Scuba diving locations in Puerto Rico:

• The best diving is off the island's south, east, and western coasts.
• On the east, a chain of small islands protects the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.
• At the Great Trench, off the south coast, you can dive seawalls and underwater caves.
• Mona Island, is home to Leatherback Turtles and unspoiled coral reefs located at depths of around 80 feet.
• Culebra Island has cave dives, a natural tunnel, wall dives, a wreck and endless coral reefs.

When to scuba dive in Puerto Rico:

The water is warm all year, but there is a risk of hurricanes from July to October. The Mona Channel is visited by dolphins and whales between November and May.

Local standards for gear:

The best scuba diving spots in Puerto Rico:

• Cayo Diablo, Fajardo, is a shallow dive around ancient coral reef, re-colonised by several species of gorgonians creating a mystical forest interlaced with trails and tunnels.
• Outer Limit is typical of Culebra Island’s shallow dives around volcanic rocks encrusted with sessile marine life. The rocks are sharp and angular and the structures formed by the pillar coral are impressive.
• Horseshoe and Lobster reef is horseshoe shaped reef lying 50 yards from a small ledge, inhabited by a communications cable and two cannons, green morays and spotted morays.
• The wall at Canyons has split, opening deep crevasses and, in places, pieces of the wall are detached. Canyons is a stretch of wall that has suffered many fractures, and the cuts run deep, some too narrow for a diver to enter.
• Candyland, Desecheo Island,is a flat topped reef punctuated by sand patches which gradually falls away to 80 feet. Boulder and star coral make up much of the mass, but brain corals, flower and cup corals and patches of pillar coral also proliferate.

The best spots to snorkel in Puerto Rico:

• Off the shores of Vieques and Culebra Island, which are two of the country's remote islets.
• The beautiful coral formations off the shores of Fajardo, located in Puerto Rico's serene East Coast.

Fun scuba facts:

Country data:

Administrative details

• Currency: US dollar (USD)
• Population: is about 3,700,000 (2010)
• Time Zone: AST (GMT-4)
• Main languages spoken: Spanish, English ## Diveable overseas territories:

Puerto Rican diving federations:

Local diving laws and regulations (and PADI-equivalent certifications):