PegNDerek's Snorkeling

Where intelligent life returns to the Sea              

Normandie Hotel Lagoon, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Ship: Galaxy (Celebrity Cruises)

Sailing Date: June 30, 2003

Date of Snorkel: Monday, July 7, 2003

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us.  There is a dive shop at the back end of the Hotel, which had a nice selection of postcards, books, toys for children and dive/snorkeling equipment, but all of the latter was for sale only, not for rental.

Water Access: Beach

San Juan is a frequent port of call for anyone cruising in the Caribbean.  However, we have always found it very frustrating that any ship we have been on has not stayed in port long enough for us to take advantage of the many “excellent” (according to the literature) snorkeling sites around Puerto Rico. Consequently, we were determined to find a site close enough to the port that we could snorkel at without missing the departure of the ship.  Dozens of website perusals and phone calls finally brought us to the Normandie Hotel, which the local tourist authority described as having a beautiful beach with “good” snorkeling opportunities that are available to all tourists, not just hotel guests.

The Normandie Hotel itself is a treat and well worth a visit.  It is one of the oldest hotels in San Juan, now beautifully restored and maintained by the Park Plaza group.  It’s only a $6 cab ride from the port in Old San Juan where many of the cruise ships still dock.  The lobby is gorgeous and features a large dining courtyard surrounded with aquariums full of gorgeous colorful reef fish.   

The swimming site is a shallow lagoon surrounded on two sides by a wide white sand beach.  Rocks at the far end separate the lagoon from the open ocean, but allow for the water in the lagoon to be re-freshed on a regular basis with the tides.  A breakwater separates off one side of the lagoon where an Olympic-sized swimming zone has been roped off for the Puerto Rican team to practice for the Games. Access to the beach is through a buzzer gate, but the hotel was happy to give us permission to use the facilities. Beach loungers, showers, bathrooms and changing rooms are all available. But, if you want to snorkel…….forget it! We swam for over an hour and only saw two fish-both immature yellowtail snappers.

For swimmers looking for a nice beach to swim and sun, the spot is terrific and we enjoyed our exercise, but we were thoroughly disappointed by the lack of any opportunity to snorkel and see fish.

Snorkeling Grade: F