The Bottom Line
Pros
- An excellent resource for divers of all levels of experience
- Tremendous knowledge of the local (underwater) area
- Operates a full-service dive shop in Dewey
- The only licensed visual scuba tank inspection location on Culebra
- Competitively priced
Cons
- Like and dive operation, it's not the cheapest activity in town.
Description
- Depending on your experience, Walter and Monika will recommend the best dive sites when you travel with them.
- If you're an experienced diver, check out the The Wit Power, a tugboat sunk in 1984 and teeming coral, sponges, and fish.
- For the complete stay-and-dive package, check out Walter and Monika's lovely guesthouse.
Guide Review - Scuba Diving in Culebra With Culebra Divers
Walter Rieder knows his stuff. A United States Coast Guard licensed captain, an AHSI CPR Instructor and a NAUI Scuba Dive Instructor certified since 1982, he has been exploring the world's oceans for over 30 years. Twenty of those years have been spent becoming intimately familiar with Culebra's underwater realm, and he is only too happy to share this expertise with his customers. He is also a professional photographer and now offers underwater photo workshops.I was lucky enough to have him as my guide on my very first scuba diving excursion. A complete novice, I was understandably nervous and terribly excited to see what the oceans looked like beneath the waves. After all, as great as snorkeling is (and Culebra Divers offers snorkeling trips), it doesn't compare to the proximity and total immersion that scuba offers. And Culebra was a great choice for my first dive. Calm, temperate waters bursting with marine life; a variety of dive sites (check out Walter and Monika's ten favorite places to dive; and the friendliness of my guide all combined to make this a must-try experience on the island.
Our destination on my first dive was off the coast of Cayo Luis Peña, a large islet visible from Culebra without a single manmade structure on it. After a few handy instructions (notably Walter's advice for me to be lazy in the water), we jumped in the water and set off. Soon we were on the ocean floor, and I was holing a baby lobster in my hands. We spotted an eel slithering across the sandy bottom, a rare sight in the open water. And we came across a fabulous array of fish. There were no turtles or sharks on this dive, but these can easily be found under the water (especially turtles), along with rays and other sea life. But for my first dive trip, I couldn't have asked for more, and I couldn't have wished for a better guide.
