Re: can anyone comment on the quality of snorkelin
You are right, Puerta Plata is fished out but there are some areas west of Plata Plata that are excellent for snorkling.
If you are in Puerta Plata and have a rental car, I would suggest getting a map and driving to either Puenta Rusia or Monte Cristi. Find a local to rent a "Guide and rowboat" to take you to the reefs. Cayo Arena, off Puenta Rusia, is a small sand spit with a 40 foot drop, straight down from just below the waves, on the ocean (north) side and is beautiful. It is a fairly long boat run from Puenta Rusia to the Cayo, but once you are there, it is not 30 feet from the dry sand of the Cayo to the drop. Cayo Arena is northwest of Puenta Rusia. You will cross a lot of nice reefs on the way but nothing to compare with the Cayo.
Between Puenta Rusia and the bay of Montzinella, there are a lot of nice reefs. The problem is getting close enough to them by land to swim out to the reefs. Take a friend and protection from the possibility of perhapts a problem with the worse elements of humanity (found anywhere in the world, including the U.S.) and I think you will find that it is an area worth exploring.
From Puerta Plata to Monti Cristi is about 2 1/2 hours by car. To get to Puenta Rusia, turn right at Villia Elsia, about halfway between Naverette and Monte Cristi, and then you have 22 kilometers of bad road to Puenta Rusia.
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