Coral Etiquette – Do’s and Don’ts

As we have learned, corals are fragile animals, and even a simple touch or a fin kick can cause serious harm. Luckily, a little marine etiquette goes a long way in preventing damage to these amazing creatures. Here are five simple things you can do to enjoy corals responsibly.

DON’T:

• Do not touch, kick or stand on the corals you see in the water.
• Do not take corals and seashells home for souvenirs.
• Do not litter.
• Do not let your diving equipment hang loose. Secure all equipment so nothing bumps into the corals.
• Do not anchor your boat on corals or in a seagrass bed.

DO:

• Study about the corals and marine life you might encounter while diving.
• Make sure you and your buddies are aware of the impact on coral reefs.
• Observe corals from a safe distance.
• Practice good finning and body control to avoid accidental contact with the reef or stirring up the sediment.
• Ask about the locations of mooring buoys so you can safely tie off your boat without damaging any of the surrounding marine life.
• Share information about responsible coral reef diving and coral conservation online and with your friends.

Mistreatment of the environment both above and below the water is a common issue that affects our planet daily. And while we cannot control the actions of others, we can at least pass the facts along to those who need to be enlightened – especially those who do not treat the environment and living organisms underwater with respect. So, if you have the opportunity to help influence someone to make better decisions and point out better ways to treat the underwater environment, then do whatever you can to share these ideas. If you are in the water and you see someone touching or even standing on the reef and you have the chance to say something, then by all means, do it.

October  2018

Culebra  Map  –  for  Beaches, Swimming, Snorkeling,  Diving, Kayaking  &  Paddle Board  Locations

[ click here to view Snorkeling Photography  ]

Beach Listing of Culebra

Playa Flamenco  [Beach] Ranked # 2 in the top 10 most exotic beaches in the world

[ google view ]

Playa Carlos Rosario [ Beach ]       ………………………..….      Playa de Cascajo [ Beach ]

[ google view ]

Playa Brava [ Beach ]             ……………………….…..              Playa Las Vacas [ Beach ]

Playa Larga [ Beach ]              ……………….…………..            Playa Pueblo Español

Playa Punta Soldado [ Beach ]     ………….………….…..       Playa Resaca [ Beach ]

Playa Tamarindo [ Beach ]         …………….…………..         Playa Tortuga [ Beach ]

Playa Zoni [ Beach ]                 …………………..……..            Playa Melones [ Beach ]

The Main Island of Culebra offers Great

Diving & Snorkeling Sites accessible by foot.

  Playa Melones / Melones Beach

          –   Snorkeling / Diving Site    [ 6  areas ]

  Playa Tamarindo / Tamarindo Beach

          –   Snorkeling / Diving Site    [ 3  areas ]

  Playa Carlos Rosario Laguna  / Carlos Rosario Lagoon

          –  Snorkeling / Diving Site     [ 9  areas ]  

Playa Melinos  /  Melones Beach  /  Punta de Melinos*

           –  Dive Site/ Snorkel Site       [ 5  areas ]

  Playa Flamenco**  / Flamenco Beach

           –  Snorkeling / Diving Site    [ 4  areas ]

  Playa Larga Mapa / Larga Beach

           –    Dive Site/ Snorkel Site     [ 4  areas ]

  Playa Punta Soldado  / Punta Soldado Beach

           –   Snorkeling / Dive Site       [ 4  areas ] 

  Playa de Cascajo* / Cascajo Beach

           –  Dive Site/ Snorkel Site       [ 4  areas ]

Stop a local Snorkel Center or Dive Shop for Rentals details, current conditions & directions to all of Culebra’s Beaches & Snorkeling Sites

                                                      [ click for google map ]

The Surrounding Cayos [ Keys ] of Culebra offers

Snorkeling & Diving accessible by a short boat ride.

Culebra’s West Cayos          Culebra’s East Cayos

Cayo Lobo                                                     Cayo Norte  

–  Dive Site                                                    –  Dive / Snorkel Site

Cayo Lobito                                                  Cayo Tiburon  

–   Dive / Snorkel Site                                 –  Dive Site

El Mono                                                         Cayo Ballena  

–  Dive Site                                                    –  Dive Site

Cayo Yerba                                                   Cayos Geniqui 

–   Dive / Snorkel Site                                –  Dive / Snorkel Site

Cayo Ratton                                                 Isla Culebrita 

–  Dive / Snorkel Site                                 – Dive / Snorkel Site

Cayo Agua    

–  Dive / Snorkel Site

Cayo de Luis Peña

–  Dive / Snorkel Site

These are just a few Great dive sites around Culebra

stop a local shop for information on Local Diving.

Beach Map……………………………Snorkeling Map

Diving Map.………………,,,……….Paddle Boarding Map

Snorkeling is also known as free-diving: Strap on a mask, snorkel, and fins you’ll be ready to quite literally pass through the looking-glass into another world. The warm waters of Culebra will embraces your body and frees you from gravity, allowing you to fly among the parrots, butterflies, angels, damsels, and, turtles then dance with the hamlets and scarlet ladies, and bow to the barracuda and dolphin.

The tropical sea covers an unrestricted collection of life. And one of our greatest attractions is that you can wade into the water off any point of land and find yourself immersed in a universe of outrageous color and interesting characters. Of course it’s always better off a picture perfect gorgeous beach … or one with nothing but solitude and sand.

And whether you’re just looking for a calm swim with friendly fish or a synchronized float with your significant other, we will help you found your perfect Caribbean beach. A day of snorkeling or diving on Culebra that focuses first on safely reaching the best waters for the conditions in the Culebra area, will ensure splashing among thickets of Elkhorn, Staghorn, and Pillar coral, while poking into shallow caves and overhangs that dance with tropical fish of every color and persuasion.

The clear blue skies highlights Culebra’s bleach-white beaches, transparent turquoise water and luxuriant reefs, all of which are among the very best in the Caribbean. Flamenco Beach, on the north side, is the best stretch of sand on the island, which boasts some 2 miles of sink-to-your-ankles, soft-coral-sand beach.  Not to take away from the other snorkeling, diving, kayaking, and paddle boarding sites Culebra can offer (over 20) with proper directions are just a short walk, hike, or drive.

The west end of Culebra is protected from the Caribbean’s north eastern swells and has a shoreline reef system that opens to sandy encased shallow lagoons,  The shoreline reef system extends out from the beach to honeycombed depths of 10-60ft thick then drop off to sandy flats simply keeping the sea life close which is perfect for snorkeling. Just under the surface, hemostat-jawed needlefish, yellow tail snapper, spanish grunts, and various grouper stalk silvery blankets of minnows while cobalt clouds of blue tang swarm over boulders of brain coral, leisurely picking at tufts of algae. Fish, lobsters, stingrays, turtles, ells, and crabs fill every nook and cranny of the reef.

Culebra the Beaches to use for Snorkel & Dive Sites

Culebra, the jewel of Puerto Rico, has some of the Caribbean’s easily accessible Snorkeling on the western shoreline from the northern most point on the Flamenco Peninsula to the southern most western shoreline ending at Punta del Soldado.  For a small island Culebra’s great diving starts with reefs that begin at the shoreline on the leeward side and slowly slopes away then down to form walls of coral with dramatic drop offs which eventually meet the sandy ocean floor.  Next you have Culebra’s barrier reefs which keep the shallow waters around Culebra calm, and protected from the deterioration swell causes.  The barrier protection of smaller Cayos (keys) which, offer health hard and soft coral colonies for a variety of marine life to breed from depths of 15ft to 60ft keeps a diverse aquatic population healthy and close to the main island of Culebra.  All are accessible by vehicle, foot, or a short boat ride once you are on Culebra. When you arrive at your choice of Culebra’s Snorkel / Dive site (beach) you’ll find that the majority offer an easy sandy beach entrance with a short swim to the reef ( 3 minutes on average ) or a mooring location with a minor swim for divers.

The range of Culebra’s snorkeling & diving will impressed all with its diversity. Snorkeling on Culebra’s western shoreline offers different reef settings from barrier mini walls with depths of 15-25ft, shallow sloping shoreline reefs ranging 15-35ft depth to dramatic 60-75ft shoreline reef walls all with diverse aquatic wildlife also suitable for shore diving. There are sites perfect for beginners or experienced Snorkelers and Divers; from those who want to take it easy, as well as a more challenging, experienced or adventurous dive/snorkel day swimming thru caverns or poking into the caves. The challenge may take the forum of shallow underwater terrain requiring excellent buoyancy control to basic navigation knowledge around surface growing coral. Equally, if your idea of heaven is a 60-plus minute dive in shallow water crowded with marine life that abound amongst huge health coral heads then many areas offer multiple choices. The coral diversity will impress you with multiple coral species living side-by-side on the shoreline areas of Culebra.
The western shoreline of Culebra is on the leeward side of the island and protected from the wind and swell 90% of the year. Low pressure or large weather systems will change the swell direction as it is passing Culebra. Most Snorkeling Centers on Culebra can offer daily detail information including, water temperature, swell or wave height, and visibility for all locations on Culebra. On shore and offshore conditions vary depended on location. Getting current daily conditions and best site suggestions for locations that will offer optimum snorkeling and diving conditions always increases the day’s positive activity outlook.