Costa Rica Dive Trip

[eyeonsports]

Was thinking about trying something different this year... i was thinking about diving in Costa Rica. How is the diving there? Worth the experience?

 

[dolesorchard]

My wife and I have been to Costa Rica 10 times and she got certified there in 2005. The Caribbean coast has a lot of heavy rain and diving is many times not possible as there is a lot of silt in the water after heavy rains and visibility is near zero. The Pacific coast has some good diving. The best of what we have seen is around Flamingo and Playas Del Coco in the north and Ilsa Del Cano in the south. We liked Costa Rica Diving in Flamingo, Harald and Barbara are unique. The diving at the Catalina Islands can be outstanding, we have seen whales and mantas there as well as all of the smaller critters. Our best experiences have been at Isla Del Cano off of the southern coast. The island is far enough off the coast to be away from the silt from the rivers in the area and is a part of Corcovado National Park. The visibility has been very good except one time after an earthquake. From Drake Bay it is only about ten miles off the coast, but we usually go from Uvita or Ojochal and it is a thirty or forty mile boat ride. There is always a lot to see.

I am putting together a trip for next January focused on diving with a bunch of other cool stuff thrown in, if you are interested send me a private message.

 

[DeputyDan]

My wife and I have been to Costa Rica 10 times and she got certified there in 2005. The Caribbean coast has a lot of heavy rain and diving is many times not possible as there is a lot of silt in the water after heavy rains and visibility is near zero. The Pacific coast has some good diving. The best of what we have seen is around Flamingo and Playas Del Coco in the north and Ilsa Del Cano in the south. We liked Costa Rica Diving in Flamingo, Harald and Barbara are unique. The diving at the Catalina Islands can be outstanding, we have seen whales and mantas there as well as all of the smaller critters. Our best experiences have been at Isla Del Cano off of the southern coast. The island is far enough off the coast to be away from the silt from the rivers in the area and is a part of Corcovado National Park. The visibility has been very good except one time after an earthquake. From Drake Bay it is only about ten miles off the coast, but we usually go from Uvita or Ojochal and it is a thirty or forty mile boat ride. There is always a lot to see.

I am putting together a trip for next January focused on diving with a bunch of other cool stuff thrown in, if you are interested send me a private message.

Which week in January?

 

[snorkymn]

I was in Playa Hermosa in the Guanacaste area in May of 2007 and went diving. It was kind of funny. The water was really cold below the thermocline, and the visibility was a bit limited compared to the Caribbean where I had been, but it was probably the best diving I had ever had. Massive schools of fish, lots of sharks, schools of eagle rays, clown shrimp, eels, stingrays.. it was all there. Definitely worth a trip. I never made it to the Bat islands since I wasn't there during that season, but the Cat islands, and even the local diving, were still very good.
I posted pics on my web site if you care to check them out. Xtcscuba and XtcAdventures

Oh, the pics are a bit green, as I have just a very basic camera, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

 

[dolesorchard]

The trip to Costa Rica will be the second week of January for either 10 or 14 days, depending on what people want to do.

 

[Didje]

I spent 7 days diving in Playas del Coco in late February - early March 2011. I dived with Rich Coast Diving (I highly recommend them).
We dived locally, and did 2 trips to the Cats and 1 trip to the Bats.
Would I go back? In a heartbeat. Conditions and viz can be tricky, but you'll see amazing stuff, from nudis to mantas and everything in between.
Costa Rica is gorgeous both above and below the water. Just go and enjoy the Pura Vida!