Puerto Rico Dive Sites

Isla de Mona & Monito · Mayagüez · Isla de Mona

Las Carmelitas

Also known as: Las Carmelitas Reef · Playa Carmelitas

Depth
to 66 ft (20 m)
Access
Access not established
Type
—
Confidence
Moderate confidence

Heads up: Surge. See safety notes

Overview

Las Carmelitas lies north of Playa Sardinera on Isla de Mona's west coast. A backreef lagoon sits behind an emergent reef crest with dead elkhorn coral, and the reef extends from shore to about 66 feet. Rock outcrops down to about 33 feet on the outer zone take heavy wave action, so expect surge. It lies within Isla de Mona Natural Reserve; check current DRNA rules.[1][2][3][4]

Habitat & marine life

  • Aggregate reef (Inner-Shelf, Island) at station 'Las Carmelitas'[2]
  • backreef lagoon behind emergent reef crest with dead elkhorn; rock outcrops to ~10 m exposed to heavy wave action[1]

Marine life is what sources report having seen or commonly seeing — not a guarantee.

Safety considerations

  • Surge — outer zone exposed to heavy wave action[1]

Ocean conditions change daily. Dive within your training, plan with current local information and consider a local professional guide. Full safety note.

Protected area

  • Isla de Mona Natural Reserve (Reserva Natural Isla de Mona)

    Natural Reserve · Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources · Site position falls inside the official boundary[4]

    NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "Zoned w/No Take Areas"; fishing: commercial and recreational fishing restricted. Anchoring: restricted.[4]

Regulations change. Check with DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) before diving.

Depth reports by source

ReportedSourceStatus
to 66 ft (20 m)Puerto Rico DRNA / NOAA (Reef Surveys)[1]Current source

Sources & verification

Last researched: 2026-10-04 · Last independently verified: not yet field-verified · Confidence: Moderate confidence

  1. 1.Monitoring of Coral Reef Communities from Natural Reserves in Puerto Rico: Isla Desecheo, Isla de Mona, Rincón, Guánica, Ponce, Caja de Muerto and Mayagüez, 2007-2008 (García-Sais et al.) — Puerto Rico DRNA / NOAA (Reef Surveys) (2008) · Scientific publication · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  2. 2.Puerto Rico Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring Program Database Compilation (DwC-A v1.9, GBIF dataset b3b7d5c4-f73a-475b-a203-c6a1ddd040cd, DOI 10.15468/heuugg) — DRNA Puerto Rico / NOAA CRCP (published via OBIS-USA IPT) (2022-02-13) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  3. 3.Noreste Mooring Buoys3_WFL1 (layer pr_mooringbuoys2) - Boyas de Amarre — Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA); published on ArcGIS Online by a DRNA Northeast Ecological Corridor reserve management officer (2021-06-10) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  4. 4.NOAA Marine Protected Areas Inventory 2024 (feature service NOAA_MPA_Inventory_2023), State = PR — NOAA NOS Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - MPA Center (2024) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25

Facts are summarised in our own words from the sources above; we do not reproduce operators’ or publishers’ descriptions. How confidence is assigned.