Tjack
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Cano Island / Drake Bay, Costa Rica diving trip report May 10-16, 2009
Just back from diving Cano Island, out of Drake Bay, Pacific coast, Costa Rica. HereÃÔ some impressions.
Getting there was easy. Nature Air flys direct from San Jose, via Pavas Airport twice daily. They have Twin Otter double prop planes with a 40lb weight limit on luggage. Sansa also flys to Drake Bay, but on my departure the Sansa flight was way late, they fly from the international airport so that might be a factor. Also, you can fly to Palmar Sur, then take a taxi and a boat to Drake. The Nature Air flight from San Jose runs about $90 each way. They have an excellent web site.
For lodgings and dive op we went with Jinetes de Osa: the one midrange hotel at Drake. US $55 a night per person for double occupancy room and 3 meals. Coffee is left outside the room each morning. The food was ok to quite good, overall adequate. No AC and variable hot water.
El Drake is remote. There are small crabs and insects in the rooms at times, lots of biomass. Very courteous and upbeat management while we were there.
My only real complaint about Jinetes de Osa is that they charged us a $30 commission to book our flights. Also, due to weight constrictions on the flights you will probably need to rent some gear and that costs $20 a day, regardless of how much you need. Set in a beautiful location just off the beach, with lots of hammocks to lounge in I would probably stay there again.
There are $15-$30 cabins in town and a couple of restaurant-bars as an alternative. Cabinas Manolo were helpfull via e-mail. I saw dive boats from PirateÃÔ Cove out at Cano as well. Word was that White Tip divers boat had been stolen so they were not diving at the time.
Jinetes aka Costa Rica Adventure Diving runs daily dive trips out to Cano Island, $105 for two tanks. There is no local inshore diving and, thus, no shore or night dives. The main dive boat is a big skiff or ponga with a 300HP outboard. The run takes about 45 minutes. Expect dolphins most days from the boat.
First dive then a long interval on Cano Island is typical with lunch provided. All dives are limited to 60 feet deep and 40 minutes due to park regulations I was told. Visibility ranged from 20-60 feet, with a visible thermocline at about 50 feet. Water temps were a balmy 82 above the thermocline and 72 below. I had brought extra thermal protection but was fine with 3mm full suit and a beanie due to the fact that you wonÃÕ spend much time below the thermocline and 82 degree water will warm you up real quick. Most dives had surge, sometimes strong, and current can be a factor especially at outlaying sites.
The diving was quite good IMHO, but this is subjective. White Tip Sharks were seen on every dive. 100s of barracuda in a school on one dive, something interesting on each dive from seashores to frog fish, nudibranchs, schooling jellyfish being eaten by other fish. I even found a Tent Olive shell which I left, a unique shell which is endemic to the Panamic region. The Real highlight for diving at Cano island is Bajo del Diablo an offshore pinnacle. Here you will find the best visibility and tons of life.
The Bajo del Diablo is a series of rocks rising from depth to within 20 feet of the surface, the dive begins with a decent through a large school of Bigeye Trevally to the rock formations which form vertical walls with canyons between. These walls are completely covered in Sea Fans, Barnacles and Hydroids. Large schools of Snapper swirl around the rocks and keep you company as you loll in the surge. According to local lore anything can turn up out here and stories of hearing Whales are common.
Another great dive site was Los Arcos where the visibility was lesser but again the volcanic rock formations provide dramatic relief. This is what I would consider advanced diving due to the surge and current. Beginner divers were kept closer to the island, sites like The Shipwreck (no wreck) and The Anchor where conditions are less severe.
My final impression is that Drake Bay might not be the place for a dedicated dive trip, some of my fellow divers were underwhelmed if not disappointed. Personally I dug it and would dive Costa Rica again, I will post some photos from this trip on my Scubaboard photo gallery to give an idea what it looks like underwater. Diving in combination with topside activities in this natural wonderland is a blast. Hope this provides some useful information.
Photos here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/4021
Just back from diving Cano Island, out of Drake Bay, Pacific coast, Costa Rica. HereÃÔ some impressions.
Getting there was easy. Nature Air flys direct from San Jose, via Pavas Airport twice daily. They have Twin Otter double prop planes with a 40lb weight limit on luggage. Sansa also flys to Drake Bay, but on my departure the Sansa flight was way late, they fly from the international airport so that might be a factor. Also, you can fly to Palmar Sur, then take a taxi and a boat to Drake. The Nature Air flight from San Jose runs about $90 each way. They have an excellent web site.
For lodgings and dive op we went with Jinetes de Osa: the one midrange hotel at Drake. US $55 a night per person for double occupancy room and 3 meals. Coffee is left outside the room each morning. The food was ok to quite good, overall adequate. No AC and variable hot water.
El Drake is remote. There are small crabs and insects in the rooms at times, lots of biomass. Very courteous and upbeat management while we were there.
My only real complaint about Jinetes de Osa is that they charged us a $30 commission to book our flights. Also, due to weight constrictions on the flights you will probably need to rent some gear and that costs $20 a day, regardless of how much you need. Set in a beautiful location just off the beach, with lots of hammocks to lounge in I would probably stay there again.
There are $15-$30 cabins in town and a couple of restaurant-bars as an alternative. Cabinas Manolo were helpfull via e-mail. I saw dive boats from PirateÃÔ Cove out at Cano as well. Word was that White Tip divers boat had been stolen so they were not diving at the time.
Jinetes aka Costa Rica Adventure Diving runs daily dive trips out to Cano Island, $105 for two tanks. There is no local inshore diving and, thus, no shore or night dives. The main dive boat is a big skiff or ponga with a 300HP outboard. The run takes about 45 minutes. Expect dolphins most days from the boat.
First dive then a long interval on Cano Island is typical with lunch provided. All dives are limited to 60 feet deep and 40 minutes due to park regulations I was told. Visibility ranged from 20-60 feet, with a visible thermocline at about 50 feet. Water temps were a balmy 82 above the thermocline and 72 below. I had brought extra thermal protection but was fine with 3mm full suit and a beanie due to the fact that you wonÃÕ spend much time below the thermocline and 82 degree water will warm you up real quick. Most dives had surge, sometimes strong, and current can be a factor especially at outlaying sites.
The diving was quite good IMHO, but this is subjective. White Tip Sharks were seen on every dive. 100s of barracuda in a school on one dive, something interesting on each dive from seashores to frog fish, nudibranchs, schooling jellyfish being eaten by other fish. I even found a Tent Olive shell which I left, a unique shell which is endemic to the Panamic region. The Real highlight for diving at Cano island is Bajo del Diablo an offshore pinnacle. Here you will find the best visibility and tons of life.
The Bajo del Diablo is a series of rocks rising from depth to within 20 feet of the surface, the dive begins with a decent through a large school of Bigeye Trevally to the rock formations which form vertical walls with canyons between. These walls are completely covered in Sea Fans, Barnacles and Hydroids. Large schools of Snapper swirl around the rocks and keep you company as you loll in the surge. According to local lore anything can turn up out here and stories of hearing Whales are common.
Another great dive site was Los Arcos where the visibility was lesser but again the volcanic rock formations provide dramatic relief. This is what I would consider advanced diving due to the surge and current. Beginner divers were kept closer to the island, sites like The Shipwreck (no wreck) and The Anchor where conditions are less severe.
My final impression is that Drake Bay might not be the place for a dedicated dive trip, some of my fellow divers were underwhelmed if not disappointed. Personally I dug it and would dive Costa Rica again, I will post some photos from this trip on my Scubaboard photo gallery to give an idea what it looks like underwater. Diving in combination with topside activities in this natural wonderland is a blast. Hope this provides some useful information.
Photos here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/4021
