Water in Puerto Rico?
 

Can anyone say whether the water in Puerto Rico is the clear blue so common for snorkeling, etc. in the Caribbean? Does it matter whether one is on the Carribean side or the Atlantic side? Thanks!

The Caribbean is the Caribbean and it's the same "water" wherever you go. How it appears, however, varies from island to island and there is no "common color".

The color or tint of the water you see around any island, Puerto Rico included, depends mostly on the depth and color of the sand and the clarity of the water depends on currents, wind conditions, the amount of run-off from recent rains (if any) as well as other factors.

What all this means is "clear blue" may not be so commom as you think.

Purto Rico is a big island so the "color" of the water can vary greatly from beach to beach. By and large though, because the island is volcanic in origin the sand on the beaches varies from light biege to dark brown which gives the water a darker blue tint than you get with white sand beaches. Also, the "sandy shelf" at water's edge tends to drop off faster on some Puerto Rican beaches than it does on others or on flat coral/limestone based island which make the water appear darker blue.

These "differences" are readily apparent when comparing Atlantic side beaches to Caribbean side beaches. To make things even more confusing there are exceptions on both sides of the island.

So basically, while the water around Puerto Rico may be as clear as around any other island it will appear to be more on the darker side of the blue spectrum rather than the lighter blue side.

Sorry if this doesn't help much but it is what it is.

The water around the out-islands of Icacos, Culebra and Vieques is that "Caribbean-blue" color you're looking for, even though they're technically in the Atlantic Ocean. Well, Vieques may be in the Caribbean ... depends on where you draw the line.

And the snorkeling at all three of those islands is excellent.

You can see some that blue water in photos in our blog at

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/20...land-paradise/

and

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/20...lamenco-beach/

thank you so much, both responses really helped.

I would also look at Vieques and Culebra, here on VQS we have some white sand beaches with the most beautiful aqua blue, then some with grainy sand and appear greenish. It all depends on the weather, sunlight, etc. On VQS the northern shore is Atlantic and not the best side for swimming as it has a surf, the Southern/Caribbean side has the white sand/ aqua/blue/green water beaches.