16 replies to this topic

[GentDiver]

All it looks like I will be in Puerto Rico from 2/24 - 3/4. I wanted to see if anyone had a suggestion for a dive operation while I am there. I will probably only be able to go over the weekend of 2/25 but wanted to get folks thoughts.

Thanks!

Edited by GentDiver, 26 January 2011 - 07:29 PM.

[Starfish Sandy]

You are cutting that close buddy! Don't be late to Bonaire!!

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

I know that Dan aka scubatooth did this DAN internship in PR, so he may have some ideas for you, Scott!

[Scubatooth]

my ears were buring and now i know why. Where will you be staying and are you willing to drive to get to the operation? Once i have that I can help you a little better.

Dan

[scubaski]

IMHO, 1st choice
Check out Tiano Divers below.1st class USCG cert operation dive op out of Rincon, big surf town on west coast, mostly diving Desheto Island, a 40 min boat ride from shore, great blue water diving there, price a little steep but worth it. I've done 4-tanks on Sat-Sun a couple times and will go back.

http://www.tainodive...ex_primero.html


2nd choice La Paguera fishing village, a hamlet of Lajas in SW coast, 1 hour south of Rincon. Nice wall and reef diving offshore 30 minutes, you have 2 dive ops there.
West Divers.West Divers will run a USCG cert operation.

http://www.westdiver...l/mainpage.html

Paradise Divers

http://www.paradises...r.com/index.htm

Paradise will run a fishing-dive charter " lets say a looser operation but a possible e ticket ride". I survived!!

Check out my You Tube video of Tiano Divers and Desheto Island.

[scubaski]

Here's La Paguera wall



Shout out if you need cheap but clean places to stay.
Dive Safe.
Ss

[WreckWench]

Where will you be? You certainly want to stay west for diving purposes which means you'll have to drive a bit to get to the better diving areas that Stan mentioned and Tooth will surely tell you about.

[GentDiver]

Where will you be? You certainly want to stay west for diving purposes which means you'll have to drive a bit to get to the better diving areas that Stan mentioned and Tooth will surely tell you about.

I'm not 100% sure yet, but I assume I will be by San Juan. I should have a car so driving someplace should not be a problem.

[Scubatooth]

in the san juan area there is very little diving because of the currents on the north side. there is a dive park near the hilton caribe but with it being new i dont have many details. The east end is okay but alot of the ops are cattle car and the spots they go are showing alot of wear. The west end is really where the good diving is Taino in rincon is definately a good one. Just north of rincon in aguadilla there is a good amount of shore diving (Crashboat, shacks,) in aguadilla and in isabella. I also say west divers is a good operation when i was there in 07 but the shop has changed hands since then but havent heard any negative comments either.

Im planning on returning to puerto rico in 2012 for a 2 week trip and for the most part will be spending 10 days on the west coast and will be diving from isabella in the north to aguadilla, rincon to the south to paraguera. Then if i can get out to Mona Island i might extend that trip to 3 weeks.

Dan

Edited by Scubatooth, 27 January 2011 - 06:53 PM.

[Resqdew]

I would agree with most of Scubatooth's recommendations. The only difference being that you need to call almost every dive shop just to find just one that has a boat going out...... it's easier to find a dive boat if you just want to dive on the weekends, but it gets very frustrating to try to find a dive operation that will go out during the week. {Mini-background - I lived 4 years in PR; for the past 17 years I've been returning 1 to 3 times per year. Most trips I attempt to dive....}.

Last week (April 24 - 30, 2011) the only boat diving during the week was Sea Ventures. Their boat in Humacao (southeast PR), at the marina in Palmas Del Mar, went out on Tuesday morning (April 26th) with 4 divers & 2 DMs. The morning dives were good, but the waves were about 4ft and growing. Waves got rougher & they cancelled the afternoon dives. Since rough seas moved in the rest of the week, no more trips out of Humacao. However, Sea Ventures also has a boat at Marina Del Ray, near Fajardo. 98% of the time, this specific boat goes out for morning dives on a daily basis, every single day the weather allows, including all holidays. If they see you are a skilled diver, they will let you finish your tank of air at the end of the dive if you stay within sight of the boat. The down side is this can be a full blown 'cattle boat' during holidays. It's my least favorite place to dive, but it's better than no diving at all. The dive trip on Friday, April 29th, 2011, was quite good - - 8 divers, two morning dives - - 4 turtles, 3 moray eels, flounders, lobsters, lots of other colorful fish and plenty of time to see them all.

My favorite dive shop La Parguera Divers (southwest PR) "went under" (pun intended) about 2 years ago, but at least they sold one of their boats to Taino Divers.

Paradive Divers in La Paguera (southwest PR) seems to cater to less experienced divers since they usually bring everyone up in 35 or 40 minutes regardless of diver skill or air remaining. Other divers keep telling me this depends on the Dive Master, but after two different trips with them, 40 minutes is their limit and I still had 1600psi.......

Taino Divers is a good operation, if they have at least 6 people to send the boat out...... if they send the boat our with 4 people, it's only because the other two divers didn't show up and they charged them anyway. It's rare for them to have enough people during the week unless there's a group already scheduled to dive. It's a wise business owner to make sure the expenses break even, which usually means few boats during the week.

Casa Del Buzo is in San Juan on Piñeros Avenue (suburb called Rio Piedras). They are one of the few shops on Puerto Rico that blend their own Nitrox. If they don't have trips, they will usually recommend other dive operations on the island.

Scuba Dogs is also in a suburb of San Juan, but they never answered their phone during the 4 weekdays I tried to call them & left messages (last week). No one returned my calls when I left messages in early December 2010. Both times I used my local PR phone to call them. Not sure if I'll call them again.

West Divers (west side of PR, near Aguadilla), so far seems to be a good operation. They also have & rent tec dive gear, offer rebreather classes, and blend Nitrox. Renting sport dive gear is not a problem, as long as you get it back to them before they close on Saturday afternoon. Not usually open on Sundays, but this is sometimes flexible. Local divers rent gear here too, so it's easier to meet local divers at this shop.

My favorite places to dive are Desecheo Island (off shore northwest PR), but it can be a challenge to find a dive shop with a boat going there. If you can find a boat, it's an all day trip, hopefully 2 o 3 dives, ask if lunch is included, or make sure to take your own. The Wall, (southwest part of PR), boats going out of Parguera or Guanica. OR, Any place else......
If you ever see a dive operation going to Mona Island again, GO!! This is the best diving near Puerto Rico, but it's difficult to dive since it's a LONG boat ride from the west shore of PR.

General info: 99% of the dive shops in PR are bilingual - English/Spanish. It's sometimes difficult to obtain Nitrox, but usually it's not needed. The only way to guarantee a spot on any dive boat in PR is to give them your credit card number. If you cancel 24hrs in advance, you shouldn't have a problem (get the person's name who took your cxl), but most dive shops in PR are hurting for business and might require 48 hours to cancel. It doesn't matter if there is a massive traffic jam, or you are lost, or any other excuse, if you are not there to check in on time, they charge your card and without hesitation the boat will go without you.
Suggestion - - if they tell you it takes about an hour to get to their boat, plan on AT LEAST an hour & 30 min or MORE. Besides, if you arrive in the area early, you can usually find a local bakery to have some delicious Pan Agua, sandwiches or pastries.

San Juan has HORRID traffic, {{think Houston rush hour during a hurricane evacuation & optional stoplights.......}}. Traffic around the island is less horrid, but you get used to it after awhile. Remember that any major highway in PR has a toll both - - the lines with correct change to pay tolls are a little shorter, so be sure to have severa dollars in change with you. Rental cars do not have the express pass (electronic payments), so allow extra time just to get thru the toll booths. If you take your car GPS, or use your smartphone GPS, it will be useful and mostly correct about roadways and exits.

Just my 2 psi worth.......

Edited by Resqdew, 02 May 2011 - 02:13 PM.

[Scubatooth]

Resqdew

Ill give you that on calling. I didnt do much diving on the E/SE side of the island as i was based out of Aguadilla for my internship.

Thats odd on scuba dogs, next time im in SJU i will drop in to the shop and see whats going on. As for Taino Carson and I cant think of his name but hes German, and there divers but they also have good business sense so if it doesnt make sense the boat wont go, plus this is the slow season (feb through mid feb). Was the shipwreck grill open when you were there?

Then are your sure you didnt mean Puerto Rico Technical Dive Center not West Divers? as WEst Divers is in La Paragerua and PRTDC is in Aguadilla not to far from BQN airport. I know Tony and Brenda at PRTDC and i know that they have tech gear and rebreathers in house as Tony is a instructor & repair tech for many CCRs and teaches just about everything short of cave in open circuit.

I agree with your diving recommendations as those three are my favorites locations to dive, and would go back time and time again as it never gets old.

[scubajunkie6]

My family will be visiting San Juan, PR via a cruise ship next month. Carnival doesn't have any scuba excursions, so these posts were perfect timing. I read about Caribe Aquatic Adventures, but didn't see that you all mentioned them. They dive off the reefs of Normandie Hotel. This seems like a nice arrangement of a quick dive, but still able to spend some time touring the area.

Would any of the above companies you all mentioned work with cruise ships? Our time there is supposed to be between 7am to 3:30pm.

Thanks...

[Resqdew]

Thanks Scubatooth! I had the names of the shops switched.
When I return to PR in November 2011, I'll drive over to Scubadogs and check them out in person. They might be a great dive shop, just with horrid phone service.
Since I just called the Taino shop, no clue if the grill was open or not. The lady I spoke with said they didn't expect to have a boat going out that week unless more people signed up.
I had not heard about the dive park near the Caribe Hilton, but I'll try to go check it out when I return to Puerto Rico in Nov 2011.


Scubajunkie6 - call any dive shop to ask if they have a dive trip for the day when your cruise ship is in San Juan. Also ask them if they will provide transportation to/from the pier. If you are diving during the week, it might be more challenging to find a dive trip, unless you opt for a private guided dive. However, be persistent and keep calling. Don't be shy about mentioning the dive trip price of one dive shop when you talk to another dive shop, they might offer you a better deal. Be sure to ask about their policy to CXL, just in case.

Caribe Aquatic Adventures (inside the Normandie Hotel) was/is a reliable shop owned/operated by Karen Vega, but I have not used this shop for at least 3 or 4 years so anything might have changed. Generally the viz off shore of San Juan, Old San Juan or the Condado area isn't that great (10ft to 40ft + /- depending on the day, weather & currents ), but there's still stuff to see and it's worth a dive if you have the time (in my opinion). I remember LOTS of seahorses, using the underwater compass course for fun, generally enjoying the warm water and playing around in the sand. The main reason I haven't used this shop again is because other dive shops around the island usually have better prices, have dive trips to places with better viz, and because I will do most anything to avoid driving (or trying to find parking) in San Juan. :-)

[scubaski]

The Guys at Tiano Divers that I know are the boat captain and DM's, Frank and Issy. My last visit to Rincon was Labor day week 2010. The Shipwreck grill right behind dive shop was OPEN and doing a good business. The local restuarant next to shop toward water was open on weekends and the big restuarant ( Black something) on the water which use to be a wild place at night was closed and sold to another person with the report that then would open under a new name for food, I don't no about music and parties on the weekend.

If your interested IMO for diving out of La Paguara, I would keep calling Paradise Diving, Luis ( father) will be working the phones and trying to get 6 or more divers together for a charter on his son's Kento fishing - dive boat. Be advised the dive boat is a charter and may not adhere to the US Coast Guard safety briefing that you will receive with Tiano Divers but I've gone out twice with them for some great dives & adventures .

Here's a couple videos of Tiano and Paradise.

[Scubatooth]

Resqdew - please let me know on the dive park near the hilton caribe. My plan right now is to come to PR in spring of next year if this one boat gets the UPR contract again. I will probably come for 2 weeks 1 on the boat and then 1 on the west coast before flying back home.