Guanacaste in mid Dec?

[scorman]

I've been doing my DD on this board, and have come to some conclusions about Costa Rica as a new adventure spot, since direct flights from Newark are available.

We are only considering AIs comparing to Barcelo Maya in Riviera Maya south of Cancun, which we have been to several times. We are a younger recently retired couple who like to be active and a morning snorkel at 7am for 1 1/2 hours is typical ...6 tanks each for the week is adequate. Side trips to jungle, etc is a +.

That Barcelo is huge with 3000 rooms and 1 1/4 mile of it's own beach and reefs easily accessible right from the hotel for great snorkeling. The Dressel dive op was terrific, with most dives within 5 minutes of pier.....looking for new alternatives.

From what I gather on CR, AI resorts are much smaller and beaches look like smooth sand ( reads: no close reefs??) . A prime dive area is Catalina island which is about 10 miles out and seas can be rough and windy this time of year. Expensive to travel there other than from Flamingo.

Playa Flamingo is a prime spot with best water, whereby Barcelo further south is right next to a major river which muddies the coast. Tamarindo in the south is billed for "surfing" which makes snorkeling difficult and shoreline stirred up. The Occidental Grand further north and is up on a bluff and you need to be a billygoat to get around ie not really close to beach. The Allegro has a muddy beach and water is very shallow way out.

I would like to investigate alternatives/recommendations to above, where decent snorkeling environment complements decent vacation diving. Looking for AI w/sheltered coves or nearby islands. If anyone has more positve comments to above list, we would like to hear from you.

thanks for any tidbits,
Stew and Robbie

 

[dolesorchard]

If you are looking for diving that is anything like the Caribbean, forget it. The diving in Costa Rica is great, but the eastern Pacific doesn't have coral reefs and unlike the Caribbean it is a nutrient rich environment, so visibility suffers. But because of the richness of the waters, there is a lot of life. Good snorkeling near shore can be had, but it is not reliable. Isla Del Cano in the south is great as it is off shore far enough for the big rivers to not affect visibility. Some of our best dives ever have been on the Catalinas and there can be very good snorkeling in the area, but you won't walk to it from an all inclusive. Bahia Del Sol is a nice place just west of Flamingo where there is good snorkeling very nearby. We have used Costa Rica Diving in Flamingo and been very happy, Harald is an interesting guy.

 

[ibj40]

We dove this area, but in May, not December (of course we are a May/December couple . . .), we stayed at the Hilton Papagayo and dove with the on-site dive-op, Resort Divers. Interestingly, the sand was black (dark grey), in lieu of the white you might expect elsewhere. From what I understand, you are going during the dry season, which means the scenery won't be quite as lush as you might expect, and the water might be a little tepid. When we went in May we were able to get to both Catalina to see the Manta Rays (actually saw one on our first day of diving - which they told us was the last day of "Manta Season") and then went out to the Bats for the Bull Sharks (and I am not sure they are there in December). From there we went to the Arenal Volcano area for the balance of our vacation, and did horseback riding, and zip lines.

 

[Steve the Baker]

The Riu hotel might fit your needs.I think the Palace hotel will be open by then and your needs for a large resort.Rich Coast Diving was picking up divers from the hotel last summer.Diving is Awesome in the winter months.Going back in January.

 

[scorman]

thanks to all that replied ....
I had been under the misconception that the Pacific CR coast had coral reefs just like the Caribbean, after all the Great barrier Reef is in the Pacific.

Been looking at CR on the Caribbean side and it looks like it hasn't been developed yet.

Does Honduras have any AI for scuba on the mainland other than what is at Roatan??
Daughter just got back from Belize and had a good time, but it is definitely a third world country ..not our type of vacation.

Further forum searching on Riviera Maya seems to imply that the Barcelo Maya is the premier snorkeling from shore resort, with Grand Sirenis and Grand Palladium close seconds. Any other favorites you might recommend us look at?

Packages for Riviera Maya AI in mid Dec are going for about $1100/7 days incl non-stop air from Newark, transfers, taxes, food, booze, beach toys ....new deal/promos could bring it to <$1K.....
just add $ for dive pkgs

Stew and Robbie

 

[oldmaninthesea]

Does Honduras have any AI for scuba on the mainland other than what is at Roatan??
I don't think there is any recreational diving from mainland Honduras. Certainly no AIs on the scale that you mention. Roatan is well worth a visit. We have stayed at Henry Morgan 3 times. Good diving and excellent snorkeling right off the beach. But a very low key resort, about 200 rooms. The other resorts are smaller and more like condo rentals than AI resorts.