Gilligan's Island and Guánica: 3 Tour Operators Compared

Every option side by side

Operator	What you get	From	Length	Group	Min age	Cancellation	Book
Island Scuba	Discover ScubaIncludes Instructor or divemaster guide, Snacks and distilled water	$150 per person	4 Hours, departs 7:00 am		10+		Check dates
Island Scuba	Scuba Trips	Not listed	Departs 7:00 am; two tanks (wall at 50 to 100+ ft, then a reef at 45 to 50 ft)	No minimum number of divers			Check dates
Scuba Dogs	Snorkeling 101 @ Gilligan's IslandIncludes Gear rental (mask, snorkel, fins, inflatable vest), PADI divemaster or instructor guide, Cold water and fruit, USCG-certified captain	Not listed	Approximately 3-hour experience, including a 2-hour boat trip and about 45 minutes in the water	Trips limited to six passengers	No minimum age; under 18 need guardian approval	Full refund for written cancellations 48 hours ahead, 50% at 24 hours; none later, for late arrivals or no-shows.	Check dates
Scuba Dogs	Gilligan's Snorkel Trip (Self Guided)Includes Gear rental, Boat captain, 2-hour boat trip	Not listed	Approximately 3-hour experience, including a 2-hour boat trip	Trips limited to six passengers		Full refund for written cancellations 48 hours ahead, 50% at 24 hours; none later, for late arrivals or no-shows.	Check dates
Scuba Dogs	Discover Scuba Diving for BeginnersIncludes Scuba gear rental, Pool training with a PADI professional, 2-hour boat trip	Not listed	Approximately 4-hour experience, with pool training and a 2-hour boat trip	Trips limited to six passengers	10+	Full refund for written cancellations 48 hours ahead, 50% at 24 hours; none later, for late arrivals or no-shows.	Check dates
Copamarina Beach Resort & Spa	Watersports (kayak and paddleboard rentals)Includes Kayak, Paddleboard, Hobie Cat (nautical experience required)	Not listed					Check dates
Copamarina Beach Resort & Spa	Beach & Sunset Cruise	Not listed					Check dates

From each operator's own website, checked October 22, 2026. How we compare.

Copamarina on PR-333 and Playa Santa on PR-325

Cayo Aurora, the cay everyone calls Gilligan's Island, is the westernmost of the Cayos de Caña Gorda, three mangrove keys off barrio Carenero in Guánica. Wikipedia puts it 600 m (1,969 ft) from the mainland at Punta Jacinto and says the name came from the Keegan/Barnett family in the 1970s. Isla Ballena, the eastern key, sits only 20 m (66 ft) off Punta Ballena. The keys are uninhabited.

Scuba Dogs sells its Gilligan's Island snorkel trips from its dive shop at Copamarina Beach Resort, PR-333 Km 6.5, which lists the cay 2 miles away. Island Scuba's shop is at the end of Carr. 325 at Playa Santa in Ensenada, and it says its boat reaches the wall in about 12 minutes. Playa Santa itself has food kiosks and kayak rentals at the entrance, according to Platea PR, and Discover Puerto Rico's Spanish guide adds jet ski rentals there.

Guánica is about 100 miles (160 km) and more than two hours by road from San Juan, on the Caribbean coast about 20 miles west of Ponce, according to Wikipedia. PR-116 is the nearest principal road. The dry forest is entered from Route 334, Platea PR says, while the coastal strip with Copamarina and the cays runs along PR-333.

Laguna Providencia and the Guánica coast from above — Photo: Bcr4217, CC BY 4.0

Cayo Aurora shallows and the 50 ft wall

Cayo Aurora is a mangrove island with usually clear water over a sandy bottom and plenty of shallows for floating among the roots, Discover Puerto Rico says. A picnic area with bathrooms sits on the north side, and locals treat it as a weekend spot. Copamarina says a light current carries snorkelers slowly along the beach and calls it a good place to start children. Scuba Dogs runs its beginner Snorkeling 101 in the cay's mangroves, which it describes as confined water, and a separate Fish Tail Reef trip for experienced snorkelers.

Divers go for the wall. Island Scuba says it starts at 50 ft and drops past 100 ft, with a second tank on a reef at 45 to 50 ft, visibility above 80 ft and water averaging 82°F. It lists more than 40 sites. Scuba Dogs' two-tank trips are usually drift dives at The Wall or The Epicenter, with visibility averaging 80 ft or more, according to its Copamarina page.

Behind the coast is Guánica State Forest, which the DRNA says covers about 11,000 cuerdas (4,400 ha) with 21 km of shoreline and gets about 30 inches of rain a year. The United Nations named it a Biosphere Reserve in 1981, the second in Puerto Rico after El Yunque. The DRNA counts 166 bird species, 14 of them endemic. Discover Puerto Rico lists 12 trails, including the Ballena Trail to Ballena Bay, the Lluberas Trail to Tamarindo Beach and the Fuerte Trail, about 6 miles round trip to Fort Caprón.

Earthquake closure, kayaks and the buoy line

Whether you can land on Gilligan's Island depends on which source you read. In August 2021 Primera Hora reported the cay had been closed to the public since the January 2020 earthquakes, whose epicenter was 7 km away. The seabed sank 4 to 6 inches, the usable area shrank to under half its former capacity of about 350 people, and the gazebos and barbecues were demolished. The three DRNA-certified concessionaires that ferried visitors were barred. Darien López Ocasio, who runs the dry forest, said private boats, kayaks and jet skis had to stay outside the buoys, with swimming allowed in the channels, and gave no reopening date.

Discover Puerto Rico's pages, all updated August 25, 2026, disagree among themselves. Its islands article says the cay can currently be reached only by kayak, its Spanish Guánica article says private boat or kayak, and its Guánica region page says kayak or boat. Platea PR wrote in May 2026 that the boats fill early on weekends. The DRNA's own Guánica forest notices and brochure read for this guide do not mention the cay at all, and Scuba Dogs still sells boat trips there. Confirm the landing situation with your operator before booking.

The forest opens at 7:30 am and closes at 4 pm, Tuesday to Sunday and holidays, according to a January 2022 DRNA notice; Discover Puerto Rico says entry is free. Temperatures run 80°F to 100°F, the DRNA brochure says, so bring water, sunscreen, repellent and sturdy shoes. Scuba Dogs requires a medical waiver, signed by a physician if there is a health issue, and warns that bookings can move for weather, staffing or a short group. Island Scuba takes Discover Scuba students from age 10. Island Scuba suggests a dive skin or shorty in summer and a 3 to 5 mm wetsuit in winter.

Scuba Dogs' 6-seat boats or Island Scuba's dives

Scuba Dogs caps every boat trip at 6 passengers and includes gear, cold water, fruit, a USCG-certified captain and about 45 minutes in the water. Snorkeling 101 at Gilligan's Island runs about 3 hours with a 2-hour boat trip and a PADI guide; the self-guided version keeps the captain and drops the guide. Discover Scuba takes about 4 hours with pool training first. Certified divers get a two-tank trip of about 4 hours; deep, wall or drift skills cost a $25 training fee. A private charter is $575 plus a service fee. Prices appear only in the Peek checkout, with taxes and fees added.

Island Scuba, at Playa Santa, charges $150 for Discover Scuba: 4 hours from a 7 am start, age 10 and up, with an instructor or divemaster, snacks and distilled water. Its two-tank trips also leave at 7 am, run seven days a week and need no minimum number of divers, though the page shows no price. Both shops book through third-party platforms, Island Scuba on FareHarbor and Scuba Dogs on Peek.

Copamarina Beach Resort rents kayaks, paddleboards and a Hobie Cat (nautical experience required) from its Nautical Sports Center on the resort's half-mile beach, and sells shared or private cruises by day or at sunset. Its prices sit in PDF brochures, and the page does not say whether non-guests may rent. Discover Puerto Rico says the resort gives its guests private access to Gilligan's Island. Scuba Dogs recommends renting a car; riding with its guide costs $50 for one person or $30 each for two or more.

Before you book

Scuba Dogs refunds in full only for written cancellations 48 hours ahead, half at 24 hours, and nothing later, for late arrivals or no-shows.
Bring a cooler or pick up a hot to-go meal at the pier restaurant before heading to the cay; Discover Puerto Rico says there is nowhere to buy food on it.
Bring your own mask, snorkel and fins or rent them in Guánica; Copamarina says the shallows at Gilligan's suit beginners and children.
Divers should pack a 3 to 5 mm wetsuit in winter and coral-safe sunblock, a hat, sunglasses and a towel for the boat, Island Scuba says.
Getting there. Guánica is about 100 miles (160 km) and more than two hours' drive from San Juan, and about 20 miles west of Ponce, according to Wikipedia. PR-116 is the nearest principal road, running west to Lajas and east toward Ponce.

The operators

Island Scuba

from $150 per person

Discover Scuba and 1 more option

Length: 4 Hours, departs 7:00 am
Age: 10+

Shop at Playa Santa, Carr. 325 Final, Ensenada, Guánica

Check dates All details

Scuba Dogs

Price on request

Snorkeling 101 @ Gilligan's Island and 2 more options

Length: Approximately 3-hour experience, including a 2-hour boat trip and about 45 minutes in the water
Group: Trips limited to six passengers
Age: No minimum age; under 18 need guardian approval

PADI 5 Star dive center founded in 2000, per its PADI Travel profile; head office in Guaynabo

Check dates All details

Copamarina Beach Resort & Spa

Price on request

Watersports (kayak and paddleboard rentals) and 1 more option

Discover Puerto Rico's Guánica the resort's listing offers private access to Gilligan's Island

Check dates All details

Gilligan's Island and Guánica questions

How do you get to Gilligan's Island in Guánica?

Sources disagree. Discover Puerto Rico's pages, updated August 25, 2026, say kayak only on one page and kayak or boat on another, and in 2021 the forest's director told Primera Hora that boat concessions had been barred since the 2020 earthquakes. Scuba Dogs still sells guided and self-guided snorkel boat trips from its shop at Copamarina on PR-333, so ask the operator what is running before you book.

What should you bring to Gilligan's Island?

Copamarina suggests bringing your own snorkel gear or renting it in Guánica. Discover Puerto Rico says to pack food and drinks or buy a meal at the pier restaurant before heading out.

Sources

Prices and policies come from each operator's own pages, read on October 22, 2026. Seasons, rules and local details come from the pages below.