Puerto Rico Dive Sites

Fajardo & La Cordillera · Fajardo

Palominitos

Also known as: Palominito Beach · Palominito · PNITO · Palominitos South

Depth
18–60 ft (5–18 m)
Access
Boat dive
Type
Spur & groove / canyons
Confidence
Moderate confidence

Heads up: Boat traffic. See safety notes

Overview

Palominitos is a boat dive off Fajardo on a shallow spur-and-groove reef, with long-term reef monitoring stations at about 33 ft. It is heavily visited, so watch for boat traffic. A 1998 guide gave depths of 18–60 ft. It lies within Arrecifes de la Cordillera Natural Reserve; check current DRNA rules.[1][2][3][4]

Habitat & marine life

  • shallow reef[1]
  • Spur & Groove (Middle-Shelf) at station 'Palominitos (1999)'[2]
  • Spur & Groove (Middle-Shelf) at station 'Palominitos (2016)'[2]

Marine life is what sources report having seen or commonly seeing — not a guarantee.

Safety considerations

  • Boat traffic — heavily visited[1]

Ocean conditions change daily. Dive within your training, plan with current local information and consider a local professional guide. Full safety note.

Protected area

  • Arrecifes de la Cordillera Natural Reserve (Reserva Natural Arrecifes de la Cordillera)

    Natural Reserve · Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources · Site position falls inside the official boundary[4]

    NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "Uniform Multiple Use"; fishing: no site restrictions. Anchoring: restricted.[4]

Regulations change. Check with DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) before diving.

Depth reports by source

ReportedSourceStatus
18–60 ft (5–18 m)Colleen Ryan & Brian Savage / Complete Dive Guide Publications[3]Historical (1998)

Historical record

What a historical source reported at the time. Not verified as current — access, moorings, reef condition and names may have changed.

Listed as “Palominitos South” · 18–60 ft (5–18 m) · 1998[3]

  • boat
  • spur_and_groove
  • south end has fewer sand channels and long unbroken reef slope
  • reef to ~35 ft then slope to sand at ~60 ft
  • plate star coral forming overhangs, brain coral, gorgonians, anemones

Match to this modern site is probable; see research notes.

Sources & verification

Last researched: 2026-10-04 · Last independently verified: not yet field-verified · Confidence: Moderate confidence

  1. 1.30 Best Scuba Diving Sites In Puerto Rico (2026) — PuertoRico.com (2026) · Travel resource · Tier 3: Corroborating · accessed 2026-09-25
  2. 2.Puerto Rico Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring Program Database Compilation (DwC-A v1.9, GBIF dataset b3b7d5c4-f73a-475b-a203-c6a1ddd040cd, DOI 10.15468/heuugg) — DRNA Puerto Rico / NOAA CRCP (published via OBIS-USA IPT) (2022-02-13) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  3. 3.The Complete Diving Guide: The Caribbean, Volume 3 (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands) — Colleen Ryan & Brian Savage / Complete Dive Guide Publications (1998) · Historical guide · Tier 3: Corroborating · historical
  4. 4.NOAA Marine Protected Areas Inventory 2024 (feature service NOAA_MPA_Inventory_2023), State = PR — NOAA NOS Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - MPA Center (2024) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  5. 5.Noreste Mooring Buoys3_WFL1 (layer pr_mooringbuoys2) - Boyas de Amarre — Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA); published on ArcGIS Online by a DRNA Northeast Ecological Corridor reserve management officer (2021-06-10) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  6. 6.Final Report Puerto Rico Coral Reef Monitoring Program: 2025 Survey (Garcia-Sais, Williams, Sabater-Clavell, Carlo) — Reef Research, Inc. for DRNA (NOAA CRCP NA23NOS4820135) (2025-09) · Scientific publication · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25

Facts are summarised in our own words from the sources above; we do not reproduce operators’ or publishers’ descriptions. How confidence is assigned.