Desecheo Island - Rincon & West Coast
Desecheo Island, about 19km offshore from Rincón, really delivers if you’re up for a boat ride and some deeper diving. We’re talking proper walls here, plunging to 40 meters or more, carved with ledges and small caves. The visibility often hits 30 meters, so you can really appreciate the scale of it all as you drift past. We love finding the sand gobies peeking out from their sandy patches on the ledges, and the schools of Atlantic spadefish are always impressive. It’s an advanced dive, for sure; currents can be playful, and the depths mean you need to manage your gas and bottom time carefully. But for those with the experience, Desecheo offers a completely different vibe from the mainland sites. Keep an eye out into the blue for bigger pelagics; barracuda hang around, and we’ve had playful encounters with dolphins cruising by the boat after a dive. It’s a full-day commitment, so pack snacks and water, and mentally prepare for some open ocean chop on the way out. This is a place where you feel genuinely remote, a real wild corner of the Caribbean.
- Location
- Rincon & West Coast, Puerto Rico, Caribbean
- Coordinates
- 18.383000, -67.480000
- Type
- wall
- Maximum Depth
- 10-40m
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Marine Protected Area: Isla de Desecheo Marine Reserve
Best Time to Dive in Rincon & West Coast
The warmest water temperatures in Rincon & West Coast occur in January, averaging 27.3°C. The coolest conditions are in December at 27.3°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 27.3°C (air: 25.6°C)
- February: 27.3°C (air: 25.3°C)
- March: 27.3°C (air: 25.3°C)
- April: 27.3°C (air: 25.9°C)
- May: 27.3°C (air: 27.0°C)
- June: 27.3°C (air: 27.8°C)
- July: 27.3°C (air: 28.0°C)
- August: 27.3°C (air: 28.2°C)
- September: 27.3°C (air: 28.3°C)
- October: 27.3°C (air: 28.1°C)
- November: 27.3°C (air: 27.1°C)
- December: 27.3°C (air: 26.3°C)
Nearby Dive Sites in Rincon & West Coast
- Aguadilla - 14m
- AMBAR I - 54m (wreck)
- Ancones - 22m
- A.REGINA - 2m (wreck)
- B-29 Aircraft Wreck - 25m (wreck)
- Black Wall - 20-40m (wall)
- Crashboat Wall and Anchor - 13m (wall)
- CW-20 - 8m (wreck)
- Desecheo
- El natural - 5-20m (reef)
- La Cueva Submarina (cave)
- Monito
- Muelle de Azúcar - 19m
- MV Ambar (Wreck) - 25m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to Desecheo Island
Marine Life in Rincon & West Coast
Home to 514 recorded species including 430 reef fish, 36 hard corals, 13 sharks & rays, 7 whales & dolphins, 5 seagrass & algae, 4 other.
Notable Species
- Gutong (Sparisoma aurofrenatum) - Reef Fish
- Parrotfish (Thalassoma bifasciatum) - Reef Fish
- Bicolor Damselfish (Stegastes partitus) - Reef Fish
- Blue Doctor (Acanthurus coeruleus) - Reef Fish
- Sammy Johnson (Scarus taeniopterus) - Reef Fish
- Gutong (Scarus iseri) - Reef Fish
- Yellowhead Wrasse (Halichoeres garnoti) - Reef Fish
- Dark Green Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) - Reef Fish
- Mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) - Hard Corals
- Barber (Acanthurus bahianus) - Reef Fish
- Cola (Ocyurus chrysurus) - Reef Fish
- Coney (Cephalopholis fulva) - Reef Fish
- Great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) - Hard Corals
- Massive Starlet Coral (Siderastrea siderea) - Hard Corals
- Butterfly (Chaetodon capistratus) - Reef Fish
- Lettuce Coral (Agaricia agaricites) - Hard Corals
- Graysby (Cephalopholis cruentata) - Reef Fish
- Slippery Dick (Halichoeres bivittatus) - Reef Fish
- Clown Wrasse (Halichoeres maculipinna) - Reef Fish
- French grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum) - Reef Fish
Recommended Packing List for Desecheo Island
Based on average water temperature of 27.3°C.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 27°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories