View attachment 862035

We were in Puerto Rico this past May, and took a cab over to Escambron to check it out. It looked like you could see just as much of the area simply on a snorkel, versus having to fully rig up for Scuba.

Did we miss anything in our interpretation?

 

[Jake 10]

We were in Puerto Rico this past May, and took a cab over to Escambron to check it out. It looked like you could see just as much of the area simply on a snorkel, versus having to fully rig up for Scuba.

Did we miss anything in our interpretation?

it is possible to snorkel during low tide, your interpretation is correct
you can also go around the corner towards San Geronimo fort, where you may want to go deep

 

[rmssetc]

I'm considering a couple of weeks in Puerto Rico between the end of November - early December, and I see reports here that the west side of the island is often closed to diving due to ocean swells during the winter.

When does that weather pattern typically happen? Would November/December be a bad time to plan on diving out of Rincon?

Any recommendations for a town to serve as a base, and dive shop? I'd like to do 2 ~ 4 dives/day, and possibly get my Rescue and/or Solo or Self-Reliant certification. My non-diving spouse needs a place to work and wants easy access to a beach -- preferably a place where we could both snorkel.

I'd prefer somewhere that doesn't involve a lot of driving (more than 15 minutes?) between lodging and diving.

As a point of reference, we love Cozumel, so a similar setting (diving & choice of food within walking/easy taxi distance from lodging , some cultural/historic sites) would be strongly preferred over bars/clubs & AI hotels.

 

[FreqFlier]

@rmssetc Thanksgiving time diving in PR is good. Not the west side, but SW more so. We stayed @ Copamarina for one Thanksgiving, small place in El Combate the next (beach was my wife's requirement too...). Since prevailing winds are from NE during the winter time, SW side of Puerto Rico does not get much swell. If Rincon is the only option, check with Taino Divers or Aquatica.
There are three dive ops you should consider in SW - Paradise in La Parguera, Island Scuba in Guanica and Scuba Dogs right in Copamarina resort. Our schedules did not work out to dive with Scuba Dogs, they require 3 divers minimum, but other two were great. Paradise uses Newtons, IS is a six pack.