Is Puerto Rico good for beginner divers?

Yes, partly: 4 of the 9 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Crash Boat Pier (Aguadilla), Escambrón Marine Park and Mosquito Pier (Rompeolas). The others need more experience or a higher certification.

What is the water temperature in Puerto Rico?

The water is usually between 24 °C and 29 °C over the year.

What marine life can you see in Puerto Rico?

Divers regularly see humpback whales (Dec–May), nurse sharks, turtles, eagle rays, stingrays and barracuda.

Puerto Rico

9 documented dive sites, 4 of them for Open Water divers. Known for nurse sharks, humpback whales and turtles.

Best months: Dec–Apr
Water: 24–29 °C
Levels: Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
Nearest airport: SJU
One dive: €58–98

When to go

Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.

Pick a month

Best
Good
Possible
Closed
Not documented yet

Puerto Rico in November

Good season

Sea: 29 °C; at the surface
Air: 30 °C; 23 °C at night
Rain: 100 mm; average for the year
Wind: 9 km/h; on average

Exposure suit: swimsuit, rash guard or dive skin · if you feel the cold: 2 mm shorty or 1 mm full suit. How we choose

Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.

Compare with another destination

Diving is year-round; best Dec–Apr (dry season), with the best visibility and calm seas (SSI). Storms in the June–November hurricane season can reduce visibility. Humpback whales are around Mona Dec–May and Desecheo Jan–Mar.

Source: divessi.com

Dive sites in Puerto Rico

From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.

Landing on Desecheo Island is banned; it is dived from boats only.

Open Water friendly

usual dive down to 18 m4 sites

Macro

down to 9 m

Crash Boat Pier (Aguadilla)

A collapsed military pier at Crash Boat Beach, great for critter spotting day and night: frogfish, seahorses, turtles, tarpon.

Open Water
Turtles

Reef

down to 12 m

Escambrón Marine Park

Lava reefs with caverns and overhangs at El Escambrón, ideal for resort courses, certification courses and night dives.

Open Water
Turtles

Jetty / pier

down to 12 m

Mosquito Pier (Rompeolas)

Sheltered 12 m (40 ft) waters with resident hawksbill and green turtles, eagle rays, stingrays and moray eels.

Open Water
Turtles

Reef

down to 12 m

Patti's Reef

An easy 6-12 m Vieques reef close to shore, with large elkhorn and staghorn corals, cuts to explore and nurse sharks.

Open Water
Nurse sharks

For Advanced divers

usual dive down to 30 m4 sites

Reef

down to 24 m

Candyland (Desecheo)

Coral mounds reaching 24 m at Desecheo, covered in gigantic sea fans, lettuce corals and sponges.

Advanced
Snappers

Pelagic

down to 37 m

Fallen Rock

Advanced
Dolphins

Reef

down to 24 m

Sandslide (Fajardo)

A notable Fajardo site: a reef sloping from 5 to 24 m with turtles, barracuda, moray eels and octopus.

Advanced
Turtles

down to 23 m

Cayo Lobito

A Culebra site known for its large nurse shark population, where turtles, stingrays and flamingo tongues are also seen.

Advanced
Nurse sharks

For experienced divers

usual dive down to 40 m1 site

Wall

down to 61 m

Black Wall

A sheer wall draped in black coral trees that begins at 18 m (60 ft) and drops to 61 m (200 ft).

Experienced
Trevally

Marine life

When the big encounters happen, month by month.

Species	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Humpback whalesSource: blog.padi.com

Peak season
Seen

Also reported here, season not documented yet:

Nurse sharks
Turtles
Eagle rays
Stingrays
Barracuda
Trevally
Crustaceans
Octopus
Moray eels
Whale sharks
Manta rays
Reef sharks
Dolphins
Manatee
Tarpon
Frogfish
Seahorses

What diving costs here

Here a dive costs between €58 and €98, a try dive between €166 and €183 and an Open Water course between €492 and €694, depending on the dive centres we checked.

One dive (certified diver)packages counted per dive: €58–982 centres
Try dive: €166–1833 centres
Open Water course: €492–6943 centres

The cheapest and the most expensive of the dive centres we checked, from the prices on their own websites in October 2026. Prices change: confirm with the centre before booking.

Some prices exclude local taxes or service charges.

Converted to euros at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026; for currencies the ECB does not publish, the official rate of the country's central bank.

Sources (9)

Where is Puerto Rico?

View on OpenStreetMapLocation: Puerto Rico (Wikipedia)Map: Natural Earth

Nearest airport: SJU

Puerto Rico: frequently asked questions

When is the best time to dive Puerto Rico?: The best months to dive Puerto Rico are Dec–Apr. Diving is year-round; best Dec–Apr (dry season), with the best visibility and calm seas (SSI). Storms in the June–November hurricane season can reduce visibility. Humpback whales are around Mona Dec–May and Desecheo Jan–Mar.
Is Puerto Rico good for beginner divers?: Yes, partly: 4 of the 9 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Crash Boat Pier (Aguadilla), Escambrón Marine Park and Mosquito Pier (Rompeolas). The others need more experience or a higher certification.
What is the water temperature in Puerto Rico?: The water is usually between 24 °C and 29 °C over the year.
What marine life can you see in Puerto Rico?: Divers regularly see humpback whales (Dec–May), nurse sharks, turtles, eagle rays, stingrays and barracuda.
How do you dive Puerto Rico?: The nearest airport is SJU.

About this page

Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.

All destinations

Your next dive is somewhere out there.

Find my next dive trip

Photo: Sarah Lee on Unsplash

Photo credits

Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash