Puerto Rico Dive Sites

Isla de Mona & Monito · Mayagüez · Isla de Mona

Playa Mujeres

Also known as: Mujeres · Playa Mujeres Reef · Isla Mujeres

Depth
59–66 ft (18–20 m)
Access
Access not established
Type
Patch reef
Confidence
Moderate confidence

Overview

Playa Mujeres is a stretch of discontinuous patch reefs at the shelf edge on the southwest corner of Isla de Mona, between Piedra del Carabinero and Punta Arenas. Surveys describe a coral band at about 59 to 66 feet, with giant barrel sponges. It lies within Isla de Mona Natural Reserve; check current DRNA rules.[1][2][3]

Site characteristics

Habitat & marine life

  • Aggregate reef (Outer-Shelf, Island) at station 'Mujeres'[2]
  • giant barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta)[1]

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

Safety considerations

No site-specific hazards are recorded in our sources. That does not mean there are none.

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

Protected area

  • Isla de Mona Natural Reserve (Reserva Natural Isla de Mona)

    Natural Reserve · Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources · Site position falls inside the official boundary[3]

    NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "Zoned w/No Take Areas"; fishing: commercial and recreational fishing restricted. Anchoring: restricted.[3]

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

Depth reports by source

ReportedSourceStatus
59–66 ft (18–20 m)Puerto Rico DRNA / NOAA (Reef Surveys)[1]Current source

Sources & verification

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

  1. 1.Monitoring of Coral Reef Communities from Natural Reserves in Puerto Rico: Isla Desecheo, Isla de Mona, Rincón, Guánica, Ponce, Caja de Muerto and Mayagüez, 2007-2008 (García-Sais et al.) — Puerto Rico DRNA / NOAA (Reef Surveys) (2008) · Scientific publication · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · 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.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
  4. 4.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

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