Become a Certified PADI Diver in Puerto Rico
After completing your PADI e-learning modules, a Puerto Rico scuba diving certification should be your goal. Our warm, pristine waters are abundant with sea life and the perfect place to practice the skills you’ve read about. Alongside learning a new skill on vacation, you’ll not only have the chance to meet other divers from around the world but you’ll also see a variety of tropical sea life including turtles and octopuses. Here at Rincón Diving, we are dedicated to protecting the environment and carry out all our dives keeping the protection of the ocean and animals in mind.
Highlights
Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
Open Water students (5 confined water sessions & 4 open water dives):
- 1 person booking – $600
- 2+ person in same group – $550 per person
Scuba Diver (3 confined water sessions & 2 open water dives):
- 1 person booking – $450
- 2+ person in same group – $375 per person
Scuba Diver Upgrade (2 confined water sessions & 2 open water dives):
- 1 person booking – $325
- 2+ person in same group – $300 per person
*** BRING A FRIEND AND SAVE
Meeting point
Rincón Diving & Snorkeling- 2207 Ave Pedro Albizu Campos Carr Rd 115 Km 12.0, Rincón, PR 00677, Puerto Rico, USA
Availability
Daily, year-round
Duration
- Scuba diver certification – minimum of 2 days
- Open water certification – minimum of 3 days
Group size
Maximum 4 divers per instructor
Included
- Regulator, buoyancy control device, compass, surface marker buoy, and dive gauges
- Tanks and weights
- Expert safety briefings and instruction
- Drinking water – bring your refillable water bottle for free refills from our filtered rainwater collection
Not included
- PADI eLearning
- PADI training logbook (required) – available for purchase at check-in
- Wetsuit – available to rent or purchase
- Mask, snorkel & fins (these are required for the tour) – rent for the duration of the course for 1 fee or get your own during your course
- Snacks for surface intervals between dives
- Transportation from dive center to entry point at the beach
What to bring
- Swimsuit
- Towel
- Reef-safe sunscreen
Good to know
- Divers must have their diver certification
- Age limit: minimum 10 years old
- You will be required to complete a PADI Medical Questionnaire at check-in. Please review in advance. If you have any of the health conditions listed on the medical statement you will not be able to participate without a doctor’s consent. Call the dive center if you have any concerns.
- As part of the training, you will learn that you need to allow 18 hours to pass before flying after diving!
- After equipment fitting, you will follow the guide in your own transportation to the entry point for the snorkeling tour (5 min +/- from the dive center). If you need transportation from the dive center and back, please give the dive center a call so advance arrangements can be made. Additional charges may apply.
- It is important to drink plenty of water before arrival for hydration.
Sun Protection
- PROTECT THE MARINE RESERVE: Avoid using sunscreens that contain oxybenzone, octinoxate, and parabens. Reef-Friendly sunscreen is available for purchase at the dive center.
- Sun protective clothing like long-sleeve rash guards are a great alternative to sunscreen and are available for purchase.
- The chemicals found in regular sunscreens are harmful to coral. Their tiny particles can be ingested, leading to toxicity and coral bleaching. Reef-friendly sunscreens avoid these toxic ingredients. Reef-SAFE sunscreens avoid harmful chemicals AND use ‘non-nano’ particles that are too large to be absorbed by corals, thus protecting marine ecosystems.
- If you’re looking at a mineral-based formula, be sure it says ‘non-nano’
What You’ll See & Do
There are three phases to the certification:
- Knowledge development – PADI elearning
- Confined water dives
- Open water dives
Start by completing your PADI elearning online and you can then decide to what level of training you would like to train for: the PADI Scuba Diver or PADI Open Water Diver.
Use this link to order your PADI eLearning Materials TODAY!(opens in a new tab)
Next, you’ll head to the confined water dives to learn skills in a pool or shallow reef such as setting up scuba gear, clearing your mask, buoyancy control, and entering and exiting the water. Once you are confident and your instructor has confirmed that you passed the training, you move on to open water.
Get out into the ocean in Rincón and put into practice what you learned in the previous sessions. Explore the underwater world of coral reefs, rays, angelfish, parrotfish, sea turtles, and much more!
Answers to Your Questions
Water temperature in Puerto Rico ranges from 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months (December-March) to 84 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer months. Most divers get cold in the winter months and a wetsuit is recommended. At other times of the year, wetsuits are good for abrasion protection. Wetsuits are available for rental for an additional fee, check out our rental rates.
The temperate waters of Puerto Rico are home to many species of fish of all sizes. Some we see every day are parrotfish, butterflyfish, blue tangs, sergeant majors, angelfish, squirrelfish. In fact, look at a fish ID guide for the Caribbean and we see those same characters every day. Ahhh… life in paradise.
The minimum age for scuba certification is 10 years.
