Palmas del Mar is a lovely spot on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. Nestled in a resort community complete with golf course and vacation homes lies a small marina with friendly staff, convenient services, and some varied small restaurants within walking distance. The Yacht Club Marina is protected by a rock jetty facing the sea and surrounded by luxury condos on other sides each with private docks. The entrance to the marina is narrow, but well marked, with a shallow breaking reef just to the north. Services include a support staff, 24/7 gated security, unique fuel supply to your vessel in the slip, showers, laundry, and pool. The docks are made of concrete on steel piers, so chafe protection for mooring lines is a must if you stay over just a few days. The dock master was kind enough to give me four pieces of six foot anchor chain he had lying around that I used as chafe guards to tie my lines to. I Worked great. I used the marina as a staging gateway this year and left Galini for several weeks at a time as I made trips back home for work. There is a small boat yard at Palmas del Mar as well, but it is geared for the smaller vessel crowd. Major marine services and supply stores, including a West Marine, are located about 30 kilometers up the coast to the north at Fajardo.
One nice feature I enjoyed at Palmas del Mar was the smaller group of boats with a semi-permanent home for cruisers whom maintain their vessels there and come/go to their permanent residences by plane in the United States mainland or other islands nearby. They do so because of the easy availability, low marina fees, and storm protection. As is typical of such places, these people are friendly, helpful, and full of local knowledge for cruising destinations along the coast or in the neighboring Virgin Islands. Another nice feature is the convenient location to the Spanish Vis. It is a short three hour sail to Vieques, 4 hours to Culebra, and about the same to Culebrita. There are gems of locations at each of these islands, including beaches of different sorts, fantastic snorkeling and diving, good anchorages, and small quaint towns.
