Snorkeling Puerto Rico: Blue Hole Beach

Blue Hole Beach

Road Leading to Blue Hole Beach 

General Description:   A day on a windswept beach on the Northwest  Coast of can soothe the soul.  This beach is located in a hard to reach the area near the old Ramey Air Force Base.   Blue Lagoon would be a great place to spend a day swimming and snorkeling on a beautiful beach in Puerto Rico.  

Degree of Difficulty: Intermediate due to rocky conditions when entering the lagoon. 

Grid Coordinates:  18.515156, -67.099562

Maps:   Topo PR Isabela 20130925

Finding the Beach:    From San Juan follow highway 2 for about 3 hours.   As you enter Aguadilla turn right onto PR-110.  Follow PR-110 for about 5 miles take a right on PR-4466.  After the turn as you drive you will drop down a coast bluff entering a small canyon.  Take a left once leaving the canyon onto a paved unmarked secondary road.  There will be a couple turns to the right where you can park along the road and walk to the beach.   

Blue Hole 

Map of Blue Hole

Beach Overview:  The Blue Hole is a  lagoon located between the beach and the rocky surf break that is located 150 yards from the beach.   The first lagoon is located right next to the beach beyond the smooth limestone base.  The beach although sandy has a smooth limestone base right after entering the water. There is a deeper lagoon that is used for scuba diving located just past the first lagoon.   There are marvelous coral formations and fish populations located in both. For a better experience stay at Villa Tropical for a few nights to completely enjoy the beach and rural country atmosphere.   A great place to have lunch after snorkeling is a small cafe called Ola Lola's Garden Bar.  You must try the famous Peanut Butter Burger. 

   

Coral Formation st Blue Hole

Snorkeling Instructions:   Once arriving at the beach you will notice an entry/exit way on the west side of the lagoon. From this point walk east about 100 yards along the beach towards the east.   Enter the water crossing a shallow limestone reef.  When the water is about knee to waist deep gear up, then snorkel out toward the breakers past the lagoon.   The prevailing wind blowing from the east will push you west towards the entry/exit way that leads to and out of the Lagoon.   You can enter the lagoon at this western edge but will be swimming against the wind.   From the eastern side snorkel along the outer edge of the lagoon. There will be many coral formations and fish as you near the second outer scuba lagoon