Scuba Diving

In San Juan, the best outfitter is Caribe Aquatic Adventures, 1062 Calle 19, Villa Nevarez, San Juan, PR 00927 (tel. 787-281-8858, www.diveguide.com/p2046.htm), which operates a dive shop behind the Normandie Hotel that's open daily from 8am to 4pm. The company offers diving certification from both PADI and NAUI; 2 checkout dives are $125 and 4 checkout dives are $245. A resort course for first-time divers costs $125. Also offered are local daily dives in the waters close to San Juan, as well as the option of traveling farther afield into waters near the reefs of Puerto Rico's eastern shore. If time permits, we recommend a full-day dive experience; if time is limited, try one of the many worthy dive sites that lie closer to San Juan and can be experienced in a half day.