Send me an email to ginovega@yahoo.com and I will provide you lots of info about Diving in Puerto Rico, by the way I am heading there Jun 29...

Congraqts to you and also thank you for serving our country !!!!!

That’s super! Congrats Gino! Thank you for all that you do!

Thank you!!!

Congratulations!

I will agree with Gino on the infant stage of diving in PR. While we were there out diving, we didnt see another dive boat as far as the eyes could see. The wife and I are actively researching and looking at moving there. However I will say that soley relying on a Dive operation to sustain your family and lway of life will be challenging. Unlike WPB where the locals help sustain local dive charters, PR is more soley based on destination and tourism diving as a source of income. Knowing spanish is muy importante for ease of transition..:)

Greg, what I meant was that PR is in the infant stages in regard to Diving Tourism...There are many operators around the island, as I’ve posted in my replies, however most of them are tailor for local divers and go out on weekends only or when they have enough divers to go out. There is no Diving Resorts in PR and the PR Department of Tourism does a poor job promoting and assisting diving operators in the Island.

I am trying to change that and I have already contacted the rep from the PR Dept of Tourism here in Georgia for support and she is willing to help, however, is matter of navigating thru their Government bureaucracy that delays everything...I have been talking w several operators in the island and most of them are willing to assist the effort. Will see where this takes us...PR is virgin territory in Diving Tourism if we compare it w USVI, BVI, Bonaire, Cozumel and Rotan etc however the potential is there and the diving sites are there also, is matter of taking the people there. Mike is one of the first I’ve assisted and he and his wife are hooked...we need more divers to go to PR and see w their own eyes what’s available there. Let me know if you are interested on taking a trip down there and I can provide you contacts, suggestions and guidance. Thanks.. Gino

You are doing a great Job Gino...:) From my perspective, PR has all the diving technology they need for any kind of diving, they have the dive sites and they have the shops/charters. However what is lacking is Gino to tie it all together for those tourists that don’t want to or don’t have the means to figure it all out for themselves. My wife and I like to take the road that is less traveled and see where that takes us, however some people are not as adventurous and need a package deal of sorts. Such as, you will be staying here, diving here, eating here etc.. not saying that is wrong, but many people find comfort in the KNOWN. I suppose it boils down to the dive community in PR with good communication and working together as a whole to support industry in PR. How cool would it be to have a menu of drop down boxes of places that you want to dive with all the related necessities for that particular area. For Example, I click on I want to dive Aquadilla then all the other fields become updated with the Diver Friendly business, such as, dive shops, charters, dive sites, accommodations, restaurants etc.. Just a thought...:)

Mike you are absoulute right and that is the final goal...hopefully we can everything toguether. My goal is to have this prior my retirement from the Army. Hope we can doing toguther. We can start here in Dive Buddy and make it the premier information source for diving in PR and have a goal to star twith one location ie. Playa Santa, Guanica and post all that information etc. What do you think Gregg? Is that doable?

Its absolutely doable. We have the divesite section already. And dive shops, charters and resorts can create free profiles. Our Scuba Earth page was developed with the same idea to group everything together so info is easy to find. Its now only a matter of dive shops, resorts and charters to join DiveBuddy for free and so they show up on Scuba Earth.

" PR Department of Tourism does a poor job promoting and assisting diving operators in the Island." They were at BTS promoting tourisum but most of the staff are not divers. I liked the swagg they gave out, a passport holder! Almost as cool as Aruba’s ice scraper :)

LatitudeAdjustment: You are absolutly right!!! I wont called poor!!!! I will called it embarassing!!!! I am trying to change that!!! I am partnering with the local Atlanta PR Tourism Rep to assist them in the Charlotte Show in Oct ’13..and also for the DEMA Show in Orlando in Nov ’13... Hope to see you all there!!!!