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Diving in Costa Rica is unusual in comparison to traditional diving destinations. Because of vast amounts of plankton and other organisms in the Pacific Ocean, there is an astonishing amount of large marine life that can be seen on any given dive. Visibility ranges anywhere from 30' to 100' and the temperature of the water averages 80 degrees F. The waters off Guanacaste, Cocos Island, Caño Island and Talamanca are the most consistently clear in the country. The gulf and peninsula of Nicoya, the Burica Peninsula, the Osa Peninsula, Gulfo Dulce, Uvita, Manuel Antonio, Uvita island and Lake Arenal all have excellent diving—but you'll need good luck to catch them clear. Cocos Island National Park was recently designated a world heritage site by the United Nations—at the urging of Jacques Cousteau. The island is known as one of the best dive destinations in the world, and is well-served by some of the finest live-aboard boats on the seas. The "Okeanos Aggressor" and "The Undersea Hunter" live-aboard boats sail for this remote location on a regular basis. The waters around Cocos—the largest uninhabited island in the world—are inhabited by almost everything that swims the eastern tropical Pacific. Hundreds of scalloped hammerhead sharks together with hundreds of whitetips are the norm here. These huge congregations can be joined by silvertip and silky sharks, giant tuna, manta rays and more. Dense clouds of marine life often block out the sun to the divers below. The steep vertical rock walls of the island are covered in boulders and coral, with lobster and fish filling every nook and cranny to below 200 feet. The visibility is nearly always around 60 to 100 feet, and dives tend to be deep and in heavy currents. Caño Island, just west of the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica, resembles a miniature Cocos Island. Caño's difference lies in shallower plateaus, pinnacles and canyons—but not in marine life. Anything goes in these waters. Marbled and manta rays, humpback, and sperm whales, schools of barracuda, whitetip and whale sharks all cruise the Caño Island National Park. Nearby, possible prehistoric underwater archeological sites add to the area's attraction. Dives tend to be between 30 and 80 feet and visibility is usually around 60 to 80+ . Aguila de Osa, Drake Bay Wilderness Camp and La Paloma Lodge all run daily diving expeditions to the island. Further south, Flamingo Beach has the convenience of a full-service marina and is serviced by The Edge Adventures, Flamingo Dive Shop and Costa Rica Diving. Still further south in Tamarindo Beach, divers go out with Aquas Ricas. Guanacaste's (Northwest Province) coastal waters offer a spectacular array of large marine life ranging from a tiny fluorescent damsel to a six foot white tip reef shark to a possible encounter with a giant manta. For the more experienced and daring this area offers a chance to swim side by side with whale sharks, bull sharks and much more. The underwater landscape of cliffs, canyons, and tunnels makes for some of the most adventurous diving in the world. The best diving months vary widely, depending on your location. The best months to dive Cocos Island, especially if you want to see hammerheads, are June, July and August. Operators who frequent Cocos generally dry-dock their boats in November and December. November through April are the best months to dive the Osa Peninsula. In May, the windy season begins, and conditions can be rough. The best months to dive off Guanacaste are its rainy season, May through November, as the water conditions are calm. Some diving can be done off Guanacaste during the windy season (December through April); however, operators don't make the crossing to the Bat Islands during these months |
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Caribe There are several excellent snorkeling areas along the southern Caribbean coast. The country's largest coastal reef is protected within Cahuita National Park, south of the town of the same name, where you can rent snorkeling equipment and hire people to take you out in boats. The point at Puerto Viejo, south of Cahuita, also has a coral reef wrapped around it that makes for convenient diving. Punta Cocles and Punta Uva, two points to the south of town, have healthier coral formations with plenty of fish around them. Manzanillo, a small fishing village a few miles further south, also has some decent diving off shore. There are also a few good dive spots near the city of Limon, such as the water surrounding Uvita Island. The best visibility in the Caribbean is from March to early May and from mid August to mid November, but water quality can change from day to day. Pacific The Pacific has the country's best diving, with less coral, but plenty of big fish. The most popular Pacific diving area is the northwest, where dive centers in Playa del Coco, Ocotal and Hermosa offer trips to several spots in the Culebra Bay and the Bat Islands (Islas Murcielagos), to the northwest, where divers often see sharks and manta rays. The dive center in Flamingo usually takes people to Santa Catalina Island, about five miles off shore, which is another good spot to see sharks and other big fish. The best visibility and water temperatures in the northwest are found from June to September, though the conditions can change from day to day. There is good snorkeling in Curu National Wildlife Refuge, and near the beach resorts of Tambor and Montezuma. There is also usually good snorkeling off the second beach in Manuel Antonio National Park, and around the points and islands between Dominical and Marino Ballena National Park. However, the best diving off the Pacific coast is found at several underwater reefs near Caño Island, which can be explored on dive trips offered by some of the lodges in nearby Drake Bay. Contrary to the northwest, the best visibility in the waters around Caño occurs during the dry season, though the water tends to be pretty clear year round. |
Best Places to Dive
