Back from Costa Rica

[SuzA]

Mi espouso and I have just returned from two weeks in Costa Rica. With so little time, we only dove one day. But on that one day we got a good tip to share.

We went to Playa del Coco to dive because according to the Lonely Planet guidebook Playa Del Coco has the best diving. Perhaps it does, but we certainly didn't find out because we dove about four days after a huge cold swell had come in, stirring up the sediment and causing poor visibility (6-10ft at best). Because I'm such a newbie diver, I had a great time . . . we saw manta rays, bulls eye rays, moray eels, large schools of fish that swam right around us (eye-candy better than fireworks!), puffer fish, coral, and many misc. other things. The other five, more experienced divers--my husband included--were more disappointed (the advantage of being a newbie!) We went with Deep Blue Diving because their local dives from off a boat were $50 as opposed to Rich Coast Diving, who charged $70 for the same. They both charged approx. $100 for dives to Catalina Island. We'd been planning on going to Cat, but when we heard the vis would be just as poor there--only because of the swell--we decided our money could be better spent elsewhere.

So, the tip we learned while we were there was that there is a diving outfit located at Playa Flamingo that charges only $60 to go to Catalina Island, rather than the $100/$105 that's charged by the outfits in Playa Del Coco. It's called Costa Rica Diving, 506/654-4148, and is run by Barbara Deppe & Harold Kunkel. This outfit is not listed in the Lonely Planet guide and is the best deal I came across for going to Catalina Island. If you're heading down there, enjoy! (Also, you might want to stay out of Playa Del Coco . . . it's super loud and crowded. The beach just north of it, Playa Hermosa, is a less crowded and has a sweet energy.)

Happy plunging!
Suzanne

P.S. Dollar figures in U.S. $s.

 

[Mario S Caner]

Hello SuzA,
Thanks for the tips, I'll certainly keep it in mind.

By the way on the visibility isssue, I must be a Newbie as well, as I'm not effected so much by poor visibility. All I do is focus from the big picture to the macro and enjoy as always.

Sea you in the Deep Blue!

 

[pinkladydi]

NICE TO HEAR YOU HAD A GOOD TIME
I'LL BE GOING IN SEPT.
How expensive did you find the food / restaurants?
any other pearls of wisdom, we have our reservations at a resort that includes a 2 tank boat dive every day on the pacific side.

 

[SuzA]

You're going to Costa Rica . . . yeah!! Let's see...what could I tell you that might be helpful? Apparently San Jose is pretty polluted, so we stayed in Alajuela our first night in Costa Rica ($2 taxi from the airport) and the ticos we spoke with agreed that that was a good idea.

The guidebook we used was Lonely Planet and it was very good, though prices seemed to be $5-$10 more than it said they'd be. If you expect that then it's a great guide as to what places are like.

Where will you be staying? I can tell you a few things about Puerto Jimenez, Tamarindo, Playa del Coco, Playa Hermosa and Monteverde. In general, restaurants that are set up to serve North Americans have North American prices. If you want to save money, eating in the same places that the ticos eat is cheaper. I'd also suggest brushing up on some basic Spanish; we found the ticos to be very open and friendly when we tried to communicate with them in their own language. Too, it's super helpful because not all ticos speak English. If you want to use a Spanish/English dictionary, you might want to bring your own as they're rare down there outside of the big Central Valley cities.

If you write with your itinerary, I'll see if there's any more info I can share that might be useful to you.

Wellness to you,
SuzA

 

[got4boyz]

SuzA, When I started reading your dive report I was sad for you for two reasons: 1, that you only got to dive for 1 day, and 2, because the vis. was poor (I just got back from Cozumel and the vis. was great). But after I read all the things you were still able to see and that you weren't disappointed I felt better for you!

It certainly is amazing under the sea.

And thanks for sharing your tips. Those kinds of things will be very helpful to others who plan to go!

 

[nena]

Hi SuZA
I'm also from Vancouver and heading to Guanacaste in July and I was wondering what the water temp is like.....I use a drysuit here (of course!!) but also have a long 3 mm wetsuit and shorty but don't know which to bring...will the shorty be enough?
Thanks!

 

[fredk]

To bad you couldn't dive Catalina it's one of the best dive sites i have ever been on for huge marine life, we worked on a cruise ship that stopped in Playa Flamingo once a week, Costa rica diving is a good outfit they used to charge $45. for a 2 tank dive.
The ride to the island can be pretty rough though.

 

[toni]

And if you plan to stay in Tamarindo,go to Agua Rica Diving Center,they charge $65 plus equipment for a great dive tour to Catalinas.Happy diving
Laura