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Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Aaron (---.ironoh.adelphia.net)
Date:   02-20-05 13:28

We are going to be in on Culebra for a week and want to spend alot of time snorkeling. We probably won't scuba dive at all and I've heard there are a few really good places to snorkel, so I was wondering if anyone that knows alot about the island could give some details on where good places to snorkel are. If you could tell where the beach is at and exactly how to get there that would be great. The more details the better since this is our first trip to the island. Thanks again for all your help.
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: JoseGuzman (---.87.109.190.netdial.caribe.net)
Date:   02-20-05 14:44

To do what you want you need a boat, without it the chances are minimal.
I know of great spots, as I do take SCUBA to both Vieques and Culebra.
The places to snorkel are close to 20 40 feet, and are locatred about one mile from shore or more.
If you find a boat, and wish to use my services, please e-mail. I do not own a boat at present time.

Capt. J.Guzman
USCG 100GT
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Aaron (---.ironoh.adelphia.net)
Date:   02-20-05 15:10

Really? I was under the impression that there were a number of beaches around the island that you could just drive to and then snorkel out from shore and see lots of different fish and coral. Arent there reefs right off shore that should have some good snorkeling? I thought I had read on different websites that there were 3 or 4 beaches on Culebra with really good snorkeling? I dont really think we can afford a boat at $100-150 a day. Hopefully someone has some good news for me on this?
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Teresa (63.175.186.---)
Date:   02-20-05 15:10

Administrator, can you please provide some contact for you other than this forum (telephone)? Thank you
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Aaron (---.ironoh.adelphia.net)
Date:   02-20-05 15:13

sure, my email is aaron34714@yahoo.com or if you could call me, my name is Aaron and my phone number is 513-313-6374. I'm in Ohio. Thanks alot
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Teresa (63.175.186.---)
Date:   02-20-05 15:20

Aaron, sorry, am trying to obtain a way to contact the administrator of this forum. No harm intended.
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Christine Robinson (---.stcgpa.adelphia.net)
Date:   02-20-05 16:39

I found the same info about snorkeling online. Formm Members --Where do you think is the best place in Puerto Rico to snorkel with access from the beach.
Thank you!
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: JoseGuzman (---.87.109.229.netdial.caribe.net)
Date:   02-20-05 17:16

Most beaches there are white sand, the only place I can think of, is ... if you face the sea standing at the ferry dock, look to your left, find a way to walk thru the shore, and look for the reefs in the water.
The other one is Tamarindo, go to the hotel same name, get to that beach, and see if that is what you are looking.
Anyway, for the very good ones, a boat is mandatory.
Wait for tomorrow, someone may offer more info, or maybe I'm thinking more serious about snorkeling than you.
Bye now...

Capt. J.guzman
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Michael (63.175.186.---)
Date:   02-20-05 17:21

Melones, Carlos Rosario, Punta Soldado, Flamenco to name just a few of really good snorkeling beaches, where the reef is within easy reach of the beach!

Most of the snorkeling done on the island is done from the beach. Even if you do get into a boat to go to Culebrita, let's say, you would still snorkel off the beach!

Enjoy Culebra!

Michael
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Doug (---.dsl.stlsmo.swbell.net)
Date:   02-21-05 10:23

Aaron,

Mike's advice is correct. To that list, I would add Zoni, where I have seen some cool critters, including octopi and stingrays. The caveat is that being a windward beach, Zoni's visibility is more vulnerable to turbidity from weather at sea.

Enjoy!
Doug
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Sharon DiLorenzo (---.nycap.res.rr.com)
Date:   02-21-05 19:15

Snorkeling from the beach at Carlos Rosario and the beach around the corner to the left (going toward Tamarindo) was fantastic! You have a 15 minute hike to C.Rosario from the parking lot at Flamenco. At the end of the trail there's a path to the right to Rosario. The path to the left leads to great snorkeling. Right when you see the beach, you'll see a sandy trail in the water straight ahead. Snorkel around to the right - it's amazing. Saw turtle there too. You can also get in from the rocky beach at Melone's, although it requires paying close attention to where the sea urchins are. We also rented a boat from Butch at Culebra Boat Rentals and had a blast! Snorkeling at Melones from the boat was incredible. Saw turtles and spotted eagle rays. Saw dozens upons dozens of different kinds of fish, coral and fans. Very colorful; very diverse. There were high surf advisories almost the entire 12 days we were in Vieques and Culebra so it made snorkeling more challenging and visibility less than perfect. But still incredible! You can easily check out the shark pen area on Flamenco - easy to get in there from the beach. Go all the way down Flamenco past Coconuts and you'll see the old shark pen.
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: wendy (---.wi.rr.com)
Date:   02-22-05 09:28

Can you give more information on "the old shark pen"? thanks. wk
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: luis grundler (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date:   02-22-05 13:02

hi, you have a lot ...Carlos Rosario, Luis Pena Island , Melones,
Culebrita ,Punta Soldado , Tamarindo you only need to check the weather Condition
some days are not good ......more in this season
if you need marine trasportation you can callme
we departure from Mamacitas each morning
Culebra Water Taxi ( 787) 360-9807
for more Inf. www.culebraoceanview.com
Capt .Luis Grundler
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: kate (---.nys.biz.rr.com)
Date:   02-22-05 13:21

We were in Culebra in the fall of 2003 and found fabulous snorkeling at almost every beach we went to! We spent days snorkeling at almost every beach. There are reefs just offshore (look for the dark areas) that you can swim to from the beach at Carlos Rosario, Flamenco (where we saw turtles), Playa melones, Punta Soldado, and more. Zoni even has a good reef but currents can make it choppy. I've also heard (but have not yet done it) that taking a boat to Culebrita is wel worth the trip as it too has great snorkeling just off from the beaches. In Culebra you can buy a local map/giuide that includes snorkeling info. You may also want to pick up a travel guide like lonely planet or Let's Go for planning your trip.
Have fun and bring natural sunscreen - the reef is sensitive!
k
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Gail Meka (---.pivot.net)
Date:   02-22-05 20:21

We enjoyed great snorkling at Carlos Rosario, Melones and Tamarindo. We rented a boat for a day and experienced no snorkling at all in the smaller islands due to heavy surf. (We've heard that Culebrita has good snorkling if the weather cooperates.) So, no need to rent a boat for decent snorkling....just keep an eye on the weather/winds to determine which beaches on Culebra will be best.
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Debbie (---.asm.bellsouth.net)
Date:   02-22-05 22:25

I like Punta Soldado. Adventurous drive, nice patch reef right offshore. I have seen moray eels, barracudas, and even an eagle ray there.

Happy Diving!
Debbie
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Tatiana (---.ssa.gov)
Date:   02-28-05 17:03

This is my first time to PR, so I have a couple of questions:

1. Looking at the map, I couldn't see Mosquito, is this on Culebra Island a is it a good place to snorkle?
2. I guess once we take the ferry to Culebra, I still need a mode of transportation hu? What is the cheapest (yet safe) way to travel to Flamenco and Zoni and would the cost and time travel/preparing of all of this out way the day excursions offered by various companies at between $45 and $65 dollars (that include equipment & lunch?
3. Since I don't have alot of money, I'd like to experience without the huge expense. Could I get just as good an adventure by snorkeling off the nearest beaches?

Thanks,
Tatiana
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Doug (---.dsl.stlsmo.swbell.net)
Date:   02-28-05 17:23

Tatiana,

Mosquito Bay is a small inlet on the north side of Ensenada Honda, near the mouth of the harbor. I have snorkled it, and, because it is a turtle grass bottom, rather than a reef, there aren't nearly the numbers and diverse species to observe.

You will need some form of transportation to get to Zoni. You could rent bikes if you have strong legs. I just rent a car or SUV, anymore.

The hike to Flamenco is more manageable; it took us about 45 minutes the last time I did it. Once you get to Flamenco, if you still have plenty of energy, hike over the hill to Carlos Rosario. That is arguably the best snorkling spot on Culebra.

I'm not sure about the excursions providing equipment. You may have to rent that from one of the dive shops, if you don't bring your own.

Doug
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Aaron (---.cinci.rr.com)
Date:   02-28-05 18:16

Tatiana,

Based on what I've seen, I think both Culebra and Vieques have a Bahia Mosquito. Like the previous post says, I dont think this bay on Culebra is a popular snorkel spot. The "Mosquito" that seems to get alot of attention, is the one on Vieques. This is the "Bio Bay" where microorganisms light up the water at night.

Also, I thought I would include this for everyone on this site. I stumbled across it while searching online, but this picture just seems incredible. It is an aerial photo of almost the entire island and you can zoom in, to get such detail as to even see trails. There are other pictures that show other parts of the island, but I thought this was very impressive.

http://bgdata.nos.noaa.gov/data/aerial/usvi/images/587.jpg
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Debbie (---.asm.bellsouth.net)
Date:   02-28-05 21:07

Hey, that is COOL! I can't figure out how to zoom in or how to back out to the main page. I just get web directories. Can you help - how did you get to the site originally? Thanks,

Debbie

Happy Diving!
Debbie
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Skimoab (67.137.22.---)
Date:   03-01-05 01:00

Hey Tatiana,

You want a fun, cheap way to experience Culebra? Rent a scooter!

I lived in Puerto Rico for 6 months last year and made it over to Culebra a bunch of times. The best and cheapest way to get around the island was on scooters. If I remember right, it only cost us like 12 bucks for the day. We had like 10 guys riding around with cool little helmets on. Pretty funny.

Anyway, I don't know if you can rent them right at the dock, if you get on the bus to Playa Flamenco, you'll eventually see a scooter rental place on your left-hand side. It's right across the street from the airport. They were really nice, I'd rent from there, but you might want to call ahead and double check on the rates, i don't want you to get there and find out they're more expensive than I said. Have fun!
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Aaron (---.pg.com)
Date:   03-01-05 11:59

Hi Debbie,

Here's another link, this will start you out so you can look at the coast anywhere on Puerto Rico. Just click on the little red dots around Culebra and this will show you a bunch of different pictures. Once you find the one you want to zoom in on, go ahead and click the DOWNLOAD button, underneath where it says original scan. This will download the full image.

From here, there are 2 ways to zoom in. The first way is to simply place your cursor in the bottom right part of the picture and it will pop up an icon that you click on to blow it up to full size. The other way (and better way) is to right click on the picture, and then click Save Picture As, and then save it to a place on your computer. Then when you pull it up with Windows Photo Viewer you can zoom in even further whereever you want. Hope that helps.

Any one else check out this picture? What do you think?

http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov/products/data/photos/usvi.shtml

http://bgdata.nos.noaa.gov/data/aerial/usvi/images/587.jpg
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: lili (192.131.66.---)
Date:   03-01-05 12:59

hi,
we did the short hike to carlos rosario, but that day i found the surf to be too rough so we went left on the path, 5 minutes south of playa rosario to the north side of tamarindo beach where we snorkelled up the shore/rocks towards rosario and the reef was very nice. I've snorkelled caymans, the keys, the red sea, jamaica and would put culebra snorkelling into the above average category.
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Kirk (---.nyc.rr.com)
Date:   03-01-05 13:34

Those shots are eerie, they're so clear. If they were any more precise I would start worrying about what I was going to wear to the beach. Are these pictures taken regularly or just once? Would be interesting to compare and contrast over the years. Great link. Who needs a map when you've got these?
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Re: BEST SNORKELING
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Marianne Haughey (---.nychhc.org)
Date:   03-01-05 13:38

Aaron-
We just came back and had a great time with the snorkeling. I have two kids, ages 5 and 7, so we weren't incredibly adventerous, but you can easily snorkel about 10 feet from shore. We were mostly on Flamenco Beach. We also had lots of rough winds, it seems winter has been tough there expressed mostly by wind, so visibility had some rough times, but we were still able to get in to see the fish every day we were there (6) but one. Enjoy!
-Mar
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Aaron (---.cinci.rr.com)
Date:   03-01-05 17:12

Yeah, they're pretty impressive. I don't think their taken at any certain interval of time. I believe these were taken in 1999 as a survey of the coral reef along the coastlines of Puerto Rico. You can get to other maps on that site that show specifically where the coral is compared to what parts of the coast just have seagrass and stuff like that.

Thanks for the info. Glad you had a good time! I can't wait... only 17 more days!!!! lol
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Debbie (---.asm.bellsouth.net)
Date:   03-01-05 20:38

Hey Aaron,

Thanks very much for the links. The zoomer thingy doesn't work on a MAC. When I got to work today (and threw it up on the big screen) from a PC, I could see the zoom thing. It is really cool to see this detail. Take care,

Happy Diving!
Debbie
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Tatiana (199.173.226.---)
Date:   03-03-05 07:00

First, thanks for all the great info I've gotten from everyone!

Regarding scooters; I'm still checking rates, but so far JM Rentals is quoting me $35. Way different than the $12 dollars posted earlier by Skimoah (where'd you get that price? I wanna rent from them!) Does someone know of a cheaper (than $35) contact?

Also, I keep reading that in order to reserve a seat on the 9:30 ferry (from Fajardo to Culebra), one should arrive by 8:00. Does this apply to weekdays too? I'll be going to Culebra either on a Monday or a Wednesday.

Thanks again,
Tatiana
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Re: Best Snorkeling in Culebra
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Jorge Flores (---.statestr.com)
Date:   03-03-05 08:40

Carlos Rosario is the premier snorkeling spot in Culebra

Jorge Flores
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